We’re just starting to see the weather turn Spring-like, and the jazz world is already buzzing about the event that closes the summer season. The full artist lineup for the 54th Monterey Jazz Festival (September 16-18, 2011, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds) has been announced, and tickets are already on sale. You would be wise to move quickly as this year’s roster of artists is nothing short of incredible.
The festival is a three-time winner of the Jazz Times Readers poll for the “World’s Best Jazz Festival”. No wonder as it is also the longest, continuous running festival in the world. At the top of the list for this year’s headliners are
Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Huey Lewis & The News, Poncho Sanchez & His Latin Jazz Band featuring Terence Blanchard; Joshua Redman; India.Arie & Idan Raichel; the John Pizzarelli Quartet, An Afternoon in Treme with Dumpstaphunk, Soul Rebels, Kermit Ruffins & Glen David Andrews, Hosted by Wendell Pierce; Hiromi: The Trio Project featuring Anthony Jackson & Steve Smith; Miles Davis/Gil Evans: Still Ahead Orchestra featuring Music from Miles Ahead, Porgy & Bess and Sketches of Spain; and many more. Over 500 artists will grace the festivals 8 stages with 90 performances.
The festival’s 2011 Artist-In-Residence is two-time GRAMMY-nominee, saxophonist Joshua Redman. Redman will be performing with his band James Farm, featuring Aaron Parks, Matt Penman & Eric Harland and will also appear as a soloist with the Festival’s All-Star student band, the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. This is a special honor for Redman who was a member of the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra in the 1980s.
