Atlant Jazz Festival…2012

It was May 26th and the 31 Days of Jazz was a success for the city of Atlanta and the neighborhoods and communities that represented. The weekend ran through the 28th the the crowds of jazz fans, enthusiasts and aficionados laid blankets, pitched tents and sat in lawn chairs to enjoy another year in Piedmont Park. Jazz was in the air and the adoring throng waited with anticipation as each act that came to the stage.

The Kickoff Cabaret performers were Jennifer Freeman and Johnny O’Neal with Jason Orr hosting the Late Night Jazz Jam. The 2012 Youth Jazz Band Competition winners opened each day of the festival on two stages and were Benjamin E. Mays Jazz Orchestra taking 1st Place, Woodland High School Jazz Band in 2nd Place, Martin Luther King, Jr. High School Big Band held down 3rd Place, and J.C. Young Middle School Jazz Ensemble was the 4th Place.

Performing over the weekend and following each youth jazz band were Andre Rievers, Cyrus Chestnut Trio, Dwight Andrews, Edy Martinez Jazz Orchestra, Ernest EC3 Coleman, Grace Kelly Quintet, Grégoire Maret, Kathleen Bertrand, Laura Coyle Quintet, Lionel Loueke Trio, Mace Hibbard, Marea Alta, Mausiki Scales & the Common Ground Collective, Melvin Jones, Mushy Widmaier, Nadav Remez / Omer Avital Quintet, Ojeda Penn, Rialto Jazz for Kids, Robert Glasper Experiment, Roy Ayers, Russell Gunn and Elektrik Butterfly, Saunders Sermons, Son Jazzy Orchestra, Tito Puente, Jr. & Orchestra, Tropical Breeze Steel Band, and Yolanda Rabun. #AJF40

  #preserving genius

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