Maryland Summer Jazz Festival Attracts International Artists

 

Music fans have a good reason to head to Maryland this summer, where the Maryland Summer Jazz Festival will take place in Rockville, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC from July 13 through July 26 for its ninth season. 

Headlining this year's festival are jazz artists from Brazil, the United States and Canada, including guitarist Steve Rochinski, trumpeter John D'earth and bassist Leonardo Lucini.

Boston-based guitarist Steve Rochinski is a composer, arranger and educator. The Washington, D.C. native has toured with the likes of Tal Farlow, Tim Hagans and Joe Lovano. In 1984 he left the road to teach at Berklee College of Music and has since written numerous books for jazz study. His books and recordings (on Germany's Jardis Records) are sold internationally.

Trumpeter John D'earth is widely known as a performer, composer/arranger, and recording artist. He has played with jazz greats Miles Davis, Lionel Hampton and Pat Metheny, pop artists Dave Matthews and Bruce Hornsby, and chamber groups Kronos String Quartet and The Kandinsky Trio. He directs jazz performance at the University of Virginia.

Brazilian-born bassist Leonardo Lucini is a prominent musician and teacher in Washington, DC. He has toured internationally with Nestor Torres, Arturo O'Farrill, Alex Acuna, Federico Pena and Gregoire Maret. In Brazil, he performed with leading groups and artists No Em Pingo D'Agua, saxophonist Paulo Moura and the Orquestra de Musica Brasileira. In the States, he performs with the band Origem and is an artist in residence at Montgomery College.

The kick-off concert for Maryland Summer Jazz will be held at the new Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper on Tuesday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. Guitar star Steve Rochinski will join Jeff Antoniuk & the acclaimed Jazz Update band. Another major concert occurs on July 26 at the conclusion of jazz camp, held on the campus, at Saint Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville, Maryland. A student concert is held at 7:00 p.m. An All Star Concert begins at 8:30 p.m. Ticket holders may attend one or both concerts on the final evening.

For more information and tickets, visit www.marylandsummerjazz.com.