Two of the hottest brassmen of the Jazz Age – Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong – will be fondly remembered this month at two separate jazz festivals.
BIX BEIDERBECKE MEMORIAL JAZZ FESTIVAL (North Davenport, Iowa.) – Aug 2-3
The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society hosts the 47th annual Bix Fest at the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Ave, in North Davenport, Iowa. Performers include the Fats Waller Legacy All-Star Band, the Fat Babies, the St. Louis Stompers, Josh Duffee’s All-Star Graystone Monarchs, The Benny Goodman Trio, The Wolverines from Minneapolis and Miss Jubilee and her Humdingers.
All-event passes cost $105 in advance and slightly higher at the gate; all-day tickets cost $55 for Friday and $55 Saturday; individual weekend sessions cost $30; children ages 12 and younger will be admitted free; (888) BIX-LIVS; (563) 324-7170; info@bixsociety.org.
2018 SATCHMO SUMMERFEST (New Orleans, La.) – Aug. 3-5
The 18th annual Satchmo Summerfest presented by Chevron will draw thousands of trad-jazz fans to New Orleans on Aug. 3 through 5. The staged by French Quarter Festivals, Inc. is dedicated to the life, legacy and music of New Orleans’ native son, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong,
Music will ring out all weekend on festival stages spotlighting traditional jazz, brass bands and children’s programming. Satchmo SummerFest takes place at the Jazz Museum at the Mint. The nominal daily admission of $5 (children 12 and younger are free) helps support local musicians. Among many SatchmoFest highlights is the “Satchmo Club Strut” down Frenchmen Street. The three-day festival features more than 40 jazz performances by local legends and nationally touring virtuosos as well as screenings of jazz films and documentaries, in-depth seminars on jazz history, hands-on workshops, swing dance lessons, trumpet tributes to Pops and interactive exhibits.
This year’s musical lineup includes the Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas, making her Satchmo SummerFest debut on Sunday, Aug. 5. “Mr. Armstrong was an influence on a lot of young children, including me,” Thomas recalls. “I never thought I would be in the business but then saw him as King Zulu when I was 9 years old. That parade passed right in front of my house and left such an impression!”
Other 2018 Satchmo SummerFest debuts include Aurora Nealand & The Royal Roses, Bonerama, Doyle Cooper Jazz Band, Dwayne Burns and His New Orleans Band, James Williams, Mayumi Shara & New Orleans Jazz Letters, and Where Ya At Brass Band. Two tented stages will provide three days of musical performances. The lineup includes returning favorites Big Chief Donald Harrison Jr., Bill Summers & Jazalsa, Corey Henry’s Treme Funktet, Ellis Marsalis, Jeremy Davenport, Preservation Bras, and a Trumpet Tribute featuring Ashlin Parker.
In addition to hot music, the SatchmoFest will feature cuisine from some of New Orleans’ favorite restaurants such as Café Dauphine, Lasyone’s Meat Pie Restaurant and The Praline Connection; (504) 522-5730; satchmosummerfest.org.
Russ Tarby is based in Syracuse NY and has written about jazz for The Syncopated Times, The Syracuse New Times, The Jazz Appreciation Society of Syracuse (JASS) JazzFax Newsletter, and several other publications.
