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| Healdsburg Jazz Festival From June 1 - 11, Healdsburg will reverberate with the sounds and beats of the world's greatest jazz performers. The 2006 Healdsburg Jazz Festival, one of Northern California's premiere annual cultural events, announced, that McCoy Tyner and his trio will appear as this year's Festival headliner. Tyner, one of the most gifted jazz pianists of the past quarter century, and six-time Grammy Award nominee, jazz singer, Mark Murphy are just a sampling of the world-class jazz musicians that will perform during this ten day jazz musical extravaganza in the heart of the Sonoma wine country. Recording star McCoy Tyner has been described by many of his peers as one of today's most important and influential living proponents of straight-ahead jazz. He was the pianist in the history making John Coltrane Quartet of the '60s, and his Coltrane association, including their 1960-65 recordings with bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones on the Impulse label, are still regarded by jazz historians as major landmark events. His contributions are considered to have been crucial to the maturation and evolution of the genre. Tyner's glittery credentials stretch back to the '50s and in addition to stints as the piano player for Benny Golson and his 'Jazztet', he has worked and recorded with Art Farmer, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins and Michael Brecker, among others. His 1970 album Sahara received two Grammy nominations and was named by DownBeat Magazine as “Album of the Year.” As a companion event, the Festival will feature jazz hipster Mark Murphy, the singer about whom critic Rex Reed once said, “He is arguably the best male jazz singer in the business.” Murphy is another veteran performer who traces his beginnings back to the early '50s, when he was discovered in his hometown of Syracuse, New York by Sammy Davis Jr. His first big hit, “This Could Be the Start of Something Big, ” was recorded in 1959 after he and Steve Allen, the song's writer, had introduced it to a national audience on The Tonight Show. The Festival's entire all-star line-up and the various venues will be finalized within the month. Events will take place at Rodney Strong Vineyards, Quivira Winery, Raven Theater, Barndiva, Hotel Healdsburg and many more locations. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |