San Diego Jazz Festival
The 34th Annual San Diego Jazz Festival will feature traditional jazz, dixieland, ragtime, stride, swing, boogie woogie, and rockabilly. More than thirty bands and artists are scheduled to play in seven different rooms, providing twelve hours of continuous music each day, ranging from traditional jazz, and ragtime to swing and rockabilly.
The opening night concert-dance showcases San Diego's own High Society and Detroit's Dave Bennett Quartet, and other highlights include New Orleans-style Second Line parades, a Sunday morning hymn-a-long, and special sets dedicated to Louis Armstrong, Irving Berlin, Bob Scobey, the hot dance music of the '20s and much more.
The lineup includes:
Paolo Alderighi of Italy, a renowned pianist who will pay tribute to Traditional Jazz pioneers. A university professor, teaching Musical Culture. Paolo has performed in Europe, Australia, and multiple times in Japan.
San Diegan Jason Wanner is a graduate in classical piano performance from California State University Sacramento School of Music. At his sixth birthday, his father surprised him with a Kohler spinet, piano, that he still plays to this day.
Glenn Crytzer and his Savoy Seven is a favorite of swing dancers. They''l perform a swing dance extravaganza together with Stompy Jones on Saturday night at the Festival.
Two of the bands are returning after an absence of several years: The Buck Creek Jazz Band and Bob Schulz's Frisco Jazz Band.
Other bands and soloists who will be applauded by savvy Festival patrons include:
Stephanie Trick, a young pianist who plays traditional jazz.
Carl Sonny Leyland, who plays boogie-woogie piano and sings the blues.
Cornet Chop Suey, known for covers like "Over the Rainbow" or their unique version of "West Side Story."
Clarinet player Dave Bennett and his Quartet will make their fifth consecutive presence this year, playing swing music. Alternatively, Dave and his Memphis Boys will perform songs a-la Jerry Lee Lewis, pounding the piano keyboard and singing rockabilly style.
Mission Bay High Preservationists, Red Skunk Band (one of the youngest jazz bands in the U.S.), Heliotrope Ragtime Orchestra (music written between the gay '90s and the roaring '20s), and a Hymn-Along with gospel music performed by the Blooming Jazzmen, making their sixteenth consecutive appearance at the San Diego Jazz Festival.