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| Asian Jazz Night Highlights The 2005 Houston International Jazz Festival The Houston International Jazz Festival kicks off its 15th year with three days of exceptional musical entertainment at Bayou Place and the Verizon Wireless Theater. August 5th begins with an international focus on Asian Jazz, which features Heads Up International recording artists Hiroshima and five time Grammy nominee, Houston drummer Bubbha Thomas. Then on August 6th, a titillating evening of Latin Jazz serves as the second international component with Tito Puente, Jr. along with local sensation Norma Zenteno and her band. To close out the Festival on August 7th, an evening of exhilarating Smooth Jazz is the highlight. "Guitars & Saxes" rolls into Houston with Mindi Abair, Jeff Golub, Warren Hill and Wayman Tisdale, to help create an atmosphere of highly charged jazz entertainment. These headliners, along with students from the Summer Jazz Workshop and a number of other local and national bands will culminate 15 years of excellence. Collectively, these ingredients serve to present one of the finest festivals of its kind anywhere. The primary beneficiary of the Houston International Jazz Festival is the Summer Jazz Workshop. Under the auspices of Jazz Education Inc., a non-profit organization, the Summer Jazz Workshop is an intensive 5 week youth oriented program that focuses upon the fundamentals of Jazz and its business aspects. At the end of the workshop, participating students also perform at the Festival. The Asian Jazz portion of the Houston International Jazz Festival is in its first year. In previous years, Latin Jazz Night has been the international highlight of the Festival. Celia Cruz, La India, Arturo Sandoval and Poncho Sanchez have been featured artists just to name a few. This Festival is funded in part by grants from Harris County and the Texas Commission on the Arts through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County. Also sponsored by ABC-13 KTRK-TV, Clear Channel Entertainment, The Hilton Americas, the official hotel, The Houston Chronicle, KHJZ 95.7 FM, Kroger, KTSU 90.9 FM, Time Warner Cable and Univision. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |