Apaulo Music Productions and the Japanese American Culture and Community Center will host the second Asian Heritage Jazz Festival in Los Angeles this Saturday, June 25, which will feature the largest lineup of Asian jazz artists in the history of the United States.
The festival, produced by saxophonist Michael Paulo, aims to celebrate and showcase the achievements of Asian-American jazz artists. It also serves as a venue to promote and develop young jazz artists who may be unable to perform at mainstream jazz festivals.
“As America is a melting pot of cultures it is important in the assimilation of those cultures to embrace things that are uniquely American. It is through this that we can become a part of the mainstream culture. Also, in most instances Asian-Americans aren’t readily associated with jazz. The festival aims to change that perception by featuring as many of the best Asian jazz performers here that we can assemble,” said Paulo, in a press release.
The festival will include performers of Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian heritage.
Featured artists include Paulo, saxophonist Grace Kelly, vocalist Charmaine Clamor, keyboardist Connie Han, saxophonist Dean James, vocalist Kelly Che, pianist Rene Paulo, pianist Boy Katindig, pianist Tateng Katindig, keyboardist Kimo Cornwell, guitarist Yu Ooka, guitarist Fred Schreuders, saxophonist Tomoka Nomura-Jarvis and kotoist June Kuramoto.
The event will be held at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center’s Aratani Theatre from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. To buy tickets or learn more about the event, visit asianheritagejazzfestival.com.
