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| Wynton Marsalis Headlines Silver Spring Jazz Festival Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Wynton Marsalis will headline an all-start line-up of jazz musicians at the second annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival to be held Saturday, September 10 in the new Downtown Silver Spring at Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street. This year’s festival is dedicated to the memory of Silver Spring’s adopted son, the legendary jazz bassist Keter Betts who died at his home in Silver Spring August 6. The free, outdoor program kicks off at 4 p.m., after a jazz youth program, with Frйdйric Yonnet, followed by the Ron Holloway Group, vocalist Carol Sloane, Silver Spring’s own Marcus Johnson, and a performance by Marsalis from 8:30 to 10 p.m. The Festival Grand Finale Jam Session, including Marsalis, will begin at 10:15 pm. The festival will start at 2 p.m. with a showcase of local youth talent in the Jazz Ensemble Caravan, a parade of youth jazz ensembles through the community, followed by the youth bands in competition. A committed arts advocate and music educator, Marsalis, who is artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, will participate as a judge of the youth jazz competition, along with Suzan Jenkins, president, Jazz Alliance International, Inc.; Ira Sabin, founder and chairman emeritus of JazzTimes magazine; Rusty Hassan, host of "Jazz and More, " WPFW-FM; and Jacqui Allen, on-air personality, WJZW-FM. The winning youth ensemble will receive the Borders/JazzTimes trophy. “This is the region’s not-to-be-missed musical event of the season…great entertainment for all ages, ” said Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan. “Jazz Legend Keter Betts, who adopted Silver Spring as his home decades ago, was the reason we started the festival, and we will all miss him in our community. With great pride and in loving memory, we dedicate the second annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival to the life and music of Keter Betts.” Considered by jazz critics to be one of the most important journeyman bassists of the genre, Betts’ bluesy, melodic, and thick tone and his creative use of string popping and glissando had long made him an in-demand player. During a career that spanned six decades, long-time Silver Spring resident Betts played with many of the jazz greats including an unprecedented 24-year stretch with Ella Fitzgerald. The mix of sounds at this year’s festival offers something for every jazz fan. Marsalis' appearance is particularly timely given the August 30 release of his new album, "Live at The House of Tribes." The sound of Marsalis' band is inspired by the basic principals of democracy. According to Marsalis, "The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication." Through jazz, Marsalis represents America around the world. Homegrown star Marcus Johnson, an extraordinary jazz keyboardist and composer, will cue up Marsalis. His smooth jazz will present an interesting counter sound to the festival’s other, more traditional, straight ahead jazz sounds. Johnson can be heard locally on WJZW-FM. With a long and prolific performing and recording career, Carol Sloane is one of the highest-regarded jazz vocalists in the U.S. today. An accomplished improviser and master interpreter of lyrics, she is considered one of the greatest living masters of traditional jazz singing. Versatile tenor saxophonist Ron Holloway has traveled the world as a member of legendary trumpeter Dizzie Gillespie’s Quintet, and played with such diverse artists as Sonny Hubbard, Branford Marsalis, Lionel Hampton, Jimmy Smith, the Aaron Neville Quintet and the Allman Brothers Band. French-born, contemporary jazz harmonicist Frederic Yonnet is one of only a handful of musicians to demonstrate successfully the harmonica’s versatility as a lead instrument in jazz. Yonnet creatively blends jazz and rhythm and blues, shuffling up-tempo workouts and African, Latin and European rhythms to add an “Afropean” spice to original and cover tunes write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |