JAY LUSTIG
Rob Paparozzi, left, performs with Steve Katz at the Morristown Jazz and Blues Festival in 2019.
Rob Paparozzi, who has performed at the Morristown Jazz and Blues Festival several times in its 10-year history, will headline the free, annual festival this year, performing with his Juke Joint band.
Usually scheduled for August, the pandemic was moved back a bit this year because of the pandemic, and is scheduled for Sept. 18 at its usual location, the Morristown Green. (There was no fest in 2020.)
Louis Prima Jr. & The Witnesses — who have a high-energy stage show dominated by the music of Prima’s father, the Swing Era giant whose best known songs include “Sing, Sing, Sing,” “Just a Gigolo” and “Jump Jive an’ Wail” — will also perform, as will jazz drummer Winard Harper and his band, Jeli Posse; The Frank Vignola Trio (featuring guitarists Vignola and Vinny Raniolo and bassist Martin Pizzarelli); and Swingadelic.
The schedule will be:
Noon: Swingadelic
2 p.m.: The Frank Vignola Trio
4 p.m.: Winard Harper & Jeli Posse
6 p.m.: Louis Prima Jr. & the Witnesses
8 p.m.: Rob Paparozzi’s Juke Joint
Vignola’s set will include a tribute to Martin Pizzarelli’s father, the legendary guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, who was a festival mainstay and who died in 2020. The festival will also pay tribute to its co-founder, Linda Kiger Smith, who died in June, and festival board member Michael Fabrizio, who also died in June.
For information, visit morristownjazzandblues.com.
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