Find out who's performing at the 19th New Mexico Jazz Festival

During the month of September, Albuquerque and Santa Fe will be filled with jazz music, thanks to the New Mexico Jazz Festival, now in its 19th year.

“We kick off the festival with two of the local greats, Hillary Smith and Glenn Kostur, here at Outpost,” Tom Guralnick, festival director, said. He is also the executive director of Outpost, which presents jazz music all year long.

Although Albuquerque and Santa Fe may not have the same reputation for jazz as cities like New Orleans, New York City and Chicago, Guralnick said “there are a lot of great local musicians playing jazz here.”

Guralnick founded Outpost 37 years ago and created the New Mexico Jazz Festival 19 years ago.

“The Jazz Festival used to be in July for many years, but we moved it to September after COVID. It’s a more hospitable time in New Mexico,” Guralnick said. “And we wanted to align it with some of the festivals on the West Coast, like the Monterey Jazz Festival, which happens in September, so we could maybe take advantage of people being out on the road.”

This year’s lineup also includes Grammy winners, such as Billy Childs, Linda May Han Oh and Jeff Scott, and musicians working in a wide range of subgenres, from the blues to Brazilian jazz to jazz-inflected experimental music.

“In terms of style, we have everything from Fred Frith, who’s one of the originators of avant-garde guitar playing, to a blues night on Civic Plaza with Shemekia Copeland to the great jazz singer Dianne Reeves,” Guralnick said.

The wide variety reflects Guralnick’s broad-minded approach to music.

“That (variety) is definitely my goal, and my view of music and of what fits under quote-unquote ‘the umbrella of jazz’ and what should be in a festival. And I’m really happy with this lineup,” he said. “I hope other people will come and experience some things they might not have thought they would enjoy.”

At the same time, Guralnick said it was important for the festival to maintain its jazz roots.

“I mean, there are festivals like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival — and I’m not critical of them, it’s just a different thing — where really, the emphasis is on really huge pop music names, like Bob Dylan. And that’s great. But I think you can really call our festival a jazz festival,” Guralnick said. “And we are, I think, one of the best jazz festivals in the Southwest.”

In addition to music, the festival will feature jazz-influenced visual art, poetry and film.

On Sunday, Sept. 7, Outpost will host a reception for the artist Greg Tucker, whose work is inspired by music.

“At his opening will be a legendary poet, the 90-year-old Larry Goodell, who’s been doing performance poetry here in New Mexico for 60 years,” Guralnick said. “He’ll be doing bursts of poetry during the opening.”

Then, from Tuesday, Sept. 9, through Thursday, Sept. 11, the Guild Cinema will present a double feature of jazz films “Ornette Coleman: Made in America” and “Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser,” as part of the festival.

Guralnick said Outpost was one of many arts organizations to have a National Endowment for the Arts grant rescinded this year, and he has been appreciative of individual donors and local government sponsors for helping to make up for the shortfall.

“A very important partner in the festival is the city of Albuquerque — the mayor and Shelle Sanchez of the Arts and Culture Department — who support our free concerts at Summerfest in July and on Blues Night on Civic Plaza on Sept. 13,” Gu ralnick said.

Shemekia Copeland

Headlining Blues Night is multi-Grammy-nominated blues vocalist Shemekia Copeland, with The Pleasure Pilots and Russ Green opening for her.

“I don’t believe I ever played the Jazz Fest, but I’ve definitely been to New Mexico, and I love it,” Copeland said. “For me, it’s always about the people and the food. We’ve always had such warm feelings playing there.”

Copeland has been performing professionally for over three decades to great acclaim. Her most recent album, “Blame It on Eve,” received three Grammy nominations.

“You gotta stay relevant, and I’ve managed to be able to do that, which is great,” she said. “I’m constantly challenging myself to do something new, to do something different. So, I’m constantly evolving and changing.”

Copeland grew up in Harlem, New York City, learning the blues from her father, the legendary Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland.

“I started super young, so I’ve kind of been able to grow in the business, and that’s what’s been cool,” she said. “When that happens, you have natural progressions, because that’s what naturally happens as you age.”

Copeland said the themes of her music have changed over the years.

“I always dealt with issues of some sort, especially about empowering women. You know, doing songs about domestic violence. And I was doing songs about religious hypocrites and race and all different types of things,” Copeland said. “But after I had my son, it was really apparent to me that I wanted to try to make the world a better place.”

“So the first record I did after I had him was called ‘America’s Child’ (2018). And on that, I did a song called ‘Ain’t Got Time for Hate.’ And for me, that’s when everything sort of changed,” she continued. “Because I was like, OK, I’m gonna make songs, and I’m gonna make this world a better place for him to live in. That became my goal.”

Although Copeland’s music sometimes addresses difficult social situations and relationship issues, she said it’s a common misconception that the blues is all about pain.

“People hear ‘blues’ and they think it’s like, ‘Oh Lord, my wife left me, my dog died, I’m miserable, blah blah blah.’ But that’s not it at all,” she said. “The blues is about life experiences in general, and it’s not always pain. I mean, I’ve had a great life. Unlike my mom and my dad, I did not have to struggle in the way that they did. So, the music is different for me.”

Copeland sees storytelling, not pain, as the essence of the blues.

“It’s about your life story, whatever that may be,” she said. “It’s about your truth.”

Over the years, Copeland has played with many legendary musicians.

“There’s nobody in blues, really, that I haven’t worked with,” she said. “The biggest one, for me, was Koko Taylor. I was super starstruck when I met her, because I was 100% obsessed with her and her voice.”

Copeland said Taylor knew how to put her at ease.

“These people are so used to folks being starstruck by them,” Copeland said. “So, she was very helpful. Then, I went out on the road with Buddy Guy and B.B. King and Robert Cray. They all know how to handle the starstruck.”

“Another time, I remember standing backstage with John Prine, and he could see that I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is freakin’ John Prine!’ Like, he noticed my nervousness. So, he immediately said, ‘I really like your shoes,’” Copeland said. “The great ones, they get it.”

In recent years, Copeland has begun to encounter young musicians who are just as starstruck by her.

“I’m starting to get that more and more, and it’s very weird for me,” she said. “So, I find myself doing the same types of things, just talking and letting them know that I’m just a normal person over here. People were always kind to me, so I’m kind to everyone.”

New Mexico Jazz Festival returns for its 19th year