LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
2001 FALL PREVIEW: JAZZ & FILM FESTIVALS |
All That Jazz: Rehoboth's Autumn Jazz
With nationally known musicians, a diversity of restaurant and performance space venues and music for every taste and budget, the Rehoboth Beach Autumn Jazz Festival grows bigger and more exciting every year. This fall, the Jazz Fest takes place in town Thursday, Oct. 18 through Sunday, Oct. 21 and features big names like sax man David Sanborn, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ike Turner and O'Jays lead singer Jeffrey Osborne. From cool jazz to hot Latin Soul, gospel to smooth riffs, Motown to blues, this festival has it all. Tickets for individual concerts range between $10 and $48, plus awesome free concerts as well. Call 1-800 29-MUSIC for tickets in advance. The Jazz Festival performances sell out quickly, so advance planning is a must. Year after year, the festival grows in attendance, diversity and excitement as downtown Rehoboth and Dewey Beach host some of the biggest names in the business. "We're getting bigger and better every year," says Sydney Arzt of Sydney's Restaurant, one of the sponsors of the festival. "We're delighted to have a new venue at the Atlantic Sands this year. It's exciting to have another professional venue for national recording artists." Another new feature this year is the participation of sponsor BETThe Jazz Channel. BET will be filming the festival for future showing on their cable station. "This will be great for the festival and great for Rehoboth" says Sydney. The Festival begins with an Opening Party on Thursday, Oct. 18 at Ruddertown in Dewey, featuring a taste of Rehoboth restaurants and music by the Pam Miller Jazz Group, and a concert cabaret with Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers at the Bay Center. On Friday, Oct. 19, Jeffrey Osborne will be at the Rehoboth Convention Center at 8 p.m., with the Ike Turner Concert at 10 p.m. at the Rusty Rudder's Tented Deck. Over at the new Atlantic Sands Swan Ballroom, beginning at 10:30 p.m., The Jazz Channel presents Cool Jazz Collective featuring a gathering of top notch players, including keyboardist Marcus Johnson whose last five CD's have made the Billboard Top 50 Jazz Charts. The Festival continues on Saturday with a 1 p.m. concert at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center featuring The Rippingtonsrecently named Smooth Jazz Group of the Year by Chicago's Smooth Jazz Awards. At 2 p.m., Nicola Pizza will present a FREE concert, Youth Grooves, at the Rehoboth Bandstand. The event spotlights young Delaware musicians and is hosted by the award-winning Cape Henlopen High School Jazz band under the direction of Barry Eli. Another FREE concert is planned for 4 p.m. Saturday back at the Rusty Rudder tent deck, where Keisa Brown and the Rolling Thunder Blues band will be on hand. Her electrifying style has been compared to big-name artists like Aretha and Tina! Saturday night's big attraction is saxophonist David Sanborn, one of modern music's premier instrumentalists. With one platinum, six gold records and 7 million albums sold, Sanborn is legendary for his saxophone musica treat for Rehoboth and Jazz Fest fans. Meanwhile, down at Ruddertown, at 10 p.m. you can experience Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets, featuring Sam Meyers. This band has a reputation as one of the most authentic blues ensembles touring today. If Motown lights your fire, you can check out the ballroom at the Atlantic Sands at 10:30 p.m. for Kevin Mahogany. From the art of scat singing to crooning sentimental ballads, Mahogany brings a diverse sound to the program. Jazz buffs will welcome Sunday, Oct. 21 with the chance to attend a gospel brunch at 10:30 a.m. featuring The Black Voices choir from the University of Virginia, and a 1 p.m. concert at the Rehoboth Convention Center. South African singer Jonathan Butler, Grammy nominated for his hit "Lies" will sing and speak of his homeland through African melodies and rhythms, gospel and jazz. Grand Finale time for the Jazz Festival will be Sunday night with a spectacular Grand Finale Jam at Sydney's Restaurant in Rehoboth. Tickets are limited for this four-hour event featuring many special guests. It's a great chance to have an up close and personal jazz experience, performed by performers from the festival weekend. The Annual Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival is always a sell-out, so tickets should be ordered in advance by calling 1-800-29-Music. Film Festival: Coming Into Focus While November may still seem far away for some, the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival crew is working around the clock to finalize the film program, speakers and events that will take place during the 4th annual festival, slated for November 7-11, 2001. "We're all excited about the many changes we're making this year, from our new venues to our new Opening Night Gala location," says Festival Director Barry Becker. "We're moving our operations entirely into the Movies at Midway, where we will be using 9 screens. It's the only festival I know of where all the theaters are at one location, making it one of the most user-friendly film festivals in the nation." The Opening Night Gala, which will be held on Wednesday, November 7, will be held this year at the Bay Center in Dewey Beach. "Plans are still being finalized," says Opening Night Chair Gina Charles, "but it is sure to be a stellar event, as always." Record crowds are expected to descend on Rehoboth from all over the East Coast and beyond. Due to a marketing grant from the Delaware Tourism Office, the festival will be advertising in new markets this year, and that is expected to have a great impact on attendance. The Films Film booking is in full swing now, and some of the big festival and arthouse hits of the year are expected to be screened at the festival. "Film booking is always a challenge," says Becker, "as many of the films we want only have 2 or 3 prints available. That makes them very difficult to get, as we are competing with dozens of festivals around the world for the same films." Currently in the midst of being booked are hits such as The Road Home, Vertical Ray of the Sun, Divided We Fall, and Princess and the Warrior, this being the latest from the director of the mega hit Run Lola Run! Also confirmed are the German film Crazy, which played in Cannes, and a new American indie, The Next Big Thing, which was produced by Andrew Fierberg, who also produced Hamlet. Iron Ladies is an hysterical look at what happens when drag queens win the volleyball championship in Thailand, Animal is certainly one of the most adventuresome films the festival ever screened, and Joint Security Area is a taut Korean thriller that won an audience award at the recent Seattle Film Festival. By the time film booking is completed, it is expected that nearly 100 films will be confirmed, with approximately 55 of those being feature length. In the documentary category, some of the best and most award-winning films have already been chosen, including Barbara Hammer's new adventuresome History Lessons, as well as The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition. "I've also booked nearly two dozen of some of the best short films I have ever seen, from animated gems to tear jerkers to the wildest experimental films," says Becker. The Seminars The festival is planning to offer 2 seminars, each to focus on a different aspect of filmmaking. Delaware native David Acord, who has worked on films such as Unbreakable, The Patriot, Virus, 12 Monkeys, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, is helping put together a panel on sound, which will provide a fascinating look behind the scenes on how films end up sounding like they do, from on-set needs to post-production editing. The second panel will be on the art of cinematography. So far, invited guests include Allen Daviau, who was nominated for Oscars for his filming of E.T., The Color Purple, Avalon, Empire of the Sun, and Bugsy. Also invited are Ellen Kuras, (Swoon, Postcards from America, Roy Cohn / Jack Smith, I Shot Andy Warhol, The Mod Squad, Summer of Sam, Bamboozled and the current hit, Blow) and Dean Cundey (Halloween, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Hook, Apollo 13, Romancing the Stone, the Back to the Future trilogy, and Jurassic Park). This is expected to be a lively and fascinating look into the art of cinematography, with film clips and discussion. Filmmaker breakfasts and more informal seminars will also be planned, and many filmmakers are being invited to attend. For More Information The festival website, now under reconstruction, will have information on the films, program, sponsors, accommodations, how to order discount pass books, tickets for the Opening Gala and much more. Check it out at www.rehobothfilm.com. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 11, No. 12, August 24, 2001. |