The Swiss Global Artistic Foundation in partnership with The Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center (OSPAC) announces that its Ninth Annual Jazz Festival will take place on Friday, September 16th at 7:30pm and Saturday, September 17thfrom 1pm to 9pm at the spectacular OSPAC Amphitheater at:
Crystal Lake, 4 Boland Drive, West Orange. This event is $10 for adults and $5 for seniors. Children are free. Admission is taken at the entrance. Rain dates are Friday and Saturday, September 23rd and 24th.
For the ninth consecutive year, the Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center will present a weekend of world-class jazz entertainment emceed by WBGO’s Gary Walker, in an open-air setting, complete with international food vendors, artisans and crafts, health spa center, and entertainment and activities for children. Saturday will also include “Paint the Music” led by Nitza Horner, teaching artist and freelance educator affiliated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where patrons will paint what they hear.
"The Swiss Global/OSPAC Jazz Festival has grown in the past nine years to be the most talked-about jazz event in the area,” said internationally renowned jazz singer and OSPAC Executive Director / Swiss Global Jazz Advisor, Kate Baker. “And this year’s event will be more spectacular than ever. Our lineup of artists is an international mix of quintessential jazz stylists and modern and cultural jazz interpreters.”
“What makes this venue special is not only the beautiful surroundings where you can stroll around the lake, but the superb sound that you can hear from every location,” said Swiss Global Executive Director Heather de Haes.
This year’s stellar lineup includes: Ali Jackson Quintet featuring Hope Boykin of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater; Houston Person Quartet; Nat Adderley, Jr. Quartet featuring Dave Stryker; Sheila Jordan Quartet featuring Steve Kuhn with Cameron Brown; world-renowned pianist Bill Charlap; Brazilian All-Stars: Romero Lubambo, Nilson Matta, and Claudio Roditi; Kate Baker, Vic Juris, Ralph LaLama and Harvie S,; Bob DeVos and Oscar Perez with the West Orange/NJ All Stars featuring Mike Lee, Ed Howard, Vince Ector and more, with special guests Pam Purvis, Kevin Burke and other vocalists. The festival will also present The Young Lions with Joe Alterman and Marcus Miller; and upcoming artist, guitarist/singer Dida.
“OSPAC is considered New Jersey’s premier outdoor theater, and we are proud of the great performances, like the Jazz Festival, that take place here,” says Gary Walker of WBGO-FM. “I encourage everyone to come out to OSPAC and enjoy the beautiful surroundings at Crystal Lake and experience the season’s signature event.”