Monterey Jazz Festival Announces 55th Anniversary Celebration Tour

Monterey Jazz Festival, world-renowned for its artistic excellence, sophisticated informality, and longstanding mission to create and support year-round jazz education and performance programs in local, regional, national, and international venues, continues this commitment in 2013 with its third North American Tour, featuring critically-acclaimed, GRAMMY®-winning jazz artists.

The Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour 55th Anniversary Celebration, featuring vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, bassist and musical director Christian McBride, pianist Benny Green, drummer Lewis Nash, saxophonist Chris Potter, and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, will perform 45 shows beginning on January 10, 2013 in Santa Cruz, Calif., and will make stops in 40 cities in 23 States across the United States, Canada, and Washington D.C. through April 28. The 2013 tour takes place in two legs, from January 10 – February 3, and March 20 – April 28.

Highlights of the nine-week tour will include a six-night run at the Blue Note in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.; the Epcor Center in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; the Chicago Symphony Center in Chicago; and Benaroya Hall in Seattle.

Information about tour dates and times are available on the Monterey Jazz Festival's Web site.

Members of the 55th Anniversary on Tour Band have deep relationships with Monterey Jazz Festival and have a commitment to the cultivation of jazz audiences worldwide. Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater made her first appearance at the Monterey Jazz in Festival in 1973 with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra; bassist Christian McBride has appeared at the Festival eight times since 1994, including acting as the Festival's Artist-In-Residence in 2008; pianist Benny Green made the first of his eight performances at the Festival (as a 15-year-old in 1978) as the pianist in the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra; drummer Lewis Nash has appeared at the Festival twice since 2001; saxophonist Chris Potter made the first of his eight Festival appearances in 1997 and was a featured member of Dave Holland's "Monterey Quartet," which performed and recorded at the Monterey Jazz Festival's 50th Anniversary in 2007; and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, a two-time member of the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, has made four appearances at the Festival since the 1990s, including acting as Monterey's Artist-In-Residence in 2012.