Now in its 17th season, the St. Petersburg Jazz Festival, happening April 8-11, has found new digs at the Warehouse Arts District Rosie Cohen Stage.
The festival was founded by David Manson, a multi-talented composer and arranger, trombonist, producer and recording arts educator at St. Petersburg College who, through his non-profit organization EMIT, has been presenting more than 600 concerts and workshops for 30 seasons.
This year’s schedule:
4/8 – Alexis Cole & the Helios Jazz Orchestra.
4/9 – Johnbern Thomas Quintet & Randy Bordon Trio
4/10 – Markus Gottschlich Trio & Hot Club SRQ.
4/11 – Martin Bejerano #CubanAmerican Trio featuring special guest Dafnis Prieto.
Manson directs the 18-piece Helios Jazz Orchestra and leads ensemble O Som Do Jazz.
“I created EMIT because I wanted to bring in, especially in the 1990s and 2000s, the kind of cutting edge, adventurous kind of music that we didn’t have here,” Manson said during a phone interview.
Bringing diverse styles of jazz to the area is still the goal, Manson said, which is reflected in this year’s lineup, which includes Haitian drummer Johnbern Thomas and Grammy Award-winning percussionist Dafnis Prieto.
In past years, the St. Petersburg Jazz Festival has been held at the Palladium, the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg and the Museum of the American Arts and Craft Movement.
But the Warehouse Arts District Rosie Cohen Stage is a good fit for the festival, Manson said. EMIT has done several concerts there previously and Manson said the space is really comfortable.
A harmonious factor is that Markus Gottschlich, the executive director of the Warehouse Arts District Association, is also a renowned jazz pianist whose trio is performing in the festival. As Manson pointed out, Gottschlich also directed jazz festivals, so he’s “on our same wavelength.”
“Working with Markus in the Warehouse Arts District allows us to put this on again, so we can continue,” Manson said. “This is our 17th annual festival, so we want to keep it going.”
Manson’s connection with St. Petersburg College enables him to provide free workshops with visiting artists. At this year’s festival, there will be a jazz vocal workshop with Alexis Cole on April 7 and a workshop with drummer Johnbern Thomas on April 9.
Tickets for individual concerts are $25 or a $60 package for all four. For more information, visit stpetejazzfest.com. Here’s the lineup:
