Indy Jazz Fest
Encyclopedia
The Indy Jazz Fest is an annual jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

 in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. It first took place on June 17, 1999. It was created by a consortium of Downtown Indianapolis hospitality, civic and business interests as a way to spotlight Indianapolis' rich jazz heritage through an annual event. The hope was to have a tourist weekend event that was arts-related, as opposed to the many sporting events held each year in Indianapolis, the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

, the Brickyard 400 as well the occasional NCAA championship or Super Bowl.

A planning committee was formed by these business interests, and it was led by local event planner Maribeth Smith & Associates. As planning progressed a director was appointed who ran the day-to-day operations and booked all the talent for the event. It was determined that the event would be a multi-day, multi-venue festival, culminating in a multi-stage outdoor event called the Bank One Jazz & Roots Fair at White River State Park
White River State Park
White River State ParkDesignationState ParkLocationIndianapolis, Indiana USANearest CityIndianapolis, IndianaArea Date of Establishment1979Governing Body...

 in Downtown Indianapolis. A $2 million budget was used to stage the event, which included artists such as B.B. King, Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...

, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

, Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...

, Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...

, Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...

, Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...

, George Benson
George Benson
George Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....

, Chris Isaak
Chris Isaak
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Early life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...

 and Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...

. A spotlight on local jazz legends was called Indiana Avenue Revisited, including Slide Hampton
Slide Hampton
Locksley Wellington "Slide" Hampton is an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.He was a 1998 Grammy Award winner for "Best Jazz Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist", as arranger for "Cotton Tail" performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater...

, David Baker, Buddy Montgomery
Buddy Montgomery
Charles "Buddy" Montgomery was an American jazz vibraphonist and pianist. He was the youngest brother of Wes and Monk Montgomery. He and brother, Monk, formed the "Mastersounds," in the late 50's and produced ten recordings...

 and Jimmy Coe
Jimmy Coe
James R. Coe was a jazz saxophonist.He first played in a band with Erroll "Groundhog" Grandy who mentored J. J. Johnson and Wes Montgomery...

.

According to the Indy Jazz Fest website and numerous published reports, the inaugural event attracted over 55,000 people, including attendees from 35 states and seven countries.

The second festival saw names like Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...

, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

, Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...

, Booker T. & the M.G.'s
Booker T. & the M.G.'s
Booker T. & the M.G.'s is an instrumental R&B band that was influential in shaping the sound of southern soul and Memphis soul. Original members of the group were Booker T. Jones , Steve Cropper , Lewie Steinberg , and Al Jackson, Jr....

, Jonny Lang
Jonny Lang
Jonny Lang is a Grammy award-winning American blues, gospel, and rock singer, songwriter and recording artist. Lang's music is notable for both his unusual voice, which has been compared to that of a forty-year-old blues veteran, and for his guitar solos...

, Shemekia Copeland
Shemekia Copeland
Shemekia Copeland is an American electric blues vocalist.-Career:Copeland was born in Harlem, New York City, United States. She is the daughter of Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland...

, The Yellowjackets, Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...

 and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is a primarily instrumental group from the United States, that draws equally on bluegrass, fusion and jazz, sometimes dubbed "blu-bop". The band formed in 1988, initially to perform once on the PBS series Lonesome Pine Specials. The Flecktones have toured extensively...

. The festival did have to cancel the first night due to an unseasonable downpour, and heavy rains off and on throughout the weekend caused a $750,000 budget shortfall and the organization accumulated a large amount of debt as a result. Afterward the consortium continued to manage the festival for a few years until the American Pianists Association took over operations in the early 2000s. Again, after several years the American Pianists Association stopped running the festival and the naming rights were bought by J. Allan Hall and Rob Dixon
Rob Dixon
Rob Dixon is an American jazz saxophonist.A native of Atlanta, Dixon went to school at Indiana University where he came under the influence of the renowned jazz educator David Baker...

 who are also both involved in Indianapolis record label Owl Studios
Owl Studios
Owl Studios is an independent record label, started in 2005 by J. Allan Hall, that concentrates on jazz, R&B, and jam band genres. It is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and operates from its downtown offices on Monument Circle.-Formation:...

, among others. The new ownership decided to reinvent the Indy Jazz Fest as a non-profit organization and began formulating and implementing educational outreach initiatives throughout Indianapolis Public Schools
Indianapolis Public Schools
Indianapolis Public Schools, abbreviated locally as IPS, is the largest school district in Indianapolis as well as in the state of Indiana with 33,372 students enrolled in 2009-2010...

. Children from all walks of life have been exposed to jazz and other musical genres because of Indy Jazz Fest's work in the community.

The Jazz Fest was traditionally held on Father's Day
Father's Day
Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June but it is also celebrated widely on other days...

weekend, but starting in 2009, the Festival has moved to the last week of September. The lineup lineup for the 2011 Indy Jazz Fest will be announced on June 9.
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