(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Diet Coke and Jazz at Lincoln Center will present the first-ever Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, a celebration of the great contributions women performers have made to jazz music, in New York September 6-October 2.
In association with NYC & Company, New York City's tourism marketing organization, the festival will feature nightly performances by some of the most influential women in jazz today as well as up-and-coming jazz artists at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola located in the new home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall. The festival will be part of the 2005-06 programming season, "Jazz from Coast to Coast."
"Jazz music is constantly evolving and women have long been instrumental in shaping the landscape of the jazz scene," said Derek E. Gordon, president and CEO of Jazz at Lincoln Center. "The Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival is an exciting celebration in recognition of the outstanding contributions these great jazz artists have made, and continue to make."
Festival sponsor Coca-Cola will underwrite tickets for the IAJE's "Sisters in Jazz" Upstarts! night performance on September 26 for distribution to local area high school music students. "New York City is the jazz capital of the world, and Diet Coke is delighted to help bring this first-time festival to the Big Apple and support creative music and the arts," said Chuck Fruit, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of The Coca-Cola Company.
"From Harlem to Queens, New York City has always been at the center of the jazz music evolution," said Cristyne Nicholas, president & CEO of NYC & Company. "This festival will further establish New York City as the premier destination for experiencing live jazz music."
The artists scheduled to perform include:
September 6-11 Angela Bofill
September 12 UPSTARTS! – Tia Fuller Quintet / Stephanie Nakasian
with Hod O'Brien Trio featuring 11 year old Veronica
Swift O'Brien
September 13 Marian McPartland – special solo piano concerts
September 14-15 Rita Coolidge
September 16-17 Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio with special guests
September 18 Tessa Souter / Cynthia Scott
September 19 UPSTARTS! – IAJE Sisters in Jazz
September 20-21 Claudia Acuna Quartet
September 22 Basie, Blues & Beyond: Karrin Allyson, Nancy King &
Friends
September 23, 24 Sherrie Maricle and DIVA Jazz Orchestra with Ann
Hampton Callaway and other special guests
September 25 Lynne Arriale Trio with special guests
September 26 UPSTARTS! – Terri Lyne Carrington with special
student guests
September 27 Helen Merrill Quartet
September 28 Hiromi / Jane Ira Bloom
September 29 Joanne Brackeen / Bertha Hope and Jazzberry Jam Band
September 30-October 1 Barbara Carroll Trio with special guests
October 2 Nnenna Freelon and Friends
Jazz at Lincoln Center received a leadership grant from The Coca-Cola Company towards the creation of the world's first performing arts center designed specifically for jazz, Frederick P. Rose Hall. In recognition of the company's commitment to this authentic art form, Jazz at Lincoln Center named the 140-seat jazz club performance venue in the new facility Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. The late Mrs. Lorraine Gillespie, Dizzy's wife, said, "I know that my husband would be proud and honored that many musicians will further their careers and the awareness of jazz as an art form in a place that bears his name." — Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
