Nicholas Payton © Andrea Canter

Those who bemoan the high ticket prices of Manhattan's jazz venues should take heart. The 2010 NYC Winter Jazzfest running on Friday, January 8th and Saturday, January 9th will be presenting great jazz with over fifty ensembles in five West Village venues for a low ticket price of only $30 (and only $25 for a single day - order online at winterjazzfest.com). Venues include  Le Poisson Rouge, Sullivan Hall, Kenny's Castaways, Bitter End, and Zinc Bar. The impressive, diverse line-up includes Nicholas Payton, Jaleel Shaw, Ben Allison, Jenny Scheinman & Jason Moran, Lionel Loueke, Vijay Iyer, Dr Lonnie Smith, Gretchen Parlato, Matt Wilson, and many more.
 
A complete 2010 NYC Winter Jazzfest Schedule follows:

Tim Berne with Buffalo Collision © John Whiting

Our fourth year at the Monterey Jazz Festival was as delightful as our first; more so, now that we know our way around. Meeting festival publicist Tim Orr in the press office when we picked up our credentials; greeting the Hat Man at the entrance to the Arena (dear, kind Paul Aschenbrenner, who’s been ushering for 25 years and always wears a funny hat); seeing some of our favorite vendors; running into friends; breathing the California ocean breezes; watching planes fly low over the Festival grounds; walking the half-mile or so from the Hyatt Hotel to the Festival site on the Monterey Fairgrounds…. It all felt like home.

Hank Jones receives Jazz Guardian Award from DJF Director Teri Pontremoli©Andrea Canter

If my first Detroit Jazz Festival (2008) was a revelation, my second last weekend was at least as much an ear-opening and even more inspiring experience. Celebrating its 30th anniversary with a focus on Detroit’s jazz lineage, the theme “Keepin’ Up With Joneses” not only recognized the legacy of native sons Hank, Elvin and Thad Jones, but brought “home” famed Detroiters Sheila Jordan, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Charles McPherson, Geri Allen, Louis Hayes, Bennie Maupin, Karriem Riggins, Rodney Whitaker and Carlos McKinney, and a few more who made the Detroit area home, including Gerald Wilson and Marcus Belgrave. But it was not all about Detroit, as the festival sought to celebrate other musical families—the Brubecks, the Heaths, the Coryells, the Pizzarellis, the Escovedos, the Claytons. Last year’s Artist in Residence Christian McBride appeared in several configurations, as did the 2009 Artist in Residence and another noted bassist, John Clayton. In further tribute to Detroit and the festival’s long history, there were world premiers of commissioned works by Gerald Wilson and John Clayton; a recreation of Detroit legend Donald Byrd’s Blue Note recording, A New Perspective; and recognition of four of Detroit’s “Jazz Guardians” (Hank Jones, Marcus Belgrave, festival founder Robert McCabe, and longtime Detroit jazz educator Ernie Rodgers). 

Red_Baraat

The 11th Annual World Music Festival: Chicago runs from Friday, September 18 through Thursday, September 24, 2009.The 2009 festival line-up features 55 events at 21 venues. Many events are family friendly, half are admission free and the remaining half are $15 or less. Events include 6 live radio broadcasts and a mix of free and ticketed concerts presented in museums, parks, cultural centers, plazas, theaters, clubs and other venues throughout Chicago.  The 2009 festival also features 57 artists representing 32 countries including Algeria, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Congo, Croatia, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Hungary, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Hank Jones

Returning home from the 2008 Detroit Jazz Festival, exhausted but exhilarated, I vowed to make this an annual pilgrimage. In a city full of economic challenges, the power of music can not be underestimated. Titled “Keepin’ Up With the Joneses,” the upcoming 30th anniversary festival will celebrate the great families of jazz, starting with native sons Thad, Elvin and Hank Jones. “In this case, ‘keepin’ up’ means ‘living up’ to the greatness of Hank, Elvin and Thad Jones - these important musical giants, and their incredible sense of swing,” says Detroit Jazz Festival Executive Director, Terri Pontremoli. “In no way is this your typical family reunion!” The fun, all outdoors, all free, begins Friday evening, September 4th, and goes from noon til well past dark through Labor Day on September 7th. Centered on the Detroit riverfront of Hart Plaza and extending a few blocks into downtown, the DJF is one of the world’s largest free jazz events.