ABOUT

A Bit of History…
Since its founding in 2005, Winter Jazzfest has cemented a reputation as a hotbed of cultural discovery, presenting new and exciting sounds and scenes throughout New York.

Praised by New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR and others, the festival continues to grow as a dynamic rate, from its original one-day single-location program, to a 2020 itinerary that spanned 21 stages over eleven nights, in Downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn, featuring over 700 artists, and more than 170 groups. In 2015, the festival was voted “#1 Jazz Festival in North America” by JazzTimes magazine, and has become a pivotal destination for any arts leaders and cultural cognoscenti who visit the city early in the year.

The music marathon that takes place during the festival’s Friday and Saturday nights has, in particular, become recognized as a crucial, unique New York nightlife offering, giving audiences full access to all participating venues from early evening, deep into the wee wee hours. Winter Jazzfest is an unparalleled experience for educated consumers of jazz, experimental sound and global creative impulses. In 2020, that meant welcoming 17,000 deeply engaged audience members. Due to the challenges faced by the pandemic the 2021 festival will offer continuity through conversations, programming, and other virtual programming in January 2021 and beyond.

Statement
Winter Jazzfest celebrates the music as a living entity, wherein history collides with the future in every note. Creative improvisation in the digital age continues to stimulate thought and emotion of its listeners, embracing innovation, defying instrumental boundaries and the old cliches of “What is Jazz?”

Winter Jazzfest is the annual New York home to the exciting and forward-thinking contemporary jazz music being made today. NYC’s largest Jazz festival attracts a unique, deeply engaged, discerning audience, a diverse range of cultural enthusiasts and music fans from across North America and from over 20 countries. The festival also plays host to attendees of the annual Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), who attend Winter Jazzfest in order to discover new talents. 

Brice Rosenbloom, Founder and Producer
Winter Jazzfest was founded by Brooklyn-based music curator and concert promoter Brice Rosenbloom. Rosenbloom is President of NYC concert promotion and production company BOOM Collective, presenting concerts and festivals in NYC and beyond. Rosenbloom is proud to have honed his curatorial vision while working at Le Poisson Rouge, Central Park SummerStage, The Knitting Factory, MAKOR, Jazz At Lincoln Center, and while consulting for various other venues, festivals and cultural institutions. Additionally, Rosenbloom presents events, festivals, and programming in venues around NYC including King’s Theatre, Beacon Theater, The Knockdown Center, The Town Hall, The Apollo Theatre, Brooklyn Masonic Temple, Webster Hall, Brooklyn Steel, Pioneer Works, Sultan Room, various churches, warehouses and more. In 2005 Rosenbloom launched the NYC Winter Jazzfest to give exposure to underserved jazz artists. As the festival has grown over the past 16 years, The New York Times calls Winter Jazzfest “the city’s most renowned jazz festival.” 

In these current times Rosenbloom has pivoted attention to supporting the music community and towards racial justice activism. In April 2020 Rosenbloom helped launch Jazz Coalition, a grass-roots organization committed to unifying the jazz community around efforts that uplift musicians during the pandemic. The Jazz Coalition’s Commission Fund has raised over $100,000 to date and has commissioned over 100 jazz musicians worldwide with grants to create new work. In June Rosenbloom became a steering committee member of The Blacksmiths, an organization committed to fostering racial equity in the arts sector, and to infusing the racial justice movement with art and music. 

In 2016, Rosenbloom received the Bruce Lundvall Visionary Award for extraordinary leadership and vision in expanding the audience for jazz.