The beat of the NoMad Jazz Festival begins during Festival Week. Jazz on the NoMad Piazza, sponsored by The NoMad Alliance, presents a four-concert series curated by guitarist Matt Chertkoff, bringing the soulful sounds of jazz to one of NYC’s most unique pedestrian plazas. It’s free. It’s outdoors. And it’s got swing.
August 4 | 5:00–7:00 PM
Matt Chertkoff Trio
August 5 | 12:00–1:30 PM
Matt Chertkoff Trio
August 6 | 12:00–1:30 PM
Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith
August 6 | 5:00–7:00 PM
Brian Charette Trio
The series includes performances by the Matt Chertkoff Trio, the ever-innovative Brian Charette Trio, and the electrifying Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith. These concerts embody the spirit of the NoMad Jazz Festival — turning public space into a cultural stage and infusing everyday life with music. Grab your friends, bring your lunch or an evening snack, and meet us on the NoMad Piazza (Broadway between 25th and 26th Streets). For jazz this summer, there’s no place like NoMad.
Guitarist Matt Chertkoff has performed around the world, lighting up jazz clubs and international festivals with his soulful playing and effortless groove. A seasoned collaborator, he has shared the stage with legends like Jimmy Cobb, Houston Person, Freddy Cole, and Grady Tate. His music has been featured on global television networks including The Nippon Network, Telemundo, and German TV, and he’s contributed to numerous jazz albums, pop recordings, and film scores.
From the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival to the Rochester and Berghausen Jazz Festivals, Chertkoff’s work reflects a global reach grounded in deep jazz tradition. His role as curator and performer at Jazz on the NoMad Piazza brings his extensive experience and musical vision to the neighborhood.
Brian Charette, organist/pianist, has established himself as a leading voice in modern jazz. Charette is a Hammond U.S.A, Hammond Europe, I.K Multimedia, and Casio endorsed, Cellar Live recording artist. Charette was ranked #2 for organ and #6 for keyboards in the 2024 DownBeat Critics Poll. He previously won DownBeat’s “Rising Star: Organ” award and Hot House Magazine’s Best Organist Fan Award. His latest album, Jackpot, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s legendary studio with drummer Bill Stewart, earned 4 stars from DownBeat and spent six weeks at #9 on the JazzWeek chart. Also a prolific composer, Charette has written and performed large ensemble works with Prague’s Jazz Dock Orchestra and Budapest’s Modern Art Orchestra.
Born in Meriden, CT, Charette began performing professionally as a teen with legends like Lou Donaldson and Houston Person. After graduating from UConn, he built an international career while remaining a fixture on NYC’s downtown jazz scene. He’s played with artists ranging from Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon to Oz Noy and John Patitucci. A respected educator and writer, Charette contributes to DownBeat, Keyboard Magazine, and The NYC Jazz Record, and teaches at The New School, 92nd Street Y, and Jesek Conservatory’s Czech Summer Jazz Workshop. He’s also the author of 101 Hammond B3 Tips and a dedicated martial artist with a black sash in White Crane kung fu.
Craig Handy is a masterful saxophonist, flutist, bandleader, composer, arranger, actor, and educator whose career has spanned decades at the forefront of modern jazz. Inspired early on by Dexter Gordon, Handy honed his skills through Berkeley High School’s legendary jazz program before earning a Charlie Parker Scholarship to North Texas State University. Since arriving on the New York scene, he has been a standout presence in bands led by Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, Betty Carter, Eddie Palmieri, Hilton Ruiz, Abdullah Ibrahim, Elvin Jones, and others.
Handy’s range and versatility are reflected in his wide-ranging credits: from touring and recording with icons like Wynton Marsalis, Cedar Walton, and The Cookers to performing with vocalists such as Dee Dee Bridgewater and Betty Carter. He has produced five albums as a leader and earned acclaim for his portrayal of Coleman Hawkins in Robert Altman’s 1994 film Kansas City. He composed and produced music for the Cosby Mysteries. Deeply influenced by world music — particularly the rhythms and forms of Latin and Caribbean traditions — Handy remains rooted in the legacy of jazz, with a particular passion for its New Orleans origins. His current project, Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, draws on the spirit of New Orleans and the groove-filled re-imaginings of originals and standards by the late, great organist Jimmy Smith.