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Annual Jazz Festival returns to Temecula theater

Some of the best jazz musicians around will flood into the Old Town Temecula Community Theater Sunday, March 10, for the eighth annual Jazz Festival presented by Temecula Presents.

Jeff Stover produces six shows a year for Temecula, and he’s been doing it for 15 years now. He’s produced each of the eight years the jazz festival has been in existence and thinks this show is an important one.

“It’s important to me to bring this music experience right to the neighborhood, giving the concertgoer a world-class lineup within only a 10-minute drive,” Stover said. “It is important because the city of Temecula has the vision and management willing to give wings to such a festival to bring culture to the area and showcase the jewel of a complex that is the Old Town Temecula Community Theater.”

More than that, Stover said it’s all about the music.

“We get to play our music with the dearest of friends and make new friends at each show,” he said. “We do this festival for the love of music and our performers and because it is such a unique situation and opportunity the city has afforded us.”

The afternoon concert features Yve Evans, Keith Droste, Jonathan Karrant, Doug MacDonald, Colin and Joel Wenhardt, Don Rice, David Hitchings and more.

Evans is a singer and pianist who has performed at many jazz festivals all over the world and, according to Stover, “is also a very funny comedian.

“She is always one of the top singers at the Sacramento, Mammoth Lakes, Idyllwild, and Temecula jazz festivals,” Stover said. “Yve has performed all around the world – Japan, Canada, Spain and Italy – and has played with some of the greats in jazz.”

Stover said Evans has recorded five albums, all in one take.

“The only way jazz is meant to be,” he said.

Droste is the former musical director for Frankie Avalon and also worked with Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Derone. Karrant’s album, “On and On” reached No. 4 on the jazz charts and features titles like “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” and “Doodlin,’” and was produced by Tyler Monks, with pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Rob Thorsen, guitarist Mark Shapiro and drummer Duncan Moore.

Stover said MacDonald is “a fine bop-based guitarist in the tradition of Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel and Joe Pass.” MacDonald has played with top musicians including Stan Getz, Sarah Vaughan, Buddy Rich, Hank Jones, Bob Cooper, Bill Holman, Jack Sheldon and many others.

Rice, 94, is a local favorite that has performed more than 50 times with Stover and still has many steady gigs at the Tropical Lounge and the Merc in Temecula.

Stover said Hitchings is a local drummer originally from Hemet, Idyllwild and now Crestline.

“He has played many of the top shows to come through the Inland Empire for many years now,” Stover said. “We like to feature the best from the local area and we will get some real world-class drumming with David.”

The father-son duo Colin and Joel Wenhardt are a special addition for the festival.

“Joel just got a music degree from Juilliard in New York,” Stover said. “Both are jazz greats, and Colin comes from the great North Texas State Jazz program.”

The event will start at 12:30 p.m. in the courtyard outside the theater with music from the Elvio Ditta Trio, and Stover said there will be a selection of food for sale, art and more.

When asked what people can expect when they come to the festival, Stover said: “Some of the best local and regional jazz artists eager to spread their music to a new audience of music lovers. A wide range of instruments represented from guitar to sax to piano to singers to drummers. A chance to see many of the musicians who play the shows at the Temecula theater on a more personal solo level.”

The festival will move inside the theater at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $37 general admission, $35 for seniors and military, $25 for students and $31 for groups of more than 15. There are discounts available for families.

Tickets are available at https://tickets.temeculatheater.org or by calling the box office at (866) 653-8696. The theater is located at 42051 Main Street in Temecula.

Jeff Pack can be reached at [email protected].

 

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