Memories of Beaches Jazz 2009

The main stage action at Kew Gardens in year twenty-one will be remembered for the uninvited headline artist - "Persistent Rain."  Never before in the past two decades have we encountered such volume and relentless downpours.  Fortunately, in between the momentary lapses we were able to get a good portion of the main stage performances in play.  The big surprise of the summer was the ascension of the soul / funk / jazz ensemble Blackburn.  The brothers Blackburn laid hard into the groove bringing a heavy dose of Afro - Canadian rhythm and blues in the mix.  Jazz messenger of sorts - Norman Marshall Villeneuve, now in his seventies, showed all of the fire and determination of players half his age.  Norman played like a talking book of jazz history.  The high flying Latin ensemble led by pianist / arranger / composer Roberto Linares Brown camped beneath the protective dome of the Alex Christie Band Shell and gave a riveting set of newly constructed material from his latest recording all brimming with explosive percussion and stinging horn lines. Blues belter, Shakura S’Aida earned the luck of the day award catching a momentary reprieve from the lord of the sky allowing her ample time to draw rain drenched patrons back into Kew Gardens.  S’Aida is the consummate entertainer who can easily silence a noisy room or summon a multitude of curious passers by.  It’s that big beautiful powerful voice that grabs your attention. Boogie Woogie pianist Deanna Bogart was in high flying mode only to be whipped from the stage in one huge torrential blast of rain.  With the summer of 2009 far behind we now set our minds to year twenty-two and all the grand and boundless possibilities.  I’ll be looking for fresh faces, new music, and the best of the best.  We have a few surprizes in store for our audience for 2010.  Bookmark our website and visit for updates.  A big thank you, as always, to our 2009 sponsors.

Bill King
Artistic Director

Memories of 2009 Program Schedule

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