[Dixielandjazz] Count Basie Band To Kick-Off Jazz Jubilee

[Robert Ringwald]

 > Link To This Sacramento Business Journal story:
>
> http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/12/08/daily23.html
>
>
>
>
> Tuesday, December 9, 2008 - 10:17 AM PST  |  Modified: Tuesday, December 
> 9, 2008 - 10:46 AM
> Count Basie Band To Kick-Off Jazz Jubilee
> Sacramento Business Journal - by Mark Anderson Staff writer
>
> The Count Basie Orchestra will perform a kick-off concert for the 2009 
> Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, the longtime Sacramento event that brings tens of 
> thousands of music fans to spend a weekend downtown.
> “This is probably the greatest musical organization ever to have performed 
> at the Jubilee,” said Gene Berthelsen, director of the annual festival, 
> which announced the Basie concert Tuesday.
> The Count Basie Orchestra, which has been playing jazz and swing for 80 
> years, has won 17 Grammy awards. The orchestra was founded and led for 50 
> years by William “Count” Basie, who died in 1985. The orchestra is now led 
> by Bill Hughes, a trombone player with the orchestra since 1953.
> The current 18-piece lineup of musicians most recently backed up Tony 
> Bennett for his 2009 Christmas album. Over many years, the orchestra has 
> worked with or included many legends of jazz, including Billie Holiday, 
> Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Eckstine.
> Last week, the band performed at the lighting of the Christmas tree in 
> Rockefeller Center in New York City.
> The 36th annual Sacramento Jazz Jubilee will bring more than 85 musical 
> groups and performers to 20 locations from Old Sacramento to the 
> Sacramento Convention Center. It is expected to bring more than 70,000 
> people to its venues over the four-day run.
> The Basie concert will be the day before the Jazz festival, Thursday, May 
> 21, at the Radisson Hotel, and it requires a separate admission from the 
> Jubilee. Tickets to the Basie concert are $45 in advance and $50 at the 
> door, with discounts available for students and members of the Sacramento 
> Traditional Jazz Society. The exclusive table seating at the 1,200-seat 
> venue at the Radisson have already sold out for the Basie show, and there 
> is a good chance the whole show will sell out, Berthelsen, said.
> Ticket information for the festival and the Basie show are at the Jubilee 
> Web site www.sacjazz.com.