Earth, Wind & Fire, Dr. Lonnie Smith. Michael McDonald, Tower of Power and More to Perform at the JAS June Experience

Earth Wind & Fire

Jazz Aspen Snowmass has announced the remainder of their summer season including line-ups for both the JAS June Experience and the JAS Café Summer Series.

Taking place once again at the Benedict Music Tent and JAS Café in Aspen, CO the JAS June Experience will kick-off on Thursday, June 22 at JAS Café Upstairs at the Aspen Art Museum, featuring the internationally acclaimed Japanese piano sensation Hiromi in duets with Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda presented by Prada. On Friday, June 23 JAS hosts a double bill featuring five-time Grammy® winner Michael McDonald plus the funky New Orleans based pianist and Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader, Jon Batiste and Stay Human. 

On Saturday, June 24, Earth, Wind & Fire will bring their blend of funk, soul, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and dance music to the Benedict stage for the first time, followed by another double bill on Sunday, June 25 including the timeless sounds of the legendary R&B powerhouse horn driven Tower of Power plus former Rolling Stones backup singer (and JAS Café winter hit) Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton. All five headlining Artists at JAS June are making their JAS June performance debuts at Benedict. 

Prior to the Friday through Sunday concerts, JAS will once again provide a Free Lawn Party on the grounds featuring two stages with live music, food, drinks and more. "The Free Lawn Party has become a staple for the community," says Jim Horowitz, JAS President, "with free, vibrant music and a colorful array of booths, the scene has become an integral part of the JAS June Experience."

  

The final show at Benedict Music Tent, a collaboration between JAS and the Aspen Music Festival & School will take place on Saturday, July 1. Billed Ella @ 100: Direct from the Apollo, the show celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the birth of the beloved American jazz and pop singer Ella Fitzgerald. Performers will include the Count Basie Orchestra, alongside three generations of vocalists including Patti Austin (Grammy® nominated for her 2002 album, For Ella), Lizz Wright (JAS performances in 2007 & 2015) and Andra Day (breakout singer of the hit song "Rise" and recently featured on the live Grammy® Awards 2017). Additionally, comedian David Alan Grier, will act as a Co-Master of Ceremonies as attendees take a trip through Ella's life in song after hit song and classic video imagery.

Tickets for the June Experience went on-sale Tuesday, February 21. For the June 23-25 shows tickets can be purchased at jazzaspensnowmass.org, 866-JAS-TIXX (527-8499) or at the Belly Up Box Office in Aspen. Tickets for the July 1st performance are available now through the AMFS box office, aspenmusicfestival.com or 970-925-9042. Patron (VIP) 3-day passes (June 23-25) are available now at jasstore.org

JAS Aspen's summer season starts with a special JAS Café performance upstairs at the Aspen Art Museum on June 22, Hiromi Duet: featuring Edmar Castaneda presented by Prada. This combo of Japanese pianist Hiromi and Columbian born jazz harpist Castaneda, both brilliant and inventive, should make for an exciting start to a packed summer of music. From there the Café continues with 11 more artists performing in three venues: Upstairs at the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) and Downstairs at both the Cooking School of Aspen (CSA) and The Little Nell (TLN).

June 29-30: Jamison Ross - Gifted drummer, composer & bandleader who plays and sings from his drum-set with a smooth tenor equally at home in soul, blues, R&B or jazz. Born into a musical family and steeped in church music, Jamison is a first rate entertainer as well, who knows how to connect with his audience. Winner of the 2012 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Drum Competition. (TLN). 

July 7-8: Dr. Lonnie Smith - Evolution - 2017 NEA Jazz Master and Hammond B-3 organ living legend celebrates his 75th birthday with the jazz, funk and groove sounds of the "Evolution" band, his newest group, recorded on Blue Note Records in 2016. Doc has recorded 70+ lifetime albums recorded with the giants of jazz, blues & R&B! (CSA)

July 14: Butler Bernstein & the Hot 9 - Horn driven celebration led by virtuoso New Orleans bred pianist-vocalist Henry Butler and retro-trumpeter Steve Bernstein and their rollicking high energy small big band that takes early New Orleans jazz on an amazing trip with both dazzling virtuosity and humor. (AAM)

July 15: Clint Holmes & the H2 Big Band: From Sinatra to Ray Charles - Longtime Vegas mainstay vocalist Clint Holmes, backed by a 15-piece Big Band, in a bluesy, brassy celebration of the great American songbook from Sinatra to Ray Charles.  (AAM)

Tower of Power

July 29-30: Ella & Louis: Together Again feat. Byron Stripling & Carmen Bradford - Re-creation of one of the top selling jazz/pop albums in history which brought together Ella Fitzgerald and the legendary trumpeter/vocalist Louis Armstrong. (CSA)

Aug. 10: Cyrille Aimée - Playful and inventive French jazz vocalist, now Brooklyn based, celebrates her roots with her new French band of gypsy musicians. "Astonishingly creative, brilliant, and fresh ...honors tradition without being shackled to the past..." Wall Street Journal (AAM)

Aug. 11: Cubanismo - 11-piece Cuban band taking listeners through the classic repertoire of the greatest Cuban rhythms: salsa, son, guajira (the blues) and more, all drenched in jazz sensibility while celebrating the danceable rhythms which has made the Cuban big band sound beloved worldwide. (AAM)

Aug. 12: Take 6 - Ten-time Grammy® Award winners return to the JAS Café to dazzle audiences with their rhythmic wizardry, pioneered using the voice as a virtual band of instruments while drawing material from a wide range of American musical genres. (AAM)

Aug. 18: Eliane Elias: 100 Years of Samba - Multiple Grammy® Award winning Brazilian pianist and vocalist and her band celebrate the intoxicating high energy Brazilian rhythm "samba," along with Brazilian jazz and bossa nova. Eliane won the 2016 Grammy® for Best Latin Jazz performance. (AAM)

Aug. 19: Nnenna Freelon - Singer, composer, producer, arranger and budding actress, known for her "exquisite musicality," - LA Times, and "impeccably tuned voice and percolating funk based backing band." - Daily Variety. (AAM)

Aug. 20: Jacob Collier -19-year old British pianist/vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who exploded internationally behind the 2016 release In My Room, on which Collier recorded, played and sang every voice and instrument on the recording.  Now signed to the influential Quincy Jones Music, Collier is an astonishing talent who is dropping jaws around the globe and coast to coast. (AAM)

"From multiple Grammy® winners to legendary icons, across genres from traditional jazz vocals to sizzling rhythms from across the globe, from barrelhouse New Orleans sounds to eye and ear opening collaborations, this may be the strongest and most diverse line-up of world class artists in a single JAS Café season to date," says Horowitz.

Michael McDonald

JAS Café Summer Series tickets are on sale now. Individual show tickets will be available along with a summer series pass that includes $50 off the five shows of your choice. Dinner options will also be available for all early shows at both the Aspen Art Museum and the Cooking School of Aspen. Tickets are sold at jazzaspensnowmass.org or 970.920.4996.

On July 21 JAS will hold their summer benefit at the Belly Up in Aspen, raising funds for music education and programming. Guests will enjoy music from The Family Stone, celebrating 50 years of funk and the music Sly and the Family Stone. Tickets for the benefit will go on-sale at a later date.

Rounding out the summer, the 2017 Labor Day Experience line-up announced earlier this year includes Maroon 5, Keith Urban, Daryl Hall and John Oates, The Roots, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lake Street Dive and St. Paul & The Broken Bones. Tickets for these shows are available now.