Jazz Aspen Snowmass Announces 2001 Summer Jazz Academy Program & Free Weekly Concert Series

Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS), will present a two week all-scholarship jazz residency program from Monday, July 23 through Friday, August 3. The JAS Academy Summer Sessions Program which is in its sixth season, is highlighted by a nightly evening concert series featuring world renowned jazz masters. The program will culminate with a big-band concert comprised of the 26 students in residence. This performance to be held on Fanny Hill on Friday, August 3 atop Snowmass Village wraps into JAS' weekly summer-long free concert series.

An annual component of the Jazz Academy Program is “JASummer Nights" a gala evening to benefit JAS' education outreach programs. Scheduled on Sunday, July 29 are: This year's Grammy jazz vocal winner, Dianne Reeves and a “Tribute To Louis Armstrong" featuring Kermit Ruffins & the Barbeque Swingers and the Louis Armstrong Centennial Band, featuring Wycliffe Gordon, Herlin Riley and Victor Goines.

The evening will feature dinner prepared by the Danny Meyer Restaurant Group of New York, including 11 Madison Park, Tabla, Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Park.

The JAS Academy Program continues in the tradition of the five-year partnership that began in 1996 between JAS and the Thelonious Monk Institute, with the mandate to re-establish the long tradition of mentoring through direct experience, and by mixing the finest young jazz artists with the world's jazz legends in two weeks of master classes, seminars and performances. A panel comprised of jazz educator representatives, JAS Executive Producer Jim Horowitz, Artistic Director Christian McBride and Program Director Loren Schoenberg, selected 26 students from around the world. Artists who have participated include: Joe Lovano, Diana Krall, Branford and Ellis Marsalis, Kenny Barron, Arturo Sandoval, Dr. Billy Taylor, Wayne Shorter and Ray Brown.

States James Horowitz, JAS founder and president, “This mentoring program is unique to our summer-long festival season and is the centerpiece of our educational component. We are honored to have such an esteemed group of musicians willing to give their time in a mentoring program which allows a select number of students to learn and grow in such a focused, yet stimulating environment."

On Thursday, July 26, Friday, July 27, Tuesday, July 31 and Wednesday, August 1, performances are scheduled for 8:15 PM, to be held at the 300-seat Cabaret Room at Silvertree Hotel (Snowmass). Ticket prices are $35 and $25 reserved table seating and $15 general admission. For tickets (970) 920-5770.

Each summer, Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) presents two world-class festivals of jazz and American music, free weekly concerts on Snowmass Mountain, JAS After Dark, JAS In Schools, JAS Free Thursday Concerts, the JAS High School Big Band, and in June 2001 the Second Annual Essentially Ellington Band Director Academy, in association with Jazz At Lincoln Center (JALC), under the artistic direction of Pulitzer prize-winning trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis. For more information call (970) 920-4996 or check their web site at jazzaspen.com.

The mission of Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) is to create world-class programming of jazz, American, and world music, so as to educate and entertain audiences of diverse tastes and backgrounds, towards the preservation of America's musical heritage.

The central part of Jazz Aspen Snowmass's (JAS) mission is the importance of education and outreach, to the community, audience, teachers, and jazz artists of the future. The challenge JAS faces in this effort, is to develop collaborations and innovative programs that will meet both the needs of the students and teachers at a variety of levels, as well as to enrich the local community. The format of JAS, being both a performance festival and education institution, is unique among jazz institutions in the United States.