— from Jim Connell —
Martin Lund, founder of the Orcas Island Jazz Festival, comes to Orcas Center on Labor Day weekend
Martin Lund’s 4th annual Orcas Island Jazz Festival will light up Orcas Center over Labor Day weekend. Tickets are on sale now at www.OrcasCenter.org for four dazzling nights of great jazz, from Thursday, August 30, through Sunday September 2. Select your favorite shows – or get a 4-day pass to all shows for just $79. All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.
Lund and musical friends will guide you through “Jazz – What’s the Game?” on opening night, Thursday, August 30th. Learn the rules of the game of jazz, how it is played and why it sounds the way it sounds. There will be plenty of musical demonstrations and entertainment! Tickets for this opening night special are just $10.
Pearl Django, one of the most highly regarded Hot Club style groups working today, returns by popular demand to the Jazz Festival on Friday night, August 31. The band’s roots are firmly in the gypsy jazz made famous by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, but its extensive repertoire includes traditional jazz classics and original compositions.
The Susan Pascal Quintet, under the helm of the blazing Seattle jazz vibraphonist Susan Pascal – and featuring world-renowned saxophonist Pete Christlieb, takes Center Stage on Saturday, September 1, in a very special evening remembering Stan Getz.
Martin Lund and the Off-Island All-Stars will bring the house down on Sunday, September 2. Orcas Island Jazz Festival Founder and Artistic Director Lund surrounds himself with the very best artists, vocal and instrumental, in an evening that promises to be as eclectic and entertaining as Lund himself. Lund has played with some of the great blues artists of our time and worked in the studios of Los Angeles as a composer, arranger and musician with artists such as Mel Torme and Isaac Hayes. He is equally adept at clarinet, saxophone, flute and piano.
“Our jazz fan base here on Orcas is growing every year,” said Lund. “And every night of this year’s festival will be different and dynamic. See you at the Jazz Festival!”
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It’s easy to complain about what we don’t like but we often remain silent about what we do like. Martin Lund and the Orcas Island Jazz Festival are true island treasures (we have so many)—here are two showing once again how fortunate we are.
This is my absolute FAVORITE event of the year! Looking forward to it! Thank you Martin Lund and all the musicians and volunteers who make his Jazz Festival exemplary, every year.