If you’re looking for something to do this Labor Day weekend, the Detroit Jazz Festival is kicking off its 46th year Friday at Hart Plaza.

Tonight’s lineup, which starts at 6 p.m., includes Dr. Valade’s Brass Band from Wayne State University. Leading the procession is Shannon Powell, who comes to Detroit every year to teach the history and tradition of the New Orleans bands’ jazz style to regional and national high school students. 

At 7 p.m., Grammy Award-winning trumpeter, vocalist, composer and producer Keyon Karim Harrold will take the stage, followed by Detroit Jazz Festival artist-in-residence Jason Moran at 9 p.m. The pianist will bring on hometown artists Jeff Mills and jessica Care moore. For those who want to continue the party, the festival will be hosting its Midtown After Hours Special at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center on the campus of Wayne State University beginning at 10:30 p.m. 

Throughout the weekend, performances will take place at Hart Plaza, Cadillac Square and Valade Jazz Center. Other acts that are set to perform include jazz drummer Herlin Riley; Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and composer Branford Marsalis; virtuoso saxophonist and Detroit native James Carter; Latin jazz artists Chucho Valdés and Paquito D’Rivera; and Detroit native artists Marion Hayden and Kamau Kenyatta. 

For the full schedule, visit detroitjazzfest.org.

I talked to Detroit Jazz Festival Artistic Director Chris Collins about what’s new this year, what’s in store for artist-in-residence Moran and why it’s important to keep the festival free. 

BridgeDetroit: What’s new to the festival this year? 

Collins: Logistically, we have redesigned the entry into Hart Plaza. There’s security you have to pass through and it moves much quicker, people aren’t standing in long lines on Jefferson to get in. And we encourage all patrons to pack light. We have great food and beverages and everything you could need. Bringing a handbag is fine, but anything larger it’s going to be searched and it’s going to delay your entry. Then, we have a dedicated exit portal, which will keep things much more organized. We also have a special VIP exit for those who have contributed to the festival in the form of a VIP pass.

The footprint still runs all the way through the activations on Hart Plaza, and then all the way up Woodward with food vendors and some beautiful businesses throughout our community, and up to Cadillac Square, where the JP Morgan Chase stage is. 

For the first year, our official fourth stage is the Detroit Jazz Hall (inside the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center). What we’re doing are showcases at noon on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. These are select bands from high schools throughout the area, the best of the best. There are five on each day. The Detroit Public Schools showcase is on Monday, so the bands do a set, and then at the end, there’s a jam session. 

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday we have what’s called the Midtown After Hours Special, and this is the capper to each night at the festival. So when the final performance downtown finishes about 10:30 p.m., there’s one special set each night from 10:30 p.m. until midnight at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center. We encourage people to get there early; doors open at 10 p.m.

BridgeDetroit: Artist-in-residence Jason Moran will be performing throughout the weekend. Where will he be playing and who are some of the special guests he’ll be performing with? 

Collins: He has a set on opening night (Friday) and it’s the tradition of the artist-in-residence. What I love about what Jason’s done as an artist-in-residence is integrating our local culture and artistry, many of which are world-class artists, into his programming. So Friday night, it’s very interesting stuff because it’s brand new for Jason and all involved as well. It’s a musical fusion of contemporary music with traditional jazz elements. So Jason Moran hooked up with Jeff Mills, which a lot of people called “the wizard.” He’s a great electronic producer, composer and DJ. He’s one of the really important cats in that scene in Detroit. And jessica Care moore is a wonderful Detroit luminary, and her poetry is well-known and she’s something special. (Moran) put together this ensemble. 

On Sunday, Jason is exploring the music of Duke Ellington and he wanted to put together a big band, an ensemble that drew from the Detroit artistic community. They’re people from throughout the region who are in the beginning stages of their professional career, they’re making a mark. It’s about 19 aspiring artists from our community, and they’ve been rehearsing and studying Jason’s scores. 

I really wanted to make it (the artist residency) a two-way street. It’s not just about bringing in an artist and we all sit down in the audience and watch what he or she does. It’s about creating an artistic, community and cultural partner and investing in understanding Detroit more and who’s here and engaging with people through youth programs and collaborations. That’s all transmitted to the world through the festival itself, and then the artist goes out into the world and talks about how fulfilling their artistic experience was here. That’s been something I’ve heard from pretty much all the resident artists. 

BridgeDetroit: Which artists are making their Detroit Jazz Festival debut this year?

Collins: On Monday, Louis Jones III is performing with his band The Flood. He’s such a talented drummer and band leader. It’s his debut at a major festival. On Saturday, another important, inspiring artist in our community is performing. His name is Allen Dennard and he’s a trumpeter, composer and band leader. He was in our youth programs and he served as an educator and mentor in our youth educational programs for the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation. Like Louis, he’s crossed the threshold into something special artistically. His band brings together modern genre elements into the jazz world, and he creates something that’s going to appeal to the youth, traditional jazz lovers and everything in between.

And coming back to Detroit is native Endea Owens and The Cookout. She’s a bassist who’s a great band leader. I believe this is her premiere performance because she’s become more of an international figure. It’s so nice to have Detroit artists come home and have this moment on stage. 

BridgeDetroit: For those who can’t make it to the festival this weekend, are you still offering a livestream of performances? 

Collins: We have the free live streams that go out on detroitjazzfest.org and our Detroit Jazz Fest YouTube channel and Facebook. It’s continuous coverage. There’s three camera shots at every stage and excellent sound quality from the downbeat of opening day all the way to the closing on Monday. It’s not on demand. Last year, in addition to the 325,000 people in-person, we had nearly 2 million viewers worldwide. I think it was about 36 different countries watching Detroit and watching the Detroit Jazz Festival through those livestreams.

BridgeDetroit: With many festivals in the area requiring a fee to enjoy their events, how is the Detroit Jazz Festival continuing to remain free for attendees? Why is it important for the festival to have free admission? 

Collins: We do it by relying on philanthropy, donors and sponsors, and it’s why I’m always asking folks, when you can, make a donation.

First of all, if it’s (the festival) not supported by the community, it’s fragile. It will go away and will never come back. We have to raise nearly $5 million every year to do what we do year-round and for the festival, and it’s becoming extraordinarily difficult to do that. I want it to be free for my grandkids and their grandkids to come down to Detroit from anywhere in the world and be able to walk right in the gate. And if we don’t keep building on the generosity of companies, donors and others, we won’t be able to do that. Eventually, the only way to keep it going will be to start charging a ticket price. If you’ve ever been to big jazz festivals around the country, you can spend hundreds of dollars if you want to see all the shows. 

Look, our community is a jazz community and if people were unable to go to the celebration of that music in their own backyard because it’s too expensive, it would be a travesty of culture. This is why keeping it free is so incredibly important.

A lot of people believe it’s free because the city pays for it or there’s somebody with bags of money that pays for it every year in a closet somewhere. None of that is true. It has to be a community effort, and that’s why you don’t see anything like this anywhere else on the planet.