Roy Hargrove © Ian Gittler

2006 Grounds Tickets Selling at Record Pace

 For the 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festiva, Grounds Weekend Passes offer a wealth of sparkling musical gems and riches for families and fans of all ages. Grounds tickets are now available, but are selling at a record pace. Fans are strongly urged to buy tickets now to avoid disappointment and increased ticket prices on day of show. Whether you're looking for jazz chanteuses, cutting-edge future jazz, hard-driving big bands, six-cylinder blues artists, world and contemporary fusion, funky soul-jazz or classic jazz combos-or just a great weekend cultural experience, surrounded by music and family fun--the 2006 Monterey Jazz Festival Grounds artists deliver a wide and far-reaching slice of the jazz world, and beyond.

Many of the Lyons Stage headlining artists are appearing in Grounds venues, including world-fusion bassist Richard Bona, sonic groundbreaker and trumpeter Roy Hargrove, contemporary jazz fusion masters the Yellowjackets, MJF's Artist-in-Residence extraordinaire, vocalist Kurt Elling, the hard-driving 14-piece brass band McCollough Sons of Thunder, and blues guitar master Robben Ford. In addition, members of Dave Brubeck's expanded ensemble performing the "Cannery Row Suite" will be performing on the Grounds and include Chris Brubeck's own group, Triple Play and vocalist Roberta Gambarini, who will be featured with the legendary 88-year old pianist, Hank Jones. Swinging drummer Jeff Hamilton, who co-leads the Clayton-Hamilton Big Band, will also perform on the Grounds with his trio.

Kurt Elling

Tickets are now on sale from the Ticket Office (925-275-9255) and online at www.montereyjazzfestival.org. Grounds Tickets are priced at $30 for Friday, $40 for Saturday or Sunday and $95 for all three days. Tickets bought at the door will increase by $5 per ticket during the Festival. Grounds Tickets include daily access to all Grounds concerts, events and activities on 6 stages spread throughout the Monterey Fairgrounds, plus simulcasts of all Arena concerts in The Jazz Theater, The Bose Performance at Home Pavilion and the Festival's Champagne Bar, Klub Korbel.

Friday night's entertainment will highlight "New Grooves" across the Festival Fairgrounds. Dizzy's Den will reverberate with the soulful electronic-infused hard grooves of Roy Hargrove & RH Factor, as well as Uri Caine & Bedrock, combining a cutting-edge mix of old-style fusion on both Fender Rhodes and laptop computers.

Elsewhere on the Fairgrounds, Friday Grounds concertgoers can enjoy the electric bass and world-music flavored jazz of Richard Bona, the stunning young acoustic piano masters Robert Glasper, Eldar and Taylor Eigsti, each who have made quite an impression in the musical world in the last year, as well as the 2006 Clifford Brown-Stan Getz Fellows, presented by IAJE.

Vocalist Sasha Dobson, a Santa Cruz native, returns to the Monterey Bay area to perform her original take on Brazilian groove, pop and jazz. Percussionist Babatunde Lea completes the Friday night Grounds program with his spiritually infused African and Afro-Cuban twist on modern jazz.

Yellowjackets

Saturday's Grounds entertainment will also include an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, top-shelf instrumental artists and award-winning vocal talent.  Saturday Grounds vocalists include the Kurt Elling Quartet, Tierney Sutton, contemporary jazz favorites the Yellowjackets celebrating their 25th anniversary, the piano sensation Hiromi, cutting edge multi-instrumentalist Peter Apfelbaum & the New York Hieroglyphics featuring Abdoulaye Diabate, world-fusion guitarist Lionel Loueke, the lightning-struck blues of the Robben Ford Group, the Duke Robillard Band featuring Hubert Sumlin, and The Fins. Classic, modern and international jazz fans will be able to hear the swinging drummer Jeff Hamilton and his trio, the Afro-Cuban sounds of John Worley & Worlview, the Rodger Fox Big Band from New Zealand, the dramatic tango and samba of Trio Paradiso, the Russian Open World Octet, the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet and the University of North Florida Jazz Ensemble "1" as well as the traditional down-home blues of Robert Lowery & Virgil Thrasher, the joyful noise of the McCollough Sons of Thunder and the young ebullience of the 2006 Clifford Brown-Stan Getz Fellows in a clinic for musicians of all ages.

Sunday marks "Family Day" at the Monterey Jazz Festival, with activities and more for the whole family to enjoy, sponsored by Macy's West. Patrons will be treated to a variety of music perfect for families and fans of all ages-including Baby Loves Jazz, an entertaining, funky and fun group featuring singer Sharon Jones, slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein, and pianist Aaron Goldberg, interpreting favorite classic children's songs. Family activities on the Grounds also include Sunday's Percussion Playshop for kids of all ages, and a "Jazzy Jumper" for the young ones, providing terrific entertainment for families while enjoying the festivities of the Fairgrounds' grassy picnic areas, international food, shopping, and more.

Highlighting up-and-coming youth in jazz, Family Day Grounds Artists will feature the winners from the Festival's 36th annual MJF National High School Jazz Competition - part of the Next Generation Festival - including the Folsom High School Vocal Jazz Choir "A", the Lexington High School Jazz Ensemble, the Davis Senior High School Big Band, the Berkeley High School Sextet, the Berklee-Monterey Jazz Quartet and IAJE's Clifford Brown-Stan Getz All-Stars.

Other artists for Sunday's line-up offers hard-bop from the Roy Hargrove Quintet, the elegant piano of the Hank Jones Trio featuring vocalist Roberta Gambarini, and the original singer-songwriter stylings from vocalist Christine Tobin. Modern jazz can be heard from the trios of guitarist Ben Monder and pianist Aaron Goldberg, as well as an ultra-funky "Hammond B3 Blowout" from organists Dr. Lonnie Smith and his trio and the David K. Mathews Quartet.

Also included in the weekend are 4 freewheeling discussions on topics in jazz, and include Saturday afternoon's Blindfold Test with the Yellowjackets, presented by DownBeat and a conversation with Kurt Elling about "Jazz & the Creative Muse", hosted by Andrew Gilbert. Sunday's conversations include the panel discussion "Whatz Jazz & Whatz Not", presented by the Jazz Journalists Association and hosted by Dan Ouellette, and features KCSM's Alisa Clancy and renowned jazz critics Paul DeBarros, Willard Jenkins, Forrest Bryant, and Scott Yanow. Also on Sunday is "John Steinbeck & Cannery Row", moderated by Susan Shillinglaw, the director of the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University and includes Steinbeck and Monterey historians and scholars Herb Behrens, Katie Rodger, Tim Thomas, and Frank Wright. A special exhibit, curated by the National Steinbeck Center, will also be on display throughout the weekend at the Starbucks Coffeehouse Gallery.

Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets early, as Grounds Weekend Passes are selling faster than anticipated.