City Of Wilmington: Mayor Purzycki, Cultural Affairs Director Betz Announce The Return Of The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival To A Rejuvena ...

Press release from the City of Wilmington:

07/15/2021 11:00 AM

Live musical performances will take place from August 4 through 8, 2021 Live musical performances will take place from August 4 through 8, 2021 Live musical performances will take place from August 4 through 8, 2021 Live musical performances will take place from August 4 through 8, 2021 Live musical performances will take place from August 4 through 8, 2021 Live musical performances will take place from August 4 through 8, 2021 Live musical performances will take place from August 4 through 8, 2021 Live musical performances will take place from August 4 through 8, 2021

Mayor Mike Purzycki and City Cultural Affairs Director Tina Betz are excited to announce that the 34th Annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival – Wilmington’s premier music event and the largest free jazz festival on the East Coast – will return to its original home in Rodney Square after becoming a virtual festival in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival is a tribute to Wilmington’s own Clifford Brown and is held in the City’s main public square, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation to make it more attractive and comfortable for residents and visitors.

The Festival's Rodney Square main stage concerts will be held on Wednesday, August 4 through Sunday, August 8, with performances starting at 5:30 p.m. on the weekdays, at noon on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The festival remains free and open to the public. Whatever COVID-19 restrictions are in place at the time of the festival will be followed.

"After more than three decades, the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival stands as the crown jewel of Wilmington’s expanding music festival scene,” said Mayor Purzycki. “We adjusted for the pandemic last summer, but Tina and I can’t wait to welcome residents and visitors back to the beautiful, historic Rodney Square for some of the best jazz music around. While at the festival, I urge attendees to visit the many shops and restaurants in the surrounding Downtown District, which are returning to normal as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and more and more people continue to get vaccinated.”

"While we very much regretted having to cancel the Rodney Square staged event last summer, our virtual event still showcased the amazing talents of our own local musicians, which made it an even more special event,” said Director Betz. “Still, there’s nothing quite like gathering together to experience live jazz in person, and we are ready to do it again this year.”
 
The performers for the 2021 jazz festival are available at www.cliffordbrownjazzfest.org along with artist bios. Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cliffordbrownjazzfest/ and cityfestwilm.com for more information.
 
The 2021 Clifford Brown Jazz Festival Event Schedule
 
Wednesday, August 4
Terell Stafford
Jazzmeia Horn
Kirk Whalum
 
Thursday, August 5
Malina Moye
Lakecia Benjamin
Eric Benet
 
Friday, August 6
Grover Washington, Jr. Legacy Band
Gerald Veasley
Dianne Reeves with John Beasley, Romero Lubambo, Reuben Rogers and Terreon Gully

Saturday, August 7
*Jennifer Hartswick and Nick Cassarino Duo
Chien Chien Lu
Clifford Brown Festival Orchestra featuring Maya Belardo, Nadjah Nicole, Darnell Miller, Jackie Browne, Tony “Big Cat” Smith, Skip Bordley and Stacy Harcum along with the members of the orchestra.
**Jane Bunnett and Maqueque
Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science with special guest Ms. Lisa Fischer
Kenny Barron Trio

Sunday, August 8
Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency Graduates’ Concert
***Raphael Xavier’s: The Musician & The Mover
 
*The presentation of Jennifer Hartswick and Nick Cassarino Duo is in partnership with the Christina Cultural Arts Center and is funded through the Jazz Touring Network program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts.
**This engagement of Jane Bunnett and Maqueque is funded through the Mid Atlantic Tours program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts.
***The presentation of Raphael Xavier is in collaboration with The Delaware Art Museum and is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
 
Additional artists and other Clifford Brown Jazz Festival-related activities to be announced. For updates and more information about the jazz festival, please visit cliffordbrownjazzfest.org.
 
The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is an annual tribute to the late jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, who was born in 1930 on Wilmington’s east side. Also known as ‘Brownie,’ he died in 1956 at the age of 25 in an auto accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, leaving behind only a few years’ worth of recordings. However, Brown’s short life and limited work has had a considerable influence on later jazz trumpet players such as Arturo Sandoval, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, Booker Little, and Freddie Hubbard. Two of Brown’s compositions, "Joy Spring" and "Daahoud," have become jazz standards.
 
Mayor Purzycki and Director Betz today thanked the festival’s sponsors –Delmarva Power, An Excelon Company, the Kenny Family Foundation, the City of Wilmington, Cityfest, Inc., the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Delaware Division of the Arts. Presenting Arts partners include the Christina Cultural Arts Center and the Delaware Art Museum.

Wednesday, August 4 through Sunday, The presentation of Jennifer Hartswick and Nick Cassarino Duo is in partnership with the Christina Cultural Arts Center and is funded through the Jazz Touring Network program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts.

COMMUNITY AND MEDIA INQUIRIES: 

John Rago
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Communications
City of Wilmington, Office of the Mayor
Mobile: (302) 420-7928
Email: jrago@WilmingtonDE.gov

This press release was produced by the City of Wilmington. The views expressed here are the author’s own.