The Star-Studded Lineup for the 2019 Detroit Jazz Festival

Jazz icons Stanley Clarke, Ron Carter, and Macy Gray are set to perform
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Jazz
PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

The lineup for the 40th annual is packed with artists that have previously performed at the Labor Day weekend concert series. As a result, this year鈥檚 event is being dubbed a 鈥渞eunion鈥 by organizers. From Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, attendees will have the chance to see over 30 acts perform throughout Detroit, with stages at Hart Plaza, along the Detroit River, and Campus Martius, for no cost.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited about the exceptional lineup we鈥檝e assembled for the 40th year celebration鈥 says president and artistic director of the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation, Chris Collins. 鈥淔rom jazz legends to up-and-coming revolutionaries and Detroit homecoming artists, these artists have become a part of our extended family and it鈥檚 only appropriate they come back to headline our reunion year.鈥

Macy Gray
MACY GRAY // PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL FOUNDATION

The headliner for the first day of the Detroit Jazz Festival is Stanley Clarke, who founded jazz fusion band Return to Forever. Credited with introducing the bass guitar to jazz, Clarke is the festival鈥檚 artist in residence this year. Finally, Clarke will have the chance to perform riffs from his highly successful 1976 album, School Days, as his 2014 and 2017 Detroit Jazz Festival scheduled performances were canceled due to weather conditions. Aug. 31 begins with a performance by 鈥淚 Try鈥 singer, Grammy-winning R&B artist Macy Gray, whose style is said to resemble that of iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday. On the same day, Ferndale native Ron Carter, the world鈥檚 most recorded jazz bassist in history, and Eric Lewis, otherwise known as ELEW and creator of hybrid genre 鈥渞ockjazz,鈥 will also take the stage.

Stanley Clarke Band
STANLEY CLARKE // PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL FOUNDATION

And the festival continues with an unprecedented list of acts. On Sept. 1, 20-time Grammy winning jazz guitarist Pat Metheny will perform a duet with Ron Carter. Award-winning and former host of National Public Radio鈥檚 syndicated radio show JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dee Dee Bridgewater, will also perform. She鈥檒l likely sing her smash hits 鈥淟ove From the Sun,鈥 鈥淵es, I鈥檓 Ready,鈥 and 鈥淚nto My Soul.鈥 Jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who has produced more than 40 film scores including the 2019 Oscar-nominated BlacKkKlansman, will put on a show. The lineup for the final day of the festival includes Chucho Vald茅s, the former band leader of one of Cuba鈥檚 best-known Latin jazz bands, Irakere.

Can鈥檛 make it to the festival? The Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation is once again offering its Detroit Jazz Fest Live!, a $10 subscription service that provides a livestream of the performances taking place throughout the weekend.

What summer music festivals are you excited to attend? Tell us in the comments below.


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