2012 JazzTrax Festival Program

Stranded on an Island with 30 Different Stars of Smooth Jazz....... continued from page 3of the Year when he figuratively Lifted theRoof OFF the Avalon Ballroom and almostsent it sailing out across the ocean waters.4th album, 2010's 'On a Mission' still hismost current from which came his No. 1Radio Hit “Uptown Swagger.” No longerWesley Chapel, Florida based where he'dbeen a Business Grad at the University ofSouth Florida. Eric this Summer movedWest to the Center of Entertainment, LosAngeles to be right in the Thick of it All.KEYBOARDIST J O N ATHAN FRITZENBallroom Performance:Saturday Evening, October 6B o rn in Stockholm to a Swedish Motherand American Father, Pianist SteveD o b rogosz. His formal music educationcame from the Royal Swedish Academy ofMusic. Debuting in 2008 and playing all8 diff e rent instruments on 'Love Birds.' His1st Hit Single, “Friday Night” last Fallmade it to No. 1 on the Smooth JazzC h a rts just as he was making his CatalinaIsland Debut. This August brought his 3rdSolo Album, 'Magical,' on which BoneyJames, Jackiem Joyner and Paul Bro w nmade guest appearances so while still callingStockhom home, L.A. has become the2nd home for perhaps the fastest risingBrand New Star in Smooth Jazz. Namedthe JazzTrax 2011 Debut Artist of the Ye a r.GORDON GOODWIN'SBIG PHAT BANDBallroom Performance:Friday Evening, October 5G o rdon Goodwin as a HollywoodComposer and Arranger won the 2006GRAMMY Award for his arrangement of“ I n c redits” from the Pixar Film TheIncredibles. Add to that 3 Emmy Awards,and 13 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS. 18musicians are what make this, a BIG PHATBAND. A LARGE Jazz Ensemble performingin a veritable Grab Bag of Styles:Swing, Latin, Blues, Classical, Rock andMore. Established in 2000, featuredguests in studio have ranged the range.From Eddie Daniels and Arturo Sandovalon that first project which instantly startedgarnering the GRAMMY nominations. ToJohnny Mathis and Michael Brecker on2003's 'XXL.' to Dianne Reeves, DavidSanborn and Take 6 on the 3rd, 'The PhatPack.' On 2008's 'Act Your Age,' PattiAustin, Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, ChickCorea, and the late pianist Art Tatum.2011's 'That's How We Roll' was the BigPhat Band's 5th recording and brought inDave Koz, Gerald Albright and MarcusMiller. A BIG PHAT Band in our BIG PHATIsland Ocean Side Ballroom. Perfect!Did you know that Art Good’s JazzTrax is thelongest running syndicated smooth jazz radioshow in The world? First On The Air Labor DayWeekend 1985 it’s now in it’s 28th year.H I R O S H I M A (BAND)Ballroom Performance:Saturday Afternoon, October 6Formed in East L.A. In 1974. Then makingtheir album Debut in 1979. Their signaturehas always been their specific,most unique instrumentation, beginningwith the KOTO of June Kuramoto, and theTaiko Drum of Johnny Mori. Blending theL.A. Contemporary jazz sound to theirAsian Heritage. Dan Kuramoto the longtimeleader as front man while on WindInstruments. Whiles the band membersa re mostly 3rd generation JapaneseAmericans, mostly born in Los Angeles,including having parents that were forcedinto Manzanar, the World War IIConcentration Camp along Interstate 395just below Mammoth Lakes, California.Kotoist June Kuramoto, while growing upin L.A. from her earliest childhood years,was the one member actually born in theGreater Tokyo area of Japan. Havingcaught fire in the mid 80's playing topacked venues, in 1990 they served asthe opening act for the Miles Davis WorldTour. Grammy nominated in 2010. ThisApril releasing their Newest, 'Departure,'representing after almost 4 million recordssold and more than 30 years in theRecording Industry, a departure from thattraditional way, to releasing their new CDon their own. Offering it first “on theirown Face book Page.”Get the Earliest JazzTraxHeadlines by signing upfor JazzTrax E-Mail Alertshomepage at JazzTrax.com425 Years, a Qu a rter Ce n t u ry of Ja z z Trax on Catalina Island 1987-2012 www. Ja z z Tra x . c o m