KATONAH, NY -- Jim Luce, Jazz Producer at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, has announced the lineup for the 2010 Jazz Festival, which will take place August 6-8 at the Center's distinguished 90-acre garden estate in Katonah, New York.
One of the vital jazz events in the region each year, Caramoor's annual weekend-long Jazz Festival is renowned for its star-studded line-up of jazz greats and new forces on the scene. Returning after his superlative solo concert during Caramoor's inaugural fall festival last year, the visionary Chick Corea headlines this year's festival with his Freedom Band--featuring Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride, and the equally legendary Roy Haynes--as the final concert of the weekend on Sunday evening. Saturday night's headline event is World Vibraphone Summit with the legendary Bobby Hutcherson and his ensemble passing on the torch to the young Stefon Harris and his group Blackout. The talented Mulgrew Miller and his trio kick off the festival on Friday with an evening of prowess and captivating elegance in the Spanish Courtyard.
The afternoon concerts set capture the sheer breadth of global influences on the jazz scene today. On Saturday, Roswell Rudd brings his Trombone Tribe for a chameleon-like set of music with eclectic influences from down home to Kurt Weill to Eastern European gypsy brass music. The Brazilian Clarice Assad's versatility and sophistication as a pianist, vocalist, and composer ensures a deeply musical experience. A high-energy celebration of polyphonic rhythms, Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra unifies four percussion batteries into one distinct voice: North Indian tabla, Afro Cuban bata, Brazilian samba, and West African djembe.
On Sunday, well-versed world traveler and guitarist Brad Shepik presents his Human Activity Suite--his most expansive and committed project to date--with Ralph Alessi, Gary Versace, Drew Gress, and Tom Rainey. Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca returns to Caramoor with his Quintet featuring guitarist Pat Martino. After his solo performance two years ago and his quartet set last summer, Cuban piano monster Chuchito Valdes returns with his Big Band performing the music of his grandfather Bebo Valdes--a central figure in the Golden Age of Cuban music. Chuchito Valdes and Elio Villafranca are presented as part of Sonidos Latinos, Caramoor's ongoing Latin American music initiative.
