For the sixth year running, the Midsummer Nights series is bringing four evenings of free music to BKCM’s front stoop on July 23, July 30, August 6 and August 13 at 6:30 PM! Curated by acclaimed jazz singer-songwriter, NPR Tiny Desk artist and former BKCM Jazz Leadership Fellow Melanie Charles, this year’s Midsummer Nights lineup is a who’s-who of diverse rising artists who are revitalizing jazz – and knocking down genre boundaries.

Limited seating will be available outside BKCM’s building at 58 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn, and is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. In the event of rain or extreme heat, concerts will be moved from the stoop into our Concert Hall inside. To join the mailing list for updates on Midsummer Nights and other BKCM events, RSVP below!

“Melanie Charles takes us on a journey that embodies the soul of jazz: exploration.” —NPR

There are very few artists whose sound can capture the sentiments of a generation. The Brooklyn-born-and-raised Melanie Charles is one of these artists. Over the past few decades, she has made a name for herself through dynamic engagements with jazz, soul and R&B. Her bold genre-bending style has been embraced by a range of artists including Wynton Marsalis, SZA, Mach-Hommy, Gorillaz and The Roots. In 2021, she appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk and stunned with her eclectic style. Through it all, she has remained committed to making music that pushes listeners to consider new possibilities — both sonically and politically. Make Jazz Trill Again, a project that she launched in 2016, demonstrates her allegiance to everyday people, especially the youth, and is focused on taking jazz from the museum to the streets. “I love jazz, I really fell in love with it deeply. But I was interested in young people interacting with it,” Charles says. The album Y’all Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women is reflective of Charles’ tremendous versatility and imagination as an artist, but also of her deep care for community. 

Born of Haiti’s mizik rasin movement, Rasin Okan is a Brooklyn-based Haitian roots music ensemble. In the spirit of rasin sèch (directly translated to dry roots), Rasin Okan emphasizes the sounds and songs of traditional Haitian ceremonial music without much electric accompaniment. Led and co-founded by Jean E. Montina, Sanba Mayombe, the group writes original songs and evocative folk music to insight the revolutionary spirit of Haiti’s freedom fighters, to a pulsating rhythm.

Thursday July 23 @ 6:30PM
58 7th Avenue, Brooklyn

Alexandria DeWalt

2025-26 BKCM Jazz Leadership Fellow Alexandria DeWalt is a vocalist, flutist, composer, and educator. Born and raised in Houston, TX, she carries the traditions and values of storytelling, which her grandmother instilled in her. Her voice simultaneously acknowledges her southern roots and navigates the past as she pushes musical boundaries. She received her bachelor’s degree in Studio Music and Jazz from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music in 2021 where she studied with vocalist and composer Dr. Kate Reid. Upon completion, she continued on to receive a master’s degree in Global Jazz at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2022, under the tutelage of pianist and composer, Danilo Perez.

DeWalt has performed with Solange Knowles, Al Jarreau, Jason Moran, Shelly Berg, and Kirk Whalum. She has appeared at the Essence Festival, Panama Jazz Festival, and Newport Jazz Festival to name a few. DeWalt is currently an assistant professor at the Berklee College of Music in the Ensemble and Voice Departments and a teaching artist with Carnegie Hall’s Future Music Project.

Lee Hooper

“Delicate, if deft, survivor” (Downbeat) and flutist Lee Hooper seeks to build connection and understanding through exhales of honest emotion. An invitation is extended to listeners to self-reflect in the mirrors of comfort and discomfort.

Hooper’s performance practice honors their Black American and Jamaican ancestry, channeled through a beloved collection of flutes gifted and handmade by friends, an array of looping, sampling, and multi-effect electronics, and at times, voice and handpan. A frequent collaborator in New York City, you may find Hooper performing with Las Mariquitas, a political liberation project “reimagining salsa and challenging the patriarchy” (Rolling Stone). Hooper has performed across genres and mediums with artists such as Joy Guidry, Key Glock, Mobéy Lola Irizarry, Sara Ramírez,  Solange, and Yaya Bey.

Melanie Charles

Midsummer Nights series curator Melanie Charles dreamed of creating an opportunity for flute players of all levels from across the tri-state area to come together in community. The Trill Mega Jam: Flute Fest will allow students, hobbyists, professionals, or flute-curious individuals to spend an evening in song and experimentation among others. Participants will connect, build community, share ideas, participate in group warm-ups, and experience performances by adventurous flutists from across the region. The night will close with a flute jam, creating a space where everyone can contribute, collaborate, and celebrate the joy of making music together.

Thursday July 30
5:30pm-6:30pm: Flute Meet Up in the BKCM Garden
6:30pm-8:00pm: Flute Fest Performance
58 7th Avenue, Brooklyn

Charles Goold is one of New York City’s hardest working jazz drummers of his generation. Being the son of jazz tenor saxophonist Ned Goold and a Haitian mother, Goold has used both experiences in his upbringing to form a style of jazz blending modern hard bop stylings with traditional Haitian and Afro Caribbean rhythms.

Goold graduated from The Juilliard School and was awarded The Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship Grant in May 2017. Following his graduation, Goold performed jazz greats such as Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Javon Jackson, Johnny O’Neal, and Steve Nelson. His debut album “RHYTHM IN CONTRAST”, released in February 2022 on the La Reserve Label, highlights a wide variety of these influences, earning reviews in the New York Times and a spot on playlists and radio stations like TSF Jazz, Spotify (All New Jazz, Jazz X-Press, Jazz Today) Amazon Music (front picture of Fresh Jazz), Tidal (Out There) and Apple Music (Jazz Currents).

His sophomore album, “TRIPTYCH LESPRI” further explores the depths of Haitian rhythms and compositions, featuring his touring quartet as well as a collaboration with an ensemble consisting of New York jazz musicians all with Haitian diasporic roots.

Thursday August 6 @ 6:30PM
58 7th Avenue, Brooklyn

Founded in Brooklyn by Haitian vocalist and percussionist Okai and Latin-Grammy-Award-winning Colombian vocalist, dancer, and violinist Luisa Bastidas (AKA La Lulu), Strings N skins has been recognized as one of the most distinct bands in New York City. Together, they have performed at the Brooklyn Museum, BRIC Jazzfest, Shea Stadium, and in Cali, Colombia, merging the acoustic heartbeat of drums with the electric sounds of the violin.

Thursday August 13 @ 6:30PM
58 7th Avenue, Brooklyn

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