Tanglewood to present 'contemporary' jazz along with a few classics
by Seth Rogovoy

(LENOX, Mass., April 4, 2001)- With George Benson, Sonny Rollins, Chuck Mangione, Nancy Wilson and the Louis Armstrong Centennial Celebration Band on the bill, this year's Labor Day weekend jazz festival at Tanglewood will feature a mixture of 'contemporary jazz' with some jazz classics. Pop-jazz trumpeter Chuck Mangione will kick off this year's three-day festival in Ozawa Hall on Friday, Aug. 31, at 8 p.m. The vocal ensemble New York Voices will warm up the crowd for Mangione, best known for his 1978 hit album, "Feels So Good," whose instrumental title track went to number four on Billboard's pop chart, making it one of the most commercially successful jazz records of all time.

On Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., perennial festival favorite John Pizzarelli, the retro-jazz singer and guitarist, returns to Ozawa Hall, where he will share the bill with vocalist Jane Monheit and her ensemble. The 23-year-old Monheit was a first runner-up in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute Vocal Competition in 1998.

The proceedings will move to the Koussevitzky Music Shed on Saturday night at 7, when pop-jazz vocalist and radio host Nancy Wilson will perform with the all-female big-band, Diva. Pop/r&b saxophonist David Sanborn and pianist Joe Sample will also perform. Sanborn's wide-ranging career has included stints with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (he performed with them at the Woodstock Festival in 1969), Gil Evans, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and the Brecker Brothers. Sample was a founding member of the Crusaders, which began as a bebop group in the 1950s but morphed into a jazz-rock fusion group in the '70s.

On Sunday afternoon at 1:30, legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins will return to Ozawa Hall for his first Tanglewood appearance since 1997. That night, the festivities will move back to the shed for the grand finale, featuring guitarist/vocalist Benson, Latin jazz percussionist/bandleader Poncho Sanchez, and the Louis Armstrong band, led by trumpeter Nicholas Payton, one of the widely-hailed "young lions" of modern jazz. Benson, like Mangione, scored several huge pop hits in the late-1970s and early-'80s, including "This Masquerade," "On Broadway," "Give Me the Night" and "Turn Your Love Around," all of which cracked Billboard' s Top 10.

The inclusion of Benson and Mangione, as well as saxophonist David Sanborn and guitarist Joe Sample, in the lineup presumably reflects a concerted attempt by the BSO to "jazz up" the annual festival with more commercial acts that might appeal to a wider audience.

As part of that effort, this year the BSO engaged the services of Boston jazz impresario Fred Taylor, who along with publicist Sue Auclair -- also on board for jazz at Tanglewood this year -- was widely credited with turning Scullers Jazz Club at the DoubleTree Guest Suites Hotel into one of Boston 's premiere jazz venues.

"We're thrilled that Fred has come on board to lend his talents toward booking the Tanglewood Jazz Festival," festival manager Tony Beadle said in a prepared statement. "Fred needs no introduction, as he currently stands as the preeminent jazz impresario in Boston. We're looking forward to bringing this festival to a new level, and Fred's involvement will go a long way toward that goal."

Tickets to this year's festival go on sale today at 10 a.m. Tickets may be purchased through Symphony Charge (888-266-1200) or on line at the Boston Symphony website, www.bso.org. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster outlets, at the Ticketmaster website www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster phone charge.

Special ticket and lawn packages will be available for this year's Tanglewood Jazz Festival. "Jazz Circle" packages include premium seating for both Koussevitzky Music Shed concerts for $90. Lawn packages, providing general admission lawn seating for all five concerts, are available for $75. Both packages are available in limited numbers, and only until Wednesday, August 1. [This article originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on April 5, 2001. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 2001. All rights reserved.]