St. Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival 2017

SAINT LUCIA JAZZ & ARTS FESTIVAL 2017
The Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival — the Caribbean’s premiere annual cultural event which takes place on the beautiful island of Saint Lucia. The event brings together international as well as local musicians. The internationally known jazz festival not only features jazz music but also R&B and Calypso.
Performances will be set against the iconic and historic Pigeon Island National Landmark backdrop, along with other scenic vistas across Saint Lucia, showcasing an innovative infusion of Music and Arts designed to highlight the island’s rich historic and cultural legacy.

The first St. Lucia Jazz Festival was held in 1992 as an initiative to extend the tourist season and increase foreign exchange in Saint Lucia into May which had previously been a relatively quiet period. It was inspired by the launching of the October Jazz Festival in 1991 spearheaded by Luther Francois as Musical Director.
Originally 4 locations were used; however today the festival has expanded and several locations around the island are used to host performances
At first, the festival attendances were small. But as the years passed, word spread helped by coverage on the BET television network, and it is now a well-established fixture on the Jazz festival calendar.
Over the past few years the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival has developed a reputation for the quality of the artistes it attracts and now ranks #1 on the list on the E! entertainment top 5 Festivals in the world.
The event has attracted such artists as R. Kelly, Herbie Hancock, Courtney Pine, Ocacia, Branford Marsalis, En Vogue, George Benson, Santana, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, The Isley Brothers, UB40, Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill, Luther Vandross, Trey Songz, Rihanna, Elton John, John Legend, Mario, Ne-Yo, Zionomi, Amy Winehouse, Angie Stone, Ciara, Boyz II Men, India.Arie, Smokey Robinson, American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The event is ranked second in the Caribbean after the Trinidad Carnival.
Schedule:
FRIDAY MAY 12, 2017
National Cultural Centre @ 7:00 pm
Malika Tirolien
Danilo Pérez's Panamonk Revisited: 20th Anniversary with Ben Street and Terri Lyne Carrington
Pigeon Island National Landmark @ 10:30 pm
Michael Robinson
David Rudder with special guest Andy Narell
SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017
Pigeon Island National Landmark @ 4:00 pm
Bluemangó, featuring Jean Caze and Malika Tirolien
Kenny Garrett
Richard Bona & Mandekan Cubano
SUNDAY MAY 14, 2017
Pigeon Island National Landmark @ 2:00 pm
Rupert Lay Quartet
Victor Provost Quartet
Rachelle Ferrell
Vanessa Williams
Malavoi

Soleil - St. Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival 2017 Line Up

Cassandra Wilson has been named Harvard University Jazz Master in Residence. Wilson will rehearse and perform with the Jazz Bands, visit Harvard classes and an assembly for students at a Greater Boston public school, and participate in two events open to the public:
Wednesday, April 5, 4 pm: “A Conversation with Cassandra Wilson” moderated by Ingrid Monson, Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music. at the Leverett House Library Theatre, Mill Street, Cambridge.
Saturday, April 8, 8 pm: “Women in Jazz: Celebrating Cassandra Wilson,” featuring the Harvard Jazz Bands with special guest Cassandra Wilson, at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., Cambridge.

“A singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack who has expanded the playing field” (Gary Giddins), Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi who incorporates blues, country and folk music into her work. Designated a Jazz Master in Residence at Harvard, she will discuss her career and creative process during a conversation moderated by Ingrid Monson, Quincy Jones Professor of African and African American Music. Wilson will also appear in concert with the Harvard Jazz Bands on Saturday, April 8 at 8 pm, Sanders Theatre; for tickets and other information, visit the Harvard Box Office website.
Cassandra Wilson began playing piano at six, guitar by the age of twelve and was working as a vocalist by the mid-‘70s, singing a wide variety of material. After moving to New York City in the early ‘80s, Cassandra met saxophonist Steve Coleman and became one of the founding members of the M-Base Collective.
At the completion of her stint with M-Base, Cassandra sought a more acoustic context for her vocal expression. She signed with Blue Note Records in 1992 and released a landmark album titled “Blue Light ‘Til Dawn,” which would pave the way for a new generation of jazz singers seeking an approach and repertoire that challenged the supremacy of the American Standard songbook.
Wilson has continued interpreting in fresh and creative ways jazz, vintage blues, country and folk music up until the present day. Her awards include: two Grammys, the Django D’Or, The Edison Music Award, and a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail. She also performed one of the leading roles in Wynton Marsalis’ “Blood on the Fields,” the first jazz work to receive a Pulitzer Prize.
In 2015, Cassandra Wilson joined forces with the prestigious label Legacy, a subsidiary of Sony Music. Her latest project, “Coming Forth By Day,” was released on the 100th anniversary of Billie Holiday’s birth—April 7, 2015.

The Original Diva!
See living legend Diana Ross perform songs spanning her entire career in an historic five-night engagement at New York City Center.
http://www.nycitycenter.org/Home

The list of Diana Ross' achievements is staggering. She's won a dozen Grammys, sold over 100 million records world wide and was Oscar nominated for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in the The Lady Sings the Blues. In 1976 Billboard named her the greatest female entertainer of the century, and there was a lot more to come from Ross after that. What really matters is that Ross remains an enthralling stage presence, a singer of such poise and remarkable vocal gifts that she's able to hold an audience in the palm of her hand from the moment she steps out into the spotlight right up until she leaves the stage,armed with a catalogue which stretches back some 60 years, from her work with The Supremes (Baby Love, Where Did Our Love Go?) to her solo material (I'm Coming Out, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Endless Love and much more...)
Widely acclaimed as one of the greatest entertainers of all time, Ross recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. She is an Academy Award nominee, has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and has received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ross will be touring across America this Spring.