Twin Cities Hot Summer Jazz Festival
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The Twin Cities Hot Summer Jazz Festival is a music festival held every June in Twin Cities, Minnesota. It was established in 1998 by the jazz promoter Steve Heckler. The headliner for the first few years was the late Hammond B3 organist Jack McDuff.
The Twin Cities Hot Summer Jazz Festival is fast becoming one of the largest civic events in the upper Midwest, attracting upwards of 75,000 people. The main events of the festival are held at Mears Park in St. Paul and Peavey Plaza, a beautiful outdoor amphitheater in the center of downtown Minneapolis located within two blocks the convention center and five major hotels. The festival closes several blocks and utilizes clubs, restaurants and the Millennium Hotel bar for additional stages. The Cities of Hopkins, Plymouth, Uptown, Eden Prairie and Wayzata have recently partnered with the festival for additional events.
The Twin Cities Hot Summer Jazz Festival has partnered with Orchestra Hall and the Guthrie Theater for fund-raising performances.
In addition, Media partners include Jazz 88 radio (broadcasting live locally and streaming live on the internet internationally), WCCO-TV, the Rake, City Pages, Jazz Police, La Prenza and MPLS-St. Paul Magazine. The festival has also received extensive coverage in the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, The Spokesman and Skyway News.
Festival performers have included: Dave Brubeck, Clark Terry, Monty Alexander, Tony Monaco, Spyro Gyra, Butch Thompson, Bill Evans, Red Holloway, Jack McDuff, Joey DeFrancesco, Melvin Rhyne, Benny Golson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Chick Corea, Alicia Renee, Heatin' System, Bernard Purdie, Howard Levy, Debbie Duncan, Big Walter Smith, Percy Strother, Ben Sidran, Von Freeman, Tiger Okoshi, Peter Schimke, YellowJackets, David "Fathead" Newman, Eric Alexander, Jimmy McGriff, Kristin Korb, Hiromi, Phil Hey Quartet, Lew Tabackin, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Bettye LaVette, Ira Sullivan, Henry Johnson's Organ Express, Nachito Herrera, Salsa del Soul, Bobby Sanabria, Mose Allison, George Avaloz, Dewey Redman, Barbara Morrison, US Air Force Falconaires, Norman Simmons, Frank Morgan, David Young, Jon Weber, Jerry Weldon, MN Big Band.
