Sunday Feb 17 Promises More Great Mid-Atlantic Jazz

Today is the final installment of  my daily previews of this year's Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival for which I had a preview on January 15.  One week from when this is first posted is the final full day of music for this year's Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival.

Standing out on Sunday afternoon is a performance by The Cookers (video clip above), a terrific ensemble comprised of jazz legends pianist George Cables; tenor saxophonist Billy Harper; drummer Billy Hart; bassist Cecil McBee; trumpeter and flugelhorn player Eddie Henderson; flautist and alto saxophonist Craig Handy; and trumpeter David Weiss. Also Sunday afternoon on the main stage will be saxophonist Bruce Williams leading a group with Pat Bianchi on organ. Williams, a Washington DC native, is a member of Ben Riley’s Thelonious Monk Legacy Septet as well as being the newest and youngest member of the World Saxophone Quartet in addition to leading several ensembles on his own. There will also be a performance by San Francisco area saxophonist William O’Neill will lead a group that also features vocalist Kenny Washington.

Sunday evening opens with saxophonist Bobby Watson, and followed by New Orleans vocalist Stephanie Jordan who will be singing a Tribute to Lena Horne. The Ronnie Wells Main Stage will conclude with the multi-award winning organist Joey DeFrancesco (Video clip above) with more hot Hammond B-3 grooves. 

Other highlights of Sunday's program includes Janine Gilbert Carter doing a gospel brunch (and here is a video clip from that). Janine's performance at last year's festival has just been issued on DVD (she used photos of mine for the cover) and it will be a heart-warming time. Performances in the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Club includes Darius Scott, Ivy Ambush and Cloudburst. There will be workshops (for example Stephanie Jordan and Kenny Washington will conduct one on scatting) with a number of performers and interviews with The Cookers and Joey DeFrancesco. And in the JukeJoint, Linwood Taylor, one of the Washington area's finest blues guitarists will be holding forth with some powerful music. Taylor, long a local favorite was recently a member of Joe Louis Walker's Band and certainly during the breaks in the Main Stage, he is someone to check out (and a sample of him can be seen in the clip below). Of course, Sunday night will conclude with the Midnight Jam.

Monday morning as some will be checking out, the keyboards of Jackie Hairston, one-time member of Otis Redding's Band and a local favorite who has played with everybody in DC's blues, soul and jazz scene will be playing. Again for more information on the festival, check out http://www.midatlanticjazzfestival.org.