22nd Annual Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival....
22nd Annual Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival....
this just arrived ... --sk
User-Agent: Microsoft-Outlook-Express-Macintosh-Edition/5.02.2022 Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 11:29:04 -0400 Subject: 22nd Annual Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival.... From: Steph Brown dlmediapr@home.com
July 31, 2001
22nd Annual Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival Celebrates Esteemed Motor City Jazz Masters Tommy Flanagan, James Carter, Bennie Maupin and Marcus Belgrave
Detroit's rich jazz heritage will be celebrated at this year's 22nd Annual= =20 Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend, August=20 31-September 3. Native jazz luminaries Tommy Flanagan, James Carter,=20 Marcus Belgrave and Bennie Maupin will be joined by Freddy Cole, Claude=20 "Fiddler" Williams, Jimmy Smith, Toshiko Akiyoshi & Lew Tabackin, Herbie=20 Mann & Dave Valentin, The Jazz Crusaders, and The Sun Ra Arkestra under=20 the direction of Marshall Allen. Made possible by the Ford Motor Company,= =20 the much-anticipated four-day event is the largest free jazz festival in=20 North America.
"The Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival is one of the premier music= =20 events in the world," noted Music Hall Chairman and Ford Motor Company=B9s= =20 Vice President of Dealer Development Elliott Hall. "In the hands of new=20 artistic director Frank Malfitano, who brings more than 30 years of=20 festival leadership and a lifetime of love for the art form, the festival= =20 will continue to flourish."
According to festival artistic director Frank Malfitano, this year=B9s=20 festival will feature more national and international artists than ever=20 before. "First and foremost, this is definitely a =8CJazz=B9 festival that= =20 will focus essentially, primarily and exclusively on various schools,=20 styles and disciplines of jazz," declared Malfitano. "This is also=20 definitely a =8CFestival=B9 in the truest sense because we=B9ll be= featuring a=20 number of =8Cfestive=B9 groups that are fun and entertaining and can only= be=20 seen in a showcase of this magnitude."
Malfitano also enthused on Detroit's position as a celebrated jazz center= =20 alongside New York, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St.=20 Louis. "Detroit has given the world a mother lode of jazz heavyweights=20 including: Milt Jackson, Betty Carter, Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell Barry=20 Harris, Donald Byrd, Charles McPherson, Elvin Jones, Hank Jones, Thad=20 Jones, Yusef Lateef, Kenny Garrett, Regina Carter and Geri Allen, all of=20 whom have appeared here since the festival's inception."
Jazz Fest founder Bob McCabe, who created the annual festival in 1980,=20 emphasized "The 2001 Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival promises to= =20 uphold our proud Detroit jazz festival tradition. Of the 100 sets at Jazz= =20 Fest 2001, 80 will be performed by Detroit jazz artists including special= =20 tributes to Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis performed by Marcus Belgrave=20 and Wallace Roney=B9s Quintet featuring native Detroiter and Miles sideman= =20 Bennie Maupin."
In keeping with past Jazz Fest tradition and to commemorate Detroit=B9s=20 300th Anniversary this year, the 2001 festival will continue to maintain=20 its strong commitment to Detroit-based local jazz artists and=20 Michigan-area scholastic jazz ensembles. A complete list of Detroit=20 professional and scholastic jazz ensembles, along with performance times=20 is posted at www.detroitjazzfest.com.
WDET=B9s Ed Love will host a syndicated tape-delayed "Best of the 2001 Ford= =20 Detroit International Jazz Festival" national radio program. After Labor= =20 Day weekend, over 150 NPR stations nationwide will air the program, which= =20 will feature highlighted performances from the 2001 Jazz Fest.
New festival hours will be Friday 3-11 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 12-11=20 p.m., and Monday 12-9:30 p.m.
This year=B9s official 2001 Jazz Festival poster was created by art= director=20 Scott Whaley of J Walter Thompson.
More than 30 other corporate sponsors join Ford Motor Company in making=20 this event possible. They include the following:
Absopure Water Company, Absolut Vodka, Bert=B9s Jazz Marketplace, Chryslea= =20 Marketing, Commerce One, Crowne Plaza Hotel Pontchartrain, Detroit Free=20 Press, Detroit Newspapers, Exxon Mobile, Focus: HOPE, E & J Gallo Winery,= =20 Hammell Music, Honors, HOUR Detroit Magazine, Humidor One, International=20 Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE), JazzTimes Magazine, Kowalski Food=20 Companies, Inc., Labatt Beer/Tri-County Beverage, Michigan State Lottery,= =20 SMZ Advertising, MAD Advertising & Marketing, John Miller Technologies,=20 MotorCity Casino, Mr. Peanut, Musicland Group, Inc., National Peanut=20 Council, Panera Bread, Percussion World of Ferndale, Real Detroit, Sam=20 Goody Music, Southeast Michigan Jazz Association (SEMJA), J. Walter=20 Thompson U.S.A., Inc., WDET, WEMU, WGPR 107.5 FM, WKBD-UPN 50/WWJ-CBS 62,= =20 WWJ NewsRadio 950 AM.
The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs also supports this=20 activity, which was attended in 2000 by 770,000 people.
For Jazz Fest 2001 information call 313-963-7622 or visit the Ford Detroit= =20 International Jazz Festival website at www.detroitjazzfest.com.
Since opening its doors in 1928, Music Hall has provided southeast=20 Michigan with diverse artistic and educational opportunities. In addition= =20 to the Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival, Music Hall is also the=20 area=B9s premier variety house. Music Hall annual presentations include= the=20 Just Off Broadway play series, world-class dance attractions and concerts= =20 of all types.
In 1995, Music Hall completed an extensive $6.5 million=20 renovation. Today, it stands as Detroit=B9s last remaining legitimate=20 theater and the city=B9s "Premier Variety House."
For additional information and artists interviews please contact Don=20 Lucoff/DL Media or Andrea Saglimbene at Music Hall (313) 962-4260.
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