New Jazz Festival Coming to Cape May
Arts
and Entertainment | Sat, 06/23/2012
By Jack
Fichter
The Exit 0 International Jazz Festival will be held Nov. 9 through 11, Veteran’s Day Weekend, at
Ramsey Lewis will be headlining the festival with his
Electric Band. Lewis is a three-time Grammy Award winner and holds seven gold
records.
According to his website, “Lewis has been an iconic leader
in the contemporary jazz movement for over 50 years, with an unforgettable
sound and outgoing personality that has allowed him to cross over to the pop
and R&B charts. The Ramsey Lewis Trio, with bassist Eldee Young and
percussionist Redd Holt, became a fixture on the Chicago jazz scene, releasing
their debut album, ‘Ramsey Lewis & His Gentlemen of Jazz,’ back in 1956.
Lewis earned his first gold record, as well as a Grammy
award for Best Jazz Performance, for their swinging version of Dobie Gray’s hit
‘The In Crowd.’ He returned to the pop charts in 1966 with versions of ‘Hang On
Sloopy’ and ‘Wade In The Water.’
Other confirmed artists at press time include Christian
McBride and Inside Straight, Henry Cole's Afrobeat Collective, Ben Williams
& Sound Effect and DJ Soul Sister. The complete lineup will be announced by
July 5 by the promoter, Spy Boy Productions.
Main stage headliner concerts will be held at Convention
Hall on Friday and Saturday nights, along with a Saturday afternoon concert.
Participating club venues include: the Boiler Room at Congress Hall, Carney’s, Carney’s Other Room, Cabana's,
Ticket packages are being sold by the City of
The promoter, Spy Boy Productions, has no affiliation with
Friends of Cape May Jazz or Cape May Jazz Festival.
At a Thur., June 21 press conference, promoter Michael Kline
said he has produced concerts in New Orleans
beginning in 1997. Kline said he had worked for WWOZ Radio, “New
Orleans ' Jazz & Heritage Station,” which is
licensed to the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans .
“I worked there for almost eight years and we produced shows
in conjunction with the radio station,” said Kline.
Exit 0 International Jazz Festival spokesperson Victoria
Clayton said Kline represents jazz artists nationally and internationally. He
is a resident of West Cape May arriving here after
Hurricane Katrina.
Kline said one of his challenges to stage the festival was
finding open dates available on Convention Hall’s schedule.
A Saturday afternoon main stage concert will be held in Convention Hall, he said.
“There will pretty much be three headline concerts Friday
night, Saturday night, Saturday afternoon,” said Kline.
He said he was working on a “special surprise” for Sunday
afternoon.
More information is available: www.exit0jazzfest.com
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