The Kemah Boardwalk Jazz Fest will be Sept. 17 -18 on the Kemah Boardwalk, 215 Kipp Ave., Kemah, featuring local and regional jazz musicians as well as special guest, Everette Harp.
The University of Houston-Downtown co-sponsors the annual event. UHD jazz-artist-in-residence Robert Wilson and Bob McGrew of the Houston Professional Musicians Association (HPMA) Local 65-699 started the festival 14 years ago to spotlight local talent and it has grown into a nationally-known jazz showcase.
Other sponsors of the three-day events are the Kemah Boardwalk and the HPMA.
Special guest saxophonist, Harp, recorded for Blue Note Records, performed at numerous jazz festivals and appeared weekly on “The Arsenio Hall Show.” He has toured with notables including Chaka Khan, George Duke, Chante Moore, Anita Baker and Kenny Loggins. He is known for his performances with Marcus Miller, David Sanborn and Wayne Shorter.
“The Jazz Fest has become such a tradition that it wouldn’t be fall in Houston, certainly not fall on the Kemah Boardwalk, without it,” said Bill Flores, UHD president. “UHD is delighted to support the festival.”
Wilson, a University of Houston-Downtown Arts and Humanities faculty member and director of UHD’s civic music program, served on the Texas Commission for the Arts for two terms and was nominated for the 2005 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master’s Fellowship – America’s highest jazz award. Last year, he received the 2010 Kemah Boardwalk Jazz Fest Achievement Award. Wilson joined UHD in 1991.
UHD’s Civic Jazz Orchestra is made up of professionals in the community. Young Sounds of Houston consists of talented high school musicians. The younger group was developed through the Civic Jazz Orchestra to create a high-quality jazz group featuring students from across the Greater Houston Metropolitan area. Young Sounds is also supported by HPMA Local 65-699 and is endorsed by the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.
Students in the jazz orchestra benefit from intensive rehearsals and clinics. Many students continue their education at prestigious schools of music including the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and the Juilliard School in New York City. The festival schedule follows:
Saturday, Sept. 17
12:00 p.m. John Patrick Quintet
1:05 p.m. Bob Henschen Trio with Horace Grigsby
2:10 p.m. Dennis Dotson Quintet
3:30 p.m. HSPVA Jazz Ensemble
4:50 p.m. Armando Compean and Friends
6:05 p.m. Julie Wilson and Alegria
7:00 p.m. Achievement Award
7:30 p.m. ”Texas Trifecta” featuring saxophonist Everette Harp and special guests
8:45 p.m. Althea Renee
Sunday, Sept. 18
12:00 p.m. Young Sounds of Houston
1:15 p.m. Cindy Scott, New Orleans vocalist with The Wee Trio
2:30 p.m. Marsha Frazier Quintet
4:00 p.m. University of Houston-Downtown Civic Orchestra
5:15 p.m. Johnny Gonzales Quintet
6:30 p.m. Sam Houston State University Reunion Octet
7:45 p.m. Horace Alexander Young and the “Global Jazz Unit”
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