Fire up the credit card, you’ve got some traveling to do this summer. The mountain festivals are promising excellent lineups, and even if you choose not to hit the road, you’ll find some of the top names in jazz in the metro area between now and autumn.
Jazz Aspen Snowmass, Rio Grande Park, Downtown Aspen, June 21-24: Thanks to its promoters’ ability to attract marquee talent and the elegance of Aspen itself, this festival’s international prominence is well-deserved. There are some more pop-oriented names, as always (Earth, Wind and Fire, Steve Winwood) along with the improvisers (Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller) and those who are hard to classify (Madeleine Peyroux, Angelique Kidjo). Find out more at
Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra Featuring Wynton Marsalis, June 24-26: Trumpeter Marsalis continues to hold the unofficial title of Jazz Spokesperson. His massive orchestra, boasting a lineup of seasoned players, will spend three days in Colorado: in Vail at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater on June 24, at Denver Botanic Gardens June 25, and the Benedict Music Tent in Aspen June 26. These performances will feature the suite “Congo Square,” co-composed by Marsalis and Ghanaian drummer Yacub Addy, and they’re three of only a handful of appearances scheduled for the orchestra this summer.
New Mexico Jazz Festival, venues in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, July 19-29: Is it worth the drive, with gas at potentially four bucks a gallon, to make the trek for Sonny Rollins, arguably our greatest living tenor saxophonist? I’d say yes. Dianne Reeves, Bobby Shew and Robin Eubanks also are booked. Discover more at out
Evergreen Jazz Festival, Little Bear and other Evergreen locales, July 27-29: While many jazz gatherings employ stacks of amps to get their point across, there aren’t many participants in the traditional- leaning Evergreen Festival who need to plug in. Harking back to the ’20s and ’30s, James Dapogny’s Chicago Jazz Band, Andy Stein’s Blue Four and the Independence Hall Jazz Band should make for a pleasant weekend of time-traveling. Go to
John Scofield, John Medeski and Adam Deitch, Boulder Theater, Aug. 1: If guitarist Scofield’s appearance in Boulder earlier this year is any indication (and who can forget his “House of the Rising Sun” at Macky Auditorium?), the Boulder Theater audience should be in for a jazz vet at the height of his powers. And this should serve as a mere appetizer for the …
Telluride Jazz Celebration, Aug. 2-5: Scofield is this year’s “guest of honor,” which means he’ll have ample opportunity to stretch out with Medeski and Deitch as well as the powerhouse Trio Beyond with drummer Jack DeJohnette and organist Larry Goldings. Also on this years’ must-hear bill: guitarist Bill Frisell (could there be a duel between him and Scofield in the works?), trumpeters Roy Hargrove and Arturo Sandoval, and trombonist Steve Turre.
More on the deep lineup is at
13th annual Labor Day Weekend Party, Vail Cascade Resort and Spa, Aug. 31-Sept. 3: This yearly celebration shouldn’t be overlooked, not with heavyweights like The Clayton Brothers and Matt Wilson’s Arts and Crafts on the bill. And Bill Cunliffe’s “Multi-Media Salute to Thelonious Monk” seems compelling, too. All of the details can be found at
John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension, Boulder Theater, Sept. 19: It’s been too long since fusion pioneer and guitarist McLaughlin visited Colorado; this time he’ll bring a new electric group, billed the 4th Dimension. Expect it to sound nothing like the 5h Dimension.
Bret Saunders writes about jazz for The Denver Post. Saunders is host of the “KBCO Morning Show,” 5:30-10 a.m. weekdays at 97.3-FM. Reach him at bret_saunders@hotmail.com
