The Historic Third Ward Association announced headliners Ernie Watts and Eric Darius for the Seventh Annual Historic Third Ward Jazz Festival also known as Summer Sizzle.
Watts performs Saturday, August 6 at 9 p.m., and Darius plays Friday, August 5 at 9 p.m. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on both days, and admission is free. Two stages of jazz entertainment will be set up in the 100 and 200 blocks of North Broadway and adjacent streets: East Buffalo Street, East Chicago Street and East Menomonee Street.
Two-time Grammy Award winner Ernie Watts is one of the most versatile saxophonists in the jazz world. Watts' latest CD, "Ernie Watts Quartet ALIVE" (Flying Dolphin Records, 2004), is his first live recording and features originals as well as several Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus classics. Watts has worked with artists like Cannonball Adderly, Jack DeJohnette, Arturo Sandoval, Kenny Barron, Mulgrew Miller, Eddie Gomez and Marc Whitfield, and he's played with Buddy Rich's Big Band. Also, Watts performed with Charlie Haden's "Liberation Music Orchestra," which led to tours with Pat Metheny's Special Quartet in the late '80s. On the Metheny tour, they were triple billed with Sun Ra and the Miles Davis Band (on Davis' final tour).
Saxophonist Eric Darius performs with such enthusiasm and soul that his audience might forget that he is only 21. His latest album, "Night on the Town" (Higher Octave, 2004), reveals his talent as both a musician and songwriter. Darius performed at several impressive venues while studying saxophone at the University of South Florida. As a member of the school's Jazztet, he played at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy and the Vienne Jazz Festival in France. In addition, he performed at the Apollo in New York, the Clearwater Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. In 1999, Darius had the opportunity to jam with Wynton Marsalis and Paquito D'Rivera. He has also collaborated with some of the top names in smooth jazz: Ken Navarro, David Benoit, Warren Hill, Norman Brown, Chris Botti, Kim Waters and Chuck Loeb.
Summer Sizzle is produced by the Historic Third Ward Association and sponsored in part by Smooth Jazz WJZI 93.3. For more information, call (414) 273-1173.
