The North Carolina Jazz Festival was started by Dr. Harry VanVelsor and was borne out of his love of Jazz music. He was particularly into the big band sounds and Dixieland jazz, therefore it made sense for the event to mainly focus on these types of music. There's nothing quite like it in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The event has grown in popularity to such an extent that in the past they're had musical greats such as Keter Betts, Bobby Rosengarden, Kenny Davern and Tony DiNicola. More recently, lots of talented artists have performed including: Ed Polcer, Wycliffe Gordon, Bucky Pizzarelli, Houston Person and Duke Heitger. They're not averse to showcasing young talent either; Jonathan Russell was aged 11 when he performed alongside Bucky Pizzarelli, the legendary guitarist.
Traditionally, the Wilmington Hilton has been used as the venue for the event. Although the founder wanted to keep the music focused on Dixieland and big band, lately the organizers have tried to appeal to a broader range of taste. To do this they have branched out into other forms of the genre. The purpose of this is obviously to gain more fans and allow for a broader cross-section of people to go, but also it lets people know that there is much more to jazz.
In the past several foreign musicians have graced the stage. Among them are Bria Skonberg and Jim Galloway of Canada, Anat Cohen of Israel and Derek Smith from England.
Dr Harry VanVelsor retired from participating in the event in 2006. He handed over control to Sandy Evans, who was previously the Cape Fear Jazz Society president. The festival is a non-profit entity and is solely run by people that are not paid. Despite the loss of it's founder, the event continues to go from strength to strength and their reputation of bringing some of the best musicians to the area should remain intact.
It could be said that the event has put the city of Wilmington in the public eye. Situated along the Cape Fear River, Wilmington has lots of restaurants, bars and also a beach, most of which are conveniently located by the riverside. For those more into culture, there are art galleries as well as museums. If that was not enough then history buffs might be into the Civil War sites that are here. All in all there should be something for most tastes.
The actual sets are usually split up in threes. Often you'll get a morning/afternoon set, followed by an afternoon/evening set and then a night set. A tradition of the show is that some of the individual performers will play together onstage as an ensemble. During the brunch time set the audience are often invited onto the stage to play with the ensemble, that's if they have their instruments.
The North Carolina Jazz Festival has been going for over three decades and is still going strong. It provides an opportunity for musicians all over the world to congregate in the idyllic town of Wilmington. It also gives amateurs a unique chance to play on stage with some of the featured artists.
The event has grown in popularity to such an extent that in the past they're had musical greats such as Keter Betts, Bobby Rosengarden, Kenny Davern and Tony DiNicola. More recently, lots of talented artists have performed including: Ed Polcer, Wycliffe Gordon, Bucky Pizzarelli, Houston Person and Duke Heitger. They're not averse to showcasing young talent either; Jonathan Russell was aged 11 when he performed alongside Bucky Pizzarelli, the legendary guitarist.
Traditionally, the Wilmington Hilton has been used as the venue for the event. Although the founder wanted to keep the music focused on Dixieland and big band, lately the organizers have tried to appeal to a broader range of taste. To do this they have branched out into other forms of the genre. The purpose of this is obviously to gain more fans and allow for a broader cross-section of people to go, but also it lets people know that there is much more to jazz.
In the past several foreign musicians have graced the stage. Among them are Bria Skonberg and Jim Galloway of Canada, Anat Cohen of Israel and Derek Smith from England.
Dr Harry VanVelsor retired from participating in the event in 2006. He handed over control to Sandy Evans, who was previously the Cape Fear Jazz Society president. The festival is a non-profit entity and is solely run by people that are not paid. Despite the loss of it's founder, the event continues to go from strength to strength and their reputation of bringing some of the best musicians to the area should remain intact.
It could be said that the event has put the city of Wilmington in the public eye. Situated along the Cape Fear River, Wilmington has lots of restaurants, bars and also a beach, most of which are conveniently located by the riverside. For those more into culture, there are art galleries as well as museums. If that was not enough then history buffs might be into the Civil War sites that are here. All in all there should be something for most tastes.
The actual sets are usually split up in threes. Often you'll get a morning/afternoon set, followed by an afternoon/evening set and then a night set. A tradition of the show is that some of the individual performers will play together onstage as an ensemble. During the brunch time set the audience are often invited onto the stage to play with the ensemble, that's if they have their instruments.
The North Carolina Jazz Festival has been going for over three decades and is still going strong. It provides an opportunity for musicians all over the world to congregate in the idyllic town of Wilmington. It also gives amateurs a unique chance to play on stage with some of the featured artists.
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You can visit the website www.rowanbluesandjazz.org for more helpful information about The Historic North Carolina Jazz Festival
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