This is the Festival Roundup as it appeared in our November 2018 issue, for the current roundup check here.
Listings in the Festival Roundup are free. Please let us know about your multi-act event so we can include it. For more exposure advertise your event with the Syncopated Times.
ARIZONA CLASSIC JAZZ FESTIVAL (Chandler, AZ) – Nov. 1-4
This 29th annual event will take place at its home for the last 15 years, the Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort in beautiful Downtown Chandler, AZ. The Crowne Plaza is a co-sponsor of the Festival and a focal point of the vintage Downtown allure with plentiful restaurants and boutique shops only a few steps away. Among the many highlights of this Festival are the special educational sets presented by the bands. In conjunction with the Festival, the Phoenix Lindy Exchange hosts hundreds of dancers who Lindy Hop into the wee hours on Friday and Saturday. They love the “hot” live jazz played by the Festival bands.
The music starts at 5:30 pm on Thursday, November 1st, and ends at 5 pm. on Sunday, November 4, after a Grand Finale highlighting the music of the Ink Spots by We3.
Howard Alden will play both guitar and banjo with a few of the groups. The bands will be: “Big” B.A.D. Rhythm, Cornet Chop Suey, Dan Reed’s Dixieland Hotshots, Dave Bennett Quartet, 52nd Street Jazz Band, High Sierra Jazz Band, Jammers led by Cheryl Thurston (all musicians welcome), Kris Tokarski Trio, Queen City Jazz Band, St. Louis Rivermen, Sentimental Breeze, Stephanie Trick & Paolo Alderighi, Sun City Stomperz, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, We Three plus One, Wildcat Jazz Band, and Wolverine Jazz Band.
All Event badges may be purchased in advance for $110 before August 15 and $130 starting August 16. Tax-deductible co-sponsorship donations in support of the bands are in addition to badge purchase and start at $500 per person. Sponsor benefits include reserved seating and Hospitality Room privileges. Day badges are available only at the door. There will be an Afterglow following the Festival from 6 – 8:30 p.m. Cost will be $30 per person and includes dinner. For details, go to azclassicjazz.org or call 480-620-3941. Send checks or credit card orders to ACJF, 10918 E. Michigan Ave., Sun Lakes, AZ 85248.
MIKE DURHAM’S INTERNATIONAL CLASSIC JAZZ PARTY (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK) – Nov. 2-4
The Party was first founded in 1990 by Mike Durham in Whitley Bay, near Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK, and has grown bigger and better with each successive year.
The jazz party will run from mid-day on Friday until late on Sunday evening at the four-star Village Hotel & Leisure Centre, Silverlink North, Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside, some 70 miles south of Scotland in northeast Great Britain. The festival takes place in a luxurious setting with assigned seating of eight to a table, and tables are rotated twice daily. The program explores jazz from its first 40 years, with special jam sessions in the Victory Pub in the wee small hours.
This year’s musicians include trumpeters/cornetists Enrico Tomasso, Andy Schumm, Malo Mazurie, Mike Davis, Jamie Brownfield, Duke Heitger; reed players Claus Jacobi, Dan Levinson, Michael McQuaid, Matthias Seuffert, Richard Exall, Lars Frank, Ewan Bleach; trombonists Jim Fryer, Adrian Fry, Graham Hughes; pianists Jeff Barnhart, Keith Nichols, David Boeddinghaus, Morten Gunnar Larsen, Martin Litton; banjoists/guitarists Thomas “Spats” Langham, Martin Wheatley, Jacob Ullberger; percussionists Nick Ball, Nick Ward, Josh Duffee, Richard Pite; bassists/tubists Henri Lemaire, Malcolm Sked, Phil Rutherford; violinist Emma Fisk; and vocalists Joan Viskant and Nicolle Rochelle.
Places for the 2018 Party will cost £160 per person for the weekend. (Exchange rates as of October 22: $1.30 US = £1 UK.) All bookings are 100% refundable in case of cancellation due to serious illness, bereavement, or other unavoidable cause. For tickets and other information, please visit whitleybayjazzfest.org; wbjazzfest@btinternet.com.
SUNCOAST JAZZ FESTIVAL (Clearwater Beach, FL) – Nov. 16-18
The 28th edition of the Suncoast Jazz Festival takes place in five indoor venues at two adjacent resort hotels, the Sheraton Sand Key and the Marriott Suites, in Clearwater Beach on the Gulf of Mexico. Special guest artists Rossano Sportiello, Chuck Redd, and Dave “Wally” Tatrow will lead youth workshops as well as perform over the weekend. Scheduled bands and performers include Adrian Cunningham and His Old School, Dave Bennett Quartet, Tom Rigney and Flambeau, High Sierra, Cornet Chop Suey, Terry and the Pirates (Terry Meyers, Bob Leary, Eddie Metz, Jr., Charlie Bertini, Pat Gullotta, Jeff Phlilips, Jay Mueller), Queen City Jazz Band with Wende Harston, LaLucha, Danny Sinoff Quintet, Nate Najar, Theresa Scavarda, Paul Scavarda, Dave Tatrow, Bob Price, John Lamb, James Suggs, Pepper, Betty Comora, and Mike Evans.
Sponsor packages $350+; Benefactors $235; 3 Day Weekend $135; Daily $40-50; Youth $10; Friday Swing Dance (with Sam Mahfoud and the Swing Time Dancers) after 6 pm, $25.
For tickets and information, visit us online at suncoastjazzfestival.com; or write: PO Box 395, Largo, FL 33779; (727) 248-9441.
WEST COAST RAGTIME FESTIVAL (Rancho Cordova, CA) – Nov. 16-18
The 32nd annual fest will be staged at the Sacramento Marriott Rancho Cordova, 211 Point East Drive, some 15 miles east of Sacramento. Six ground-floor venues present live music nearly nonstop through the festival’s three days. This fall’s performers include Elliott Adams, Paulo Alderighi, Jade Anderson, Nick Arteaga, Cleve Baker, Clint Baker, Ramona Sidney Baker, Tom Barnebey, Jeff Barnhart, Big Mama Sue & Fast Eddie, Bob Blade, Tom Bopp, The Bradshaws, Diego Bustamante, Michael Chisholm, Danny Coots, Neville Dickie, Richard Dowling, Marty Eggers, Lisa Gonick, Frederick Hodges, Brian Holland, Stan Isaacs, Vincent Matthew Johnson, Max Keenlyside, Morten Gunnar Larsen, Ethan Leinwand, Carl Sonny Leyland, Frank LiVolsi, Carl Lunsford,, Larisa Migachyov, Ezequiel Palleiá, Will Perkins, Jack Rummel, Greg Sabin, Anthony Sarginson, Christoph Schmetterer, Sean Sharp, Ray Skjelbred, Adam Swanson, Virginia Tichenor, Matt Tolentino, Stephanie Trick, Ryan Wishner, Ivory&Gold®, Buffalo Crossing, Porcupines, Sullivans/Drivons, Pacific Coast Ragtime Orchestra, and the Ragnolia Ragtette.
All-events badges cost $105, and $115 after Nov. 1; Fri-Sat badges $95; Sat-Sun $85; Fri $50, Sat $60; Sun $40 through Oct. 31. (916) 457-3324; westcoastragtime.com/.
TREME CREOLE GUMBO FESTIVAL (New Orleans, LA) Nov. 17–18
Discover the difference between Creole and Cajun gumbos while listening to some of Louisiana’s best musicians.
The 11th annual Treme Creole Gumbo Festival is New Orleans’ premier brass band showcase, the best place on earth to sample a dozen different styles of gumbo, and admission is free. Music rings out from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., both days at Armstrong Park, 701 N. Rampart St., in New Orleans. This year’s event is dedicated to the memory of the late Travis “Trumpet Black” Hill, a beloved New Orleans musician who died suddenly from medical complications in 2015, at age 28. The Gumbo Fest features performances by the Treme Brass Band, Ashlin Parker’s Trumpet Mafia, Shamarr Allen, James Andrews, the Rebirth Brass Band, Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet, the Pinettes Brass Band, the Free Agents Brass Band, and the Hot 8 Brass Band. Vendors will cook up 10 different versions of gumbo while demonstrating their recipes. Gumbos served include dark roux chicken and sausage gumbo, Creole filé gumbo, seafood gumbo as well as po-boys, pecan pralines, and shrimp’n’grits.
Food prices range from $3 for tastings to $12 for fried soft-shall crab po-boys.
Free admission; (504) 558-6100, ext. 203; tremegumbofest.com.
39th ANNUAL SAN DIEGO JAZZ FEST (San Diego, CA) – Nov. 21-25
Headquarters: Town & Country Hotel and Convention Center. Invited Guest Artists: Stephanie Trick, Paolo Alderighi, Katie Cavera, Carl Sonny Leyland. Invited Bands & Groups: Cornet Chop Suey, Black Swan Classic J.B., Original Cornell Syncopators, High Sierra J.B., Dave Bennett Quartet, High Society J.B., Big Butter J.B., On The Levee Band, Night Blooming Jazzmen, Chicago Cellar Boys, Sue Palmer and her Motel Swing Orchestra, Grand Dominion J.B., Titanic J.B., Yerba Buena Stompers, Mad Hat Hucksters, Cash In Hand, Gino and the Lone Gunmen, Heliotrope Ragtime Orchestra, Katie Cavera Trio, Dawn Lambeth Trio, Sonny Leyland Trio, Champagne Dixie, Jazz Jammers, Dick Williams’ Jazzsea Jams, Uptown Rhythm Makers, and the Mission Bay High School Preservationists. Saturday Night Swing-X headliner: Michael Gamble’s Rhythm Serenaders.
All Event Badges: 5-Days $125 each; 4-Days $115 each; 3-Days $105 each. Daily badges available at the door. Contact: AFCDJS, P.O. Box 880387, San Diego, CA 92168-0387; 619-297-5277.
Email: jazzinfo@SDjazzfest.org; Website: http://www.sdjazzfest.org/
TUCSON JAZZ FESTIVAL (Tuscon, AZ) – Jan. 11-21
The festival takes place January 11-21, 2019 in Downtown Tucson and will kick off on Friday, January 11 with 14-year-old phenom, pianist Joey Alexander, plus the Tucson Jazz Institute Ellington Band, which has made the top three best high school bands for eight years in a row. The festival concludes on Monday, January 21 with the free Downtown Jazz Fiesta on MLK Day sponsored by Rio Nuevo, with local bands on multiple stages, both indoors and out.
The festival also features performances by Bobby McFerrin, Asleep at the Wheel, Trombone Shorty (by UAPresents), Pink Martini and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Special EXF with guests Regina Carter and Eric Marienthal, a Tribute to Nelson Riddle, Kathleen Grace with Larry Goldings, an all-women double bill with the Magos Herrera Quartet and Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan and Cameron Brown, and others.
Ticket pricing, festival schedule, and lodging information may be found at the festival website tucsonjazzfestival.org; (520) 989-0720.
EAGLES & IVORIES WEEKEND (Muscatine, IA) – Jan. 24-27
The 25th Annual Eagles & Ivories Weekend is staged in Muscatine in southeast Iowa, at five different locations: Sunnybrook, 3515 Diana Queen Drive; Wesley United Methodist Church, 400 Iowa Ave.; Muscatine Art Center, 1314 Mulberry Ave.; and the Merrill Hotel and Conference Center, 119 Mississippi Dr., West. A free eagle watch takes place Saturday morning at Pearl City Station, 200 W. Riverfront, in Riverfront Park, and visitors can also focus their binoculars at the Norbert F. Beckey Bridge, the only span over the Mississippi River nocturnally illuminated with LED lights. The ragtime tunes will be performed by Ivory & Gold featuring Jeff and Anne Barnhart, Dr. David Majchzak, Marty Mincer, the Mad Creek Mudcats, the Locust Street Boys, and Barnhart’s Button City Blasters (featuring Andy Schumm, John Otto, Tom Bartlett, Jeff Barnhart, and Josh Duffee).
An entire three-day concert package costs $70; individual event admissions range from $5 to $20; children ages 16 and younger are admitted free to all events; muscatineartscouncil.org; (563) 263-9978; davidales@machlink.com.
NORTH CAROLINA JAZZ FESTIVAL (Wilmington, NC) Jan. 31 – Feb. 2
The 39th annual festival will be staged at the Hotel Ballast (formerly Wilmington Hilton Riverside) ballroom, 301 N. Water St., overlooking the Cape Fear River. This historic city has many interesting shops, art galleries, museums and restaurants, as well as a movie studio, nearby beaches, plus Revolutionary and Civil War sites to explore during your days here.
In 2019 festival features Grenaldo Frazier, Bruce Harris, Chuck Redd, Dion Tucker, Cynthia Sayer, and Brazilian born vocalist Maucha Adnet (former chanteuse for Antonio Carlos Jobim) and her husband Duduka da Fonseca joined by NYC’s Harry Allen on tenor sax, re-creating the sounds of Stan Getz; Israeli born pianist Ehud Asherie; and Tampa native guitarist Nate Najar. This musical weekend features Brazilian Jazz starting on Thursday evening and then the Jazz continues Friday and Saturday night with four hour concerts featuring seven sets with six or seven musicians per set (each with a different leader). Come experience some fantastic musicians from around the globe.
Single Night Tickets: Thurs.: $40, Fri. & Sat.: $60, Active Military: $25, Students: $15 each night; 3-Day Patron Pass: $225; 2-Day Patron Pass: $200; ncjazzfestival.com; (910) 793-1111; NCJF, P.O. Box 7681, Wilmington, NC 28406.
SOUNDS OF MARDI GRAS (Fresno, CA) – Feb. 7-10.
The 2019 edition of this festive festival in Fresno kicks off at the Doubletree by Hilton with a Thursday evening pre-party. The schedule picks up Friday with a “Putting on the Ritz” Charleston-themed parade, followed by the annual coronation of the Festival King and Queen, and a hot-jazz Swing Dance.
Attendees can meet-and-greet musicians Saturday morning before the Parasol Parade and Masquerade Party and Costume Parade in the grand tradition of Mardi Gras. Things wrap up on Sunday with a Wind Down Dinner and Dance.
Returning bands for 2019 include Grand Dominion, Climax Jazz Band, Cell Block 7, Gator Nation, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Bob Schulz Frisco Jazz Band, Devil Mountain, Gino and the Lone Gunmen, Yosemite Jazz Band, High Sierra Jazz Band, Blue Street, Tom Hook & the Terriers. New bands invited this year are Dave Stuckey & Hot House Gang, The Young Bucs, Stardusters Big Band, and B Sharp and the Axxidentals. This year’s guest artist is Brian Casserly.
Three-day passes cost $125 before December 16, 2018 ($135 thereafter); admission prices for individual events range from $20 to $65; admission is free for those ages 18 and younger when accompanied by a paying adult; (209) 534-1924; fresnodixie.com.
TEAGARDEN JAZZ FESTIVAL (Sacramento, CA) Feb. 8-10
Trumpet legend Jim Cullum of Riverwalk Jazz fame will be the featured guest artist at three events during the 14th annual Teagarden Jazz Festival (formerly the Trad Jazz Youth Band Festival) February 8, 9, and 10, 2019. He will be backed up by an all-star group of jazz musicians. Venues include Rio Americano High School Performing Arts Center, 4540 American River Dr.; Sacramento State University, Capistrano Hall, 6000 J St.; and Elks Lodge #6, 6446 Riverside Blvd.
Single tickets to each concert, or combo tickets for the entire weekend, are available. Advance ticket sales will end on February 8. Tickets may be available at the door at a higher price. Students with ID are free to the events, and do not need advance tickets, but entrance will be based on space availability at the Friday and Sunday venues. The Sunday concert will feature Jim Cullum and the All-Star Festival Clinicians, plus award-winning youth bands.
Combo tickets are $15 (for Fri. night concert and Sat. festival entrance); $30 (for Fri., Sat. and Sun. concerts); $45 for Fri. VIP seating, Sat. festival, and Sun. concert including brunch buffet; individual admission ranges from $10-$25. More information at www.teagardenjazzfestival.org.
JUMP, JIVE, & JAZZ (Wilsonville, OR) Feb. 23
Jump, Jive, and Jazz, a one-day mini-fest hosted by the popular “Live at the Shrine” dance committee, takes place at the Wilsonville Shrine Center, 25100 SW Parkway Ave., Wilsonville, Oregon on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The event will showcase three bands and two dance floors, with continuous music from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Event Chairperson Earline Dawes said, “We wanted Pacific Northwest jazz to have a place to party on this last weekend in February, which is normally the date for the Seaside Jazz Festival. When we heard that Seaside will be taking a year off in 2019, we wanted to fill the gap with good music.”
The featured bands include: Black Swan Classic Jazz Band with Marilyn Keller, Columbia Classic Jazz Band, and Pete Krebs and the Portland Playboys.
The event is a fundraiser to benefit the Shrine Travel Fund. The Wilsonville Shrine Center is approximately 15 miles south of Portland near Interstate 5. Three hotels are located nearby, and shuttle service is planned.
Ticket price is only $25 per person for the entire day. Food and beverages are available for purchase all day. Tickets are limited, so we recommend ordering soon. For more information on tickets and lodging contact Earline Dawes, (503) 789-5608.
JAZZ BASH BY THE BAY (Monterey, CA) March 1-3
Dixieland Monterey hosts the 39th annual Jazz Bash by the Bay, with eight venues including seven dance floors all under one roof in the newly refurbished Portola Hotel & Spa and the totally remodeled Monterey Conference Center.
This year’s guest artists include Gordon Au, John Reynolds, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Crescent Katz, High Sierra, Wally’s Warehouse Waifs, Dawn Lambeth, Ivory&Gold®, Titan Hot Seven, Au Brothers, Mark Allen Jones, Eddie Erickson, Katie Cavera, Side Street Strutters, Gator Nation, Fast Mama Excitement, Crown Syncopators, Bye Bye Blues Boys Band, Yve Evans Trio, Brian Holland, Grand Dominion, Carl Sonny Leyland Trio, Danny Coots, Jeff Barnhart, Royal Society Jazz Orchestra, Bob Draga, Blue Street Jazz Band, and Gary Ryan.
Individual Early Bird All-Event Badges for 3 days are $115.00 through December 31, 2017. Day badges are available. Patron Badges, which includes the Patrons’ Brunch and reserved seating, are $290.00 each.
For more information or to order Badges, please call 831-754-8786 or 888-349-6879; info@ jazzbashbythebay.com; www.jazzbashbythebay.com.
TRIBUTE TO BIX FEST (Racine, WI) – March 7-10
The 30th annual Tribute to Bix Fest returns March 7, 2019, to the Delta Hotel (formerly the Marriott), 7111 Washington Ave., Highway 20, in Racine. According to Director Phil Pospychala, “The new deal has all rooms at only $99 and includes Old Crow Bourbon on Friday nite in the record playing room. Can you beat that? Facilities cost is as low as when the Marriott was in charge. . .With this good news, we’ve been able to reduce patron cost to $75 and $90 (with tour). Please see updated website by the end of September (maybe a bit later) for details.
Meanwhile, prepare yourselves for the new, all-woman Shake ‘em Up Jazz Band led by Marla Dixon (Remember her with the Shotgun Band?) and we plan on a prohibition-like club and review for Friday, March 8th. Don’t worry. All-Nite 78 playing will start, one hour later, and our regular film show will now include a silent film with John Reed-Torres as piano accompaniment, Galaxy Girls chorus line and Andy Schumm’s Cellar Boys with authentic 1920s warbler, Roya Naldi.”
Prices, rooms, and other details to be announced soon; free admission to after-hours jam sessions; bixfest.com, (847) 996-0246; bixguy@hotmail.com.
