Monterey Jazz Festival
The third weekend in September….. that’s ten days from now!
It’s the longest running jazz festival and a favorite of many players and listeners.
Artists perform starting on Friday and well into the late night Sunday on seven stages:
The Arena/Jimmy Lyons Stage, Garden Stage, Courtyard Stage, Night Club/Bill Berry Stage, Dizzy’s Den, Jazz Theater, and the Coffee House Gallery.
There is great food, great music, and the proceeds go towards funding jazz education- $500,000 a year throughout California and the country.
Musicians performing in the past have included Louis Armstrong, Dizzie Gillespie, John Lewis, Gerry Mulligan and Billie Holiday.
The 2009 festival includes:
Chick Corea, Dave Brubeck, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Lew Tabackin, Stanley Clarke, Jason Moran, Lenny White, Randy Brecker, Joe Lovano, Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Kurt Elling, Russell Malone, Peter Erskine, Esperanza Spalding, Susan Tedeschi, Pete Seeger, John Scofield, Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Hank Jones, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, George Duke, Conrad Herwig, Lizz Wright, Rodriguez Brothers, Raul Midon, Ruthie Foster, Jonathan Batiste, Scott Amendola, Roger Eddy, Alan Pasqua, Ambrose Akinmusire, Wayne Wallace, Henry Butler, Cyril Neville, Martin Headman, Weber Iago, Francisco Mela, Scotty Barnhart, Otis Brown Jr., Terrence Brewer, Hironobu Saito, Alfredo Rodriguez and more.
The Monterey Jazz Festival will be held September 18 – 20, 2009.
Monterey Jazz Festival 2009 Schedule
Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock appeared at MJF/51 in 2008.
For those in the northeast (and for folks without buckets of cash to spend), check out the Rochester International Jazz Fest (http://www.rochesterjazz.com/). Skip past the headliners (admittedly a few questionable choices, but hey, Jazz doesn’t pay all the bills) and download the event lineup from this past summer. A Club Pass is only about $100 and that get’s you admission to all but the 4 or 5 big shows – plus many of the shows are free. The 2010 lineup announcement is still months away, but my wife and I get our club passes the day they go on sale.