WHERE: GATEWAY PARK, 1300 Lee Hwy. (at N. Lynn St.), Arlington, VA
                 (2 blocks from the Rosslyn Blue and Orange Line Metro Station)

ADMISSION:   FREE and open to the public.  Call: (703) 228-1850

DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER * HENRY BUTLER * GRACE KELLY

ROSSLYN JAZZ FESTIVAL IS ‘ALL GROWN UP’ in YEAR 21!

Arlington, VA– Praised among our region’s standout jazz festivals by JazzTimes magazine, this year’s lineup blends the genres’ ascendant and most highly acclaimed artists at the 21^st Annual ROSSLYN JAZZ FESTIVAL, on SATURDAY (1:00pm – 7:00pm), SEPTEMBER 10, 2011, in Rosslyn’s GATEWAY PARK, 1300 Lee Highway (at North Lynn St.), Arlington, Virginia.  True to tradition, the event kicks-off with regional favorites Al Williams Quartet, with Grammy-nominated guest vocalist Juanita Williams!

FREE and open to the Public, the Festival is sponsored by the Rosslyn Renaissance and the Rosslyn BID, and co-presented by Arlington Cultural Affairs.  The event will be emceed by on-air personalities from jazz stationWPFW 89.3 FM, which will broadcast portions of the event live! In addition, Newschannel 8 Anchor Katherine Amenta will provide brief remarks. The event now draws nearly 10,000 jazz aficionados from across the U.S.!

The Festival starts at 1:00pm with DC’s own saxophone and flute maestro
AL WILLIAMS QUARTET with guest vocalist Juanita Williams.   A native of Philadelphia, Al toured and recorded five albums with the late Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria, appearing on the Grammy-winning album “Amanacer.”  An original member of Stanley Clarke’s School Days Band, they recorded three groundbreaking albums, “Modern Man,” “I Want to Play for You,” and “Stanley Clarke Live, '76, '77.”  Al has three recordings as leader: Never Too Late (1997), See for Yourself (2003), and Heart Song (2008). Grammy-nominated for her debut CD, JUANITA WILLIAMS wowed audiences worldwide in her 15 year tenure with the U.S. Air Forces Airman of Note. Her performing credits include the Montreaux Jazz Festival, The White House, Blues Alley and The House of Blues.

Eighteen-year old GRACE KELLY was named the youngest “Alto Saxophonist Rising Star" ever in the 57th Annual Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll. Kelly, who performed at the 2008 Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival, received her third ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award (her third in past four years).  Trumpeter and Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis says, "Grace Kelly plays with intelligence, wit and feeling. She has a great amount of natural ability and the ability to adapt that is the hallmark of a first-class jazz musician."  So impressed with Kelly's guest appearance at Lincoln Center in November 2008, Marsalis invited her to appear at the Kennedy Center for a Martin Luther King, Jr Day/Presidential Inauguration Eve concert the following January.

Eight-time W.C. Handy “Best Blues Instrumentalist - Piano” award nominee
HENRY BUTLER knows no limitations.  Although blinded by glaucoma since birth, Butler is also a world class photographer who has exhibited nationally.  Playing piano since age six, Butler combines the percussive jazz piano playing of McCoy Tyner and the New Orleans style playing of Professor Longhair.  Through his classically trained wizardry, Butler continues to craft a sound uniquely his own. A rich amalgam of jazz, Caribbean, classical, pop, blues and R&B influences, his music is as excitingly eclectic as that of his New Orleans birthplace.  An accomplished clinician, Butler also started a residential jazz camp at Missouri State School for the Blind, and a program for visually impaired students at the University of New Orleans. 

In a multifaceted career spanning  four decades, three-time Grammy-winner
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER is in the top tier of today’s jazz vocalists, putting her own unique spin on standards as well as taking intrepid leaps of faith in re-envisioning jazz classics. For her latest recording, ELEANORA FAGAN (1915-1959): TO BILLIE WITH LOVE FROM DEE DEE, Bridgewater honors Billie Holiday.  Bridgewater made her New York debut in 1970 as the lead vocalist for Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, and performing and recording with the likes of Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach and Roland Kirk. Her performance in the original Broadway production of The Wiz garnered her a Tony Award.  Nick Ashford of Ashford and Simpson, proclaims Dee Dee’s rendition of If You Believe "personified a generation and gave us all hope."

As always the ROSSLYN JAZZ FESTIVAL also will offer a range of fantastic food from local restaurants. “We’re very pleased to join in partnership not only with Rosslyn’s business and restaurant community but also with the Washington area’s premier jazz radio station,” says Rosslyn BID Executive Director Cecilia Cassidy.  Gateway Park (N. Lynn St. and Lee Hwy) is easily accessible from the Rosslyn Metro Station (Blue/Orange line).  For info, call (703) 228-1850 or visit www.arlingtonarts.org

ROSSLYN JAZZ FESTIVAL is co-sponsored by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID), in conjunction with Rosslyn Renaissance, and Arlington Cultural Affairs, Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources.
Beverage Sponsor: Anheuser Busch: Michelob / Michelob Light 
Radio Sponsor: WPFW 89.3 FM       
TV Sponsor: WJLA ABC TV 7/Newschannel 8