Festival News

Stevie Wonder Was the Headliner Saturday at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee.

Source: Michael Ricci
June 14, 2010

The aspirations and survival tactics of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, the annual four-day marathon of musical overload and muddy shoes, were neatly summed up in its headliners this year: a jam band, current hitmakers and a longtime pop giant. They balanced Bonnaroo's neo-hippie aura with attention to the present.

The headliner on Saturday was Stevie Wonder, an older generation's ubiquitous pop songwriter, master musician and preacher of positive thoughts. His jubilant, playful yet focused set leaped from hit ...

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Valamar Jazz Festival in Porec (Croatia)

Source: Michael Ricci
June 12, 2010

Soak up the sounds of summer at Istria's first international jazz festival this July. Famed artists such as Dianna Reeves and Dave Holland will perform under the stars in a series of open-air concerts on the beautiful island of St. Nikola, followed by a lavish party at the elegant Villa Polesini. Main program: Island Sveti Nikola, Pore Friday, July 9, 2010 20,30 Claudia Acuna 22,00 Dave Holland & Pepe Habicuela Flamenco Quintet featuring Josemi Carmona Saturday, July 10, ...

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Pow!: Undead Jazzfest

Source: Inverted Garden by Eric Benson
June 12, 2010

I started Inverted Garden to join a conversation that I heard increasing in volume and seriousness: namely, how to “revive" jazz. For the last 40 years, the imminent death of jazz has been oft foretold, and while much of the doomsaying has been nothing more than Chicken Little-ism, it does seem true that the jazz audience is nowhere near as robust as it was in the 1950s and 60s.

Back then, jazz was far from being the most popular music ...

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Ojai's Music Fest is a Tuneful Blend of Old, New and Frank Zappa

Source: All About Jazz
June 11, 2010

Don't let the quaint setting fool you. From June 10 to 13, Ojais Libbey Bowla simple band shell with seating for a scant 1,400 listeners on old wooden benches and a lawnwill be the venue for distinguished musicians from all over the world.

They'll be showcasing new, classic and seldom heard works, joining in a legacy that stretches back 64 years and includes Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, John Adams, James Levine, Pierre Boulez, Ravi Shankar, Sir Simon Rattle, Eric Dolphy, ...

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The 'It' Girl of Jazz, Spalding Returns to Playboy Jazz Fest

Source: All About Jazz
June 11, 2010

At age 25, it might feel like a bit too much pressure to be considered the “future of jazz," but Esperanza Spalding, who is part of the Sunday lineup at this weekend's Playboy Jazz Festival, carries herself with the kind of grace and poise that belies her years.

The native Oregonian (she's from Portland) is back by popular demand, making a return engagement that's rare for the program. Darlene Chan, who has produced the festival since its inception 32 years ...

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On the Horns of Abundance: Jazz Festivals Resound

Source: Michael Ricci
June 11, 2010

An extraordinary amount of jazz hits New York over the next two weeks: four festivals, about 150 sets, and much of it extracurricular to the usual riches at the clubs.

Its a time of marathons and breadth and goes in heavy for the new: not just youth, but also new aesthetic combinations, new attitudes toward repertory, new influences and paradigms, new clubs and theaters. Unlike some past jazz festival seasons, with more brand-polishing and sentimental favorites, this one in the ...

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On the Horns of Abundance: Jazz Festivals Resound

Source: Michael Ricci
June 11, 2010

AN extraordinary amount of jazz hits New York over the next two weeks: four festivals, about 150 sets, and much of it extracurricular to the usual riches at the clubs. It's a time of marathons and breadth and goes in heavy for the new: not just youth, but also new aesthetic combinations, new attitudes toward repertory, new influences and paradigms, new clubs and theaters. Unlike some past jazz festival seasons, with more brand-polishing and sentimental favorites, this one--in the aggregate--can ...

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Strong Line-up Opens Jamaica International Ocho Rios Jazz Festival

Source: JamaicaMusic Offbeat
June 11, 2010

A strong line-up of vocalists, instrumentalists mark the opening of the 20th Anniversary of the Ocho Rios International Jazz Festival beginning this Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 6:00 pm in the verdant gardens of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

The across-the-island week of jazz in tribute to Festival founder the late Cecil “Sonny" Bradshaw, will seed arguably the best crop of jazz musicians every to flower on the hotel green. The Desi Jones Trio are the main guys surrounding ...

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