2012 Detroit Jazz Festival Releases Star-Studded Lineup

DETROIT, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The 33rd annual Detroit Jazz Festival will feature a one-of-a-kind lineup of today's greatest jazz performers. The artists at this year's festival have been nominated for more than 200 and won more than 100 Grammy Awards, composed film scores and traveled the world to perform.

"This year, we wanted to focus on going back to traditional jazz roots. Bringing together these world-class jazz artists gives festival-goers the opportunity to experience jazz at its finest -- a collaboration between artists with history, experience and a style all their own," said Chris Collins, artistic director of the Detroit Jazz Festival. "Many of the artists joining us at the festival have worked together before and we're reuniting them, as well as introducing unique first-time collaborations, to celebrate the culture of jazz and really show how jazz has made an impact in our region and across the nation."

The 2012 headliners include:

• Sonny Rollins
• Wynton Marsalis
• Chick Corea and Gary Burton, with strings
• Wayne Shorter
• Pat Metheny
• And, 2012 Artist in Residence, Terence Blanchard

To see the full lineup, visit http://detroitjazzfest.com.

"My focus has always been on continually improving the festival," said Gretchen Valade, chair of the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation board of directors. "Chris Collins has done a fantastic job securing this all-star lineup for the 2012 festival. All of these incredible performers coming together at the Detroit Jazz Festival means a lot, not only to our city, but to all jazz enthusiasts. It is a chance to see so many favorites in one arena. I could not be more thrilled with how this year's festival continues to develop and, as always, it's free to the public."

In addition to the events on Labor Day weekend, the Detroit Jazz Festival organizes year-round cultural and educational efforts to celebrate jazz in the community.

• The Detroit Torino Urban Jazz Project presented by FIAT USA bridges the two jazz worlds of Detroit and Torino, Italy and provides listeners the chance to experience jazz music from a different perspective. One June 1 the Detroit Torino Urban Jazz artists will be performing at Orchestra Hall. Tickets may be purchased at the Max M. Fisher Music Center box office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit); by calling (313) 576-5111; or online at www.dso.org.
• The JC Heard Jazz [email protected], which started in 2007, is a collaboration between the Detroit Jazz Festival and Wayne State University's Department of Music where high school students are provided the opportunity to participate, at no cost, in an intensive one-week workshop focused on jazz performance and improvisation. The week culminates in two performances, one at Campus Martius and the other during the festival weekend.
• To learn more about the history and culture of jazz throughout the festival weekend, the Jazz Talk Tent allows attendees to learn more about artists and hear from jazz experts.

The Detroit Jazz Festival is largest free jazz festival in the world. Attendees, in addition to artists, come from all over the world, with 23 percent of the festival audience coming from outside of Michigan. The festival has an economic impact of tens of millions of dollars, contributing greatly to the city of Detroit. The festival also was recently voted the number two jazz festival in North America in a reader's poll by JazzTimes, the world's leading jazz publication.

Major corporate sponsors include JP Morgan Chase, Carhartt, DTE Energy Foundation and Mack Avenue Records. In addition, there is a growing base of individual support. Fans are encouraged to become Rhythm Section members by making donations of any size online in support of the festival's "KEEP IT FREE" campaign.

The Detroit Jazz Festival, now in its 33^rd year, takes place over Labor Day weekend in Hart Plaza, downtown Detroit. This year's official poster, a sought after collector's piece, was created by artist Doug Tocco, who has been designing since 1991 and has also created posters for the Detroit International Auto Show and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

About the Detroit Jazz Festival

The Detroit Jazz Festival is an independent, non-profit organization that presents jazz and educational workshops throughout the year. Recently voted number two in North America in a JazzTimes reader's poll, the Detroit Jazz Festival is the largest free jazz festival in the world and a major tourist attraction for the City of Detroit, with 23 percent of its audience coming from out of state.

The festival receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Erb Family Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. Major corporate partners include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Carhartt and Mack Avenue Records. Additional partners include Absopure Water Company, Amtech International, Great Lakes Beverage, Charity Motors, Cliff Bells, Comcast, Compuware, Detroit Marriott, Dickinson Wright, Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, Fathead, Meridian Health Plan, Motor City Casino Hotel, Pepsi Beverages Company, Plante Moran, PNC Foundation, Quicken Loans, St. John Providence Health System, DownBeat, JazzTimes, MetroTimes and Fox 2. The festival's Greening Program, now entering Phase IV, is supported by a generous grant from the DTE Energy Foundation. For more information visit www.detroitjazzfest.com.

SOURCE Detroit Jazz Festival