Variety and the ever-increasing quality of acts distinguish the 2011 programme of the Queenstown JazzFest, its chairman says.
Queenstown's Labour Day institution returns on Thursday, October 20 until Monday, October 24. The trust behind the festival announced the programme this week, which will see 100 Wakatipu, national and international jazz talents perform in more than 40 free and ticketed shows.
"We're very excited. I think this year's festival has got good variety and a lot of great acts," trust chairman Luke Baldock said yesterday.
"The standard of artists once again increases and that's the same for all ticketed and community activities."
Highlights included the Craig Naughton Quartet performing in the Skyline Jazz Brunch on the Sunday.
The prolific Sydney-based Australian drummer-composer will be joined by bass player Steve Hunter, guitarist Carl Dewhurst and piano player Matt McMahon for the ticketed brunch.
The festival's ticketed tribute concert by Wakatipu performers for a local musician will feature three young entertainers this year - Emily Burns, Max Gunn and Hertzog Burger.
Mr Baldock said the tribute was regarded as one of the most successful events on the festival calendar, after the popularity of the first two tributes, for Margaret O'Hanlon last year and Mark Wilson in 2009.
"It's a great event that brings the community together to celebrate locals' talents," he said.
Wellington seven-piece dub reggae outfit Fat Freddy's Drop will elevate JazzFest's Jazz 'n' Beats night to a new level in the memorial hall on the Saturday night, Mr Baldock said.
"The show they put on will definitely be a spectacle."
The JazzFest Earnslaw Park stage, assisted this year by the nationwide REAL New Zealand Festival, was a step in the right direction for the festival in terms of the scale and production value, Mr Baldock said.
The newly formed Queenstown Jazz Orchestra, boasting 17 musicians from throughout the Southern Lakes and Central Otago, and With A Twist, featuring singer Pearly McGrath, piano man Mark Wilson, bassist Diego Vanzella and drummer Tane Brown, will be among the Wakatipu acts to grace the stage on the Friday.
Dunedin blues man King Leo, backed by an energetic rhythm section, performs on the Saturday afternoon.
The Reuben Bradley Quartet, a 2011 New Zealand Music Award winner for his debut album Resonator, plus Manchester based trumpeter, DJ, arranger and producer Matthew Halsall, deliver their fresh takes on jazz on the Sunday.
2011 JazzFest programme
OCTOBER 20
• Rhythmic Verve by Shannon Novak, 7pm, Queenstown Village Green, free.
• Screen on the Green, 9pm, Queenstown Village Green.
OCTOBER 21
• Adam Page, noon, Queenstown Village Green, free.
• Gilly Darbey, 2.30pm, Post Office Cafe, free.
• With A Twist, 5pm , Earnslaw Park, free.
• Queenstown Jazz Orchestra, 6.30pm, Earnslaw Park, free.
• Stevie Rice Quartet, 6.30pm, SkyCity Queenstown Casino, free (R20).
• Reuben Bradley Trio, 7pm, threesixty Restaurant and Bar, $59 (includes special three-course menu with complimentary glass of bubbles).
• Fat Freddy's Drop, 8.30pm, Queenstown Memorial Hall, $70.
• Screen on the Green, 9pm, Queenstown Village Green, free.
• Mundi - Original World Jazz, 9pm, threesixty Restaurant and Bar, free.
• Adam Page - Solo, 10.30pm, SkyCity Queenstown Casino, free (R20).
• 2 Five 9, 11pm, Skybar, free.
• Tyson Smith Trio, 12.30am, SkyCityQueenstown Casino, free (R20).
OCTOBER 22
• Brunch with Mark Wilson, Left Bank Cafe, free.
• Adam Page, noon, Queenstown Village Green, free.
• Impulse Jazz and Blues, noon, Earnslaw Park, free.
• Otago Girls' Jazz Band/Best Served Chilled, noon, Remarkables Park Shopping Centre, free.
• Queenstown Jazz Orchestra, 1.40pm, Remarkables Park Shopping Centre, free.
• Les Richardson Quartet with Vanessa Kelly, 2pm, Earnslaw Park, free.
• Gilly Darbey, 2.30pm, Post Office Cafe, free.
• King Leo, 4pm, Earnslaw Park, free.
• Stevie Rice Quartet, 7pm, SkyCity Queenstown Casino, free (R20).
• Jason Thornton Quartet, threesixty Restaurant and Bar, $59 (includes special three-course menu with complimentary glass of bubbles).
• Queenstown Young Jazz Performers - Tribute Night, 7.30pm, Queenstown Memorial Hall, $20.
• Screen on the Green, 9pm, Queenstown Village Green, free.
• Mundi - Original World Jazz, 9.30pm, threesixty Restaurant and Bar, free.
• Adam Page - Solo, 9.30pm, SkyCity Queenstown Casino, free.
• 2 Five 9, 11pm, Skybar, free.
• Tyson Smith Trio, 11.30pm, SkyCity Queenstown Casino, free (R20).
OCTOBER 23
• Craig Naughton Quartet, 11.30am, Skyline Gondola Restaurant and Luge, $51 (bookings essential).
• Otago Girls' Jazz Band/Best Served Chilled, noon, Buckingham Green, free.
• Mundi - Original World Jazz, noon, Earnslaw Park, free.
• Queenstown Jazz Orchestra, 1.40pm, Remarkables Park Shopping Centre, free.
• 2 Five 9, 2pm, Earnslaw Park, free.
• The Journeymen, 2.30pm, Provisions Cafe, free.
• Reuben Bradley Quartet, 4pm, Earnslaw Park, free.
• Matthew Halsall (UK), 6pm, Earnslaw Park, free.
• 2 Five 9, 11pm, Skybar, free.
• Late Night Jam Session, 1am, Skybar, free.
OCTOBER 24
• Community Spotlight Stage, noon, Queenstown Village Green, free.
• Remarkable Dixie, 1.30pm, Queenstown Village Green, free.
For more details, visit www.queenstownjazzfest.co.nz
