There are always a few spots to fill for every jazz festival. And the 2018 lineup is no exception for Petr Cancura, the festival programmer.
To that end three new acts have been added:
Chaka Khan will play the main stage in Marion Dewar Plaza on June 25 at 8:30 p.m. It’s hard to believe this but she has 22 albums on her discography since she started out in the 1970s with the funk band Rufus and the hit song Tell Me Something Good.
The British composer and jazz man Django Bates will perform at the festival for the first time with his trio on the same night at 7 p.m. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn with his band Beloved. He has been described as “one of the most talented musicians Britain has produced.” He plays the full range of the form from early jazz, bebop, free jazz and jazz-rock fusion. He’s also even taken and adapted St. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for concert and album.
Finally Grammy winner Afro-Cuban master Gonzalo Rubalcaba will be on a stage on June 29 at 7 p.m., also at the First Baptist Church. Considered one of the most important jazz pianist of the past 50 years, Rubalcaba’s career took off when he met Dizzy Gillespie in the mid-80s.
For the full jazz lineup and ticket information, please see: ottawajazzfestival.com
