The Bellevue Downtown Association has announced the featured artist lineup for the 2009 Bellevue Jazz Festival, May 22-24:
Artists include Dianne Reeves Strings Attached, Mingus Big Band, Kurt Elling, Patricia Barber, Danilo Perez, and Mose Allison.
Festival passes and individual concert tickets will go on sale March 5 at bellevuejazz.com and Brown Paper Tickets (brownpapertickets.com). The full festival calendar, including a listing of free performances by top regional artists and student showcases, will be announced in late February, along with ticket pricing.
“Around the world, live music is a cornerstone for a vibrant, dynamic city,” said BDA President and Festival Director Leslie Lloyd. “Jazz is a perfect conduit to reach across generations and celebrate our growing community.”
Headline artists Dianne Reeves Strings Attached and the Mingus Big Band will perform in the Center Hall at Meydenbauer Center. Featured artists Kurt Elling, Patricia Barber, Danilo Perez, and Mose Allison will perform at the Theatre at Meydenbauer Center.
The original Bellevue Jazz Festival, a fixture on the regional jazz scene in the 1980s and 1990s, was revived last year by the BDA, a non-profit advocating for downtown and producing major community events since 1974. World-renowned and Grammy winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis and Grammy winning Latin jazz ensemble Spanish Harlem Orchestra held stage in 2008 at Meydenbauer Center. Two-dozen free concerts by top regional artists were held at venues throughout downtown Bellevue.
“Re-establishing the Bellevue Jazz Festival connects us with our past,” added Lloyd. “It brings national and regional talent to established jazz fans as well as new listeners and unites our community around an exceptional music experience.”
Supporting partners for the 2009 Bellevue Jazz Festival are the city of Bellevue, Microsoft, 4Culture and KPLU-FM.
More information is available at bellevuejazz.com
The Lineup
Dianne Reeves Strings Attached – May 22, 9 p.m. Four-time Grammy winning vocalist with guitar masters Russell Malone and Romero Lubambo
Mingus Big Band – May 23, 9 p.m. Renowned avant-garde ensemble celebrating the music of the legendary jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus
Kurt Elling – May 22, 7 p.m. Preeminent jazz singer and Down Beat Critics Poll Male Vocalist of the Year for nine consecutive years
Patricia Barber – May 23, 7 p.m. Adventurous and inventive singer, songwriter, pianist highly-acclaimed for her 2008 release The Cole Porter Mix
Danilo Perez – May 23, 2 p.m. Grammy winning Panamanian pianist and composer, among the most influential and dynamic musicians of our time
Mose Allison – May 24, 2 p.m. Celebrated pianist, singer, composer famous for his fusion of rustic blues and jazz, embellished with profound and often humorous lyrics
