Grand Marais Jazz Festival, May 5-7 2006, Minnesota

The Grand Marais Jazz Festival is in it's 5th year. Come and enjoy the spectacular scenery on Minnesota's North Shore and enjoy a weekend of hot jazz. The 2006 festival includes concerts at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais and other venues throughout Cook County. This year's headliner is Trinidadian steel-pan virtuoso Othello Molineaux playing with the afro-Latin-bebop band Intrin-X-ico lead by Puerto Rican percussionist Rolando Matias. Other venues and events include Friday jazz dinner with jazz guitarist Tom O'Hara at Gunflint Lodge on the Gunflint Trail, Friday night hip-hop jazz from We Is at Papa Charlie's in Lutsen, Saturday night jazz at Gun Flint Tavern in Grand Marais, and others to be announced soon. There will be art gallery events and musician workshops, and it all culminates in a Sunday Jazz Brunch at Caribou Highlands Resort in Lutsen. For more info check the web site http://www.gmjazzfestival.com/ or contact by email [email protected]

Othello burst onto the world jazz stage in 1976 after appearing on Jaco Pastorius' grammy nominated debut album. Since then he has appeared in concert all around the world with many other jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Monty Alexander, Weather Report, Joe Zawinul, and Ahmad Jamal. Over the years he has continued to arrange for steelbands in Trinidad, including Laventille Serenaders, Valley Harps, Tripoli, East Side Symphony, Nevados, Tobago Starlift, and the Pamberi Steelband in Panorama competition.

Rolando Matias:Intrin-x-ico: An afro-Latin-bebop quartet featuring Rolando Matias on percussion is making a lot of noise in the Jazz world after great performances at The Kennedy Center and the 2004 St. Lucia Jazz Festival.