Bellevue Jazz Festival Prepares for 3rd Edition

Posted on 28. May, 2010 by Hector Aviles in Blog

Spanish Harlem Orchestra (SHO) is not your typical Jazz Festival band, and yet it ignited the stage and the crowd when it performed in the 1st edition of the Bellevue Jazz Festival 2 years ago. Then again, the Bellevue Downtown Association may not be hosting your standard type of Jazz Festival, and now in its 3rd edition, it’s taking full advantage of a recently revamped and buzzing Bellevue downtown to make this a prime community event for all to enjoy. The festival will take place from June 3rd to June 6th in Bellevue, Washington.

Jazz for All Ages a Stroll Away

From its very 1st edition, the Bellevue Jazz Festival set the tone that it will create its own concept of what a jazz event should be, by inviting a New York Salsa band, and at the same time headlining one of the most recognized names in Jazz in Branford Marsalis. This year the 3rd edition of the Bellevue Jazz Festival again brings great headliners, although perhaps more suited to the smaller Meydenbauer Theater venue that will be used this year due to the harsher economic situation.

Great entertainment, however, is in great abundance at the festival, and with downtown Bellevue having completed most of its construction “remodeling”, the festival will take advantage of the pedestrian-friendly city center and the proximity of the venues hosting events. The festival will have 35 shows this year, of which 30 will be free to the public and most venues are within a short stroll from one another.

Ms. Leslie Lloyd - Executive Director of Bellevue Jazz Festival

All this fits well within the 3-part mission of the Bellevue Jazz Festival, as explained by Ms. Leslie Lloyd, the Executive Director of the festival and President of the Bellevue Downtown Association, in a recent conversation we had regarding the event. “The first part of the mission is to attract national and international headliners which otherwise wouldn’t perform here; the 2nd is to showcase the deep pool of talent in the region; and the 3rd is to educate emerging audiences of listeners and performers. We’ve gone beyond we ever where.” Ms. Lloyd wants to build the Bellevue Jazz Festival to be at par with the Portland and San Francisco festivals.

I missed the previous two incarnations of the Bellevue Jazz Festival as I normally go camping with my family and friends during the extended Memorial Day weekend, which is when the event was held. One of the main changes this year is moving the jazz festival out to the weekend following Memorial Day. “We heard loud and clear from our fans that there are just too many other things going on Memorial Day weekend” said Ms. Lloyd, which expects a positive impact with the move.

Bellevue Jazz Festival Invites Jazz Students and Seasoned Masters

One thing that distinguishes Bellevue-Seattle area is the great jazz programs at schools. This year the area had 3 high-school jazz bands compete in the Essentially Ellington event in New York. Ms. Lloyd explained that as part of the festival “eight area high school and middle school jazz bands will be performing at the Bellevue City Hall and the Bellevue Art Museum for free”.

The Bellevue Jazz Festival also takes advantage of this pool of young talent to do something unique to this kind of festivals, by combining seasoned jazz musicians with the top area jazz students in what is called the Bellevue Jazz Festival “Rising Stars” program. Ms Lloyd described this as “an opportunity for students to perform in small ensembles and get closer to the real essence of jazz which is improvisational.”

Audio Clip of Conversation with Leslie Lloyd

You can listen to an audio clip of our conversation with Leslie Lloyd regarding the 2010 edition of the Bellevue Jazz Festival below:

[audio:Interview with Leslie Lloyd.mp3]

More Information on the Bellevue Jazz Festival

The 3rd incarnation of the Bellevue Jazz Festival will take place between June 3rd and June 6th and you can get more information and tickets for the few headliner paying events at the festival’s web site at: http://www.bellevuejazz.com

Ms. Leslie Lloyd photo by Daniel Sheehan Photography

Related posts:

1. A Drum Festival for the Rest of Us

Tags: city of bellevue, Jazz, Spanish Harlem Orchestra