David Lee Jones has played with Jack McDuff, Phyllis Hyman, Sade and Digable Planets — he wrote the horn arrangements for Blowout Comb — and he leads a Harlem organ trio every Sunday. Hearing him in the Harlem Rose Garden, a volunteer-run pocket garden on East 129th Street, is the intimate counterweight to the festival's big park stages. It is an hour, it is free, and you will be close enough to hear the keys click.
What to expect
The Harlem Rose Garden is a narrow volunteer-tended lot mid-block on East 129th Street, so the set happens among the roses with folding chairs and standing room rather than a stage and a barrier. The quartet plays a straight-ahead hour with room to talk to the players afterward. Capacity is limited by the garden itself.
Good to know
- Free, but the garden is small — arrive early for a chair
- The Harlem Rose Garden sits at 6 East 129th Street, between Fifth and Madison
- 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 trains to 125th Street leave a short walk north
- Seating is minimal; be ready to stand among the plantings
- The festival's main stage program runs at Marcus Garvey Park the same evening
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Common questions
Is this part of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival?
Yes — Jazz In the Garden is the festival's ancillary program in neighborhood green spaces.
Is it free?
Yes, like the rest of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.
Where is the Harlem Rose Garden?
At 6 East 129th Street in Harlem, a volunteer-tended community garden mid-block between Fifth and Madison.
