Kingston Jazz Society

The 2011 Kingston Jazz Festival takes place at the following venues:

• The Grand Theatre (218 Princess Street) Thursday, Friday, Saturday night, 7:30pm
• The Mansion (506 Princess Street) Friday, Saturday night, 8 and 10pm
• McBurney (Skeleton) Park (157 Ordnance)
• Confederation Park (216 Ontario)

The venues are available through Google Maps below:

View Larger Map

Porch Jazz venue Details are as follows:

Come see the Alex Goodman Quintet in Westport at the Cove Inn on June 27th.

The Alex Goodman Quintet brings together some of the country’s top young talent to perform music that fuses the jazz and classical traditions. The band is releasing it’s new CD on a cross-Canadian tour sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts and will be performing in Westport before competing for the coveted TD Grand Prix de Jazz at the Montreal Jazz Festival. The group plays modern jazz that incorporates classical textures, contrapuntal writing, Baroque linear ideas, Impressionism and 20th century composition.

The band is:

ALEX GOODMAN – GUITAR/COMPOSITION
NICK MORGAN – SAXOPHONES
DARCY MYRONUK – PIANO
MAX ROACH – DRUMS
DAN FORTIN  - BASS

The Kingston Jazz Society, in partnership with The Grand Theatre and The Kingston Arts Council, is incredibly excited to be a part of the upcoming Kingston Jazz Festival running June 23 to June 25, 2011.

Festival Locations Posted!

If you haven’t had the chance yet be sure to pick up your tickets or festival passes now on sale through the Grand Theatre.  Full festival passes to all five shows are $115  Back to BASSics three-show passes for the Grand Theatre shows are $99 and $87.  Single tickets to the Mansion shows are $20 each.  All tickets are available through the Grand Theatre.  Porch Jazz and Confederation Park events are free.

Here are all of the details:

Thursday June 23, 7:30:  Dave Holland Quintet at The Grand Theatre

Grand Theatre, Regina Rosen Auditorium, 218 Princess Street.

This jazz bassist, composer and bandleader has been performing has been a forceful presence on the jazz scene for more than five decades. Holland has performed many of the greats including Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton, and Kenny Wheeler. The multi Grammy Award winner will perform with his legendary quintet at the opening night of the Kingston Jazz Festival.

Tickets start at $37 at The Grand Theatre

Friday June 24, 7:30:  Kurt Elling at The Grand Theatre

Downbeat’s male vocalist of the year for 11 consecutive years, this Grammy Award winner performs an evening of classics by ‘Ol Blue Eyes, as well as selections from his most recent album, The Gate. Noted as “the standout male jazz vocalist of our time” by the New York Times, Elling will show why he is in the same league as Mel Torme, Satchmo and Jon Hendricks.

Tickets start at $37 at The Grand Theatre

Friday June 24, 8pm and 10pm: Brandi Disterheft at The Mansion

Bassist and composer Brandi Disterheft is fast becoming one of jazz’s brightest lights. Still in her twenties, she’s already made a huge impression on thousands of listeners, including her Juno Award winning debut album, Debut.

Tickets are $20 per set available at The Grand Theatre or at the door

Saturday June 25:  A Day of Jazz

12:00-3:00: Porch Jazz Hosted by the Kingston Arts Council

The Kingston Arts Council is proud to present Porch Jazz from noon until 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 25. The free neighbourhood jazz performances feature a star-studded line-up of local musicians including Dave Barton, Greg Runions, The Limestone Trombone Quartet, The Sounds of Jazz Big Band, Paul Clifford and The Downtown Trio.

Performances will start in the Skeleton Park Neighbourhood and parade down to Confederation Basin.

3:00-6:00: Jazz By The Waterfront (Confederation Park)

The fun continues with a free performance of Jazz in the Park presented by the Grand Theatre and the Kingston Jazz Society on Saturday, June 25, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The whole family is invited to dance on Ontario Street and listen to the sounds of The Brandi Disterheft Quintet, The Shuffle Demons, and Mauricio Montecinos. Admission is free.

7:30: Christian McBride and Inside Straight at The Grand Theatre

Bassist extraordinaire, composer, arranger, educator and administrator, Christian McBride has been one of the most important figures in the jazz world for 20 years. As a musician with Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, Natalie Cole, James Brown, Sting and Don Henley, McBride has been an omnipresent force in jazz, pop, and R&B. In his debut at the Grand Theatre, McBride will be joined by his award-winning quintet, Inside Straight who will close the festival with swing-to-bluesy groove tunes.

8pm and 10pm: The Shuffle Demons at The Mansion

The 2011 Kingston Jazz Festival closes with a bang with The Shuffle Demons:

Throughout their more than 20 years performing together, The Shuffle Demons have had audiences up on their feet with their energetic blend of jazz and funk. “Outrageous and irresistible pretty well sums up the show. No matter where the music went, the dance floor was packed and people were moving in their seats and in the aisles. Bring back the Shuffle Demons soon and often.” – Ottawa Citizen

Tickets are $20 per set available at The Grand Theatre or at the door

Applecrisp has done it again! Get ready for the 6th annual Skeleton Park Music Festival at McBurney Park here in Kingston, Ontario. We are pleased to support this event. Please check out further details at:

http://skeletonparkmusicfestival.ca

As for jazz at SPMF, we are excited to see that Yuka is playing at 2:30pm, and the Souljazz Orchestra at 7:30pm, both on Sat, June 18th.

Since their creation in Ottawa, Canada, back in 2002, the Souljazz Orchestra have become one of the most potent bands in their field. Drawing on the rough, raw grooves of the ’60s and ’70s and effortlessly fusing soul, jazz, afro and latin rhythms within their music, the group have moved forward the blueprint of Fela, Fania and the funk in entirely new ways, while keeping the vital analogue grit intact. As a live unit, years of relentless touring have formed the band into an in-demand fixture at venues and festivals worldwide.

Having turned heads with two fine records on the Toronto-based Do Right! label, Freedom No Go Die (2006, featuring their breakthrough single “Mista President”) and Manifesto (2008), the Souljazz Orchestra have recently released the hotly anticipated Rising Sun album on London-based Strut Records. Drawing on a wider canvas of styles than ever before, touching on spiritual jazz, deep African rhythms, and cinematic soundscapes, the Orchestra take their sound to new heights with stunning musicianship and virtuoso arrangements throughout. Long-time fan Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio One) has already declared this album to be their best yet.

Pierre Chrétien – vintage keyboards, percussion, vocals
Marielle Rivard – percussion, vocals
Steve Patterson – tenor saxophone, percussion, vocals
Ray Murray – baritone saxophone, percussion, vocals
Zakari Frantz – alto saxophone, flute, percussion, vocals
Philippe Lafrenière – drums, percussion, vocals

Website: http://www.souljazzorchestra.com/home.html

Yuka are a Funk and Nu-Jazz band from Toronto, featuring Kingston’s own James Taylor on guitar. Check out their music at:

http://yuka.bandcamp.com