- Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival
The Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival is a one day jazz festival which has been presented annually since
2003 in Birmingham'sHistoric 4th Avenue District downtown. It is sponsored by theAlabama Jazz Hall of Fame (AJHoF) andUrban Impact .Leah Tucker , Executive Director of AJHoF, chairs the festival. The event offers jazz music, food, swing dance lessons and exhibits, as well as films in theCarver Theatre (as part of theSidewalk Moving Picture Festival ). The festival presents nationally known jazz artists and local jazz artists.2008 Performers
The 2008 festival was held on
September 27 . The lineup of performers included: Donald Witherspoon asBilly Ocean , the Neo Jazz Collective, On Purpose, Daniel Jose Carr, theBirmingham Heritage Band ,Tekneek ,Ona Watson ,Dee Lucas , trumpeterLew Soloff and theRay Reach Quartet (withCleveland Eaton on bass), guitaristEric Essix withJoey Sommerville and violinistMichael Ward .2007 Performers
The 2007 festival was held on
September 29 and about 6,000 people were in attendance. It began with an opening parade atKelly Ingram Park with MayorBernard Kincaid and CouncilmanWilliam Bell officiating. Music began at 2:00 pm and continued until midnight. Featured performers includedJose Carr , TheAlabama Jazz Hall of Fame Youth Ensemble ,Jerome Chapman , vocalist [http://www.anniesellick.com/ Annie Sellick] withRay Reach andCleveland Eaton ,Foxxy Fatts & Co ,Gary Motley ,Dee Lucas ,Ronnie Laws , Debra Laws,Donald Witherspoon as "Billy Ocean" and theBirmingham Heritage Band . The festival also featured work by urban artists, a swing tent, and a re-creation of theLittle Savoy Juke Joint .2006 Performers
The 2006 festival was held on
September 23 , the same weekend as theSidewalk Moving Picture Festival . It began with a New Orleans style parade at 1:00 PM and continued with the New Orleans All-Stars,Tommy Stewart , [http://www.bhamwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Ray_Reach_and_Friends Ray Reach and Friends] ,Foxxy Fatts & Co ,Cleveland Eaton ,Rolando Matias & the Afro Rican Ensemble featuring Bobby Matos,Johnny O'Neal ,Eric Essix ,Dee Lucas , theBirmingham Heritage Band , andDonald Witherspoon as "Billy Ocean." Other activities included a swing-dancing tent, a children's area, and food and gift vendors.References
* Singleton, William C. (September 30, 2007) "Jazz lovers get a full taste at 4th Avenue Festival." "Birmingham News".
External links
* [http://www.justataste.org/ Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival] website
* [http://www.myspace.com/rayreachmusic Listen to Ray Reach Music] at Myspace.com
* [http://www.anniesellick.com/ Annie Sellick] Official Website
* [http://www.clevelandeaton.com/ Cleveland Eaton] Official Website
* [http://www.ericessix.com/ Eric Essix] Official Website
* [http://www.johnnyoneal.org/index2.html Johnny O'Neal] Official Website
* [http://garymotley.tripod.com/ Gary Motley] Official Website
* [http://www.mobetterrecordings.com/index_site.html Dee Lucas] Website
*Ronnie Laws Bio at Wikipedia
* [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=14395 Tommy Stewart] at AllAboutJazz.com
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