High Country Jazz Festival

High Country Jazz Festival
Friday, Jun 9, 2023 at 11:00am

Schedule:

11:00 a.m: Jazz Lecture, Blowing Rock Art and History Museum
The Jazz Swing Feel: From Count Basie to Emmet Cohen  
This hour session led by Professor Todd Wright, the coordinator of Jazz Studies at Appalachian State University, will musically trace what it means to swing in jazz.

5:30 p.m: Will Boyd Quintet, Concerts on the Lawn at the Jones House Cultural Center
Hailing from Orangeburg, S.C. by way of Queens, N.Y., Will Boyd now lives in Knoxville, TN, where he received his Master of Jazz Studies degree. A multi-reed instrumentalist, composer, and educator, Will has played with artists across many genres, including Leslie Odom, Jr., Doc Severinson, the Four Tops, and the Harry James Big Band. Will co-leads the group with his wife, Kelle Jolly, who is a jazz radio host and founder of Knoxville Women in Jazz Jam Festival.   

7:30 p.m: The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, Directed by Scotty Barnhart, with guest vocalist Carmen Bradford at the Appalachian Theatre
The preeminent 4/4 Swing band. Mixing blues and 4/4 swing rhythms with a driving beat, bands in Kansas City were the precursors and the standard bearers of the Swing Era and Modern Jazz. Taking band members from two KC bands and starting his own, the Count Basie Orchestra remains a driving force in the Jazz world today with an ensemble featuring band members hired by the legend himself. 

10:00 p.m - Midnight: High Country Jazz Festival Jam Session at the Beacon Butcher Bar
Late-night jam sessions - that’s when the hep cats really start to swing
Head over to The Beacon Butcher Bar after the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra performance for even More jazz. Hot licks, cool jazz, and blue notes - you could hear it all, and you never know who may show up to groove.

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