Jazz Fest Returns to White Plains This September

White Plains resident and local prodigy Julius Rodriquez of Orange Julius and the Big Beat.

White Plains resident and local prodigy Julius Rodriquez of Orange Julius and the Big Beat.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (June 22, 2015) – ArtsWestchester is pleased to announce the return of the White Plains Jazz Fest, one of the county’s premier music festivals. Presented in collaboration with The City of White Plains and the White Plains BID, Jazz Fest 2015 is a four-day jazz celebration featuring seven live music concert events.

Spanning from Thursday, September 24 through Sunday, September 27, the festival lineup includes Grammy awards winners, established jazz and blues musicians, emerging artists, performance poetry and a tasty array of dining options that promise a great cultural experience for everyone from jazz aficionados and enthusiasts to families and casual listeners.

The concerts are either free or affordably priced and the venues are conveniently located throughout downtown White Plains and accessible by public transportation.

“You won’t find a better or more diverse ensemble of musicians and bands in Westchester County in September,” said Janet Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester. “Whether it’s Latin, Brazilian or Contemporary jazz or even the acoustic blues, the White Plains Jazz Fest is going to be rich with live performances by outstanding musicians. We’re so pleased to be able to bring such high quality entertainment to Westchester residents and visitors this fall.”

White Plains Jazz Fest events include:

· September 24 at 8:00pm: The South American Jazz Project at ArtsWestchester. Led by Daniel Freiberg, Grammy award winning composer, arranger, pianist and producer from Buenos Aires, Argentina, the South American Jazz Project explores the rhythms and melodies from Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile and Perú from a Jazz point of view. Freiberg has collaborated in projects with Marc Anthony, Stephane Grapelli, Paquito D’Rivera, and The Wynton Marsalis Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, among many other artists. Admission is $20.

· September 25 at 12:10 pm: Downtown Music at Grace Church: Jazz Faculty of the Music Conservatory of Westchester. The Westchester Music Conservatory Jazz Faculty will perform at the Downtown Music at Grace Church. This will feature Guitarist Greg Diamond, who will perform classics and original compositions of Latin Jazz. This guitarist has been an emerging force of contemporary Latin jazz and has been a semi-finalist at the Gibson International Jazz Guitar Competition hosted by the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Admission is free.

· September 25 at 8:00 pm at ArtsWestchester: Women of the Piedmont Blues. A memorable evening that unites some of the key practitioners of the acoustic blues on the East Coast, Eleanor Ellis, Jackie Merritt, Resa Gibbs, Valerie Turner, and Poet Gold. Presented by the ArtsW Folk Arts Program in cooperation with thecountryblues.com. Admission: $20

· September 26 at 2:00 p.m. -4:00 pm at the Music Conservatory of Westchester: Latin Jazz Workshop. Learn about Latin Jazz concepts and instruments – clave, montuno, tumbao – and the music of its masters like Toto Puente, Cal Tjader and Hilton Ruiz. Free admission.

· September 26 at 3:00 pm. Slam Poetry Performance at White Plains Library. The White Plains Library Poetry Slam will host an afternoon of performance poetry featuring the Duende Project. The Duende Project is a poetry and music project created by Tony Brown, veteran performance poet; Steve Lanning-Cafaro, Chris Lawton and Chris O’Donnell. Free admission.

· September 26 at 8:00 p.m. at the White Plains Performing Arts Center- Brazil Meets Jazz. White Plains Jazz Fest presents, in association with the White Plains Performing Arts Center, a concert of Brazilian jazz featuring: Brazil Meets Jazz, with Grammy-nominated Brazilian Trio featuring Helio Alves, piano, Nilson Matta, bass and Duduka Da Fonseca, drums, with Maucha Adnet, vocals, and Mark Morganelli, flugelhorn. Admission $35/$25©CharlesSeton groupshot

· September 27 at 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 pm: Jazz and Food Fest. Located at the Mamaroneck Avenue Stage, there will be food and a full day of music performances. This includes Orange Julius and the Big Beat; a six piece ensemble led by 16-year-old local prodigy Julius Rodriquez, Doug Munro and Big Boss Bossa Nova with Charlie Lagond, Rocky Middleton Quintet, Sherry Winston, a master electric flutist and the John Patitucci Quartet.
Free admission.

For tickets and to learn more, visit www.artswestchester.org.

 

Donielle Stanton

<span class="team-name">Donielle Stanton</span><br>
Senior Media and Communications Specialist

This will close in 20 seconds

Donielle Stanton
<span class="team-name">Donielle Stanton</span><br> Senior Media and Communications Specialist

Donielle has more than 25 years of experience as a TV producer. Most recently she was a segment producer for the award-winning show “Good Day New York” on Channel 5. 

Over the course of 17 years she worked with wide variety of celebrities, politicians’, and newsmakers to deliver the best quality segments for live TV.  

Prior to that, she helped to create and launch CBS 2 local weekend morning news program.

She grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson and has extensive knowledge of Westchester County. Donielle currently resides in Hartsdale with her husband Chris and their 4 children.