SOUTH BRONX — Rooftops in the South Bronx will be filled with jazz this spring thanks to an upcoming music festival called "Lookin' Up in the Boogie Down Bronx."
The event will run from mid-April to mid-May at buildings throughout neighborhoods like Longwood and Mott Haven, kicking off with an April 16 rooftop concert by percussionist Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band set to start at 5 p.m. at 1301 Southern Blvd.
Bronx bassist Carlos Henriquez will perform at the festival as well at 2 p.m. on April 30 at either the roof of 1070 Southern Blvd. or Monsignor Del Valle Square, while pianist Bertha Hope will perform on May 7 at 2 p.m.on the roof of the Chase Bank building at 137th Street and Lincoln Avenue or in Graham Triangle, according to Casita Maria, one of the organizations spearheading the festival.
The group has used previous festivals to pay tribute to elements of culture in The Bronx like hip-hop and cinemas, according to Gail Heidel, manager of performing and visual arts at Casita Maria.
"Each year, we highlight a different aspect of the cultural history of The Bronx," she said, "so in the past, we’ve highlighted hip-hop, the history of the cinemas, and this year we’re focusing on jazz, so we have a number of jazz legends that have agreed to participate."
The group was inspired to hold the festival's concerts on rooftops this year because of famed Bronx percussionist Ray Mantilla's legacy of jamming on the roof of his Bronx building.
Hope said she is excited to take part in this year's festival, especially because it is taking place right in the South Bronx, allowing people to listen to the music by simply leaning out of their window or being outside.
"There will be a sense, in my head, of reaching a whole community of people at once who are not preoccupied with having to buy drinks or being in a different kind of setting," she said.
Hope views the festival as a family event, meaning she may use her performance as an opportunity to teach the audience a little more about jazz, and she said she already knows the music that she plans to focus on playing for her audience.
"Mainly, I’m going to be doing the music of a composer who lived in The Bronx. His name is Elmo Hope," she said. "I was married to him."
