The Kettle Moraine Jazz Festival | Sept 10th & 11th, 2010

Kettle Moraine Jazz Festival Announces 2010 Entertainment Line Up

The
West Bend Sunrise Rotary Foundation, Inc., producers of the annual
Kettle Moraine Jazz Festival (KMJF), announced that the line up for the
2010 event, to be held Fri., Sept. 10—Sat., Sept. 11, would once again
feature an internationally diverse collection of musicians and
vocalists.

The event, which will take place along the banks of
the upper Milwaukee River at Riverside Park in West Bend, Wis., will
showcase seven play slots, three on Sept. 10, and four on Sept. 11. The
entertainment line up is as follows:

Friday, September 10

5:15 p.m.: Alex Bugnon

Swiss-born
pianist and composer Alex Bugnon has created one of the most recognized
styles in smooth jazz—a sultry mixture of contemporary jazz, funk, and
R&B with hints of gospel.

Growing up in Montreux,
Switzerland—the home of the Montreux Jazz Festival—Bugnon started
playing classical piano at age six. Guided by his father, a jazz
guitarist and classical opera singer, Bugnon acquired a love for a wide
range of music. He studied at the Paris Conservatory and the famous
Mozart Academy in Salzburg, Austria. Then at age nineteen, he moved to
the U.S. and attended the Berklee School of Music. He spent four years
in New York working as a session musician and touring with urban and
jazz luminaries such as Patti Austin, Freddie Jackson, James Ingram,
Earth Wind and Fire, and Keith Sweat.

Bugnon began his recording
career in 1989 with his debut album, Love Season, which reached the pop
charts and the Top 40 of the R&B charts, as did subsequent releases.
His latest album, Going Home, was released in December 2009.

7:15 p.m.: Chieli Minucci & Special EFX, with Karen Briggs

Guitarist,
composer, and arranger Chieli Minucci is the leader of the
Grammy-nominated jazz-fusion group Special EFX, which he co-founded with
the late George Jinda in 1984. A major force on the jazz and world
music scene for 25 years, Special EFX’s newest release, “Without You, ”
is a diverse collection of jazz-fusion, world rhythms, and the
effortlessly flowing guitar artistry that Chieli is known for.

Special
EFX is one of the most prominent world fusion groups of the era. During
the course of the band’s phenomenal rise to the top of the jazz charts,
they released 25 CDs, including Chieli’s eight solo releases and a live
concert DVD. Seminal songs like “Daybreak, ” “Cruise Control, ” “Bella,
” and “Seduction” were among their chart-topping hits.

Chieli
also has recorded and performed with top artists Celine Dion, Lionel
Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Jewel, Mark Anthony, Jessica Simpson, Anastasia,
Marion Meadows, Alex Bugnon, Nestor Torres, and many others. Renowned
in the jazz and pop world, he is also a gifted television and film
composer with three Emmy Awards and 10 nominations for his eclectic
compositional work.

9:15 p.m.: RnR—Rick Braun & Richard Elliot

The
exciting collaboration between trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist
Richard Elliot has been in the making for over a decade, as they’ve
toured together for years and made appearances on each other’s records.
They have 24 solo albums and a massive catalogue of chart-topping radio
hits between them.

Two-time winner of the Gavin Report’s smooth
jazz artist of the year award, Braun is no stranger to collaboration.
Shake It Up, an album that partnered him with Boney James, is one of his
best-selling releases to date. Elliot put out his first solo album in
1976, and in subsequent years became a pioneering voice in contemporary
jazz with consistent radio hits and dynamic concerts.

Their 2007
album, RnR, is a collection of original funk, R&B, jazz, and pop
songs that jazzreview.com called “greatly anticipated… mainly due to
the exceptional chemistry they deliver during their live performances.”

Saturday, September 11

1:45 p.m.: Dotsero

To
jazz fans worldwide, Dotsero is smooth jazz at its best, full of
energy, spontaneity, and excitement—a unique group that is as much fun
to watch as it is to listen to. Dotsero’s critically acclaimed CD Off
the Beaten Path launched them to national prominence in 1990 and paved
the way for the amazing success of their eight subsequent albums, which
have received rave reviews from jazz critics across the nation.

In
1998, Dotsero co-created a live jazz emporium, Jazz@Jack’s, where they
are the house band. The people of Colorado voted it the Best Live Music
Venue for Denver 7’s A-List.

Dotsero has performed with a number
of leading jazz acts over the years including Spyro Gyra, the
Yellowjackets, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Sample, Dave Grusin, Richard
Elliott, Nancy Wilson, David Sanborn, the Rippingtons, Norman Brown,
Stanley Jordan, and Jeff Lorber, among others. Whether at home in
Colorado or on the road the world over, Dotsero takes pride in making
their live show something people will remember.

3:45 p.m.: Craig Chaquico

Guitarist,
songwriter, producer, and bandleader Craig Chaquico, originally of
Jefferson Starship/Starship and now in his fourth decade of topping
national charts, returns to the festival bringing rock origins to the
new age smooth jazz genre.

Boasting a combined 20 gold records
between Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, Chaquico
was instrumental in making one of the most successful bands in history.
Among the songs he has penned or co-penned are the hits Jane, Find Your
Way Back, and Layin’ It on the Line.

Chaquico began his smooth
jazz career with 1993’s Acoustic Highway, Billboard’s No. 1 New Age
Album and Adult Alternative Album of the Year. His latest smooth jazz
album, Follow the Sun, was released in 2009.

6:15 p.m.: Spyro Gyra

For
more than three decades, Spyro Gyra has maintained a position at the
forefront of modern jazz. Founded in 1974 by saxophonist Jay
Beckenstein, the band released its first album in 1976. The 1979 Top 40
single “Morning Dance” went platinum and placed Spyro Gyra as one of the
most popular artists in contemporary jazz.

In its long and
successful jazz career, Spyro Gyra has released more than 30 albums and
received Grammy nominations for the 2006 album Wrapped in a Dream, the
2007 album Good To Go-Go, and the 2008 album A Night Before Christmas.
The group’s latest album, Down the Wire, features the current members of
the band: Jay Beckenstein on sax, Tom Schuman on keyboards, Julio
Fernandez on guitar, Scott Ambush on bass, and Bonny B. on drums. “When
you’re improvising in front of a crowd, you’re really walking down that
wire, ” said Beckenstein. “There are always surprises that way, but our
openness to those surprises is what makes this band what it is.”

8:30 p.m.: Jeff Lorber Fusion

The
spirit of jazz-fusion is back with keyboardist and composer Jeff Lorber
and his band, the Jeff Lorber Fusion. More than three decades since the
group’s self-titled debut album, Lorber has come full circle with his
new recording, Now Is The Time, released June 1, 2010. The album delves
back into his early catalog and reinvents some of the most compelling
compositions from the Jeff Lorber Fusion heyday.

This new
incarnation of the Jeff Lorber Fusion includes bassist Jimmy Haslip (who
co-produced with Lorber and Bobby Colomby), saxophonist Eric
Marienthal, trumpeter Randy Brecker, guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., and
drummers Vinnie Colaiuta and Dave Weckl. The group combines traditional
jazz with elements of rock, R&B, funk, and other electrified sounds.
In some ways, Now Is The Time is a culmination of all that has come
before—and a nod to the raw energy and enthusiasm that fueled the music
of the early days, while representing a transition in Lorber’s creative
perspective.

Festival tickets are available at “early-bird”
prices of $105 for two-day tickets and $60 for one-day tickets through
Mon., Aug. 2. Tickets will be sold beginning Tues., Aug. 3, at $135 for
both days and $75 for one day.

Tickets can be purchased in a
secure online environment at www.kmjazz.com or by calling the festival’s
toll-free information line at 1-877-271-6903. Consumers can also send a
completed ticket order form available from the festival office or the
event Web site with a check, money order, or credit card number
(MasterCard or Visa) to the West Bend Sunrise Rotary Foundation, Inc.,
P.O. Box 1087, West Bend, WI 53095.

The festival is expected to
draw more than 5, 500 jazz lovers from all over the Midwest,
particularly from southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois. Proceeds
from the event benefit area charitable organizations through the West
Bend Sunrise Rotary Foundation.

In its history, the festival has
contributed more than $355, 000 to charitable groups in southeastern
Wisconsin through the West Bend Sunrise Rotary Foundation. The
Foundation has supported:
The Albrecht Free Clinic—support free medical clinics
Columns, Inc.—scholarship programs to local high school graduates
Hurricane Katrina Relief through the national Rotary Fund
Kettle Moraine YMCA—acquired equipment for a West Bend skate park
Lac Lawrann Barn Restoration
Red Cross
Regner Park—restoration of community facilities
Rides & Reins
SafeZone
Community Art Center—provides an environment for children to develop
their musical ability, including small group lessons, private tutoring
lessons, and full band rehearsals each week, with periodic performances.

Sunrise Rotary Field at Riverside Park—youth baseball diamond
West Bend Fire Department—fire safety trailer
West Bend Library—building construction
West Bend Parks and Recreation Department—maintenance and expansion
In
addition to music, the festival has tempting international cuisine, an
arts marketplace where local and regional artisans display and sell
their work, and interactive sponsor exhibits. Grounds are open on Friday
from 4:30 p.m. 㬇:30 p.m., and on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. 㬇:00 p.m.

KMJF
sponsors include presenting sponsor West Bend Mutual Insurance;
presenting media sponsor Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; major corporate
sponsors Westbury Bank, M&I Wealth Management, Beer Capitol
Distributing Lake Country, LLC, Hilton Garden Inn—Milwaukee Park Place,
Key Technical Solutions, Gordie Boucher Ford of West Bend, Frontier
Airlines, The Gehl Company, and the West Bend Park, Recreation, and
Forestry Department; media partners Smooth Jazz 106.9, TODAY’S TMJ4, and
Conley Publishing Group; and corporate sponsors Angeline Wines,
Distributed by Martin Ray Winery, The Rolfs Foundation, Roto-Graphic
Printing, Roundy’s Supermarkets, Ron Sonntag Public Relations, Inc.,
SWIM Team, Inc., Suburban Servant, West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce.