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2010 GENERAL PRESS
RELEASE
2010 Fox Jazz Fest “Home Cookin’” FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE July
8, 2010 Appleton,
June 29: September 4th
and 5th at Jefferson Park in Menasha will be full of the
sights and
sounds of the 17th annual Fox Jazz Fest. A free community
event
organized by the Jazz Corner Society, this year’s festival will be
headlined by
Grammy-nominated pianist Geoffrey Keezer and vocalist Janet Planet. The
full
lineup is a blend of local, regional, and national talent that promises
to keep
your ears and heart inspired. To view a schedule of performers go to www.foxjazzfest.com. Bring your lawn chairs or pull your boat
up to
Jefferson Park to celebrate the end of a great summer with great jazz. The
theme this year is “Home Cookin’,” and the Jazz Corner Society has put
together
an outstanding lineup of musicians personifying that theme. Pianist
Geoffrey
Keezer will be headlining Saturday night with his trio. An Eau Claire
native,
Keezer is a veteran of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, which he joined at
the
young age of 18. He has since
worked with a veritable who’s who of the jazz world including Joshua
Redman,
Diana Krall, Christian McBride, and Joe Locke. More recently Keezer
released Áurea,
an album mixing jazz with Afro-Peruvian and Argentinean folk music. The
Fox Valley’s very own Janet Planet will be joined by her quintet of
area
musicians featuring; Tom Thabo, Tom Washatka, Matt Turner, John Gibson,
and
Danny Lueck for the headlining spot Sunday evening. Janet has enjoyed a
busy
career performing across the country and abroad; among those she has
shared the
stage are George Benson, John Harmon, and Gene Bertoncini. Her recent
projects
include Of Thee I Sing –
Commemorating
the Sites and Cities of America, Love Letters from Carey Bluff
– The Music of Chris
Swansen, and The
Bob Dylan Songbook. She
will be
performing selections from these projects. This year the Fox Jazz Fest
hosted its third high school jazz
improvisation competition, sponsored in part by Heid Music, where
students from
seven Fox Valley counties competed for cash prizes and an opportunity
to be
featured as a soloist with a professional rhythm section during the
2010 Fox
Jazz Fest. The winners of the 2010
Fox Jazz Fest Jazz Improvisation Competition: Drummer, vibist, and
guitarist
Michael Darling of Hortonville High School, first place, and
Saxophonist and
Clarinetist Ana M. Nelson of Berlin High School. Geoffrey
Keezer will
host a clinic for Fox Valley jazz students as part of this year's
festival.
Although the clinic is aimed to provide an enriching and educational
experience
for area jazz students, it is free and open to the entire public. All are welcome! Keezer’s
clinic will take place in the
band room at Seton Catholic Middle School in Menasha, WI at 9:30am on
Saturday,
September 4, 2010. This project
was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with
funds from
the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. This
year’s festival again features local young talent: Seton
Catholic Middle School Jazz Band, Neenah High School Jazz Band,
Ashwaubenon
High School Jazz Band, and Kaukauna High School Jazz String Orchestra. No jazz festival would be complete
without a jam session, and once again, the Fox Jazz Festival is
sponsoring a
Saturday night jam session at the Holiday Inn Riverwalk on Wisconsin
Avenue in
downtown Neenah at 9:00 p.m. featuring the Noah Harmon Trio. The food court will feature
locally owned and operated
restaurants. Solea Mexican Grill of Menasha, Chives of Suamico, Po’boy
Sandwich
Company of Appleton, La Java Roasting House of Green Bay, and Cold
Stone Creamery
of Appleton. Fox River Brewing Company will be providing beer brewed
just for
this festival! The Light and Dark Fox Jazz Fest Beer will once again be
served. Arts Corner will showcase
local visual artists and their jazz and music related artwork which
will be
available for purchase. The Fox Jazz Fest is
supported by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts
Board and Oshkosh Area Community Foundation. For
more information regarding the Fox Jazz Fest see www.foxjazzfest.com. ### |