PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: Dawn Anderson, APT (617) 338-4455, ext. 149 dawn_anderson@APTonline.org or Kristin Tutino, WXXI (585) 258-0253 ktutino@wxxi.org ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL The Rochester International Jazz Festival has become one of the most popular and most respected music festivals in the country. In 2006 more than 80,000 fans came to see more than 600 artists performing in 170 concerts. Now ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL, a six-part television series produced by WXXI Public Broadcasting in Rochester, New York, shares this amazing musical event with viewers across the country. Shot in breathtaking high-definition, the series puts the viewer right into historic Kilbourn Hall to experience jazz like it’s never been seen – or heard – before. It offers an unsurpassed look into the nine-day festival held last summer in Rochester’s east end cultural district. The ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL series is comprised of an hour-long program and five half-hour episodes. The hour-long broadcast gives viewers a true flavor of the festival and features performances by Karrin Allyson, Mose Allison, Cedar Walton, the Charlie Hunter Trio and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The artists also candidly share their thoughts on their music as well as the jazz genre as a whole. Interspersed between their performances are engaging, streetscene interviews and concert highlights from other festival artists including James Brown, Etta James, Susan Tedeschi, Woody Allen, Dickey Betts, Red Stick Ramblers, Phil Woods and Sliding Hammers. The half-hour episodes are dedicated to each of the five artists/groups featured in the hour-long broadcast. The result is an intimate, front row seat to Karrin Allyson, Mose Allison, Cedar Walton, the Charlie Hunter Trio and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The concerts were filmed at Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music. Built by George Eastman in memory of his mother Maria Kilbourn Eastman, it is considered one of the finest chamber music halls in the world. Home of the Eastman School of Music, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Memorial Art Gallery, George Eastman International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester is a preeminent arts and cultural center in upstate New York. It has proven itself once more by supporting the Rochester International Jazz Festival for the past five summers with record-breaking attendance year after year. The ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL series is produced by WXXI Public Broadcasting and distributed nationally by American Public Television. For more information, visit WXXI.org/jazz or aptonline.org. The ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL is underwritten by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust and the Office of New York State Senator Jim Alesi. More about the featured performers Karrin Allyson is a popular and critically acclaimed fixture on the jazz landscape. She projects an instantly recognizable tonal personality, illuminating hidden layers of emotion within songs that are drawn from a vast well of styles and genres. Mose Allison has played and recorded with jazz greats like Stan Getz, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Gerry Mulligan as well as with his own Mose Allison Trio. Today Mose works with his own trio, writing and singing his own songs. Cedar Walton is one of the most influential musicians active today. For more than 25 years, the pianist has enjoyed an up tempo career, maintaining a non-stop itinerary. The Charlie Hunter Trio seems to attract a younger, more rock-oriented audience curious to hear the unique sounds of the trio – especially Hunter’s seven-string guitar. Named for the historic Preservation Hall in New Orleans, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been referred to by one critic as, “a bridge across the ages – a link between the present day and the heyday of traditional New Orleans music.” More about the Rochester International Jazz Festival Founded in 2002 – attendance at the Festival has grown each year, from 15,000 the first year to more than 80,000 in year five – attracting music lovers from around the U.S. and the world. John Nugent, Co-producer and Artistic Director, and Marc Iacona, Co-producer and Executive Director, consistently deliver a multi-dimensional festival with something for everyone. From legendary performers and familiar favorites – to rising stars and new discoveries – this is a festival that navigates all genres of creative improvised music from all corners of the world. www.rochesterjazz.com ### WXXI is the essential, life-long educational media resource for the Greater Rochester area. WXXI puts the community first with programming that stimulates and expands thought, inspires the spirit, opens cultural horizons and promotes understanding of diverse community issues. Log on to WXXI.org for more information about our services and programs. For 45 years, American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation’s public television stations. APT distributes more than 300 new program titles per year and has 10,000 hours of programming in its library. It is responsible for many public television milestones including the first HD series and the 2006 launch of the Create channel featuring the best of public television’s lifestyle programming. APT is known for its leadership in identifying innovative, worthwhile and viewer-friendly programming. It has established a tradition of providing public television stations with program choices that strengthen and customize their schedules, such as JFK: Breaking the News, Battlefield Britain, Globe Trekker, Rick Steves’ Europe, Great Museums, Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way, America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Broadway: The Golden Age, Lidia’s Family Table, California Dreamin’ – The Songs of The Mamas & the Papas, Rosemary and Thyme, P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home, The Big Comfy Couch, Monarchy With David Starkey, and other prominent documentaries, dramatic series, how-to programs and classic movies. For more information about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org.