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LESBIAN NEWS COVERAGE: Grooving at the Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival

Palm Springs Womens Jazz Festival
Palm Springs in California is singing more than the blues this October, with the 3-day celebration of the Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival. Now on its third year, the Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival will be held on October 9 to 11 and will bring in dozens of world-class female musicians.

Two years earlier, festival artists included Grammy winners Terry Lyne Carrington, Patrice Rushen, Tia Fuller, Cindy Bradley, and Pamela Williams. For this year, festival artists include multiple Grammy Award-winner Diane Schuur, “Soul Goddess” Nona Hendryx, and saxophonist Jessy J.

In particular, Diane Schuur has been part of the jazz scene for more than 20 years and has 2 Grammy’s and 3 Grammy nominations under her belt. She has played with everyone from Basie to BB King, and everywhere from the Kennedy Center to the White House.

“We bring together great musicians and we don’t define great by age,” said the Festival’s Artistic Director Sweet Baby J’ai.

Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival: the start of a good thing

The festival has been gathering steam since it was first started in 2013, the buzz growing by nearly 40 percent in 2014 thanks to good reviews. Moreover, the festival was named top five among Desert Sun music reviewer and critic Bruce Fessler’s top ten festivals.

“We were very honored to be included in the top ten list this year,” said Festival Producer Gail Christian.

Friday’s opening concert will be at the Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum and will feature Diane Schuur. This will be followed by Saturday’s concert, a combination of jazz, blues, and soul courtesy of Nona Hendryx and Jessy J, also at the Annenberg Theater.

Sunday’s concert will be at the Hilton Hotel Ballroom dubbed a “Tribute to the Divas.” This party will be a salute to Etta James, Anita O’Day, Amy Winehouse, and Chaka Khan, and will feature vocalists Elaine Gibbs, Kellye Gray, Sasha Dupont and Gennine Jackson-Francis.

Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival in Lesbian News’ October issue

Both the grande dame of funk and smooth jazz, the colorful Nona Hendryx, and Mexican-American sax player Jessy J, one of the hottest names in smooth jazz today, are featured in this month’s issue of Lesbian News Magazine.

Jessy J is known for her mix of Latin rhythms and jazz with her chart-topping, award-winning debut album Tequila Moon. Though she’s known for her sax, she’s also a pianist, singer and songwriter and has worked with The Temptations and Michael Bublé.

On the other hand, Hendryx was part of the trio LaBelle and sings blues and jazz. She’s toured with Grammy award-winning drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, and worked with major musicians from Prince to Bono.

View the videos below to see the fun and music of the past Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival. Likewise, check out the interview of Nona Hendryx and Jessy J in the new issue of the Lesbian News Magazine by downloading it below. You can also get a subscription if you want to read great articles, features, and interviews courtesy of Lesbian News.