New York, NY – May 5, 2014 – Blue Note Entertainment Group is proud to announce lineup additions for the 2014 Blue Note Jazz Festival, scheduled to take place Sunday, June 1 throughMonday, June 30, with over 150 performances at more than 15 venues throughout New York City. Lineup additions include an outdoor Ornette Coleman Celebration with various special guests,Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Buika, Marques Toliver, Chrisette Michele, Lou Donaldson with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Fabrizio Sotti & Friends, Salt-N-Pepa, Maxi Priest, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Willie Nile, and George Porter Jr., among others. Ticket information and a current schedule of events/locations is available on the official website,www.BlueNoteJazzFestival.com.
Reinforcing the festival’s underlying theme of distinctive collaborations (with pairings such as Bobby McFerrin & Questlove, André Previn & Christian McBride, and Ramsey Lewis with Philip Bailey, among others), Blue Note Jazz Festival will present “Celebrate Ornette: The Music of Ornette Coleman Featuring Denardo Coleman Vibe” in partnership with Celebrate Brooklyn! on June 12– a free outdoor concert at the Prospect Park Bandshell. Ornette Coleman’s son Denardo Coleman, an outstanding drummer who debuted on record with his father at the age of 10, convenes a deep and surprising lineup of special guests for a long-overdue exploration and celebration of Ornette’s music and spirit, with his own band (Al Macdowell, bass; Tony Falanga, bass; Charles Ellerbe, guitar; Antoine Roney, sax) at the core. Special guests include Afrika Bambaataa, Bill Laswell, Bruce Hornsby, Flea, Geri Allen, Henry Threadgill, James Blood Ulmer, Joe Lovano, and Patti Smith. Additional guests will be announced in the weeks leading up to the performance.
Adding to this year’s outdoor component, Blue Note Jazz Festival will continue its longstanding relationship with City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage program, presenting two double bills in Central Park. These free performances will spotlight four of the most exciting and progressive crossover talents on the scene today: Spanish vocalist Buika and acclaimed vocalist/violinistMarques Toliver on June 22, as well as pianist Jon Batiste and Stay Human and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble on June 29. This marks Buika’s second consecutive year headlining Blue Note Jazz Festival (following her sold out performances at The Town Hall in June 2013 and April 2014 respectively, presented by Blue Note Entertainment Group).
Several prominent festival shows have been added to various Blue Note Entertainment Group venues. Recently confirmed collaborations include: jazz icons Lou Donaldson with Dr. Lonnie Smith (Blue Note Jazz Club, June 10-11); “Sly Reimagined” – a special project with Global Noize interpreting the music of Sly & The Family Stone, featuring Jason Miles, Nona Hendryx,Maya Azucena, Falu, and Cyro Baptista (Highline Ballroom, June 8); and guitarist Fabrizio Sotti & Friends, with Tony Grey, Mino Cinelu, Algebra Blessett, M1 of Dead Prez, and Claudia Acuña, among others (Highline Ballroom, June 4). Rounding out several R&B centric shows at the festival, such as Lalah Hathaway, Ruben Studdard and Oleta Adams, vocalist Chrisette Michelwill perform at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on June 27 (produced by Jill Newman Productions). Reggae icon Maxi Priest has been added to B.B. King Blues Club on June 11 (complementing other festival reggae artists such as Sly & Robbie, Monty Alexander, and Tarrus Riley). Additional shows include: Salt-N-Pepa (Highline Ballroom, June 6), Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band (B.B. King Blues Club, June 21), and Willie Nile (Highline Ballroom, June 18).
Other new partner events include two additional film screenings at IFC Center, featuring a director’s cut of Nelson George‘s Finding the Funk documentary on June 12 and The Pleasures of Being Out of Step, a documentary profile of legendary jazz writer and civil libertarian Nat Hentoff, June 25 through July 1; four performances at DROM, featuring AbrazOs OrchestrA (June 5),Florencia Gonzalez (June 11), Quantic (June 13), and Pacheco + Annie Chen (June 15);Rockwood Music Hall performances featuring Mark Guiliana’s Beat Music on June 5 and aresidency by Glen David Andrews spanning June 11, 18, and 25; George Porter, Jr. & The Runnin’ Pardners at Brooklyn Bowl on June 20; and a performance by Sadao Watanabe at Asia Society on June 25.
Please visit www.BlueNoteJazzFestival.com for the most current public lineup and schedule (including various late night and brunch shows that have been added to Blue Note Jazz Club, B.B. King Blues Club & Grill and Lucille’s Bar & Grill at B.B. King Blues Club schedules).
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