We are in the middle of the Festival season and there are any number of festivals of interest for Blues and Jazz lovers upcoming. As this issue gets circulated the annual Portland Waterfront Blues Festival and Mississippi Valley Blues Festival will have likely wrapped up as will the major Jazz Festivals in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal in Canada. This is a very selective list of festivals that include two I will be attending. First, three blues festivals, and then three jazz festivals.
John Primer will be laying down some real blues with no filler at the Pennsylvania and Riverfront Blues Festival. Photo is from the 2005 Pocono Blues Festival. © Ron Weinstock |
James Cotton will be at the Riverfront Blues Festival Photo from 2007 Western Maryland Blues Festival. © Ron Weinstock |
The Heritage Music Blues Festival takes place in Wheeling WV on August 9 to August 11. Blues highlights of Friday August 9 include Lionel Young and the Golden State-Lone Star Blues Revue featuring Anson Funderburgh, Little Charlie Baty, & Mark Hummel. Performers on Saturday, August 10 include Little G Weevil (IBC solo winner), Joe Louis Walker and Dr John. Sunday highlights include IBC band winner Selwyn Birchwood, Harrison Kennedy and Ruthie Foster. For more information, check out http://heritagemusicfest.com.
Gregory Porter will be at the Newport, Chicago and Detroit Jazz Festivals. My photo of him is from the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival |
Espernaza Spalding (seen at 2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival) is at Newport this summer. Photo © Ron Weinstock |
The great Eddie Palmieri will be at the Newport Jazz Festival He is pictured at the 2007 Duke Ellington (now DC) Jazz Festival. Photo © Ron Weinstock |
The line-up on Sunday, August 4 includes Chick Corea & The Vigil with Christian McBride, Tim Garland, Marcus Gilmore, & Charles Altura; Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra; Dizzy Gillespie™ Big Band under the direction of Paquito D'Rivera; Joshua Redman Quartet; Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band; Steve Coleman Projects: Five Elements, Talea Ensemble and Duo with David Bryant; Jim Hall with Scott Colley, Lewis Nash and special guest Julian Lage; Dirty Dozen Brass Band; Jon Batiste & Stay Human and more.
For more information on the Newport Jazz Festival (including travel pacakges through radio station WBGO), visit http://www.newportjazzfest.org.
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There is quite of range of music at the Chicago Jazz Festival from the trad jazz of Fat babies to the cutting edge sounds of Hamid Drake (who is the Festival’s Artist In Residence), Fast Citizens and Jack DeJohnette who will lead all star special band that with Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell and Henry Threagill. The Chicago Jazz Festival is a free festival.
While the bulk of the Chicago Jazz Festival takes place at Millennium Park, on Thursday, August 29 performances take place at several locations including the Chicago Cultural Center at, 78 E. Washington with performers including Fat Babies, and the Harrison Bankhead Sextet. At Roosevelt University’s Ganz Hall at 430 S. Michigan Ave.there will be a 5:00PM performance of Hamid Drake’s Chicago Trio with Ernest Dawkins and Harrison Bankhead. That evening at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park (201 E. Randolph St.) is Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz -Jack DeJohnette: Special Legends Edition Chicago featuring, Muhal Richard Abrams, Larry Gray, Roscoe Mitchell and Henry Threadgill.
Evan Christopher (see at d.b.a's in New Orleans) will bring his marvelous clarinet to the Chicago Jazz Festival. Photo © Ron Weinstock |
On Saturday August 31, afternoon performers include Hamid Drake Quartet with Kidd Jordan, William Parker and Cooper-Moore; Ernie Krivda Quartet; Nick Mazzarella Trio and the Erin McDougald Quartet. Evening performances feature Stafford James String and Percussion Ensemble featuring M’BOOM; Gregory Porter; Rudresh Mahanthappa’s GAMAK and Jason Moran: Fats Waller Dance Party.
Sunday, September 1 afternoon performers include Fast Citizens; Evan Christopher; and Fareed Haque and Tony Monaco; The evening performers include the legendary Jimmy Heath Quartet with Jeb Patton; Hamid Drake & Bindu: Reggaeology; Robert Glasper Trio; and Donald Harrison and The Congo Square Nation with special guest Willie Pickens.
For more information visit http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_jazz_festival.html.
Danilo Pérez is the Artist-in-Residence at this year’s Detroit Jazz Festival. This is also a free festival The Detroit Jazz Festival occupies two million square feet of downtown Detroit – from Hart Plaza on the riverfront, three blocks north to beautiful Campus Martius Park. There are two stages on the North end and three stages at Hart Plaza, plus a Jazz Talk Tent. While a free festival, the Festival offers VIP passes for donations.
The Festival line-up includes performances by Danilo Pérez including his Panama Suite and other works for a large orchestra; David Murray Big Band with Macy Gray; Ahmad Jamal; Joshua Redman with Strings; Shelia Jordan with Strings featuring the Alan Broadbent Trio; Charles Lloyd Quartet with Bill Frisell; McCoy Tyner Trio with special guest Savion Glover; Saxophone Summit – Joe Lovano, David Liebman, Ravi Coltrane; Gregory Porter; Bill Frisell – Lennon Project; Eddie Daniels and Roger Kellaway, with Celo-Duke at the Roadside; Geri Allen and the Detroit Homecoming Band; Danilo Pérez and Geri Allen Acoustic Piano Duo; Jon Faddis, Jesse Davis & the Bill Charlap Trio; Tribute to Detroit’s Pepper Adams – Gary Smulyan, Howard Johnson, Frank Basile; Lee Konitz Quartet; Freddie Cole; The Cookers featuring Billy Harper, Eddie Henderson, George Cables, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart, David Weiss; and more.
The day to day schedule had not been posted when I prepared this overview. For more information on the Detroit jazz Festival, visit http://www.detroitjazzfest.com/schedule.html.
September brings the annual Monterey Jazz Festival which your editor and publisher highlights and early October brings the annual king Biscuit Blues Festival which I hope to highlight in the next issue.
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