The 36th annual Clifford Brown Jazze Festival, the largest free jazz festival on the East Coast, will be Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. which is being held June 21-24.
Four-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo will be the opening headliner for the first night of the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. which is being held June 21-24.
Joining her will be Marquis Hill and Monty Alexander and the Harlem Kingston Express.
Angelique Kidjo
The Jazz Festival, sponsored by the City of Wilmington, is the largest free jazz outdoor festival on the East Coast, with city residents and regional guests packing Rodney Square for four days of concerts.
The festival is named for trumpeter and Wilmington native resident Clifford Brown, known as âBrownie.â He died in 1956 at the age of 25 returning from a show. Even though he only had a few years of recordings, many jazz trumpeters still praise his work and his âJoy Springâ and âDaahoud,â have become jazz standards.
The city is rolling out the names of the performers day by day rather than releasing them all at once.
All ages are welcome for the concert, and guests are advised to bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating.
The square will be lined with food trucks and vendors throughout the festival week.
Opening the show will be the Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency Ensemble, a Wilmington tradition.
Track updates on the festival website and on the Facebook page.
While the festival is free, donations to Cityfest Inc., a 501c3 non-profit, are encouraged. Make them at www.cityfestwilm.com or via a check payable to Cityfest, Inc., 800 North French St. Wilmington, DE 19801. Please put them to the attention of Tina Betz, president.
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
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