More than a dozen local and nationally known jazz artists and ensembles will perform during the inaugural Memphis Jazz Festival, set for Oct. 9-11 Downtown.
One festival headliner will be Florida-born Theo Croker, a young (41) Grammy-nominated trumpet player with hip-hop and major-label connections. (He has recorded with such artists as Common and J. Cole; and most of his albums were released by Sony Masterworks, including 2014's "Afro Physicist" — a title that suggests the "Afrofuturist" vibe of his music, which adds electronic experimentation to jazz tradition).
The other headliner is Dear Silas, a singer/rapper/trumpeter from Jackson, Mississippi, who blends jazz and R&B with Southern hip-hop.
Most of the artists will be familiar to Memphis
jazz and soul aficionados. Among those scheduled to perform during the festival's three days are the Memphis Jazz Orchestra; the Joe Restivo 4; Hope Clayburn & The Memphis Manes; the Parker-Hurt Quartet; Stephen M. Lee; Deborah Swiney; the Kenny Reed Quintet; the Alex Upton Trio; Henry Conerway III; Pat Register; and the Power to the People Quartet.
Organized by the Downtown Memphis Commission, the event builds on the success of the "Sunset Jazz" series, which offers monthly jazz shows at Court Square. Sunset Jazz was founded by Swiney, who also helped organize the Memphis Jazz Fest.
The prime Memphis Jazz Fest day apparently will be Saturday, Oct. 10, which will feature two stages of live music from 1-7 p.m. on the Main Street Mall, near Union and Peabody Place. A "Jazz Jam" will follow at The Dame, the speakeasy-style basement bar at the recently reopened Hotel Pontotoc, 69 E. Pontotoc.
On Friday, Oct. 9, the music will be at The Westin Memphis Beale Street hotel. On Sunday, Oct. 11, the festival will end with the season finale of the Sunset Jazz series, from 3-7 p.m. in Court Square.
Other festival details, including the performance schedule, have yet to be announced.
For more information, visit downtownmemphis.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Jazz Fest: here's the lineup
