Experience

There will be plenty of feet tapping and finger snapping on Saturday, September 23rd. Thousands of music lovers will flock to the 28th Annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival to groove to a spicy brew of hot, cool and swinging jazz, blues and Latin jazz sounds.

Held in the “New 9th” District and hosted by Councilman Curren D. Price Jr., the festival will feature over a dozen performances and is the musical “crown jewel” of the summer, attracting jazz aficionados from all over southern california.

For more than two decades, the annual festival has been a staple for the community-celebrating the area’s rich cultural past, present and future.

ABOUT

Central Avenue Jazz Festival which celebrates the legacy of the historic Central Avenue corridor in South Central Los Angeles is one of the last few genuine jazz celebrations left in the southern California region. This festival is a free family-friendly festival paying tribute to jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus, Gerald Wilson and Dexter Gordon, while putting a spotlight on the younger emerging artists that are continuing this rich art form.

From the early 1900s to the 1950s, Central Avenue became the epicenter for music, especially with the sounds of large, active Rhythm and Blues and the lively, upbeat tones of Jazz. With music at its center, Central Avenue quickly became the heart and soul of the African American community in Los Angeles.

The Central Avenue Jazz Festival takes place along Central Avenue, between Vernon Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard. The community festival presents a diverse selection of culinary experiences, art, culture, various Pavilions and features jazz performances on multiple stages, as well as, at the Historic Dunbar Hotel.

Photo provided courtesy of Angels Walk

PERFORMERS

Live performances will be featured on 2 main stages and at the historic Dunbar Hotel spotlighting legends of jazz, as well as, emerging and up and coming artists from various genres of jazz music.

PAVILIONS

Featured Art Exhibit
LP Aekili Ross Titled “Giant Steps”

Featured Artist
Buena Johnson

Participating Artists
Bart Ross
EnkOne (Live Painter)
Leo Aguiree (Live Chart Artist)
Mohammed Mubarak
Ron Zeno
Skira Martinez of Cielo Galleries
Wendell Wiggins
X. Darvi

Health & Wellness Pavilion

We aim to empower our community and elevate the importance of healthy living. Take advantage of a variety of free health, vision and dental screenings for children and adults, as well as, guides for a healthy lifestyle, cooking demonstrations and nutrition tips.

General Medical Services including physicals and children immunizations. If you would like to make a specific appointment time please call (323) 541-1411. On-site service hours are 11am – 5pm.

Our Mobile Health Services offer the following to the Community:

Neighborhood Mobile Dental Van Prevention Program
We will be offering oral health education and resources for children and adults.

We will also have some information on using MediCal for dental services provided by Smile California and our dental students will be offering free dental screenings while being observed by licensed dental professionals.

Each community member will leave with a summary of how their screening went as well as a list of dental referral tools. USC will also be providing oral health dental kits to families that get screened containing a travel size toothpaste, floss, and toothbrush. On-site service hours are 11am – 5pm.

Vision screening/exams.

Youth Pavilion

In the heart of the festival grounds at Central Avenue Jazz Park we will feature arts & crafts, games, interactive musical activities, educational demonstrations, and much more.

PlayLA Youth and Adaptive Sports Zone
Sports activities, information booth, mobile unit, giveaways and more.

Educational booth with interactive activities facilitated by the Learning & Engagement team

Family-oriented art activities.

Communities Create LA!

All that Jazz!

In this workshop, participants will learn about collage techniques and work process of Henri Matisse focusing on his work Les Codomas (from Jazz).  Using jazz music as inspiration, participants will experiment with a variety of materials, including newspaper clippings, construction, cut outs, and more. The art lesson will foster experimentation, creativity, and self-discovery through collage techniques.  

Join us for Jump & Jam!, our interactive music workshop: This workshop will be led by our talented Teaching Artists and offered throughout the day. Participants will jump on a variety of instruments and make music together! No music experience is necessary to join the fun, and materials will be provided during the workshop!

To join in on this free music activity, fill out this registration form.

Public Resource Pavilion

Representatives from the City of Los Angeles, county and state will be onsite to offer and distribute valuable information and resources and related services.

CENTRAL AVENUE ANGELS WALK

In the first half of the 20th century, Central Avenue was notable as a dynamic destination for world-class music and entertainment, as a principal neighborhood in the civil rights movement, and as the focal point of African American banking and enterprise. It was a neighborhood that largely developed out of the trials that came from housing restrictions and other injustices, but nevertheless thrived culturally and economically.

Angels Walk Central Avenue takes you along its main corridor, introducing you to many of the people and places that helped to distinguish this community as the center of Black life in Los Angeles. You’ll walk past three Paul R. Williams-designed buildings: Second Baptist Church, the 28th Street YMCA, and Angelus Funeral Home. You’ll meet United Nations diplomat Ralph J. Bunche, publisher and activist Charlotta Bass, music impresario John Dolphin, and L.A.’s first credentialed African American librarian Miriam Matthews. You’ll learn about the bustling jazz scene and the many clubs that lined the Avenue. And as you walk, you can stop to enjoy authentic Central American and Mexican cuisine, as well as the 27th Street Bakery’s famous sweet potato pie, which has been locally baked since the 1930s.