Three sizzlin' big bands heat up the stage as part of the 2nd Annual Wellmont Arts Plaza Outdoor Concert Series.
MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL Soundcheck Lineup:
Jazz Houston Youth Orchestra (start time: 5:30 pm)
JAZZ HOUSE Big Band (start time: 6:00 pm)
Radam Schwartz Big Band (start time: 7:00 pm)
free
Located right outside of The Wellmont Theater, the new Wellmont Arts Plaza has hosted numerous live events on its built-in stage since its completion, including MONTCLAIR JAZZ FEST, Happy Fest, Montclair Jamfest and more. Last year’s Outdoor Concert Series attracted music fans from all over who brought a chair, grabbed a drink and enjoyed free entertainment in the heart of the town. Taking full advantage of the convenient location and
walkability of the plaza and its stage, the upcoming series of outdoor concerts seeks to entertain New Jersey residents with a fun, accessible way to enjoy free live music in Downtown Montclair.
About the Artists:
The Jazz Houston Youth Orchestra (JHYO) is a premier audition-only ensemble composed of 22 of the most talented high school musicians from across the greater Houston area. Founded in 2021, JHYO provides aspiring young jazz artists with transformative musical experiences that extend beyond their local communities.
Under the leadership of world-renowned trombonist Vincent Gardner and award-winning saxophonist and vocalist David Caceres, the ensemble has quickly gained national recognition. JHYO has performed at prestigious venues including Jones Hall, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Jazz at Lincoln
Center’s Dizzy’s Club, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The orchestra has also visited top music institutions such as the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Howard University, and the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter Jazz Ahead
Program, offering students invaluable exposure and inspiration.
A program of Jazz Houston, JHYO is dedicated to elevating, educating, and empowering the next generation of jazz musicians by connecting them with leading institutions and cultivating their artistic excellence.
The JAZZ HOUSE Big Band directed by Nathan Eklund is part of the JAZZ HOUSE Pre-College Academy, an award-winning flagship training program providing expansive instruction for advanced students from across the region. The Academy is held on Sunday afternoons throughout the school year, and helps students take their musicianship to the next level. Many JAZZ HOUSE Big Band alumni go on to attend world-class conservatories and prestigious academic institutions with significant merit-based music scholarships and are recognized on today’s jazz scene as tomorrow’s rising stars. In 2025, the esteemed band competed in several national competitions including the Charles Mingus Festival & High School Competition and Essentially Ellington at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The Big Band goes on tour in Italy in July. For more information about classes at the JAZZ HOUSE, visit jazzhousekids.org.
Organist and Pianist RADAM SCHWARTZ has built his reputation over the last 35 years playing with such great musicians as Arthur and Red Prysock, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Al Hibbler, Irene Reid, Jimmy Ford, Cecil Brooks III, Frank Lacy, Jimmy Ponder and David Fathead Newman. Radam has released 6 albums as a leader and 2 as a co-leader, garnering nationwide radio airplay, as well as two composer awards from SESAC (the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers). His CD “Organized” on Muse Records is listed in the Hammond Organ Bible as an all-time essential organ recording. In addition, he has either played organ and piano, or arranged and composed on more than 40 other CDs. He has also been in the house bands for some of Newark’s most renowned clubs, such as the Peppermint Lounge and Skippers, and has led the longest running jam session in New Jersey at Crossroads for the last 18 years.
Radam has committed over 30 years to jazz education, serving as the musical director of the Jazz Institute of New Jersey for almost 20 years, and now teaching at JAZZ HOUSE KiDS. In 2012, he directed the JAZZ HOUSE KiDS ensemble that won first place at the Charles Mingus competition. He also directs the Mosaic Jazz Ensemble at Rutgers University in Newark, and teaches at the Jazz Academy in Red Bank and at Middlesex County Arts High School.
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