Published: June 19, 2008 10:28 am         

Elkhart Jazz Festival starts Friday

THE GOSHEN NEWS



ELKHART, Ind. — Jazzy sounds will abound in Elkhart this weekend.

The annual Elkhart Jazz Festival — billed as the event “where jazz lovers meet jazz legends” — is set for Friday through Sunday. More than 150 musicians will take to the festival’s various stages (see map), and around 30,000 jazz fans and attendees are expected to fill the downtown area.

“The Elkhart Jazz Festival is a crowning achievement for our community, not only in terms of the caliber of talent on our stages, but also because the average lifespan for a jazz festival is only one to three years,” said Glenn Holtz, festival committee chairman and executive director of the Elkhart Centre, the not-for-profit downtown revitalization organization that produces the festival.

The jazz festival will open at 5 p.m. Friday with the U.S. Army Blues Jazz Ensemble at the free-to-the-public Civic Plaza stage on Main Street. Musicians in this year’s festival line-up include guitarist Marty Grosz, drummer Butch Miles and pianist John Sheridan. Grosz will receive the festival’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award during his Saturday evening performance at the ELCO Performing Arts Center.

Among the “youngsters” featured at the festival this year is Taylor Eigsti, the piano prodigy who first performed in Elkhart at the age of 15. Also appearing is the Mighty Aphrodite Jazz Band and 23-year-old clarinetist Dave Bennett, appearing this year with his own quartet and also performing Benny Goodman tunes in a Saturday night set with Keller/Kocher Quartet.

Another festival highlight will happen Sunday at 3 p.m. as the Indiana All-Star Band performs on the free Civic Plaza stage. The group features 42 young Michiana-area musicians ranging from seventh grade to college age. Under the direction of music educator Gerald F. Knipfel, this group will leave for a 13-day European concert tour the day after performing for the festival.

This year’s line-up also features the return of Yoshimi and Carolina Shout, a classic jazz band from Japan led by jazz pianist Yoshimi Fukasawa. Other new — or newly returning — faces at the 2008 festival include vocalist Terrie Richards Alden, pianist Derek Smith, bassist Nicki Parrot, drummer Randy Drake (with the Shelly Berg Trio), saxophonist John Orsini, reed player Terry Myers, trumpeters Randy Sandke and Warren Vaché and trombonist Jiggs Whigham.

Instrumental clinics

The jazz festival will be the site of instrumental clinics for young musicians Saturday. Four clinics will be conducted from 10 to 11 a.m., prior to the festival’s opening at 11:30 a.m.

The Shelly Berg Trio (Shelly Berg, piano; Lou Fischer, bass; and Randy Drake, drums) will conduct a rhythm section clinic at the New Life Community Church stage. Rob Parton will lead a trumpet clinic at the Curtis Pavilion. Tim Cunningham will lead a saxophone clinic at the RiverWalk Stage. Cathy Morris will conduct a jazz violin master class at the Knights of Columbus stage.

Admission to the clinics is $5, but with their student identification, participants will also receive a free Saturday afternoon session ticket. That will provide students access to all venues and more than 20 sets of jazz throughout the afternoon.

In addition to the free Civic Plaza stage, the 2008 festival venues include five paid-admission stages. The RiverWalk Pavilion is located on the grass area just east of the Civic Plaza at the corner of Waterfall Drive and High Street. Other stages include the New Life Community Church, the ELCO Performing Arts Center and the Curtis Pavilion.

Single-session and weekend passes are available for the jazz festival. Patron tickets are $195; they include entry to all venues, with preferred seating, admission to the patron/VIP reception and reserved parking. A Jazz Pass, good for entry to all performances during the festival, is $120, with group rates for 10 or more (Jazz Passes or Patron tickets only) Session tickets are $50 for evening sessions and $30 for afternoon sessions. Student tickets — available for afternoon sessions only — are $10.

For ticket information or details about group rates, call the Elkhart Jazz Festival Hotline at (800) 597-7627 or visit the Web site www.elkhartjazzfestival.com.