 11th
Annual Chandler Jazz Festival
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is
March 26-27 |
| By
Joel R. Goldenthal |
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| The
11th annual Chandler Jazz Festival will feature
some of the finest worldwide touring musicians
of the current jazz scene, as well as many of
the greatest cats living right here in our Valley.
Two days, 12 venues, 33 bands, 145 jazz musicians,
and all FREE! Arizona's most exciting and largest
jazz festival takes over Historic Downtown Chandler
on Friday and Saturday March 26-27.
While
you may not recognize some of the up and coming
visiting musicians' names, they all have been
carefully selected by artistic director Bart Salzman,
who conducts an annual search for exciting new
talent. Google these names to get a glimpse of
these amazing players.
Blue Orleans, co-leaders Edward
Anderson, trumpet, and Darrel Lavigne, piano,
with Aaron Fletcher, sax; Donald Ramsey, bass;
and Jermaine Williams, drums
Brice
Winston Quartet, Brice Winston, sax;
Arthur Statman, piano; Ian Stapp, bass; Tim Adams,
drums.
Ashlin
Parker Quartet, Ashlin Parker, trumpet;
Steve Gordon, piano; Corcoran Halt, bass; Ocie
Davis, drums
Dmitri Matheny Group, Dmitri Matheny, flugelhorn;
Charles McNeal, sax; Nick Manson, piano; Ruth
Davies, bass; John Lewis, drums.
Nick
Manson and the Festival All-stars on
Friday night promises to be an exciting, crowd-pleaser.
Featured will be: Nick
Manson,
piano; Brice Winston, tenor
sax;
Charles McNeal, alto sax; Dmitri
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Matheny, flugelhorn; Ashlin Parker, trumpet; Jack
Radavich, bass; and John Lewis, drums.
Special guest bands
Swing
Fever, based in San Francisco, will perform
standards from the '30s and '40s. The band features
vocalist Denise Perrier, who will entertain with
Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday style vocals
Higher
Ground Brass Band, from Fort Huachuca,
AZ, is an eight-piece high-energy New Orleans-style
brass band, complete with a dancing sousaphonist.
They are part of the 36th Army Band Operations that
tour the country.
New Orleans Music
Stage
New
to the fest this year, presented by the Arizona
Classic Jazz Society, is the “New Orleans
Music Stage” located in the Crowne Plaza San
Marcos Resort Fountain Courtyard. It will feature
the Sun City Stompers, the Original Wildcat Jass
Band and the 52nd Street Jazz Band, playing continuous
music from 1 to 8 p.m. On Saturday. A fun addition
on Saturday will be the 1 p.m. Parasol Walk led
by jazz musicians playing “second line”
jazz, complete with free beads.
Local
Arizona favorites featured on the main stage will
be Royce Murray, Stan Sorenson, John Vold and the
Chandler-Gilbert Community College Big Band. Be
sure to check out www.chandleraz.gov/jazz as the
site provides links to all musician sites for bios,
music samples and last-minute schedule changes,
as well as |
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information about the Crowne Plaza San Marcos
Hotel's special room rates if you'd like to stay
overnight and hang with the musicians.
The
11th Annual Chandler Jazz Festival is sponsored
by the City of Chandler, The Chandler Republic,
Downtown Chandler Community Partnership, Crowne
Plaza San Marcos Resort, Jazz in Arizona, Arizona
Classic Jazz Society, Chandler Arts Commission,
and East Valley Yamaha Music School. Thanks to
all the sponsors who continue to support this
FREE jazz festival for all to enjoy.  |
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JiA party |
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Currently,
Luthra is a faculty member at the New School for
Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York alongside
music greats including Bobby Sanabria, Reggie Workman,
Chico Hamilton and Junior Mance.
This
will be an exciting party featuring extraordinary
talent and new music. (It's good to keep the perspective
that all music was new at some point in time. Who
knows…we might witness the birth of a new
standard!) CDs will be available for purchase and
signing by the artists. The party is 3-5 p.m. on
Sunday, March 21, at Kazimierz World Wine Bar, a
casual venue with great food, wine and beverages.
Kaz is located at 7137 E, Stetson Drive, Scottsdale.
Admission to the public is $10 (FREE if you join
Jazz in AZ at the party). JiA member rates apply.
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| Blaise
Lantana |
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usual jazz record labels like Blue Note, Highnote,
Concord and our local jazz label, Summit. I receive
from 20 to more than 100 CDs a week, depending
on the time of year. Artists want to be heard,
and today there are lots of places to put their
music, but radio is still the place to hear old
favorites and to fall in love with someone you
never heard before. I'm your guide to help you
find some of the best of the new music in jazz
just in case you don't have time to listen to
over 3,000 new CDs this year, and I love doing
that for my listeners!
“The
most rewarding part of my job is comments from
listeners. Over 15 years I've heard a lot of different
questions and requests about jazz. Although a
jazz fan
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believe it, I get calls when I play 'Take 5' or
'Song for My Father,' asking what the song was,
who played it and can they buy it. One young couple
I met told me how they wait until the jazz comes
on at 8, turn off the TV and listen with their young
children to the music. They said it helps them unwind
from their hectic day and teaches the kids about
music. One young man told me he discovered some
of his favorite players listening to KJZZ. He loves
pianist Brad Mehldau and guitarist John Scofield.
I get calls from people listening on their patio
on a summer evening, who tell me they count on KJZZ
to help cool down their day. When I do a giveaway
I get to talk with people who just discovered us
and wonder what we are. They ask, “What is
this music, it's so cool!” Since I spent so
much time on the road I know how much the radio
can mean to a ride, so I especially like |
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from people driving on their way home from work
or to Flagstaff or Tucson who call to ask what
that tune was or what the 'Nine O'Clock Special'
is going to be tonight.
“I
have gotten many calls from people who say they
thought they didn't like jazz but they like what
we play. I think everyone can find a form of jazz
they enjoy but there are a lot of misconceptions
about what jazz is. Some think it's Kenny G, and
some think it's Coltrane or Albert Ayler playing
way outside the box. When people hear the beautiful
orchestral sound of pianist Billy Childs' ensembles,
the fat sax tones of Houston Person or the improvisational
genius of vibes player Joe Locke, then they start
finding a doorway into a whole new music. I think
people come to jazz at all ages. Young people
are hungry for something new and older |
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