By Reading Terminal Market

Six horn players walk through the crowded aisles of the Reading Terminal Market, making music. Two drummers await them in the Market’s Center Court. Led by one of Philadelphia’s icons of jazz, music director/tenor saxophonist Sam Reed, they play a tight, intense version of Sonny Rollins’ iconic Tenor Madness for a surprised lunchtime crowd—a classic, Knight-Foundation style popup event.  11 minutes later, the audience bursts into enthusiastic applause, and the musicians pack their instruments and disappear into the crowd.

Vocalist Ella Gahnt with pianist Aaron Graves

This popup jazz performance was organized on April 16 by the Philadelphia Jazz Project as part of Reading Terminal Market’s celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month.   Jazz Appreciation Month marked the public launch of Music @ the Market, the enhanced performance series made possible by the Knight Foundation. It’s part of a larger initiative designed to introduce Market patrons to the arts in the context of their daily lives, and reflect the diversity of the Philadelphia community.

The Keith DeStefano Quartet at Reading Terminal Market

Throughout April, performances at the Market represented a wide range of jazz styles—the original compositions of the Keith DeStefano Quartet, Brazilian jazz by Minas, and the classic vocal stylings of the Ella Gahnt Trio, plus the Market’s resident Dixieland ensemble, the Reading Terminals, who have been performing at the Market for almost 30 years. Response from the public and from the media has been overwhelmingly positive. “You’re playing my music,” said one middle-aged Market patron about the contemporary sound of the DeStefano Quartet. “This band is awesome!”

Music @ the Market is an ongoing program; visit www.readingterminalmarket.org for information about upcoming performances.

Elliott Levin playing the saxophone as part of the Tenor Madness event