Montclair Library to Honor Peter Bodge
Grand opening set for Oct. 12 with a free outdoor concert with a world-class jazz trio.
Montclair is preparing to celebrate the life and legacy of Peter Bodge, a beloved educator, artist and musician who passed away on September 5. Known for his popular listening sessions at the Montclair Public Library, Bodge leaves behind more than memories: his personal collection of over 600 jazz books, amassed over decades, now forms the foundation of the new Peter Bodge & Seed Artists Jazz Library.
The Jazz Library is both tribute and resource, a living extension of Bodge’s vision. Through New Jersey’s interlibrary loan system, readers across the state will have access. In Montclair, the collection will anchor a host of new programming: concerts, film screenings, lectures, art exhibits, and youth initiatives. Bodge’s belief that jazz is a living art form—one best shared—has now been woven into Montclair’s cultural fabric.
For Bodge’s family, the project reflects not just his love of music, but his deep desire to connect. “Peter was moved by art and music, jazz in particular—as an educator, an artist, maybe most importantly in his endless fascination with human expression,” said his son-in-law Chris Napierala, creative director of Seed Artists. “He lived it every waking moment. Always listening, always reading, tapping out the song in his head. And he reveled in helping others to hear and see on a deeper level.”
Napierala recalled the legendary mixes Bodge created for friends and family, each one a carefully curated dive into the music, complete with handmade collage covers. “My jazz education,” he said. “The monthly listening sessions that Peter led at the library were one more form of that remarkable marriage of PhD-level analysis and childlike wonder.”
Bodge’s daughter Trae Bodge noted that her father’s decade-long collaboration with Seed Artists was both professional and deeply personal. “His work with Seed, of which my husband is creative director, not only deepened their incredible friendship but gave my dad an excuse to visit me, Chris, and our daughter Sadie,” she said. “When Dad was doing the listening sessions at the library, he would drive down from Massachusetts every month.”
She added that the physical presence of the collection is just as meaningful. “It makes perfect sense that the MPL will house the hundreds of jazz books that my dad amassed over the years. Now that he is no longer with us, I love that they will live here in Montclair and be accessible not only to Montclairians, but to the jazz-curious all over the state.”
The Jazz Library will launch officially on Sunday, October 12 at 4 p.m. with a free outdoor concert on the library plaza. The event features saxophonist James Brandon Lewis—recently named DownBeat’s Artist of the Year—alongside Seed Artists founder and master drummer Pheeroan akLaff and bassist Jeong Lim Yang.
Montclair’s deep jazz roots make this addition feel especially resonant. The town has long been recognized as a “jazz town,” home to celebrated musicians and the Montclair Jazz Festival. Since 2016, Seed Artists and MPL have partnered on innovative programming—including the nation’s first Jazz Laureate in 2019, honoring drumming pioneer Andrew Cyrille. The new Jazz Library builds on that tradition while honoring one of Montclair’s own.
Beyond the collection itself, the library is designed to spark future creativity. Concerts, exhibitions, and youth-focused events will continue Bodge’s mission of using jazz as a bridge between community, scholarship, and lived experience. In his vision, books are not relics; they are tools for building deeper connections.
To sustain that vision, the Bodge family has launched a GoFundMe, with every contribution going directly to artists, scholars, and production costs. Supporting the Jazz Library, they note, is not just about honoring one man’s legacy—it is about keeping alive the communal spirit of jazz that Peter Bodge embodied.
