The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival honors the memory of jazz legend Clifford Brown. Clifford was a trumpeter, whose life tragically ended early one summer morning in 1956.
It was the result of a car accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which also claimed the life of promising young pianist Richie Powell.
At 25, Clifford Brown had already left an indelible mark on jazz. He was poised to take his place among the premier jazz trumpeters of his time (names like Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie come to mind). This man’s legacy lives on and the festival acknowledges Clifford Brown as one of Wilmington, Delaware’s most influential and prodigious talents.
At the festival, it has been commonplace to hear artists perform some of Clifford’s work or to hear the classic “I Remember Clifford” by Benny Golson, originally penned as a remembrance of his friend. The DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is a tribute to this great man and a way to keep his memory alive.
This is the 18th year of the festival, and since its inception in 1989 festival organizers have worked hard to bring world-class musicians to Wilmington in the month of June.
If you go:
Festival Schedule
(booking has just begun…
here are the confirmed artists to date):
Saturday, June 3
WHERE: Theatre N (venue info)
(FREE – limited seats… TICKETS REQUIRED)
10:00 am
Hangin? with the Giants*
Mulitmedia Presentation
11:30 am
Get Hip!*
Mulitmedia Presentation
*Performed by JazzReach, Inc.?s Metta Quintet and funded in part by a grant from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.
8:00 pm
Herbie Hancock: Possibilities
Documentary Film
An intimate documentary about Herbie Hancock and
his in-studio collaborations with a dozen formidable
pop recording artists.
Sunday, June 4
WHERE: Winterthur Museum & Country Estate (venue info) (TICKETS REQUIRED)
1:30 pm, local and regional young jazz musicians perform in the first New Legacy High School Jazz Band Competition brought to you by the Cavalcade of Bands Association, Inc.
4:00 pm Count Basie Orchestra
directed by Bill Hughes and featuring Butch Miles
buy tickets online
Monday, June 5
WHERE: Rodney Square (venue info) FREE!
6:30 Edward Simon
8:oo Crimson Jazz Trio
WHERE: Willingtown Square (venue info) FREE!
12:15 Lunchtime concert. Walt Anderson
(smooth jazz and R&B)
Tuesday, June 6
Mardi Gras come to Wilmington
WHERE: Rodney Square (venue info) FREE!
6:30 Rebirth Brass Band
8:00 Wade in the Water Tour
9 of New Orleans’ best artists working to raise funds for New Orleans musicians/artists that have been affected by Hurricane Katrina.
WHERE: Willingtown Square (venue info) FREE!
12:15 Lunchtime concert. The Q-Factor (Funk jazz)
Wednesday, June 7
WHERE: Rodney Square (venue info) FREE!
6:30 The Tiptons
featuring Jessica Lurie
8:00 McCoy Tyner Trio
WHERE: Willingtown Square (venue info) FREE!
12:15 Lunchtime concert. The Last Emperor and DJ Mech
(jazz, poetry, hip hop fusion)
Thursday, June 8
WHERE: Rodney Square (venue info) FREE!
6:30 Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers
8:00 Los Hombres Calientes
featuring Bill Summers and Irvin Mayfield
WHERE: Willingtown Square (venue info) FREE!
12:15 Lunchtime concert. Spontaneous Underground
(jazz trio)
Friday, June 9
WHERE: Rodney Square (venue info) FREE!
6:15 Fortune Vinson Cruse
7:00 Jae Sinnett
8:30 John Pizzarelli
WHERE: Willingtown Square (venue info) FREE!
12:15 Lunchtime concert. The W.E.S. Group (jazz trio)
Saturday, June 10
WHERE: Rodney Square (venue info) FREE!
11:00 am
The Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra
Workshop (What is Jazz?)
1:00 pm The Wilmington Youth Jazz Band
1:45 pm JazzChords of Calloway
2:30 pm Leon Jordan
3:30 pm Wilby Fletcher Project
4:45 pm Rayford Griffin
6:00 pm Curtis Fuller
8:00 pm
The Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra
Playing the music of Quincy Jones and Oliver Nelson
Sunday, June 11
WHERE: Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew & Matthew (venue info)
(FREE – limited seats… TICKETS REQUIRED)
7:00 p.m. Concert of Sacred Music
featuring Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music
Conducted by David Christopher
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