Photo courtesy John Newman
Jazz aficionados will mark their summer calendar for the 23rd-annual Jazz in the Pines, which is Aug. 19 to 21.
Many favorites, such as Casey Abrams, Chuck Alvarez, Graham Dechter, Yve Evans, Lisa Haley, Greg Jones and Harry Pickens, will return and perform over the weekend.
Two important jazz figures also will return to the Holmes Amphitheatre stage. Jazz vocalist Diane Schuur, who appeared here in 2013, and Richie Cole, who performed at the first Jazz in the Pines in 1994, will be among the featured performers Saturday and Sunday. As he has done in the past, Idyllwild’s Abrams will close the Festival Sunday afternoon in the amphitheatre.
“Something special is in the works to feature Richie Cole on Sunday,” said John Newman, chair of the 2016 festival and director of Business Operations for the Idyllwild Arts Foundation. “I’ve had my eye on Diane Schuur since last year. It’s great to bring her back.”
Besides the many popular and familiar artists, Newman continues to strive to produce both diversity and something new. This year the new acts include the Lori Bell Quartet, The Westerlies, Gregory Page Show, Los Hermanos Arango and Besos de Coco.
“We will continue to offer a variety of jazz styles,” Newman promised. “Marshall [Hawkins] and I wanted to feature more women of jazz.”
Besides Diane Schuur, two-time Grammy winner for best jazz vocalist, Idyllwild Arts alumna Nora Germain, a jazz violinist, will appear Saturday with the Seahawk Modern Jazz Orchestra.
Bell, of San Diego, is a jazz flutist and her bassist is Katie Thiroux.
The Besos de Coco is a trio of female musicians. Lorraine Castellanos is the guitarist and sings, Evona Wascinski is the bassist and percussion is provided by the tap dancing of Claudia Gomez Vorce.
“This is an up-and-coming group,” Newman said. “Gomez Vorce tap dances the rhythm.”
As always, the jazz fest continues to spotlight jazz’s various genres. Los Hermanos Arango, a seven-piece group, will offer a combination of Cuban and Afro music.
Once again, a Django Reinhardt-style group, Hot Club of Los Angeles, will be performing in the French Quarter. Reinhardt, born in Belgium, was a French guitarist who originated the popular European jazz style associated with the French gypsy culture. After World War II, Reinhardt toured in the U.S. playing solos with Duke Ellington’s orchestra and in Carnegie Hall.
The Westerlies, a New York-based brass quartet, will be coming from an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival. All four musicians are from Seattle.
“I’m enjoying year two [of chairing the festival],” Newman said. “It’s not Idyllwild Arts in isolation. I am very pleased that everybody is back and helping.”
Newman stressed that the success of Jazz in Pines is its traditional collaborative nature. It depends upon the town, the Associates of Idyllwild Arts Foundation and the hundreds of individual volunteers, many of whom are already working and preparing for the August event.
The Patrons Dinner and Dance again will open the festival and Gilbert Hansen, bass guitarist, will provide the evening’s music. That will be Friday, Aug. 19. The Patrons’ package will cost $350 this year. Besides the dinner and tickets for both Saturday and Sunday, this year it includes a Patrons’-only admission to the Seahawk Modern Jazz Orchestra performance Saturday evening in the new William M. Lowman Concert Hall.
Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are currently available online at idyllwildjazz.com and sales are 20 percent ahead of 2015, according to Newman. Ticket prices are $70 each day or $130 for a pair until May 1, when they increase.
