Jazz is making its presence known in the land of cowboys – after you hit up the Taste of Dallas for some food and jazz (see yesterday’s news piece, Taste of Dallas Offers Food, Wine and Music), head on down to Houston for the city’s 15th annual International Jazz Festival.
The three-day festival begins Aug. 5 with an international focus on Asian jazz. Headlining the day are Heads Up artists Hiroshima and Houston drummer Bubbha Thomas. Aug. 6 is reserved for Latin Jazz with Tito Puente Jr. and local performers Norma Zenteno and her band. Closing the festival on Aug. 7 is an “evening of exhilarating Smooth Jazz,” highlighting performances by Mindi Abair (pictured), Jeff Golub, Warren Hill and Wayman Tisdale. Performances will take place at Bayou Place and the Verizon Wireless Theater.
In addition to these headliners, the festival will also feature students from the Summer Jazz Workshop and a number of other local and national bands. All proceeds from the festival benefit the Summer Jazz Workshop, an intensive five-week, youth-oriented program that focuses on the fundamentals of jazz and its business aspects.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
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