A student ensemble will open the Riverwest Jazz Fest on Friday, Sept. 25, as the event returns after a three-year hiatus with a tribute to guitarist Manty Ellis. Ellis, who died earlier this year at 93, taught generations of Milwaukee musicians and was widely known as the Godfather of Milwaukee Jazz. The festival runs from 6 p.m. to midnight at four East Center Street venues.
The festival takes place along East Center Street between Humboldt Boulevard and Holton Street, with four venues within walking distance of one another, CBS 58 reported. It is the festival’s first return after three years away. WISN also reported on the event’s tribute to Ellis and its inclusion of emerging players.
The four stops include Bar Centro, Club Timbuktu, Diaspora and the Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, according to the Shepherd Express. The Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts sits at 926 E. Center St., while Bar Centro is located at 804 E. Center St., per listings from the Milwaukee Jazz Institute. At the Jazz Gallery, the Milwaukee Jazz Institute Student Ensemble is scheduled to perform from 6 to 8 p.m., with the Ben Dameron Quartet following from 8 to 10 p.m., according to the venue's own event listing.
A Tribute Built Around a Former Student
Sam Belton, who studied under Ellis, will lead the tribute set at Diaspora; an after-festival jazz jam will follow at the same venue, CBS 58 reported. Ellis died on July 9 at age 93, a musician and educator whose imprint on Milwaukee's jazz scene ran for decades. In 1971, Ellis founded an accredited jazz program at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a program that helped formalize jazz education in the city long before this weekend's festival existed.
The lineup also draws on the city's current jazz community, with performances by Milwaukee Jazz Institute student ensembles and the Ben Dameron Quartet among the acts listed by the Shepherd Express. The festival was organized by Milwaukee Jazz Vision, founded by trumpeter Jamie Breiwick and guitarist Neil Davis, together with the Milwaukee Jazz Institute, the outlet reported.
Free Music, With Some Ticketed Sets
Listings describe the festival as an opportunity to experience live jazz and creative music for free, according to Urban Milwaukee. CBS 58, however, reported that some performances, including Faith Hatch's sets at Bar Centro, are ticketed, so attendees hoping to catch every act across the four venues may want to check specific set details before heading out.
The Shepherd Express reported that co-organizer Jamie Breiwick identified inclusion across generations, including participation by student groups, as a festival goal. Friday’s schedule puts that aim into practice with student ensembles alongside established local musicians.
Jazz education and Riverwest’s arts history
The festival’s student performances connect to a longer history of jazz education in Milwaukee. According to the Milwaukee Jazz Institute, Ellis and pianist Tony King founded an accredited jazz program at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in 1971. It emphasized small ensembles, taught students including Sam Belton, and ended around 1984. The Institute says its youth ensembles now teach improvisation and accompaniment through classic jazz repertoire and small-group playing. The East Center Street venues also sit within a longer Riverwest arts history. The Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts says the Riverwest Artists Association presented its first ArtWalk in 1979 and, nearly 30 years later, purchased the former home of the historic Milwaukee Jazz Gallery for community arts use.
