The Jazz Sudbury Festival held its launch event on June 7 at Oscar's to announce who will be gracing the stage at this year's festival, which runs Sept. 6 - 9.
This is the ninth year of the festival and this year's lineup features some of Canada's top performers, and for the first time, one of the world's leading tribute acts is set to co-headline.
Brass Transit, an eight-person collection of some of the country's most in-demand musicians have made their name paying tribute to the multi-platinum songbook of Chicago. The ensemble will take the stage at the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre on Friday, Sept. 8.
"Chicago has an iconic sound that was part of the soundtrack of a generation," said Jazz Sudbury festival director Chris Newman.
"They sold millions of records with a unique and powerful sound that is instantly recognizable. With Brass Transit, we have a group of really world-class musicians who are going to bring a huge presence to the festival like we've never had before."
Prominent jazz saxophonist Dan St. Marseille will also take the stage on Friday evening. Also on the Friday night bill are Heather Bambrick, who was nominated for a Juno this year, and Canadian soul and R&B singer Tanika Charles.
Saturday will see Ottawa-based Soul Jazz Orchestra, who are returning to the Nickel City after being a major act in the first Jazz Sudbury Festival back in 2009. Soul Jazz are a high-energy fusion of soul, jazz, funk, Afrobeat, and Latin music.
The rest of the Saturday lineup will be filled out by Montreal jazz guitarist Eric St-Laurent and world renowned singer/pianist Laila Biali.
Jazz Sudbury Festival will continue its downtown presence with performances at several venues in the area, including a free family-friendly concert in Memorial Park featuring Sarah Craig & Sunnyside Jazz and Loco Zydeco.
"Throughout the years, Jazz Sudbury has gained a reputation for consistently bringing world-class acts to Sudbury and this year is no exception," said Newman.
One lucky Sudbury jazz act will get to share the stage with the headliners through the Emerging Artist Showcase. The two finalists performed at Oscar's during the launch on Wednesday evening.
Duo Jamie Dupuis and Zac Martel were up against Justine Giles for the honour of performing at this year's festival.
Early bird tickets for this year's festival are now available at www.jazzsudbury.com.
