Long Beach Jazz Festival info, post coverage and photos (August 10-12, 07)
The Weekend was Spectacular with an array of the Best Jazz Musicians in the world. Friday night’s highlights included crowd favorite Warren Hill (pictured below) and he did not disappoint. He played everything from mellow jazz to upbeat cover songs which had people loving it and dancing.
Warren was even the headliner as Guitars & Saxes were! They featured Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Golub, Tim Bowman. All pictured below with a solo shot of Mr. Golub. These guys rocked the house and ended an incredible night of music!
Saturday night included incredible artists opening up with
Soul Express featuring Jody Watley, Everette Harp, Chris Standring. Followed by Leela James. Headlining was our favorite performance
"Jazz Attack" featuring Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler, Richard Elliot, Peter White (Pictured Below)
We couldn’t make it to Sunday’s finale but heard it was a blast with
Najee
Poncho Sanchez
Lalah Hathway
Ronnie Laws
The Sax Pack featuring Kim Waters, Steve Cole, Jeff Kashiwa.
Don’t miss out next year for one of the best Jazz Weekends around the LA area!
THE LONG BEACH JAZZ FESTIVAL
ONE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OLDEST MUSIC FESTIVALS
CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF GREAT MUSIC
Long Beach, CA – This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the Long Beach Jazz Festival (LBJF), August 10, 11 and 12, 2007 – Southern California’s premier jazz festival. For the past 19 years, over 750,000 music lovers have gone through the gates of the Long Beach Jazz Festival to experience the music of a Who’s Who of legendary talent including Nancy Wilson, Herbie Hancock, Cab Calloway, Eddie Harris, Roberta Flack, Art Blakey, Lou Rawles, Gerald Wilson, Wayne Shorter, Etta James, Ramsey Lewis, Roy Ayers, Diane Schuur, Chuck Mangione, Chic Correa, Gene Harris, Stanley Turrentine, Jimmy Smith, Stanley Carke, Bobby Caldwell, Hugh Masakela, Gil-Scott Heron, Freddie Hubbard, George Duke and the list goes on.
To mark the 20th Anniversary of the Festival, founder Al Williams promises to pull out all the stops. Highlights will include a nightly fireworks show, performances by some of the best and brightest in the Jazz, Smooth Jazz, and R&B genres and the announcement of the first annual "Long Beach Jazz Festival Lifetime Achievement Award" recipient and the "Al Williams Jazz Heritage Award honoree." Additionally, there will be a couple of surprise musical guests.
The three day lineup for this year’s festival include (not in order of appearance):
Friday, August 10:
Guitars & Saxes featuring Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Golub, Tim Bowman
Warren Hill
Gerald Wilson Orchestra Featuring Diane Schuur
Saturday, August 11:
Jazz Attack featuring Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler, Richard Elliot, Peter White
Leela James
Soul Express featuring Jody Watley, Everette Harp, Chris Standring
1 Plus ONE featuring Ndugu Chancler, Patrice Rushen, Eric Darius
Jazz Search Winner
Sunday, August 12:
Najee
Poncho Sanchez
Lalah Hathway
Ronnie Laws
The Sax Pack featuring Kim Waters, Steve Cole, Jeff Kashiwa
Al William Jazz Society featuring Barbara Morrison and Special Guests.
In 1978, Al Williams co-founded the Queen Mary Jazz Festival aboard the Queen Mary. In 1987, he founded the Long Beach Jazz Festival and established the festival site at beautiful Rainbow Lagoon Park. The festival has since become one of the top three annual events in Long Beach, attracting jazz aficionados from all over the United States and abroad and a favorite of those on the Jazz Festival circuit.
The festival through the years, has also been responsible for breaking new talent, as well as, exposing concert attendees to the fresh musical sounds of today’s top jazz recording artists such as, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Poncho Sanchez (a festival favorite), Diane Reeves, Al Jarreau, Rochelle Ferrell, Keiko Matusi, Bobby Caldwell, Norman Brown and so many more. According to Festival founder, Al Williams, “These past 19 years have been a truly remarkable and incredible experience; the festival has exposed thousands to the world’s greatest jazz musicians and vocalists, and has kept all forms of jazz music ‘alive’ and available for many generations to enjoy.”
Tickets are available through Rainbow Promotions at (562) 424-0013, Ticketmaster outlets or online at Ticketmaster.com.
Ticket ranges include: VIP tickets – $150 on Friday and $175 per seat on Saturday and Sunday – include a three-course gourmet dinner, wine service and VIP hospitality. Reserved Box Seat tickets are $60 on Friday and $75 on Saturday and Sunday. General Admission/Lawn Seating is $45 in advance and $50 at the gate. Gates open at 5:00 pm, with a show time of 7:00 pm on Friday. Saturday and Sunday gates opens at 11:00 am with a show time of 12:00 pm. The Long Beach Jazz Festival takes place at the Rainbow Lagoon in Long Beach (CA).
This year’s sponsors include Cadillac, Budweiser, Black Music America and Time Warner Cable.
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About Rainbow Promotions
Rainbow Promotions is the producer of the Long Beach Jazz Festival and various concerts throughout the year. For more than 19 years, Rainbow Promotions has presented the Long Beach Jazz Festival, the city’s third largest event, with an average of 30,000 attendees over the course of the three-day event. For more information regarding the Long Beach Jazz Festival, go to: www.longbeachjazzfestival.com or www.rainbowpromotions.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jalila Larsuel, JL Media Relations
626.398.5028 or email: [email protected].