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Sonoma Jazz + Festival to Debut May 2005

For Immediate Release
JAZZ ASPEN SNOWMASS ANNOUNCES SISTER FESTIVAL IN THE MAJESTIC SONOMA VALLEY
SONOMA JAZZ + FESTIVAL TO DEBUT MAY ’05
Produced in Association with Jazz Aspen Snowmass
Matching Music with the Wine Country’s Celebrated Chefs & Vintners
New York, NY – August 3, 2004 — Organizers of Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) festivals and education programs announced today they are joining forces with a new California-based not for profit organization to produce Sonoma Jazz + (SJ+), a four day world-class music, food and wine festival in the heart of California wine country scheduled to debut Memorial Day weekend of 2005 (May 26-29). SJ+ will also have as a central part of its mission the support of regional education programming similar to that of its elder sibling.
Sonoma Jazz + not only marks the first “JAS sister festival” but also marks the first festival of its kind in the Sonoma Valley. The European ambiance of wine country and world-class music is the perfect marriage for a music festival that will feature programming including today’s top jazz artists plus a diverse range of performers across a dizzying array of musical genres. SJ+ will also feature the renowned gastronomy of the region’s leading restaurants and wineries. SJ+ will announce headline artists in October of 2004, and the complete program will be on sale by early February.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with SJ + to build a like-spirited institution of enduring regional value and national reputation. Our goal is to create a musical experience that matches the quality and sophistication of the region’s food & wine, played side by side,” states JAS Founder & Executive Producer James Horowitz.
Also proudly celebrating its 15th year in production in 2005, Jazz Aspen Snowmass will bring to the Sonoma Valley the same quality production and hospitality that has made JAS a stalwart among the summer concert scene.
“The opportunity to extend our work with artists, audiences and educators into such a sophisticated and ideal setting is the perfect realization of the original inspired model for JAS which is Jazz in Marciac festival located in a small medieval town in the rolling hills in the south of France,” states JAS Founder & Executive Producer James Horowitz.
SJ + will be modeled after the JAS June festival which is traditionally located in downtown Aspen. Similar to the JAS June festival, music lovers attending SJ+ will enjoy performances from today’s top headlining artists in a spectacular 3000 seat tent centrally located walking distance from Sonoma’s historic central plaza, where free concerts will be held daily. Additional “SJ + After Dark” concerts will be held in numerous clubs in and around Sonoma, initially and throughout the region eventually.

ABOUT JAZZ ASPEN SNOWMASS:
Celebrating its 15th year in 2005, JAS produces year round programming including its annual June and September festivals, winter and summer concert series, and the all scholarship JAS Academy Summer Sessions pairing noted Jazz Masters with gifted young artists, as well as extensive regional public education programs.
Among the celebrated artists who have performed at JAS festivals in recent years are Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Wynton Marsalis, Norah Jones, Herbie Hancock, BB King and many others.
JAS also sponsors “Saute & Swing”, its annual private celebrity chef dinners and intimate home concerts featuring such award winning restaurant personalities as Michael Romano of Union Square Café, Tom Colicchio of Craft, Lydia Bastianich of Lidia’s Italian Kitchen, Grady Spears – the Cowboy Chef, Kerry Simon of Simon’s Kitchen & Bar at the Hard Rock – Las Vegas. Each chef is paired with a brilliant young JAS Academy band in residence for unforgettable evenings of wine, food and music at the highest level.
For more information about Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) or Sonoma Jazz + (SJ+) please contact Allison Elbl at PFA, 212.334.6116 or aelbl@pfamedia.net

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2004 at 3:21 am. It is filed under Music News/Info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.