Over the Labor Day weekend downtown Detroit will be overflowing with jazz fans eager to hear their favorite local and national musicians perform at the annual Detroit Jazz Festival. This is one of the few times of the year when people can witness world-class jazz musicians for free.
Yet, the festival is not only a place where audiences can hear national jazz musicians. Over the last decade, under the stewardship of DJF Artistic Director Chris Collins, the festival has become a launching pad for some of Detroit’s finest, homegrown, young talent, allowing them the opportunity to get national exposure. These musicians bring their best to the stages of the festival, drawing just as big a crowd as the national talent.
“Jazz has always been a living, breathing art,” says Collins. “It’s as much about the aspiring artists as the legacy artists. And those in the heart of their career, they’re all very important elements of the evolution of the art form.”
Swinging beyond his years
Making their DJF debut as leaders this year are pianist William Hill III and drummer Louis Jones III. Hill and Jones are young and seriously gifted jazz musicians lighting up the Detroit jazz scene and are also celebrating the release of new music…