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23rd Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival October 19 - November 6 |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Sunday, 02 October 2005 |
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Page 1 of 2 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SFJAZZ - the leading non-profit jazz organization on the West Coast and the parent organization of the SFJAZZ Collective - has announced the artist line-up for the 23rd annual San Francisco Jazz Festival which runs October 19 - November 6 at venues throughout San Francisco. The annual three-week Festival will showcase a wide spectrum of jazz this fall from American and international masters such as Ornette Coleman and Yusef Lateef, to tributes recognizing such diverse talents as Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, Harold Arlen and Bobby Short.
 Photo by Howard A. Gitelson
Festival highlights include Abbey Lincoln, Etta James, Lalah Hathaway, Poncho Sanchez, Toots Theilemans, Eldar Djangirov, Paquito D'Rivera, and distinctive ancillary programming designed to complement and enhance the Festival experience. This fall audiences can partake in a 5-part jazz education course, any of the six pre-concert talks or a listening party about the history of jazz in San Francisco.
SFJAZZ Executive Director Randall Kline commented, "Each year the Festival is a little different. Although we often build on familiar themes, the Festival is always a unique production. This year the international theme is dominant once again, but the line-up of artists is possibly one of the most culturally rich and diverse celebrations of jazz in San Francisco history. I couldn't be more enthusiastic." SFJAZZ does have a reputation for building its programming around themes. This year the Festival's strengths are in world jazz, vocals and jazz piano.
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Well over a third of the artists in the Festival this year are from other countries and represents the impact that America's "classical music" has had around the globe. There are a number of Cuban artists playing the Festival this year. Early in the line-up Omar Sosa - known locally for his close collaborations with Bay Area musician John Santos-is double-billed with percussionist and composer Dafnis Prieto (10/21), followed by six-time Grammy-winner Paquito D'Rivera (10/23), who is a master stylist from an older generation of Cuban musician/composers. Coming to the Festival for the first time is the seven-piece band from Chile, Inti-Illimani (11/3). With a sound rooted in the indigenous cultures of Latin America, Inti-Illimani has enjoyed international fame for over 35 years despite exile and political turmoil in their country of origin.
Other artists coming from South America include superstar Eva Ayllon (11/4) and Virginia Rodrigues (11/5). Ayllon is one of the preeminent interpreters of Peruvian music and is a leading exponent of musica criolla - a broad genre with both African and Spanish origins. Rodrigues, who is from Brazil and was discovered in the 90's by Caetano Veloso, is known for her original interpretations of Brazilian music and her enchanting ethereal voice.
In addition to the artists above, the following internationally recognized musicians will be attending the Festival: Eldar Djangirov (Kyrgyzstan), Paris Combo (France), Gangbe Brass Band (Benin), Bobo Stenson (Sweden), Toots Thielmans (Belgium), Oscar Castro-Neves (Brazil) and Konono No. 1 (Congo).
VOCALS AND PIANO
Next to the global influence on this year's Festival, the prominence of jazz vocalists and pianists is particularly significant. There are a total of fourteen vocalists this season offering an array of styles and content. Chanteuse de jour Madeleine Peyroux (9/16) kicked it off when she returned to San Francisco for a pre-Festival concert in the wake of a runaway hit CD, Careless Love, which features her own compositions and works by songwriters as varied as Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, and Elliott Smith. The legendary Abbey Lincoln - who is well regarded for her poetic affinity as well as her political activism - will officially open the Festival with a SFJAZZ members-only concert at Herbst Theatre on October 19. Then it's on to R&B singer Lalah Hathaway (10/21) with Marcus Miller, the eternal Etta James (10/22), Tierney Sutton (10/23) and a double-bill of note due to their distinct styles and storytelling abilities, Mose Allison and Patricia Barber (10/27). However, there are many more vocals on the line-up including: Keren Ann (10/29), Barbara Cook (11/4), Eva Ayllon (11/4), Virginia Rodrigues (11/5) and Bay Area native Jacqui Naylor.
In jazz piano the range of styles in this year's Festival is vast. It begins with the explosive Latin rhythms of Omar Sosa (10/21) and then continues with the quicksilver, techniquely advanced improvisations of Eldar Djangivov's (10/22) and the blues and jazz fusion of Mose Allison (10/27). This year's SFJAZZ Beacon Award recipient is pianist Bill Bell (10/27) or "The Jazz Professor." Bell has had a prodigious career as an educator in the Bay Area for over twenty-five years, but before he was teaching at the College of Alameda, University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University, he was developing his talents as a classical and jazz pianist by touring with Benny Carter and Carmen McRae. In addition to the above mentioned artists, pianists George Cables (10/28), Bill Charlap and the Denny Zeitlin Trio (11/2) and Bobo Stenson (11/5) will appear.
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 Friday, 21 November 2008
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