Five Points Jazz Festival

SO MUCH MUSIC! Join Denver Arts & Venues for the 15th Annual Five Points Jazz Festival. 2017 brings you more stages, more bands and more fun than ever before. This free, family-friendly event takes place annually on the third Saturday in May and celebrates the history of Denver’s Five Points neighborhood.

Main Stage (29th & Welton)
11 a.m.-12 p.m. – Guerrilla Fanfare Brass Band
12:30-1:30 p.m. – Denver Jazz Orchestra
2:00-3:00 p.m. – Paa Kow
3:30-4:30 p.m. – Conjunto Colores
5:00-6:00 p.m. – SF1
6:30-7:30 p.m. – Groove ‘N Motion

Plaza Stage (2736 Welton St.)
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Voz de la Clave
1:00-2:00 p.m. – Eddie Turner & the Trouble Twins
2:30-3:30 p.m. – Sista Soul
4:00-5:00 p.m. – Soul Sacrifice: A Tribute to Santana
5:30-6:30 p.m. – Ricky Earl Band and Cherise

Arts & Venues Stage (26th & Welton)
12:00-1:00 p.m. – Denver Jazz Heritage Orchestra
1:30-2:30 p.m. – Soul Confluence
3:00-4:00 p.m. – Flat Out Jazz
4:30-5:30 p.m. – Peter Sommer Septet
6:00-7:00 p.m. – Mistura Fina

Crossroads Theater (2590 Washington St.)
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. – GoodRattle
12:45-1:45 p.m. – Coexistence
2:30-3:30 p.m. – Tom Gershwin Sextet
4:15-5:15 p.m. – Expeditions
6:00-7:00 p.m. – Rico Jones Quartet

Coffee at The Point (710 E. 26th Ave.)
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. – La Pompe Jazz
1:00-2:00 p.m. – SAS Jazz
3:00-4:00 p.m. – Steve Kovalcheck/Dave Devine Quartet
5:00-6:00 p.m. – Chris Kroger Quintet
7:00-8:00 p.m. – Judo Chop
9:00-10:00 p.m. – Keith Oxman Trio

Coffee at The Point Outdoor Patio/Patio Exterior en Coffee at The Point (710 E 26th Ave.)
12:00-1:00 p.m. – Styles Bitchley
2:00-3:00 p.m. – Smooth E and the Grooves
4:00-5:00 p.m. – Purple Squirrel
6:00-7:00 p.m. – The Jazz Partners
8:00-9:00 p.m. – The Hendersons

Cervantes (2637 Welton St)
12:00-1:00 p.m. – Brad Goode Polytonal Quartet
2:00-3:00 p.m. – Space Orphan

Blair Caldwell African American Research Library (2401 Welton St.)
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Denver Jazz Club
12:00-1:30 p.m.– Film: “Nina Simone, Love Sorceress”*
1:30-2:30 p.m. – Quirktett
2:00-3:30 p.m.– Film: “Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog”**
3:30-4:30 p.m.– Spherio

715 Club (715 E. 26th Ave.)
3:30-4:30 p.m. – Teresa Carroll and the Top Cats
5:00-6:00 p.m. – Dustin Adams Band
6:45-7:45 p.m. – The Utopian Futurist Society
8:30-9:30 p.m. – Freddy Rodriquez and the Jazz Connection

A.C.E. Youth Hub, 12, 1, 2, 3 p.m. –Yoga

Yoga provided by Celia Herrera. Yoga gives participants the opportunity to connect the breath with the body. ‘Story time yoga’ is interactive and engaging experiences for all ages. (Includes yoga mats for up to 20 participants)

12:20, 1:20, 2:20, 3:20 p.m. – Drumming

Drumming provided by King Salim Ajanku. Explore the music of the Djembe Orchestra, and learn what the instruments are made of and the sounds they make. Then let’s all play a rhythm together! (Includes drums for up to 20 participants)

12:40, 1:40, 2:40, 3:40 – Dance

Dance provided by The Sankofa Project. In West Africa, dance is a form of social engagement and gives participants a way to positively move the energy in their bodies. Let’s all dance together! (Includes live accompaniment)

11:00 a.m. – 5 p.m. – Family Zone

Be sure to check out our great Family Zone. Fun activities include: drum circle, face painter, giant slide, jumpy castle and more! Activities open to the young and young at heart.

Heart & Hand Instrument Making, 2758 Welton Street, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Bring your family to the Heart & Hand lawn for an instrument making party.By creating a nurturing community, the Heart & Hand Center empowers all young people to realize their potential. To meet this mission, the Heart & Hand Center provides enriching after-school and summer programming to 3rd to 12th grade youth.

The Joe Bonner Legacy Jam Session at Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center, 2836 Welton Street, 1-6 p.m.

Featuring Tom Tilton, Vince Wiggins, Carl Jackson and open to all musicians.

Five Points Jazz Exhibit at Blair Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton Street

Please visit an exhibit on the history of the Five Points Jazz Festival featuring posters from the past 14 years.

*Nina Simone, Love Sorceress
This isn’t so much a concert as a work of performance art in which Simone’s diva-like behavior is as much a part of the show as her Juilliard-trained piano playing and her stupendous untrained voice. Whether she’s performing “Little Girl Blue” and a Langston Hughes tribute, alternately barking at or complimenting the audience (or getting them to sing with – or instead of – her), making cryptic comments to herself about show business or life in general, or dancing in high heels to African drums (when she isn’t simply listening to them, or adding a piano riff), she’s such a commanding and powerful presence. (summary adapted from www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2003/01/nina-simone-love-sorceress/)

**Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog
This documentary focuses on the life and music of jazz composer Charles Mingus (1922-1979), combining archival footage and interviews with two of his wives, Sue Mingus (a co-producer of this film) and Celia Mingus Zaentz, plus a variety of performers and past Mingus associates, including Dannie Richmond and John Handy. The film concludes with the posthumous premiere of Mingus’ “Epitaph.” The title of this documentary is a reference to Mingus’ controversial autobiography, “Beneath the Underdog.” Shown at the 1997 London Film Festival.

[Free]

More info: http://artsandvenuesdenver.com/event/528663