The 15th Annual Houston International Jazz Festival

Houston, Texas - The Houston International Jazz Festival kicks off its 15th year with three days of exceptional musical entertainment at Bayou Place and the Verizon Wireless Theater. The event begins its international focus with Asian Jazz Nite on August 5th featuring Heads Up International recording artists Hiroshima, and Houston Five time Grammy nominee, drummer Bubbha Thomas. On August 6th, a titillating night of Latin Jazz serves as the second international component with Tito Puente, Jr. and local sensation Norma Zenteno and her band. To close out the Festival on August 7th, an evening of exhilarating Smooth Jazz is the highlight. “Guitars & Saxes“ rolls into Houston with Mindi Abair, Jeff Golub, Warren Hill and Wayman Tisdale, to create an atmosphere of highly charged jazz entertainment. These headliners along with the Summer Jazz Workshop and any number of local and national bands will culminate 15 years of excellence as one of the finest festivals of its kind anywhere.

The primary beneficiary of the Houston International Jazz Festival is the Summer Jazz Workshop. Under the auspices of Jazz Education Inc., a non-profit organization, the Summer Jazz Workshop is an intensive 5 week youth oriented program which focuses on the fundamentals of Jazz and its business aspects. At the end of the workshop, participating students also perform at the Festival.

The Asian Jazz Nite of the Houston International Jazz Festival is in its first year. In previous years, the Festival has featured Latin Jazz Nite as an international highlight of the Festival. Celia Cruz, La India, Arturo Sandoval and Poncho Sanchez have been featured artists to name a few.

This Festival is funded in part by grants from Harris County and the Texas Commission on the Arts through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County. Also sponsored by ABC-13 KTRK-TV, Clear Channel Entertainment, The Hilton Americas, the official hotel, The Houston Chronicle, KHJZ 95.7 FM, Kroger, KTSU 90.9 FM, Time Warner Cable and Univision.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster - (713) 629-3700.

All proceeds from the Houston International Jazz Festival benefit the Summer Jazz Workshop. Additional information is available upon request. [email protected]