George Wein’s CareFusion Jazz Fesitval 55 – Chaka Khan Replaces Etta James | Aug. 7th – 9th, 2009

CHAKA KHAN with the GEORGE DUKE TRIO
and HOWARD ALDEN/ANAT COHEN QUARTET
OPEN GEORGE WEIN’S CAREFUSION JAZZ FESTIVAL 55
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 8:00 pm at
INTERNATIONAL TENNIS HALL OF FAME AT THE NEWPORT CASINO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Etta James Cancels August Concerts Due to Illness

NEWPORT,RI, July 13, 2009 – Chaka Khan with the George Duke Trio kicks off George Wein’s CareFusion Jazz Festival 55 on Friday, August 7, at 8:00pm at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino, 194Bellevue Avenue. Due to illness, Etta James has cancelled her August concerts, including her performance in Newport. Hosted by radio announcer Ron Della Chiesa, the program also features Israeli clarinetist Anat Cohen with guitarist Howard Alden in a salute to Benny Goodman.

Direct from critically-acclaimed appearances together at the major summer European jazz festivals, the legendary R & Band soul singer Chaka Khan teams up with renowned pianist and producer George Duke and trio for an evening of jazz.

Ever-inventive, always venturing into new creative terrain, Chaka Khan’s commitment to her musical artistry shows no bounds. Who else but Chaka Khan would be up for tackling such time-honored standards as “Stormy Weather” and “Round Midnight” on the same CD with James Bond movie themes, “Goldfinger” and “Diamonds Are Forever.” While we love her for her soulful tunes including “I’m Every Woman, ” “Ain’t Nobody, ” “Feel for You” “Tell Me Something Good” and “Through the Fire, ” the 10-time Grammy winner is no stranger to jazz tunes including “My Funny Valentine, ” “Summertime, ” and “Teach Me Tonight, ” among others. Since her arrival on the scene in the early 1970s, Chaka Khan -award-winning singer, songwriter, and community advocate – has been setting standards in most every music genre from Pop to R & B, Rock, Disco, Fusion, Rap, Hip-Hop, Classical and Jazz. Today, Chaka Khan is a musical icon, known and loved by millions of fans. Through the Chaka Khan Foundation, she assists women and children at risk.

George Duke made his first appearance at the Newport festival in the ’60s.Over the years he has worked with a Who’s Who of the music industry including Al Jarreau, Sonny Rollins, Jean-Luc Ponty, Cannonball Adderley, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Jeffrey Osborne,Frank Zappa, Deniece Williams, Melissa Manchester, Barry Manilow, Smokey Robinson, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello, Winona Judd, Bare naked Ladies, Kelly Price, Whoopi Goldberg and more. Whether performing as a solo artist, with long-time friend Stanley Clarke in the Clarke/Duke Project, producing records for other music greats, writing movie scores or serving as musical director for countless award shows, the legendary pianist always puts a distinctive stamp on his work.

George Wein’s CareFusion Jazz Festival 55 continues Saturday, August 8, at Fort Adams State Park, at 11:30 am with Mos Def& The Watermelon Syndicate produced by Jill Newman Productions;Branford Marsalis Quartet; Joshua Redman Double Trio; Esperanza Spalding; Cedar Walton All-Stars with Lew Tabackin & Curtis Fuller;Hiromi’s Sonic Bloom; Vandermark 5; Jane Monheit; Christian McBride;Vijay Iyer Trio; Marsalis Music Presents Miguel Zenón Quartet, North Carolina Central Big Band, Branford Marsalis-Joey Calderazzo Duo and Claudia Acuña.

The festival picks up again on Sunday, August9, at 11:30 am at Fort Adams with Tony Bennett; Dave Brubeck Quartet; Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band; Michel Camilo; Joe Lovano UsFive;The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis; James Carter Organ Trio; Conversations with Christian McBride; Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra; Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band; Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition; Rashied Ali-Charles Gayle-William Parker’s “By Any Means”; Alfredo Rodriguez; The Rodriguez Brothers and Roy Guzman Quintet. Artists are subject to change.

Tickets are on sale nowat www.jazzfestival55.com, by phone at (800) 514-3849 and by mail at George Wein’s CareFusion Jazz Festival 55, PO BOX 3865, Newport, RI02840. General Admission tickets (single-day passes only) can be purchased at the Visitor’s Center at the Newport County Convention Center & Visitor’s Bureau at 23 America’s Cup Avenue. Tickets alsocan be purchased at the Festival office, located at 770 Aquidneck Avenue in Middletown, RI. For general information, craft vendor information or to leave a message for festival staff, call the festival hotline at (401) 848-5055.

For more information, please visit www.carefusionjazz.com, www.jazzfestival55.com and www.newfestivalproductions.com.

About CareFusion