Jarasum Gears Up fo Jazz in Fall
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
It's the middle of summer, but preparations are already underway for this fall's 6th Jarasum International Jazz Festival.
The popular jazz festival runs from Oct. 15-18 on Jara Island, Gyeonggi Province.
Korea's premier international jazz festival offers an initial line-up of well-known names in jazz from all over the world. The list includes Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, Israeli bassist Avishai Cohen, Italian trumpet player Enrico Rava, French accordionist Richard Galliano, Portuguese singer Maria Joao and band Chico & the Gypsies.
Bridgewater is described as a ``consummate entertainer'' having won two Grammy Awards and a Tony Award. She is also the host of a syndicated radio show, and a United Nations Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Rava is one of the most well known Italian jazz musicians, having played with some of the best musicians around the world, and released numerous albums. Cohen, a bassist, composer, and singer, is known for combining Middle Eastern, European, and African-American musical styles in his music.
Chico & the Gypsies are led by Chico Bouchikhi, one of the original members of the famous flamenco band Gipsy Kings.
The rest of the festival's line-up features well-known jazz performers such as drummers Terri Lyne Carrington and Dennis Chambers; pianists Yaron Herman and Jan Lundgren; saxophonists Chris Potter and Dave Liebman; guitarist Scott Henderson and bassist Jeff Berlin.
For the 2009 festival, the slogan is ``Back to the Island.'' It hopes to bring back the essence of the original jazz festival, which was started on Jara Island in 2004. Visitors greatly appreciated listening to the cool sounds of jazz while surrounded by nature at the festival.
Since 2004 the festival has grown, attracting over 450,000 visitors and more than 1,000 performers in the last five years. The festival even expanded to various jazz bars and clubs in Gapyeong City.
Tickets to this year's jazz festival are in high demand, especially since organizers offered ``early bird'' passes at discounted prices. The first batch of early bird tickets, which were 20 percent off the original price, was sold out immediately last month.
Another 200 three-day passes will be sold at a discounted rate of 45,000 won from 2 p.m. July 8 to midnight July 10. Visit https://www.lotte.com (1577-2365) or ticket.interpark.com (1544-1555).
From July 13 to Oct. 11, multi-day passes will be sold in limited quantities. Three-day passes are 50,000 won, two-day passes are 40,000 won, and one-day pass is 25,000 won. Tickets will be sold at the festival site for 30,000 won for one day. Visit www.jarasumjazz.com.