Is the worldwide economic meltdown beginning to affect the jazz festival world?

It certainly looked that way in Montreal last week, when General Motors of Canada announced that it would not be back as lead sponsor of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, one of the biggest and best jazz festivals in the world, after next year.

The festival said in a statement that “the current presenter of the event, General Motors of Canada, is not in a position to renew the long-term five-year sponsorship agreement which is due to expire” — which, given the well-documented problems of not just GM but the entire automobile industry, must be considered one of the understatements of the year.

GM began sponsoring the Montreal festival in 2000 and signed a five-year sponsorship deal in 2005. It has been contributing an estimated 10 to 12 percent of the festival’s $25 million annual budget, and will do so again for next year’s festival (which has already announced a typically strong lineup including Chucho Valdés, Dave Holland, Buddy Guy and many others). After that it’s anybody’s guess.  Read more »

Quite possibly the most prestigious musical event today, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has hit the big 4-0 and in turn, has outdone itself in booking nothing less than the cream of the crop. The 2009 lineup is incredibly diverse, both stylistically and chronologically, and will take music from jazz, pop, rock, soul, gospel, folk, salsa, blues, R&B, funk, and lots of music rooted in Louisiana, such as Cajun and zydeco. The event is scheduled to take place the weekends of April 24-26 and April 30-May 3 and it's a wonder how they've managed to cram hundreds of artists into a mere seven days. There are so many artists that one wouldn't know where to start unless they have a specific genre in mind. So for now, let's extract some of the rock bands that will be playing.

Although an official schedule has yet to be released, the lineup has been broken up between the two weekends. During the first weekend, Dave Matthews Band will be featured as one of the headliners (sadly, sans the original sax player). Wilco, who strangely drew in a larger crowd than Rage Against the Machine at Lollapalooza, will undoubtedly be received with open arms.  Read more »

The independent event production team, Across-the-Way Productions, just announced exciting additions to the already colorful initial lineup for their celebrated annual music and arts festival, FloydFest. Now in its 8th incarnation, the festival will take place July 23-26, 2009 in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia. Since its inception in 2002, FloydFest organizers have prided themselves in providing a safe and welcoming ground for a global community forum, and musical showcase steeped in Appalachian roots.

Blue Note recording artist Dianne Reeves is recognized today as the pre-eminent singer of jazz. With her many accomplishments, including holding a record for recieving four consecutive Best Jazz Vocal Grammies, and her work with legendary producers such as Arif Mardin, Dianne Reeves has become a voice to reckon with. And, it doesn't look like she's slowing down any time soon. Her newest album, When You Know, released in April 2008, has recieved much critical claim and her fans are far from dissappointed. Since her start back in the 1970s, Reeves is still at the top of her game and continues to tour, aweing her worldwide followers with her soulful sound.  Read more »

Blue Note recording artist Dianne Reeves, recognized as the pre-eminent singer of jazz, will perform with the Oregon Symphony at the Portland Jazz Festival on Valentine's Day 2009. The festival will be celebrating the 70th anniversary for the legendary Blue Note recording label.

Reeves never fails to awe worldwide audiences with her unique jazz stylings. She has gained an ever-growing fan base as well much critical claim. In 2006, she received a record breaking fourth consecutive Best Jazz Vocal Grammy. Reeves was the first Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic as well as the first singer to ever perform at the famous Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Reeves has recorded and performed extensively with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, as well as with Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim. She also worked with the legendary producer Arif Mardin on the collection A Little Moonlight, which features her trio.  Read more »

Portland Jazz Festival will top off its celebration of Blue Note Records with a finale performance by former Blue Note artist and Portland native Kurt Elling performing his tribute to the 1963 collaboration between saxophone great John Coltrane and baritone Johnny Hartman. A similar performance by Elling was one of the highlights of last year's Monterey Jazz Festival.

The concert recreates many of the ballads on the 1963 recording, Dedicated to You, which was recorded just over a year before Coltrane produced his seminal recording A Love Supreme. Unlike that transcendent effort, the Hartman collaboration was a more intimate and accessible album, a mood captured by Elling and his instrumental partner Ernie Watts.

Elling is widely regarded as one of the top jazz vocalists today, having won multiple Downbeat critic's polls and Jazz Times reader polls as well as seven Grammy nominations. He has performed twice before at the Portland Jazz Festival. For more information.  Read more »

The summer rock festival is a hallowed tradition, and the mere mention of a Lollapalooza or a Bonnaroo calls to mind more than a few indelible images: The restless multitudes massed outside the brimming porta-potties, the eight-dollar hot dogs washed down with twelve-dollar beers, so many sunburned and shirtless party warriors being carried to the quiet mists of the chillout tent. The sun is out; people are on vacation; sometimes it rains, and we get naked in the mud.

Stephen Rehage lost thousands of dollars in the making of the first New Orleans Voodoo Experience, the outdoor music festival he first produced in 1999 that only drew about 8,000 people.

Be sure to hit next page button to continue article.