Fourth Annual HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival
Fourth Annual HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival runs January 11 - 21, 2018
TUCSON, Arizona, December 27, 2017—The HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival has become a destination for jazz fans from across the country. The fourth annual fest will be held January 11 through January 21, 2018 with feature acts including Sheila E., Spyro Gyra, Arturo Sandoval and The Hot Sardines.
The relatively warm weather and world-class acts bring new winter visitors to town. A full 50% of ticket buyers have come from out of town (50+ miles) for all three festivals, fulfilling Mayor Jonathan Rothschild’s vision of a “destination” festival.
The festival brings in presenting and promoting partners. Presenting partners this year are UA Presents, which kicks off the festival with Hypnotic Brass, a 7-piece brass sensation on Thursday, January 11 at the Rialto Theatre. The Tucson Symphony Orchestra and guest trumpeter Arturo Sandoval are on January 13 and 14 at the TCC Music Hall. The festival’s Diane Schuur and Bill Charlap show on January 18 is part of the Desert Song Festival.
The festival highlights young former Tucsonan musicians from New York City. “I call them our ‘hometown kids done good,’” says Yvonne Ervin, Executive Director for the festival. “This year, we have pianist and vocalist Robbie Lee, one of the former stars from the Tucson Jazz Institute, opening for The Hot Sardines on Friday, January 12 at the Fox Tucson Theatre. Trumpeter Matt Holman, to whom I awarded a Tucson Jazz Society scholarship in the late 1990s, is bringing his group from New York City. We also always feature the Tucson Jazz Institute Ellington Big Band in a performance.” The Hot Sardines will be at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Friday, January 12 and Holman will perform at Club Congress Saturday, January 13.
Latin jazz percussionist and vocalist Sheila E., best known through her collaborations with Prince, performs at The Rialto Theatre on Sunday, January 14. The free outdoor Downtown Jazz Fiesta on Monday, January 15 includes two Latin jazz bands on the mainstage and more than 10 bands playing on multiple stages downtown, indoors and outside, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The Mingus Dynasty will perform music by the great composer and bassist, Charles Mingus, from his seminal recording “Tijuana Moods.” This performance kicks off a “Tijuana Moods” tour which will take the band to Phoenix, Portland, San Diego and Tijuana. It is organized by the Western Jazz Presenters Network and supported by the Western States Arts Federation TourWest which also is supporting an educational event in Mingus’ birthplace, Nogales, AZ, in partnership with The Mingus Project and the Charles Mingus Memorial Park in Nogales. The Mingus Dynasty will perform on Friday, January 19 at the The Fox Tucson Theatre.
For tickets, the full festival line-up, performer information, and the full list of sponsors visit Tucson Jazz Festival.
About Jazz in January
Jazz in January is the non-profit organization which presents the annual HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival in January. The festival is two-weeks with the centerpiece of a free, daylong Downtown Jazz Fiesta on MLK day on two outdoor stages and other venues downtown. World-class jazz acts of genres from straight ahead to contemporary jazz are featured at the The Fox Tucson Theatre, The Rialto Theatre and other venues in the downtown Tucson area. www.tucsonjazzfestival.org