Fans taking in the sounds at a previous, quite sunny Sedona Jazz On The Rocks Festival.
The 27th edition of the Sedona Jazz On The Rocks Festival, the best and most thorough jazz celebration in Arizona by a significant margin, will start off with a pre-film dinner at 5:30 p.m on Tuesday, September 23rd. The film to be shown immediately afterwards is a jazz documentary, entitled Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon, with the first night finally being capped with a performance by local band Soundscape Sedona.
From there, the festival will claim restaurants, clubs, and resorts across the small north-central Arizona town of Sedona, including a full day of jazz on Saturday, the 27th, at the festival's traditional home base venue, the Radisson Poco Diablo Resort.
During this time, the citizens of Sedona, avid fans who made the trip, and some lucky students and guests at private concerts at local public schools will collectively be treated to more than 25 shows, featuring both "spotlight" artists such as Cinco de Mojo & Salome and Bobby Hutcherson, as well a record 23 outfits from around Sedona.
Besides the exciting prospect of attracting a record number of great bands from the northern and central Arizona region to the festival, the organizers of this year's event can rest easy in knowing that the two historical motifs of Jazz On The Rocks are as prominent in the festival's programming as ever: A commitment to jazz education and putting jazz in the schools, as evidenced by the private school concerts by multiple artists and a free clinic by the great pianist Kenny Werner, and the amazing backdrop of Sedona's surrounding Red Rock country seen during shows held at the jazzfest's venues, such as the Radisson.
Festival goers, on the other hand, can get the benefit of free access to some of the shows, such as those that will be performed at bars and restaurants around the town on the night of Wednesday, the 24th, two different "Free Art Walk with Jazz" shows at Sedona's artisans' village, Tlaquepaque.
However, many shows will be ticketed, but there are many options in the way of tickets, from those giving access to individual shows (which range from $10 for tickets to the to $225 for VIP tent seats at the full-day Radisson blowout) to a pass to every single show besides the private school concerts, which runs from $510, with lawn seating at the full-day show, to $550, for VIP tent seats at the full-day show.
For more on Sedona Jazz On The Rocks 2008, go to sedonajazz.com.
