June 07, 2024

Lancaster Avenue Jazz Festival to bring brass bands to West Philadelphia

The music and arts event returns to Saunders Park Greene on Saturday, July 20.

By Kristin Hunt
PhillyVoice Staff

@hopephlorg/Facebook

Local musicians will perform over seven hours at the Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival. Above is a photo of last year's event.

Enjoy ragtime, swing and hard bop tunes at a returning jazz festival in West Powelton next month.

The Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival will take over Saunders Park Greene, the small but bustling park behind Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, on Saturday, July 20, between noon and 7 p.m. The free annual event aims to celebrate West Philadelphia and, naturally, jazz with performances from area musicians.

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This year's headliner is the Jamaaladeen Tacuma Quintet featuring Odean Pope. Both Tacuma, a bassist, and Pope, a saxophonist, are veteran Philadelphia jazz artists with well over a century of combined experience. Other performers include the Joe Block Quintet, Timothy Vaughan Inside Outside Ensemble, Mollie Ducoste, Deborah Smith and Glenn Bryan & Friends.

The festival will welcome food trucks and local vendors into the park, which will also offer activities for kids. More information and updates will be announced by the organizer, HopePHL, as the date draws near.