By Kay Renz
Pompano Beach Arts has announced the complete lineup for the much anticipated second annual Jazz Fest Pompano Beach taking place Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21, 2023. The headlining act for Friday night’s concert on the Great Lawn by the beach is 13-time Grammy Award-nominated jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra. Performing Saturday afternoon in Old Town Pompano Beach is a stellar selection of jazz artists including Nanny Assis, Fanni Sárközy, Yanier Horta, Julio Montalvo and the Fabulous Dixie Kings, and the FIU Jazz Big Band with the FIU Student Vocal Studio. Topping off this incredible Saturday lineup is the already announced headliner, six-time Grammy Award-winning jazz saxophonist David Sanborn. Tickets and details at www.pompanobeacharts.org/jazzfest
“We are honored to bring these world-class musicians to our city,” said Ty Tabing, Cultural Affairs Director. “During this two-day ‘jazz-takeover’ of Pompano Beach, we will be showcasing almost every style of jazz there is. This event is a tremendous opportunity to enjoy incredible music and explore the beauty of our city!”
Day 1 — Spyro Gyra, Friday, January 20, 2023, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.; VIP $65, GA free, RSVPs requested, Great Lawn by the beach – Spyro Gyra
Spyro Gyra has long been known to its peers in the contemporary jazz world as a “well-oiled road machine” due to its relentless schedule of 48 years of performing. To date, they have logged more than 10,000 shows on six continents and released 35 albums, garnering platinum, and gold records along the way. Spyro Gyra rose from humble beginnings in Buffalo, New York in 1974 to their current international prominence in the jazz world. Every year, they continue to exhibit how to remain among a relative handful of artists who will be able to say that they have worked constantly in their 50-year career in the year 2024. Their energy and joy in concert match their unmatched musicality.
Day 2 – Saturday, January 21, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. – VIP $65 – GA free – RSVPs requested – Old Town, 41 NE 1st St, Pompano Beach, FL 33060, Tamara G. from 101.5 LITE FM Florida will be hosting: Fanni Sárközy
Sárközy is a multi-award-winning pianist, singer, and composer, proficient in jazz and classical music, and highly regarded in her native Hungary. Her composition “No Time to Lose” won the Grand Prize at the International Songwriting Contest in France. In 2012, she won the Best Jazz Album of the Year in Hungary’s Fonogram Awards (often dubbed the “Hungarian Grammys”) with the Mrs. Columbo Band.
Yanier Horta
Cuban-born Grammy-nominee Horta is a versatile saxophonist, multi- instrumentalist, bandleader, and composer. His music has been featured in recordings, festivals, and world tours, sharing studios and stages with great artists including Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Ricardo Arjona, Juan Gabriel, Aymee Nuviola, Francisco Céspedes, Luis Enrique, Cristian Castro, Manuel Mijares and many more. Since 2008, Horta has also been a Music Director for Miami television, with stints on Esta Noche Tu Night and El Show de Alexis Valdés, both hosted by Alexis Valdés, and El Arañaz, hosted by Omar Moynelo.
Julio Montalvo & The Fabulous Dixie Kings
Montalvo is one of the leading trombonists from the island of Cuba. Collaborating with The Fabulous Dixie Kings, he brings his special magic to meld seamlessly with authentic traditional New Orleans Dixieland jazz music at its finest. The Fabulous Dixie Kings create toe-tapping, swinging and infectious music that creates a fun, upbeat and immersive atmosphere. Their repertoire includes all the classic Dixieland standards and New Orleans jazz favorites!
FIU Jazz Big Band and FIU Student Vocal Studio
The FIU Studio Jazz Big Band is one of the most visible artistic groups at Florida International University. With major performances annually both as a featured group and with world-renowned guest artists, the band has been internationally recognized as one of the premier college jazz ensembles in the world. The FIU Student Vocal Studio will accompany the band, under the direction of Dr. Lisanne Lyons.
Nanny Assis
Assis is a Brazilian-American percussionist, singer, composer, and guitarist based in New York city. He has collaborated with many renowned musicians, including Janis Siegel, Vinicius Cantuária, Eumir Deodato, Joao Donato, Kenny Baron and Paul Simon. In both 2011 and 2017, he was the recipient of the prestigious Brazilian International Press Award as “Best Singer of the Year.” Assis is also a composer of the musical Rio Uphill, with 16 original songs that fuse Brazilian music such as samba, forró and funk carioca with contemporary musical theater, rock and rap. The show was a 2021 Richard Rodgers Award finalist, presented Off-Broadway in 2020 in The York Theatre Company’s Developmental Reading Series and in the 2019 ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop led by Stephen Schwartz.
David Sanborn
Universally known as one of the most iconic saxophonists of the current age, David Sanborn is a jazz musician at heart, but has transcended genres and musical boundaries throughout his entire career. Sanborn has released 24 albums, won six Grammy Awards, and has had eight gold albums and one platinum. He continues to be one of the most active musicians of his genre and an inspiration to countless other musicians.
Rolling Stone has stated, “Among the great saxophonists of the past four decades, David Sanborn has earned an identity all his own. He’s jazz, he’s funk, he’s soul, he’s pop, he’s blues, he’s rock. Most remarkably, he excels in each of these genres with a voice that is forceful and tender, sensuous and subtle.”
Tamara G. from 101.5 LITE FM Florida will be hosting the Saturday afternoon performances, and T. Mark Ruffin from SIRIUS XM Jazz Radio will be hosting headliner David Sanborn’s show.
Festival experiences will include up-close-and-personal performances, artist conversations, multiple outdoor stages with seasoned and emerging artists, as well as drink, food, and art vendors.
For more information: www.pompanobeacharts.org/jazzfest
About the City of Pompano Beach Cultural Affairs Department
The mission of the Cultural Affairs Department is to provide cultural programming that includes visual arts, digital media, music, film, theater, dance and public art for the enjoyment and enrichment of residents and visitors to Pompano Beach, Broward County, and the greater South Florida area. The department programs and manages the City’s premiere cultural arts venues, including the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, Ali Cultural Arts Center, Bailey Contemporary Arts Center, and the Blanche Ely House Museum. The department also oversees the City’s Public Art Program and the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts’ Our Town grant awarded to the Pompano Beach Crossroads place-making arts initiative.
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