The CMC Jazz Festival kicks off tonight, July 28th beginning at 5 pm. A roster of jazz talent, both local and beyond, will appear throughout tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night. What follows is the official listings of the event as provided by the Historic Colored Musicians Club and the schedule poster follows:
This summer’s Historic Colored Musicians Club Jazz Festival (formerly known as the Queen City Jazz Festival) kicks off on Friday, July 29th at 5:00 pm with a Coachella-themed, "high-style" fashion-forward happy hour event featuring BluJazz recording artists Walter Kemp 3oh! Judges include local celebrities and PRIZES including a CASH PRIZE is awarded to the Style Winner.
The evening continues with tenor saxophone titan and Okeh recording artist James Brandon Lewis. Hailed by Jazz Times Magazine as“Great Black Music: Ancient to the Future" and Ebony Magazine as one of “7 Young Players to Watch,” Lewis will perform two shows one at 7pm and the other at 9pm.
On Saturday, the festival continues to showcase the talents of more than 100 Western New York jazz musicians, many of whom boast national and even international reputations. The evening culminates with a 7 pm performance by international jazz heavyweight Kamal Abdul-Alim of Cleveland, Ohio. This jazz legend and Berklee graduate perform music worthy of the ear of any jazz aficionado. All outside performances, on the Main Stage and Saturday’s indoor performances from noon until 6 pm are FREE.
HISTORIC CLUB STAGE– Inside
FRIDAY 29th
5 pm – Coachella-themed, fashion happy hour with BluJazz recording artists Walter Kemp 3oh! ($10)
7 pm – Okeh recording artist James Brandon Lewis ($25)
9 pm – Okeh recording artist James Brandon Lewis ($25)
Saturday, July 30th, 2016 OUTSIDE
12 – George Scott Big Band
1 – Taylor Brown Quartet
2 – Janice Mitchell and the Jim Beishline Trio
3 – Toney Rhodes
4 – Houston Gardwell Collective
5 – John Troy Trio
6 – Brotha Perry Trio – Lamont
7 – Greg Millar Quartet
Saturday, July 30th, 2016 INSIDE
12 -Jazz Wizz – Bob Davis
1 – Rick Strauss and ThreeO
2 – Dark Matter
3 – Carrol Mclaughlin Quartet
4 – Why Not? Kevin Doyle
5 – Alex McArthur Quintet
Saturday, July 30th, 2016 INSIDE (Passes or Tickets ONLY)
7:00pm – Kamal Abdul-Alim Quartet
9:00pm – Kenny Hawkins & the Allstar Band
7 pm – International jazz heavyweight Kamal Abdul-Alim of Cleveland, Ohio ($10)
9 pm Kenny Hawkins All Star Band, with Rodney Appleby, Carl Johnson and Wade Hawkins. ($10)
More details and advanced discounted festival passes for paid performances are available at https://www.cmcjazzfest.com/#!buy-passes/z49gr.
The Historic Colored Musicians Club Museum will be open for visitors on Saturday from 11 am until 6 pm. Souvenir festival posters and tee shirts are available for purchase.
Festival sponsors are M&T Bank, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, LPCiminelli, Piano & Organ Center, Try-it Distributors and Apple's Haberdashery.
Keep Jazz Alive In WNY!!
