Jamaica Downtown Jazz Festival Pays Tribute To Milford Graves

JAMAICA, QUEENS — The Jamaica Downtown Jazz Festival will celebrate the rich jazz heritage of Southeast Queens with a weekend of free musical performances and a special tribute to renowned percussionist Milford Graves.

The festival kicks off Friday with a screening of the award-winning documentary "Milford Graves Full Mantis" and a special performance by celebrated musicians Tyshawn Sorey and Jason Moran that will pay tribute to Graves.

Graves grew up in public housing in South Jamaica. His office and studio are in a basement space in Jamaica where his grandparents once had a community social club.

Graves himself will hit the stage at Jamaica Performing Arts Center on Saturday night for a performance with Don Byron and the Alchemy Sound Project, a collective of composer-performers. Tickets for the headlining event cost $30.

Another festival highlight includes a screening Saturday of never-before-seen concert documentary that captures Aretha Franklin recording her 1972 live album "The Amazing Grace."

Camille Thurman, Napoleon Ravels-Bey, Morgan Guerin and Keith Jordon — who also teaches music at Francis Lewis High School in Queens — are among the artists giving free performances during the festival.

The jazz festival coincides with the opening of an exhibition at Jamaica Arts Center called "Volumes: Milford Graves," which documents the research that informs Graves' music.

Click here to see the full schedule of performances and events.