Grammy winning artists headline Bucharest Jazz Festival

Several Grammy winners will headline this year’s edition of the Bucharest Jazz Festival, an event taking place between July 5 and July 9 in the George Enescu square of the capital. One of them is American jazz vocalist and composer Kurt Elling. He will be the special guest of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, led by American saxophonist, composer and bandleader Branford Marsalis (pictured), one of the most respected U.S. jazz musicians. Kurt Elling won the Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy in 2009 for Dedicated to You. Branford Marsalis Quartet won a Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album in 2010 for Contemporary Jazz. More recently, Branford Marsalis Quartet and Kurt Elling collaborated for Upward Spiral, also nominated at the Grammy awards. They will perform on July 8, starting 21:30. Percussionist and composer Marilyn Mazur, a long-time collaborator of Miles Davis, will also perform at the festival. She is the winner of the Jazzpar Prize, the highest international jazz distinction. She will perform on July 8, starting 20:00. Jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan, a four-time Grammy nominee, will perform alongside Gábor Dörnyei and Kornél Horváth in The Thunder Tour. The performance is scheduled for July 7. The local jazz is represented by Ion Baciu Jr, who will perform alongside New York artists Ari Hoenig and Or Bareket on July 6. The festival will end with a demonstration of experimental world music, in the performance of Brazilian-born Israeli percussionist Joca Perpignan and the Trigon group. editor@romania-insider.com (Photo: www.branfordmarsalis.com)