2026 Unity Jazz Festival Day 2 Recap

Last Friday, I traveled to New York City to attend day two of the Unity Jazz Festival hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center. The festival, now in its second year, began as a celebration of global and intergenerational talent brought together across several stages in the House that Swing built.

Performers featured on day 2 of the festival included Etienne Charles, the Eddie Palmieri Experience, and the Leroy Jones Quartet (which turned into a quintet when Emmet Cohen sat in on piano alongside drummer Herlin Riley, bassist Yashushi Nakamura, trombonist Rashaan Salaam, and Jones on trumpet and vocals). Tivon Pennicott and friends closed out the festival, while Caribbean sensation Kes headlined. Kes’s presence offered an interesting contrast to the predominantly jazz-centered program, bringing a vibrant, high-spirited energy to the night.

One standout performer of the night was newcomer Kate Kortum, a 24-year-old vocalist who delighted and captivated the crowd from the moment she sang her first note. She wore her influences on her sleeve; she paid tribute to those who came before her, like Carmen McCrae, Sarah Vaughn, and Bessie Smith. She also performed music from her newly released album titled Wild Woman Tells All.

By night’s end, it was clear that what Jazz at Lincoln Center created was every bit as important/significant/meaningful as it was two years ago, and based on the crowd’s reaction, its impact was more than felt. From the significance of the venue (the night’s stages were located in spaces named for Turkish American record executive Ahmet Ertegun, legend of jazz music Dizzy Gillespie, and Jewish philanthropist Robert Appel) to the diversity of the crowd filling each space, there was nothing more obvious about the night than the theme/feeling of unity. More than just a concert series, the Unity Jazz Festival served as a powerful reminder of music’s ability to bring people together. With everything that’s happening in our country today, a little unity goes a long way.