About Riverview Jazz

Riverview Jazz began in 2013 as a community concert at the Riverview Farmers Market in Jersey City Heights. In a few short years, Riverview Jazz was producing up to 100 events a year free-to-the-public. In 2019, the Riverview Jazz Festival rebranded as the Jersey City Jazz Festival and drew a crowd of 30,000 attendees, making it one of the largest jazz festivals in the NYC-tristate area.

In addition to the Jersey City Jazz Festival and the Jersey City Latin Jazz Festival, Riverview Jazz produces or partners on events year-round throughout Hudson County. The vast majority of these are free to the community and feature some of the best musical talent in the area.

Riverview Jazz Mission Statement

RiverviewJazz.Org is committed to building a self-sustaining audience for the arts by presenting various forms of Jazz to the community in a combination of traditional and non-traditional spaces.

The Riverview Jazz Team

Staff:

Bryan Beninghove, Executive Director and Founder

Margo Parks, Business & Festival Manager

Dave Zimmerman, Operations Manager

Stephen Gritzan, Marketing Manager

Chris Woodard, Corporate Partnerships & Staff Photographer

Dane Johnson, Graphics & Website Manager

Karen Poliski, Festival Production Coordinator

Dane Calcagni, Volunteer Coordinator

Richard Ryals, Festival Photographer

Alexis Rotter, Festival Photographer

Board:

President:

Kevin Gosa (Co-founder and Principal, Nonprofit Velocity)

Vice President:

Dane Calcagni (Director of Development, RSI)

Secretary:

Rachel Ryll (Quality and Regulatory Director, Americas; CEO, The Statuary)

Treasurer:

Samantha Green (CPA)

Trustees:

  • Tim Karcher (Partner at Proskauer Rose LLP)

  • Mario "B" Gonzalez (Salsa Fever on2, founder; actor; Rutgers University, Professor)

  • Barry Richards (B. Rich Consulting)

  • Kate Silver (Executive VP / Managing Broker at Corcoran Sawyer Smith)

  • Courtney Sloane (Courtney Sloane Design)

  • Sawyer Smith (Owner/Founder Corcoran Sawyer Smith)

  • Kern Weissman (CIO at Select Express & Logistics)

  • Margo Parks (Jazz Cruises / Parks Arts LLC)

  • Bryan Beninghove (Executive Director/Founder Riverview Jazz/Musician)

Advisory Board:

Ted Chubb (Musician; VP Jazz Education & Partnerships, Jazz House Kids; Artistic Director, The Statuary)

Seth Abramson (President Rabbit Moon Productions)

Sidney Jackson (VP Development, NJSO)

Walter Parks (Musician, Event producer)

James Kaznosky (Director of Environmental Health & Safety, Baruch College)

Melina Garcia (Founder UCMP)

Dr. Linda Beninghove (Library Director, Stevens Institute of Technology)

Doug Beavers (Musician, Founder Circle 9 Records)

Al Anton (Double A Entertainment)