Living Legend Oscar Castro-Neves to Perform at Stanford

Wednesday June 22, 2011

from Stanford University News

Stanford Jazz festival showcases superstars with crossover recognition

Allen Toussaint, Milton Nascimento and other jazz artists bring new star power to Stanford Jazz lineup for its 40th birthday – with a big boost for attendance and workshop registration. It’s all part of getting ready for the Bing Concert Hall opening in 2013.

By Cynthia Haven
June 22, 2011

The Stanford Jazz Festival turns 40 this year – but rather than settle into a comfortable middle age, the prestigious jazz event is turning its face toward an even brighter future.

While the world-class festival has always offered international jazz stars, this year’s June 24-Aug. 6 festival offers celebrities whose crossover recognition extends even beyond the world of jazz.

The season kicks off with a rare solo piano performance from musician, composer and record producer Allen Toussaint at 8 p.m., Friday, June 24, in Dinkelspiel Auditorium. Toussaint, one of the architects of New Orleans sound, is “a bit more than an elder statesman” in the jazz world, said Ernie Rideout, the marketing director of the festival.

Similarly, Milton Nascimento’s appearances at 8 p.m. on June 30 and July 1 in Dinkelspiel Auditorium mark rare performances from the Brazilian superstar.

There’s a reason for the new drive toward high-wattage names: according to Rideout, the festival is paving the way for the 2013 opening of the Bing Concert Hall on the Stanford campus. Jazz festival organizers plan to hold some shows in the new venue.

“As we prepare to move into the Bing Concert Hall in 2013, we are presenting artists who have, frankly, bigger names than usual – more oomph in the music-consuming public,” he said.

The Bing Concert Hall will seat about 844 people – currently, the festival’s biggest venue, Dinkelspiel Auditorium, seats 700.

The new concert hall will be an anchor in the new arts district at the “front door” of the campus, just off Palm Drive, which is the extension of University Avenue, the main artery through downtown Palo Alto. The location will provide easy access to local visitors and those coming from the nearby highways – including the roughly 15,000 jazz fans who come annually to the performances and workshops.

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