Detroit, MI
2025 Detroit Jazz Fest kicks off in style with cool weather and hot performances
The 46th annual Detroit Jazz Festival kicked off in style Friday in downtown Detroit’s Hart Plaza. Thousands of attendees gathered, many dressed to the nines in the cool, autumnal air, and settled in for an evening of world-class entertainment under the darkening skies.
Dr. Valade’s Brass Band, a New Orleans second line-style troupe comprised of young jazz students, opened as always with a march leading to the stage. Trumpeter Keyon Harrold’s Foreverland band followed with a deeply soulful set.
Rounding out the evening on Hart Plaza’s Carhartt Amphitheater Stage, 2025 festival Artist-in-Residence Jason Moran joined forces with Detroit techno god Jeff Mills and City of Detroit Poet Laureate jessica Care moore for a thrilling, throbbing set of experimental party music and spoken word that left the audience screaming.
An after-hours set at Midtown’s new Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, for the hardcore jazz fans and those who still had stamina, was a massive treat as headlined by the great Emmet Cohen Trio. In a thundering 90-minute performance, Cohen seemingly took the live audience (and those streaming for free at home) through the entire history of jazz.
“When we think about this music,” Cohen said from the stage, “we like to think about the location we’re in, and this (Detroit) is probably the most fertile jazz ground in the world.”
City of Detroit Director of Arts and Culture Rochelle Riley called the festival “an international celebration of our excellence and just another example of how we lead and always have in music.”
“Just take a look at Detroit,” she said. “To see how Detroit is thriving, just take a look at this amazing, free jazz festival. Look at the Movement Festival that was a huge success. Look at the wonderful concert we just held at the restored band shell that was saved from the old state fairgrounds. Look at the faces of people who are enjoying life.
“This is Detroit. This is what it looks like when we don’t give more weight to negative things than we do to moments, days, times like this. I’m so proud of Detroit every time we soar. We all just have to remind ourselves to maintain the balance and see when things are great.”
Back in August, he participated in ‘Pitch, Hit, Run’ regional competition at Comerica Park and won second place among 9- and 10-year-olds in the country.
Saida Mashrah said her sleep is still filled with nightmares and she’s fearful when strangers walk past her house more than a year after police said a strange man slashed her throat while she played in a Detroit park.
“Sometimes (at school) I get scared and have to take a break with a teacher,” the soft-spoken 8-year-old said Wednesday.
Saida joined attorneys for her family during a press conference where they announced the recent filing of a $50 million civil suit against the suspect, 74-year-old Gary Lansky.
“We don’t know what types of assets … (Lansky) may have but I can assure you for every dollar that he has we want to take that away from him,” said Nabih Ayad, counsel for Saida’s family. “This person deserves to rot in hell and rot in jail.”
Authorities said that Saida and four other children were playing in Ryan Park, near the Dearborn border in east Detroit, on Oct. 8, 2024. Lansky, of Detroit, allegedly approached Saida, grabbed her head, tilted it back and slashed her throat. Saida kicked him and escaped.
While she has fully recovered from the physical injuries, Ayad said the young girl will likely always carry with her the trauma she endured that day.
“Forever she will be haunted by this, traumatized by this and is currently seeking therapy and probably will for the rest of her life,” he said.
Lansky has been charged with assault with intent to murder and assault with a dangerous weapon. Ayad said Lansky is currently in the process of being evaluated for competency to stand trial. Online records show he remains behind bars at the Wayne County Jail, held on a $2 million bond.
An attorney for Lansky did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Following the alleged attack last year, advocates called on state and federal authorities to prosecute the case as a hate crime. Ayad believes Lansky, who is White, specifically targeted Saida based on her race. She was the only Arab American girl in the park that day, he said; all other children were Black.
After Saida ran away from her attacker, Lansky then approached the girl’s grandmother, who was in the park with her, Ayad said. The older woman was wearing a hijab, making her a target for a hate-based attack, advocates said. Lansky allegedly fled the scene after Saida and other children began to scream.
“My daughter still smiles sometimes but it’s not the same smile. It’s the kind of smile that hides tears,” Saida’s mother, Amirah Sharan, said in a statement read by attorney William Savage during Wednesday’s press conference. “… As a mother, it’s the worst pain imaginable to see your child hurt and know there’s nothing you can do about it.”
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
@max_detroitnews
MINNESOTA
Week 7 result: Philadelphia 28, Minnesota 22
Offensive rank: 20th (318.7)
Scoring offense: 15th (24.2)
Defensive rank: 9th (301.7)
Scoring defense: 10th (20.8)
Star performer: Wide receiver Justin Jefferson recorded five receptions for 79 yards in Minnesota’s loss Sunday. Jefferson has 529 career receptions and surpassed DeAndre Hopkins (528 receptions) for the second-most receptions by a player in his first six seasons in NFL history. Only Jarvis Landry (564 receptions) has more. Jefferson has 34 receptions on the season for 528 receiving yards.
Quotable: “The main issue was in the red zone today, just hurting ourselves and causing us to go backwards instead of forward,” Jefferson told vikings.com of their 1-for-6 performance in the red zone vs. Philadelphia Sunday. “We’ve got to execute our plays to the fullest, take one play at a time, and when the opportunity comes, make those plays.
“One of those red zone drives is, that’s me dropping the touchdown and not pulling the ball all way the in. I’m always critical of myself and always, especially, my opportunities are very, very slim, so those opportunities, I’ve got to make the most of them.”
Twentyman: Sunday was a good test for the Vikings squaring off against the defending Super Bowl champs. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts maxed out his NFL passer rating (158.3) by completing 19 of 23 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns. Scoring in the red zone (1-for-6) and allowing big plays on defense lead to Minnesota’s downfall Sunday. The red zone has been an issue for the Vikings all season (ranked 20th). It’s something they must clean up in an ultra-competitive division like the North.
Next up: at Los Angeles Chargers (4-3), Thurs., Oct. 23, 8:15 p.m.
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