Faces of Jazz: George Benson - 2013 Monterey Jazz Festival

It's been a number of years since George Benson last appeared on the Main Stage at Monterey. He was one of the headliners in the Saturday Afternoon set in the Arena. He also appeared on the Sunday afternoon panel discussion featuring recent NEA Jazz Masters honorees.

Benson's 90 minute set was had plenty for the fans of George Benson the singer, and George Benson the critically acclaimed bebop guitarist. He opened the set with two burning instrumentals before launching into crowd favorites and several songs from his latest release, "Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole". His closing with "On Broadway" brought fans from both sides of his career to their feet. All in all, a great way to cap off Saturday Afternoon.

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Jazz 500 - An Overdue Personal Project

Hello again. First, I must apologize for being away for so long. I wish I had more of an excuse to give you, but the fact is, sometimes life just gets in the way. In any case, I’m back just in time for the heart of the festival season. Next up for me is the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. We have our tickets in hand, and can’t wait for this, the 61st edition, of the longest continuously running jazz festival in the world. In the meantime, if you’ve followed my Instagram feed in the past, you may have noticed quite a bit more activity than normal. I usually post images live from the festival, and hope to be doing that again this year. In addition, I’ve started a series I’m referring to as Jazz 500 (#jazz500). My Jazz Photojournalism adventure began in 1995. A year later, I covered my first Monterey Jazz Festival. Since then, I’ve covered it every year except 1997 and 1998. As you can imagine, after 20 years of photographing some of the greatest legends of the musi

Faces of Jazz: Nancy Wilson, 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival

The afternoon "Conversation" segments of the Monterey Jazz Festival are a hidden gem in the festival's weekend program. The audience takes a rare, personal look at an artist as they reflect on various aspects and moments of their storied careers. This image was captured in one of those sessions with Nancy Wilson. Later that evening, Ms. Wilson would take the stage for the first time since the passing of her husband of 35 years, just weeks prior. She noted that how performing would be very different now. "Whenever U was onstage," she explained, "...no matter where I was in the world, I was always singing to him." She went on to say her signature song "Guess Who I Saw Today" had absolutely nothing to do with the Reverend Wiley Burton. All ticket options for the 2013 Monterey Jazz Festival are available now. Choose from single day grounds tickets to full weekend subscription packages for the Arena concerts. Go to the Monterey Jazz Fe

Faces of Jazz: Joe Lovano and the Berklee Global Jazz Ambassadors - 2013 Monterey Jazz Festival

Each year, the Monterey Jazz Festival's Artist-in-Residence is featured in a number of ensembles. One of those is typically a group of all-stars from the Berklee College of Music. The 2013 Artist-in-Residence, Joe Lovano, helped open Friday night on the Garden Stage with a group from Berklee dubbed the Global Jazz Ambassadors. The Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI) is a performance program designed to foster creativity and musicianship through various musical disciplines, with pianist and composer Danilo Pérez as its artistic director. The BGJI provides a comprehensive contemporary music environment where students are given opportunities to explore their creativity to the highest level possible, advance the power of music as a tool for the betterment of society, and connect musical creative thinking with the natural environment.

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