DETROIT JAZZ FEST LIVE ON DPTV! CHICK COREA ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

Detroit Jazz Festival Live!

SATURDAY, 9/1, FROM 6-7:30PM ET

Join DPTV and the Detroit Jazz Fest as we broadcast live from the Chase Stage at Campus Martius. The 90 minute program will feature a live performance from Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane along with other highlights of the Festival which runs Friday through Labor Day in downtown Detroit.

In its 39th year, the Detroit Jazz Festival presented by Quicken Loans, which runs Aug. 31 through Sept. 3, 2018, in downtown Detroit, will kick off with performances by Artist-in Residence Chick Corea and the 2018 inaugural Resident Ensemble, a new addition to the Festival’s annual programming.

Each year a core ensemble noted for their artistry, connectivity and camaraderie will engage with the Detroit community and prepare multiple performances of varying texture, instrumentation and repertoire for the Festival.

This year’s Resident Ensemble will feature Terri Lyne Carrington and Esperanza Spalding, who will lead three sets, with one incorporating a technology element.

Originally meant to include the late Geri Allen, much of the Ensemble’s focus will be inspired by her music. READ MORE

2018 LINE UP

DETROIT JAZZ FEST HISTORY
The Detroit International Jazz Festival was founded in 1980 by Robert McCabe and the Detroit Renaissance. Along with the Detroit Grand Prix and the International Freedom Festival, the Festival was intended to bring people into the city and to provide all segments of the population with world-class entertainment.

From 1980 to 1991, the Festival flourished through a partnership with the highly regarded international jazz festival in Montreux, Switzerland. In 1991, the Festival merged with Detroit’s Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, where it resided until September 2005.

In March 2005, Detroit philanthropist and Mack Avenue Records Chairman Gretchen Valade emerged as a major sponsor of the Festival. With additional support from the Knight Foundation, the Festival expanded in all aspects. Its new footprint, covering three blocks, provided two additional stages and more space for food vendors and other activities.

Looking to attract new audiences to jazz and the Festival, in 2011, jazz musician Chris Collins was appointed as artistic director and has since taken on the role of president of the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation. With Collins’ vision and the support of the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation Board of Directors – led by Chair Gretchen Valade – the Foundation has continued to integrate new and exciting artistic elements and opportunities into the signature event, in addition to year-round programming.

THE ZEROS TO ROCK SXSW

Legendary first wave San Diego punk band The Zeros, fronted by Javier Escovedo, will play a handful of Texas dates around Escovedo’s solo band appearance at this year’s SXSW Music Fest.

“Don’t Push Me Around” full album from 1977

Escovedo’s name should be familiar to any fan of real rock’n’roll. He is part of a musical family that includes brothers Pete (Santana, Azteca), Coke (Santana, Malo), Alejandro (The Nuns, Rank & File), Mario (The Dragons) and niece Sheila E (Prince).

Having formed The Zeros in 1976 while attending Chula Vista High School the band became hot on the Hollywood circuit and released the seminal punk single “Wimp” b/w “Don’t Push Me Around” on Bomp! Records in 1977. After enduring multiple lineup changes and relocating to San Francisco the band would eventually break up in 1981.

Javier then moved on to Austin forming critically acclaimed band The True Believers in 1982 with brother Alejandro and Jon Dee Graham. The TB’s would become a legendary live act and sign successively with Rounder Records before having their contract snapped up by EMI only to be dropped in the major label shakeup game and call it quits in 1987.

Escovedo would bounce around over the next two decades between New York, Austin and Los Angeles working with a variety of lesser-known acts before re-emerging with The Zeros in the mid-2000’s touring Europe and the States, until finally releasing (at the insistence of fans and fellow musicians) his first solo album “City Lights” in 2012.

2016 brought his second solo album “Kicked Out Of Eden” for Saustex Records. The album perfectly distills everything he loves: glam, 60’s garage and pop and the more melodic side of punk. The LP (also released on cassette by Burger Records) garnered great reviews and made several year-end best of lists.

Javier Escovedo & The City Lights

Thursday March 16th - The Saxon Pub - Austin, TX (official SXSW showcase)

The Zeros
Tuesday March 14th - The White Horse - Austin, TX
w/ Hickoids, Jon Langford & The Far Forlorn, Count Vaseline, Corrine Rose, The Guillotines

Wednesday March 15th - Under The Volcano - Houston, TX
w/ Western Star

Friday March 17th - Hitones - San Antonio, TX
w/ Joecephus & The George Jonestown Massacre, GDX

Saturday March 18th - “The New Texas Love-In” ABGB - Austin, TX
w/ Pong, Pocket FishRmen, Poor Dumb Bastards, Ian Quiet Band

WOODSTOCK: A TURNING POINT IN WORLD CULTURE & MUSIC

Woodstock: A Turning Point in the World Culture and MusicWoodstock Music & Art Fair was the last hurrah of the hip movement.A triumph of counter-culture, it rocked on, and the ripples of it are still felt to this day. For a live event that went on for only three days (or rather four, due to complications), it left a lasting impact on pop culture and people’s perception of live events.

Where was Woodstock? Woodstock festival didn’t actually take place in Woodstock, surprise-surprise! The site of the original festival was in White Lake, New York. As you can imagine, this small commune received worldwide fame for being ground zero.

What was it all about?
It was about giving a middle finger to the establishment, man! It was a festival in name, but an experience in nature.

Before Woodstock came around, rock concerts and festivals have only gathered audiences of up to 50 thousand people. By some rough estimates, nearly half-a-million people were in attendance. People from all walks of life were there, even exemplary students had changed their mantra from https://eduzaurus.com/type-my-essay” to “Pass the weed, man.”

Surprisingly, there was no entry fee. Everyone could come and enjoy some psychedelic tunes free of charge.

Tickets and Complications 
A rumor suggests that ticket booths were not in place before the concert. That left organizers in a precarious spot and they had to drop the idea of paid admissions to the venue.

There were a lot of problems with organization and planning too. The event itself was bound for failure since it was full of mishaps and miscalculations: constant delays, equipment failures, catering disruptions, mobile toilets malfunctioning, and the weather constantly being a nuisance.

This entire thing was the perfect storm of disasters, and it was glorious.

Bands
It was about rocking out, dudes!

The Woodstock lineup included headlining juggernauts like Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, The Who, Janis Joplin and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The entire roster, on the whole, was also very impressive.

Plenty more were asked to perform, but they either declined, or there were difficulties with communication. A lot of famous groups never showed up on stage: Frank Zappa and his band never graced the crowd with their blend of experimental rock and The Moody Blues never performed their heartfelt ballads.

Live Coverage
A limited number of reporters were actually permitted to the area. And those who were emphasized heavily on the poor organization and lack of amenities.

The coverage slightly changed its tune and became more positive near the tail-end of the fest. Partly due to many people complaining about misleading reports.

Legacy
There were a few festival revivals in the form of anniversary tours and concerts – in 1979, 1989, 1994, 1999 and the ill-fated 2009 attempt.

The original‘69 event spawned a number of three-day copycats like Coachella Valley Music and Art Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Lollapalooza and a few student-friendly alternatives.

Woodstock also became the subject of a three-hour Oscar-winning documentary released in 1970 with the same title.

It was an organizational phenomenon in a time of carefree indulgence. Woodstock signified an end of an era. It’s great that Coachella is here to pick up the slack. At least now, in a slightly different way, we may experience what Woodstock may have felt like back then.