2007 JVC Jazz Festival

NEW YORK, April 17 - The 2007 JVC Jazz Festival - New York takes over the city June 17 - 30 with more than 300 artists in nearly 200 concerts and events (including clubs) at 28 venues in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and reaching as far as Philadelphia.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 18.

Festival highlights include 80th birthday celebrations for Eartha Kitt and Lee Konitz; 70th birthday festivities for Ron Carter and Nancy Wilson; the return of soul diva Patti LaBelle and the barefoot diva Cesaria Evora; salutes to Benny Carter, Ruby Braff, Jimmy McPartland and jazz maven Phoebe Jacobs; a double dose of hot new talent with India.Arie and Lizz Wright; a unique concert pairing with Branford Marsalis and Joshua Redman at The Town Hall; and six free concerts at Macy's across New York City and Philadelphia.


"Every year, it gets more challenging to present a great festival; but every year, I believe we succeed," said George Wein, Chairman of Festival Productions, a division of The Festival Network, LLC. "This year, you can count on two weeks of outstanding music featuring some of the best of traditional, straight-ahead, contemporary, Big Band, Second Line, R & B, Latin, world music and more."


The 2007 JVC Jazz Festival presents eight concerts at Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium and three at Zankel Hall. The 8:00 p.m. Carnegie Hall concerts begin on Thursday, June 21, with Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Peacock followed by young vocal powerhouses India.Arie and Lizz Wright on Friday, June 22 and Patti LaBelle and the Lou Donaldson Quartet on Saturday, June 23. Don't miss C'est Si Bon: Eartha Kitt's Fabulous 80th Birthday Concert with Eartha Kitt and many special guests on Monday, June 25, and the "Barefoot Diva" from Cape Verde, Cesaria Evora, and The Bird and the Bee on Tuesday, June 26. Ron Carter: The Master @ 70 takes the stage on Wednesday, June 27, featuring Ron Carter & Friends in four group - Quartet with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter & Billy Cobham; Trio with Mulgrew Miller & Russell Malone; Duets with Jim Hall; and New Quartet with Stephen Scott, Payton Crossley & Rolando Morales.


Carnegie Hall concerts continue with Nancy Wilson's Swingin' 70th Birthday Party featuring the Nancy Wilson Trio with special guests Regina Carter, Kurt Elling, Nnenna Freelon, Herbie Hancock, Ramsey Lewis and Dianne Reeves on Friday, June 29. Making his Carnegie Hall debut as a headliner is Bela Fleck & The Flecktones plus The Del McCoury Band on Saturday, June 30.

Zankel Hall is the spot to celebrate Lee Konitz's Beautiful 80th Birthday Party featuring Lee Konitz with Orquestra Jazz Matosinhos & New Nonet & String Quartet plus special guests Paul Motian & Steve Swallow, directed by Ohad Talmor on Monday, June 25. The festivities continue on Tuesday, June 26, with Benny Carter Centennial Celebration: The King of New York starring Loren Schoenberg Big Band with Chris Neville, Catherine Russell & Roberta Gambarini. Spend An Evening with Jean-Luc Ponty on Wednesday, June 27. All three concerts are at 8:30 p.m.


The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College spotlights some of the best in traditional jazz with salutes to Jimmy McPartland, Ruby Braff and Phoebe Jacobs. Kicking off the series is Jimmy McPartland Centennial Celebration featuring Marian McPartland with Howard Alden, Bill Crow, Eddie Locke, Joe Muranyi, Ken Peplowski, Bobby Pring and Warren Vaché on Tuesday, June 19. Then, on Wednesday, June 20, We Remember Ruby: A Musical Salute to Ruby Braff stars Warren Vaché, Jon-Erik Kelso, Scott Hamilton, Harry Allen, Norman Simmons, Dick Hyman, Jon Wheatley, Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, Frank Tate, Chuck Riggs, Daryl Sherman, Jackie Williams and JVC Jazz Festival impresario George Wein.


The Kaye series ends on Thursday, June 21, with Phoebe Jacobs - A Life Well-lived: A Work Still in Progress featuring the Music of Eubie Blake, Benny Goodman, Peggy Lee, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan & Louis Armstrong performed by Terry Waldo, Mary Louise, Barbara Carroll, Jay Leonhart, Steve Johns, Bucky Pizzarelli, Ken Peplowski, Jon Faddis, Mercedes Ellington, Andre de Shields, Antoinette Montague, Carolyn Leonhart, Jonathan Batiste, Peter Washington and many others. All concerts are at 8:00 p.m.

JVC Jazz Festival - New York moves to The Town Hall for three 8:00 p.m. concerts including Preservation Hall at Town Hall: Bourbon Street Comes to Broadway featuring Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Jenny Scheinman, Allen Toussaint, Steve Wilson and many other special guests on Tuesday, June 19, followed by a double bill with Branford Marsalis and the Joshua Redman Trio on Wednesday, June 20. Wrapping up the series is YKK Presents Jazz: East & West featuring Bass Talk with Yoshio "Chin" Suzuki and Soichi Noriki, Shinpei Inoue & Yoichi Okabe, The Tokyo Trio with Kei Akagi and Tomokazu Sugimoto & Tamaya Honda plus special guests Dave Liebman and Billy Hart on Thursday, June 21.

Kenny Barron & Eliane Elias with Marc Johnson & Satoshi Takeishi perform at The Allen Room at the Frederick P. Rose Hall on Sunday, June 24, at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Making its debut as a JVC Jazz Festival venue is the Rubin Museum of Art with three 7:00 p.m. concerts including Raw Materials featuring Vijay Iyer & Rudresh Mahanthappa Duo on Friday, June 22; Anat Fort on Wednesday, June 27, and Ned Rothenberg & Glen Velez on Friday, June 29.

Hurry up to Harlem for A Father's Day Gift presenting Sonny Fortune Quartet with Michael Cochrane, Chip Jackson & Steve Johns on Sunday, June 17, at 3:00 p.m. at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Geri Allen Trio with Rashaan Carter, Kassa Overall & tap dancer Maurice Chestnut light up the night at the Studio Museum in Harlem on Wednesday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m.

The JVC Jazz Festival - New York returns to the Jazz Standard for five World Jazz Nights featuring Lionel Loueke Trio with Ferenc Nemeth & Massimo Biolcati on Tuesday, June 26, and Avishai Cohen Sextet with Lionel Loueke, Jason Lindner, Omer Avital, Daniel Freedman & Yosvany Terry on Wednesday, June 27. Then Roswell Rudd's MALIcool with Kadialy Kouyate, Balla Kouyate, Mawuena Kodjovi, Henry Schroy, Jorge Amorim & Mar Gueye takes up residence for a three-night run Thursday, June 28 - Saturday, June 30. All sets are at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. with an 11:30 p.m. set added on Friday and Saturday.



The 2-for-1 Club Night series with special discounts to JVC Jazz Festival ticket holders will be offered throughout the festivalat The Blue Note,Iridium Jazz Club, The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, Smoke, Sweet Rhythm and Zinc. Artists include Eric Person & Meta-Four and Larry Carlton at the Blue Note; Yellowjackets and Keiko Matsui at Iridium; and Barbara Carroll and Sarah Partridge at The Oak Room.



Catch two free concerts Outdoors at Citicorp Plaza at St. Peter's Church at 12:30 p.m. Downbeat Presents: Jazz Combos with Berklee College of Music JVC Jazz Festival Ensemble, Eastman Jazz Performance Workshop and William Paterson Jazz Sextet on Thursday, June 21. JVC Jazz Festival & Midtown Arts Commission Celebrate International Women in Jazz featuring Ada Rovatti Quintet and Sherry Luchette Trio on Thursday, June 28



The JVC Jazz Festival - New York teams up with Celebrate Brooklyn! to present Groove Collective, Ravi Coltrane Quartet and Craig Harris Ensemble in a free concert at Prospect Park Bandshell at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, June 29.



Shop and bop 'til you drop at six free concerts at Macy's where guests can sign up for a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Patti LaBelle's JVC Jazz Festival concert at Carnegie Hall. Catch Sonny Fortune at Macy's Herald Square on Tuesday, June 7, at 6:00 p.m.; an artist to be announced at Macy's Brooklyn on Friday, June 8, at 6:00 p.m.; International Women in Jazz featuring Audrey Silver at Macy's Queens on Saturday, June 9, at 3:00 p.m.; Eric Mintel at Macy's Center City in Philadelphia at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 9; Roni Ben-Hur at Macy's Herald Square on Thursday, June 14, at 6:00 p.m.; and an artist to be announced onMonday, June 18, at noon.



JVC Special Events & Educational Programs include Take the A Train: The Music of Billy Strayhorn, featuring New York City Gay Men's Chorus with Music Director Casey J. Hayes, arrives at Nokia Theatre Times Square on Monday, June 18, at 8:00 p.m. Incorporation of Artists on the Move presents Swing, Bebop to Hip-Hop: To Mary Lou Williams with Love, curated by Gwendolyn Black with Musical Director Emme Kemp, June 19 - July 30 at Harlem Branch Library and Citibank Financial Center.



Don't miss a visit to the Langston Hughes House: Harlem Renaissance Continued when Motema Music presents "Bujo" Kevin Jones & 10th World on Wednesday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; The Kit McClure Band on Friday, June 15, at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.; Claudia Beth Hayden Band on Saturday, June 16, at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.; Elmolenium Orchestra performing the music of Elmo Hope on Tuesday, June 19, at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; Marc Cary Experience & Abstrakt Blak on Thursday, June 21, at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.; Lynne Arriale on Friday, June 22, and Saturday, June 23, at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.; Jana Herzen Band on Friday, June 29, at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.; and Roni Ben-Hur: Strayhorn Project on Saturday, June 30, at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

JVC Jazz Festival - New York supports JazzReach featuring Bruce Hornsby-Jack DeJohnette-Christian McBride on Wednesday, May 23, at 8:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. at B. B. King Blues Club & Grill and Matt Wilson Arts & Crafts and Metta Quintet on Tuesday, June 19, at 8:00 p.m. at The Ailey/Citigroup Theater. Then JVC joins in the festivities at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music 20th Anniversary Celebration on Wednesday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m. with performances by notable alumni and mentors including Chico Hamilton, Marcus Strickland, E. J. Strickland, Charles Tolliver, Peter Bernstein and more.

Spend the weekend in Saratoga Springs, NY, at the 30th Annual Freihofer's Jazz Festival, at Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center June 23 - 24, starting at noon with a line-up of world-renowned artists including George Benson, India.Arie, David Sanborn, Al Green, Trio Beyond featuring Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield & Larry Goldings, The Dizzy Gillespie All-star Big Band and more. Tickets go on sale May 13. For more information, visit www.spac.org.

JVC Jazz Festival - Newport, now celebrating the 53rd year of the famed Newport Jazz Festival, is set for August 11 - 13 at Fort Adams State Park. Artists will be announced on April 24.

Additional support for the JVC Jazz Festival - New York is provided by NYC & Co., Macy's and media partners The Village Voice and Jazz 88/WBGO-FM.

Hotel 57, located at 130 East 57th Street between Park & Lexington, is the official host hotel of the JVC Jazz Festival - New York. For the special festival rate, call (212) 753-8841 and mention the JVC Jazz Festival and visit www.hotel57.com.

Tickets and information for JVC Jazz Festival - New York concerts are available at respective box offices or by telephone: JazzReach at The Ailey/Citigroup Theater www.ticketweb.com; The Allen Room (212) 721-6500; JazzReach at B. B. King Blues Club & Grill (212) 307-7171; Blue Note (212) 475-8592; Carnegie Hall (212) 247-7800; Incorporation of Artists on the Move at Citibank Financial Center (212) 665-5313; Harlem Branch Library (212) 348-5620; Iridium (212) 582-2121; Jazz Standard (212) 576-2232; Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (212) 772-4448; Langston Hughes House (212) 860-6969; Macy's (212) 695-4400; New School (212) 229-5488; Nokia Theatre Times Square (212) 307-7171; The Oak Room (212) 419-9331; Prospect Park Bandshell (718) 855-7882; Rubin Museum of Art (212) 620-5000; Saint Peter's Church (212) 935-2200; Schomburg Center (212) 491-2200; Smoke (212) 864-6662; Studio Museum in Harlem (212) 864-4500; Sweet Rhythm (212) 255-3626; The Town Hall (212) 307-4100; Zankel Hall (212) 247-7800; Zinc (212) 477-8337. For information and a Festival brochure, call (646) 862-0458 weekdays from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. or write JVC Jazz Festival - New York, P.O. Box 1169, Ansonia Station, New York, NY 10023.