Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Berks Jazz Fest begins its 10-day run on Friday
The 33rd annual Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest, opening on Friday and running through April 14, will serve up its enticing gumbo of contemporary, straightahead, blues, fusion, Big Band, gospel, Hot Club and other jazz genres for 10 blissful days.
That variety is evident in the array of headliners this year.
Acclaimed bassist Christian McBride will perform on opening night at the Miller Center for the Arts, while just across the river at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, jazz/fusion/R&B bassist Marcus Miller will be performing with the revered South African singer-songwriter Jonathan Butler.
Later that night, the eclectic jazz flutist/saxophonist Najee & Friends will help get things rolling at the DoubleTree Grand Ballroom.
And on Saturday, an amazing co-bill featuring Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin and Kirk Whalum gets the music started at the DoubleTree Grand Ballroom. Legendary guitarist Pat Metheny brings his national Dream Box Tour to the Scottish Rite, and the brilliant vocalist Maysa will reunite with the British acid-jazz band Incognito, who helped launch her career as their lead soloist in the ’90s.
Longtime Berks Jazz Fest favorite, pianist Keiko Matsui, will bring her gorgeous original pieces to the Miller Center, performing with the Reading Pops Orchestra on Sunday afternoon. And fans of gospel music will be happy to know that saxophonist Whalum’s “Gospel According to Jazz” is returning to the Scottish Rite that evening, with a stellar lineup, including keyboardist John Stoddart, vocalist Kevin Whalum, Jonathan Butler, Marcus Finnie, Andrea Lisa, the Reading Choral Society and the Fresh Wind Gospel Choir.
On April 12, the fest presents West Coast Jam featuring fest favorites Rick Braun, Richard Elliot and Peter White with the West Coast Horns at the Scottish Rite; a Miller Center co-bill of the Grammy-winning The Baylor Project and iconic vocalist Paulette McWilliams.
Jazz/rock/blues guitar fans will enjoy the Eric Clapton Retrospective by Craig Thatcher and Friends on Saturday afternoon, April 13, and that night the young jazz pianist Joey Alexander will return to the festival (all grown up now!) along with the ever-popular Tuck & Patti.
And Brian Culbertson will perform at the Scottish Rite on April 14, followed by Straight No Chaser’s Jerome Collins closing the fest at the Miller Center.
But that lineup is only part of the Berks Jazz Fest story. One of the unique aspects of this festival is the opportunity to attend one-of-a-kind concerts featuring collaborations by artists around special themes — or just because they want to jam together.
This year, fans have many choices to experience the joy of these concerts:
• The annual Chuck Loeb Memorial All-Star Jam at the DoubleTree next Thursday.
• “Remembering Grover Washington Jr.,” featuring Kirk Whalum, Everette Harp, Kim Waters, Gerald Veasley, Billy Jolly and Carol Riddick with musicians who performed with Washington, on April 12.
• Chris “Big Dog” Davis’ third “Celebrating the Women in Jazz,” featuring Melba Moore, Maysa, Paulette McWilliams, and Nicole Henry and others at the Scottish Rite on April
13.
• Brian Bromberg &
Friends for brunch on the final day.
• And, of course, the four late-night Gerald Veasley Unscripted shows on the two Fridays and Saturdays.
And those who want to be up on the newest and greatest young artists will want to attend “The Future Is Now!” this Saturday at the Miller Center, with vocalist/trombonist Aubrey Logan, trumpeter/ vocalist Ilya Serov, Oli Silk and more. And if you love women in jazz, you will enjoy Jazz in Pink on Sunday, for brunch at the DoubleTree Grand Ballroom.
“When the programming process begins each year,” said John Ernesto, fest artistic director, “the goal is to create a lineup that showcases the diversity of the jazz genre. I believe we achieved that goal — providing fans many choices and opportunities to experience contemporary and traditional jazz, fusion, blues, big band, gypsy jazz, and more.”
Other notable concerts include Bobby Lyle & Andrew Neu featuring The Bright & Tight Horns; the Simon Shaheen Fusion Quartet at the WCR; saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin on Wednesday at Kutztown University’s Schaeffer Auditorium; the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors and the Berks High School All-Star Jazz Band next Thursday at the Miller Center.
There will be a double concert by Eric Darius & Rebecca Jade and the Rhythm & Groove Trio; blues performances by Craig Thatcher and Danielle Nicole; and gypsy jazz by the Hot Club of Reading, all on the second Saturday.
For a complete guide to Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest 2024, visit www. berksjazzfest.com, where you can view the schedule along with artist bios, news and other information, including how to purchase tickets.