True Blue Jazz announces lineup for 7th annual festival Oct. 16-20
Straight-ahead American jazz is alive and thriving in downtown Rehoboth Beach with the recent announcement of the Oct. 16-20 schedule for 2019’s 7th Annual True Blue Jazz Festival. Founders and producers Eddie Sherman and Peggy Raley have created a calendar of events in keeping with the True Blue Jazz mission of Preservation Through Performance, and the True Blue Youth Jazz Initiative.
True Blue Jazz has come up with its own Green New Deal, and Sherman explains how it works: “It’s not going to cost you a lot of green to catch any of our shows, and 2019’s True Blue Jazz shows are certified by the International Jazz Commission to be absolutely free from toxic ear pollution.”
Artistic Director Raley, said, “We’ve had great fortune this year to gather three of the finest jazz acts working today for our 7th annual festival. Purity is a word we keep coming to in describing this wonderful array of jazz artists you will find appearing on our True Blue Jazz stage at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel.”
The festival will kick off from 6 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 16, at Bethany Blues Lewes to celebrate budding musicians of the future with Youth Jazz Appreciation Night. Local elementary, middle and high school kids will take the stage and steal listeners’ hearts.
Appearing at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel on Olive Avenue in Rehoboth Beach from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 17, will be The Fred Hughes Trio with special guests, jazz saxophone and clarinet sensations Peter and Will Anderson.
Kat Edmonson comes to True Blue Jazz at the Boardwalk Plaza at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 18, as she criss-crosses the country unveiling songs for audiences from her most recent album, “Old Fashioned Gal.”
Featured artist for Saturday, Oct. 19, will be Grammy winner Bill Charlap, recognized on the jazz landscape today as the single most authoritative interpreter of The Great American Jazz Songbook. He is an artist with impeccable taste, an exquisite touch at the keyboard, and great respect for those who crafted these incredible songs…the standards. The Bill Charlap Trio will take the stage to perform the greatest music ever written, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Oct. 19, at the Boardwalk Plaza.
The True Blue Jazz Brunch Bash & Closing Party will wrap up the festival with two brunch seatings, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 20, at The Pines, 56 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach. The Eddie Sherman Show featuring Peggy Raley will perform with special guest artists Cody Leavel on tenor sax, and the trumpet work of Gerald Chavis. Required reservations for brunch can be made at www.thepinesrb.com or by calling 302-567-2726.
The Pines on Baltimore Avenue and Shorebreak Lodge in the ocean block of Wilmington Avenue join True Blue Jazz this year along with other Rehoboth Beach establishments La Fable, Houston White Company, and The Blue Hen at The Avenue Inn Patio to feature free live jazz, specially selected for performances to complement attendees’ dining experiences during 2019’s 7th Annual Festival. And again, the True Blue Jazz 6-hour, Smokin’ Hot, Firehouse Jazz Marathon to benefit the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company will take place Saturday, Oct. 19.
To view all the exciting True Blue Jazz Festival events, both ticketed and free, go to www.truebluejazz.org.
