The stage is set for Kauai’s annual Red Clay Jazz Festival. And music enthusiasts have reason to celebrate. This year, the festival has expanded to include two main concerts instead of one, as well as educational workshops with several featured
The stage is set for Kauai’s annual Red Clay Jazz Festival.
And music enthusiasts have reason to celebrate.
This year, the festival has expanded to include two main concerts instead of one, as well as educational workshops with several featured artists.
“We want to kind of give our audience a variety of jazz and blues,” said Judy Arrigo, Jazz Festival Chair. “As a festival, we have always tried to have local musicians, musicians from the state of Hawaii and then we fill in with musicians from around the world.”
The festival kicks off Wednesday, July 18 with a pair of Jazz Around The Island concerts, including Treysara at Common Ground Garden Cafe in Kilauea and the Mark Pulice Trio at the Kukuiula Shopping Center in Poipu. Both shows begin at 5:30 p.m.
On Thursday, the Hank Curtis Trio performs at 5 p.m. at the Kauai Marriott’s Aupaka Bar, and seven-piece Latin band Rumba de Fuego visits the Aloha Beach Resort’s Kuhio Lounge at 5:30 p.m.
Educational workshops on Thursday include Jimmy Borges – “Song’ The Perfect Language,” Will Bernard and Ken Emerson – “The Art of Slide Guitar Jazz,” and Pierre Lacocque – “Hands on Harmonica.” Details are yet to be announced.
On Friday, Hawaii’s premiere jazz performer Jimmy Borges and “First Lady of Jazz” Betty Loo Taylor team up for a performance at 7 p.m. at Kauai Beach Resort’s Jasmine Ball Room, followed by Berkeley, Calif.,-native Will Bernard and Bay Area-born, Hawaiian island-bred guitarist Ken Emerson.
The Jazz Festival started after the Kauai Concert Association received the W. S. ‘Pete’ Robinson Memorial Jazz Fund in 2003. The fund is used to bring jazz artists to Kauai’s stages for concerts and into classrooms to share their talent and knowledge with students of all ages to experience and learn about original American music.
The main outdoor event is from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Kauai Lagoons, featuring Grammy Award-winning vocalist and pianist Diane Schuur, American blues band Mississippi Heat and Kauai’s own Swing Shift.
Arrigo said Saturday’s outdoor festivities offer a unique opportunity to enjoy beautiful ocean views, outstanding music and locally grown food.
“You get the wonderful ambiance of Kauai,” she said.
Tickets start at $30 for Friday, $40 for Saturday and $55 for both days. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.redclayjazz.org or call 245-SING.
