Music of New Jersey
The U.S. state of New Jersey is located in the Northeastern United States and is part of the Mid-Atlantic region.
Official symbols[edit]
New Jersey does not have a state song.[1][2]
The square dance is "the American Folk Dance of the State of New Jersey".[3]
Classical and operatic music[edit]
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, based at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the New Jersey State Opera, The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Ballet are all located in the Newark area. These groups regularly travel to different venues throughout the state to give performances.
The Cape May Music Festival is held every year at the Mid-Atlantic Center for Arts and Humanities in Cape May, New Jersey, featuring classical and chamber music. The South Orange Performing Arts Center in South Orange, New Jersey, features classical soloists and ensembles. Other classical music performing groups throughout New Jersey include The Bay-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. These music groups perform throughout the state, as well as present shows at several universities which serve as home base for some of these groups.
American composer John Philip Sousa would perform concerts on the lawn of the historic Congress Hall (Cape May hotel).
World-famous opera singer Frederica von Stade was born in Somerville, New Jersey. Acclaimed operatic tenor Michael Fabiano was born in Montclair and still resides in the state.
In 1796, William Dunlap of Perth Amboy wrote the first professional opera in the United States called, The Archers.
Folk and bluegrass music[edit]
The Folk and Bluegrass scene in New Jersey consists of performances at festivals and small venues throughout the state, mostly in small cities and college towns with more active music scenes. Some of these towns and cities are Montclair, Hoboken, New Brunswick, and Princeton.
There is little information about early folk music in New Jersey. One of the more documented regions for early folk music in the colonial era is from the Pine Barrens and shore regions of southern New Jersey. It was there, in the sandy, dense forests and small shore towns, that the earliest settlers played musical elements of their home countries as well as sang stories of the new land they called home. Some examples ranged from Scots/Irish fiddle tunes to Yiddish and Lithuanian songs. It was in this region that stories were sung and legends like the Jersey Devil were born.
Various workshops, music development institutions, and festivals throughout New Jersey have celebrated folk and bluegrass music for decades. The Folk Project has hosted many folk music singers in the past years including; Richard Shindell, Bob Franke, and Odetta. The New Jersey Folk Festival is held every year at Rutgers University, celebrating a variety of artists, both nationally or locally known. Jim Murphy and The Pine Barons have been playing bluegrass at venues in southern New Jersey for over forty years. The Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival takes place annually at the Salem County Fairgrounds in Woodstown, New Jersey. The Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club celebrates folk music in the northern part of the state. The Irish festival at the Jersey Shore celebrates Irish folk music every summer in Sea Girt.
John Dull, a Rutherford native, is a well known folk artist who has worked with a wide variety of musicians in many genres. Progressive bluegrass band Railroad Earth hails from Stillwater, New Jersey. Hunterdon County, New Jersey native Sharon Van Etten is an acclaimed singer of folk and indie rock music, performing solo as well as with many other famous artists. David Grisman, born in Hackensack, is a celebrated mandolinist and Newgrass composer. Another highly respected New Jersey folk artist is Meg Baird. John Gorka, a leader of the New Folk movement, was born in Edison. New Jersey folk singer and activist Catherine Moon has released several critically acclaimed independent albums. Atlantic City native and folk singer Jim Albertson sings songs that tell stories of South Jersey. The variety of folk and bluegrass music reflects the cultural past of America and New Jersey, including stories of the widely varied ethnic groups in the state, as well as revivalist styles.
Jazz[edit]
In the early 20th century, Newark was an important center for jazz innovation with other smaller New Jersey towns also providing talent. James P. Johnson of New Brunswick and other pioneers helped invent stride. Willie "The Lion" Smith, who grew up in Newark, played stride as well as other styles of jazz piano. Donald Lambert of Princeton was another famous jazz pianist. Jazz alto saxophonist Richie Cole grew up and began playing in Mercer County. Other famous New Jersey jazzmen include bandleader Count Basie, saxmen Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter and James Moody, vocalist Babs Gonzales, trumpeter Woody Shaw of Newark, trumpeter Johnny Coles of Trenton, and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie who lived in Englewood from 1965 until his death in 1993.
Newark was also the birthplace and home of the jazz singer Sarah Vaughan – one of jazz's most esteemed vocalists. Viola Wells, also known as, "Miss Rhapsody," was a Newark native who began her career singing jazz, blues, and religious songs at clubs in Newark, and eventually throughout the United States and Europe. Bill Evans was born in Plainfield and attended North Plainfield High School. One of the more popular jazz venues in Newark in the first half of the Twentieth century was the Grand Hotel on West Market Street. Savoy Records, an early important jazz record label, was located in Newark. Casa Blanca on Broad Street and The Cadillac Club are just two of the many Newark live jazz venues that have showcased performers in the Twentieth century.
The Institute of Jazz Studies at the Newark campus of Rutgers University has the largest library of jazz and jazz related items in the world. The Newark Museum has annual summer jazz concert series featuring world known artists. Atlantic City, beginning in the 1920s, was a world-famous venue for jazz performers, as well as other music. The Paradise Club on Illinois Avenue was billed as the world's first nightclub and hosted a wide variety of famous artists. Since 1979, Newark has been home to WBGO, the only 24/7 jazz radio station in the New York/Jersey City/Newark metro area.
Other well known jazz instrumentalists from the Garden State include Max Weinberg, drummer for Bruce Springsteen, Leigh Howard Stevens, a marimba musician who re-invented the way the instrument is played by pioneering the "Musser-Stevens Grip, "Nick Lucas, Joe Pass, Jimmy Lyons, Larry Young, Steve Swallow, George Van Eps, Buster Williams, Tony Scott, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, David S. Ware, Al Di Meola, and Steve Swell. Hundreds of jazz albums for Blue Note Records were recorded in Alfred Lion's home studio Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
The Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation (JSJBF) Festival ran annually in Red bank until 2004 when the local Chamber of Commerce turned it into a food festival. The JSJBF now runs free summer jazz and blues concerts along several shore towns. The Liberty Jazz Festival also occurs every year in Liberty State Park in Jersey City.
R&B[edit]
Formed in 1964 in Jersey City, Kool & the Gang is well known for their Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit, "Celebration", as well as various other singles such as "Ladies Night" and "Get Down On It", and the band has won many awards throughout their career.
Blues is still rich in New Jersey, and is supported by two blues societies—North Jersey Blues Society (NJBS), and Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation (JSJBF).
The North Jersey Blues Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, was founded to celebrate the heritage of blues music through the unity of fans, musicians, society members, venues, and business owners who will collaborate and promote the blues in Northern New Jersey. NJBS priorities include: Promoting the performance of local and national blues musicians in the Northern New Jersey; Offering blues artists and audiences artistic programming and venue opportunities; and Providing educational opportunities to increase awareness of blues music and art.
The Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation (JSJBF) not only organizes up to three free music festivals every summer, but it is also involved in the free weekly Sunday evening outdoor summer blues concerts in the West End section of Long Branch, and the monthly year-round blues venue in the Red Bank Woman's Club. Keb Mo, Kim Wilson, Popa Chubby and many others have played here. George Kerr produced "New Jersey Soul" groups such as the Whatnauts (from Baltimore) and the Escorts. Sylvia Robinson composed The Moments' big hit "Love on a Two Way Street". Paul Kyser produced Soul Generation and Jimmy Briscoe & the Little Beavers.
Hip-hop[edit]
Hip hop group Sugar Hill Gang, artists behind one of the earliest major commercial hip-hop songs "Rapper's Delight" is from Englewood, New Jersey.[4] Rapper Lauryn Hill, born in East Orange and raised in South Orange, has been noted as one of the best female rappers of all time by magazines like Billboard, winning the most Grammys of any female rapper. Hill's band, The Fugees, was formed in South Orange along with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michael. Rapper Redman was raised in Newark.[5] Hip-hop trio Naughty by Nature originated in East Orange, New Jersey in 1987, under the group name the New Style.[6] Rapper/Singer and Actress Queen Latifah was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby East Orange. Rapper and actor Ice-T was also born in Newark, and grew up in Summit, New Jersey. Rapper Apache was born in Jersey City. Rapper Coi Leray was raised in Hackensack. Rapper Fetty Wap, best known for his Billboard Hot 100 #2 single "Trap Queen", was born and raised in Paterson. Rapper/R&B artist Akon moved to Union City as a child, but had also lived and grew up in Newark and Jersey City.
House music[edit]
See New Jersey house
EDM[edit]
Electronic music group Cash Cash formed in 2008 releasing their hit song "Take Me Home" in 2013. The song peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7] A collaboration with American singer P!nk earned the group a No. 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart from the song "Can We Pretend".[8]
Pop[edit]
Pop music had no shortage of artists from New Jersey. One of the most successful artists of all time with an estimated 150 million record sales, Frank Sinatra, was born and raised in Hoboken. Sinatra began his career during the beginning of the swing era, and his music can be described as classical pop, easy listening, swing, and jazz. Today, Sinatra has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a statue in Hoboken, a street and a park named after him in Hoboken, various buildings in universities named after him, as well as various streets named after him throughout the country. Frank Sinatra's daughter, Nancy Sinatra, also went on to become a successful pop artist, peaking in popularity during the 1960s.
Whitney Houston, one of the best selling artists of all time with over 220 million records sold worldwide, was born in Newark but primarily raised in East Orange. Houston's style was a combination of pop, R&B, soul, and gospel music, and became one of the most influential artists of all time as a result of her success and musical techniques. She had 11 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on the chart. She has won dozens of awards in her career, and has been inducted into various Halls of Fame.
The Jonas Brothers, consisting of Joe, Nick, and Kevin Jonas, are a pop rock band formed in 2005. The brothers were all raised in Wyckoff and moved to Little Falls. The trio had a Disney Channel show and starred in Camp Rock. Halsey, a successful pop artist emerging in the mid-2010s, was born and raised in Edison.