Big-name jazz musicians are set to perform at new Sacramento-area festival. Here’s when
For the first time, a major jazz celebration is coming to the Elk Grove area for an all-day musical phenomenon at the end of this month, featuring some of the biggest artists the genre has to offer.
The first annual Elk Grove Fall Jazz Festival will be held on Sept. 30 at the Laguna Town Hall amphitheater, located at 3020 Renwick Ave.
Musical performers scheduled to hit the stage include: Jeanette Harris, known as the “Queen of the Sax”; Robin Duhe, the former bass player of Maze, featuring Frankie Beverly; Joe Leavy, one of the top-selling jazz and soul artists in the United Kingdom; and Kevin Cain and the Dirty Mercenaries.
The event is being put on by A-list Party Experience (APEX). Lee Perkins, a radio host for KDEE-FM (97.5), is hosting the jazz festival.
Throughout the concert, Perkins anticipates hearing a “pure sound” produced by the musicians and their instruments.
“The guitar is a pure sound. The saxophone is a pure sound and they have all that,” Perkins said. “Once everyone walks away, they will be blown away if they never heard Jeanette and the same thing goes for the other artists on the lineup.”
The lineup is second to none, Perkins said.
“This is the kind of lineup that you would find anywhere in any major city in the United States, whether it’s New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Miami or San Francisco,” Perkins said. “We get it in Elk Grove, and that’s a huge thing.”
‘Something Elk Grove has not seen before’
Michael Craft is the creative director of talent and vending at APEX, an event planning and promotions group, specializing in organizing live events such as comedy and jazz shows.
Craft and APEX have over 30 years experience in hosting events in the Sacramento area, and throughout their time, Craft said Elk Grove has never had a jazz festival hosted in the city.
He had a desire to change that, and he did.
“So it’s gonna be something that Elk Grove has not seen before. And I’m telling you, we are on the precipice of something great in terms of bringing entertainment to the Sacramento region,” Craft said.
Craft expressed his excitement to bring a show to the city of Elk Grove.
“We decided to bring the show to Elk Grove so that we can showcase the talent that is throughout the region, as well as bringing a superstar like Jeanette Harris,” Craft said. “We definitely think that it’s gonna be something that we’ve never seen before in this area.”
Harris, who is looking forward to headlining the event, is excited for the first annual jazz festival to be held in Elk Grove. She’s a soul saxophonist who defines her sound as “soul jazz” as it makes ode to “old school R&B.”
Harris, a Fresno native, has fans in the Central Valley area and hopes to see many people out at the event.
It’s going to be a party, she said.
“I’m more of a party band and people can honestly dance to my music, even though it’s instrumental,” Harris said. “And that’s kind of what I’m known for, the party.”
The ‘international language’ of music
Craft is on a mission to bring jazz to the forefront of conversations for live entertainment.
There are many derivatives of jazz including bebop, smooth jazz, funk jazz, bluegrass, swing jazz, Dixieland jazz and zydeco, a type of jazz which originated in New Orleans.
Craft refers to the genre as the “international language of music.”
“Jazz, I think, is the forefather and foremother of R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, and I’d say a twin of the blues,” Craft said. “A lot of jazz came out of blues, and a lot of blues came out of jazz.”
He said the show will be “spectacular” and invites people from surrounding regions to travel to enjoy the jazz-filled atmosphere.
“It’s definitely not ‘put you to sleep’ music,” Craft said. “No, it’s gonna rock. You are gonna dance, you can toe tap, you can shake your groove thing. People are gonna be up, they’re gonna be jamming.”
‘Everybody’s going to bring it’
Kevin Cain is a Sacramento favorite, although he is originally from Oklahoma and came to California’s capital region by way of south central Los Angeles. He first began playing music at 6. When he was 13, he went pro.
The Elk Grove Jazz Festival is monumental for Cain because it’s around the corner from his mother’s home. She rarely sees his shows because he hardly performs in Sacramento; and when he does, they’re usually shows that start late at night.
“To do this around the corner from her house…makes it special to be doing it in her backyard,” Cain said.
Cain will be performing with his band, the Dirty Mercenaries, which specializes in jazz, smooth jazz and hip-hop jazz, performing covers of some of their favorite songs such as “Lady” by D’Angelo, “Love No Limit” by Mary J. Blige and “Losing My Way” by FKJ.
“I’m ready to rip the faces off and leave them in the aisles,” Cain said. “It’s going to be a great show because everybody’s going to bring it…and it ain’t no secret, I’m going to be taking faces.”
Perkins has high hopes and expectations for the festival saying the show is going to be “a success.”
He told The Sacramento Bee he believes those who miss out will regret it.
“For those standing on the outside of the circle, they will be the ones that say, ‘Oh, I wish I would have never missed that show.’”
If you go
What: Elk Grove Fall Jazz Festival
Where: Laguna Town Hall, 3020 Renwick Ave.
When: noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30
Price: $15 to $75; available at bit.ly/egjazz2023tix
Information: alistpartyexperience.com or call 916-798-0239.
