Click here to read about last year's musicians.

Kim Waters has enjoyed a career longevity that is rare in the music business. For close to two decades the saxophonist, composer and producer has been one of the premier architects of Urban Smooth Jazz and a beacon of light in contemporary jazz. He has garnered praise from critics and fans alike, amassing record sales of over a million albums and ranks among the top five best-selling instrumentalists in jazz. Kim Waters’ music has fine-tuned the perfect combination of sensitivity and brawn, intellect and emotion and technique and soulfulness. It is these winning combinations, along with his sincere dedication and love for his craft that have enabled him to score top-ten singles on all of his sixteen albums as a leader. The suave, debonair and commanding saxophonist’s ability to transcend the musical boundaries of jazz, pop and R&B have made him one of the most sought-after musicians in contemporary jazz. “The most incredible gift is to be able to do something of value that makes people happy and music has the ability to do that like nothing else. I have been blessed to share what I love with the world,” notes Waters.

In October of 2008, the critically acclaimed saxophonist celebrated his 20th anniversary as a recording artist with the ultimate love collection, I Want You: Love in the Spirit of Marvin, which paid homage to one of his musical heroes, Marvin Gaye.
www.kimwaters.net | kimwaters

There's a taste of New Orleans in the air, and it's being supplied by Dick and Jane's Big Brass Band. For 14 years this group has brought the Twin Cities it's own brand of New Orleans street, or Second Line, Music. The group also finds it's way into the areas of dixieland, samba, mambo, klezmer, funk, or any other style they can fit into their mold, making this one of the more versatile groups around.

Founded by Dick Danaher (saxophone) and his wife, Jane (percussion), the group has found its way into all kinds of venues, from May Day celebrations to catered affairs, from bars to corporate events. Wherever they go, the fun and the funk is infectious. People can't help but get up and dance, march, or do whatever the music moves them to do.
www.dickandjanesbbb.com

The Lex-Ham Community Band is a volunteer musical ensemble composed of residents and students who live in the Lexington-Hamline neighborhood and surrounding areas of St. Paul, Minnesota.

The group is directed by Jeremy Carvell and is open to anyone, young or old, who wants to play.

The band plays a wide repertoire of music including Sousa marches, show tunes, classical concert band pieces, and swings to jazz and Dixieland arrangements. 2009 marks their first performance at the Selby Ave JazzFest.
www.lexhamarts.org/band

Brio Brass has delighted and entertained audiences throughout Minnesota's Twin Cities Metro area since 1997. Formed of 44 adult musicians, Brio Brass is a non-traditional, rockin' brass band! Members of the ensemble bring a wealth of experience and talent to their unique performances. The skillful selection of music, lively pacing, added surprises, combined with a relaxed atmosphere appeals to all types of audiences and age groups. There promises to be lots of humming, toe tapping and even dancing in the aisles.

Brio Brass performs their own unique arrangements written specifically for its members. Their large repertoire features a broad spectrum of musical styles. Audiences are entertained with fluid ballads, rousing marches, rollicking polkas, pop of all eras, show tunes, funky rock and LOTS of JAZZ!
www.briobrass.com

Walker West Music Academy, a Minnesota, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, was conceived from the life experiences of its founders, Reverend Carl Walker and Grant West, and born as the expression of their hope for the future.

The Academy stands as a bridge in the community bonding the present with a rich blend of the founders' pasts, and the community's future. The school is known for its artistic excellence in all styles of music ranging from classical to its particular specialties of gospel and jazz.
www.walkerwestmusicacademy.org

This year, the Walker West Music Academy will be joined by Pippi Ardennia. Pippi describes her style as PipJazz--music with a purpose, music that becomes your lifestyle, music that makes you FEEL GOOD! Pippi is more than a song writer/song stylist. Her voice has been described as an instrument; she loves the music and you can see and hear it. Another master has emerged, as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and Dinah Washington. Pippi is a natural entertainer--sultry at times, always powerful and exiciting. But what sweeps you away is the electric raw emotion that emanates from her to you, telling a story in song like you've never heart before, a natural power in nature.
www.pippiardennia.com | pippiardennia

Gracing the JazzFest stage for the fourth time, Ms. Lacy-Aiken’s set will feature a blend of smooth jazz and gospel numbers. Patty’s career spans over a decade with the Grammy award-winning Sounds of Blackness and several years traveling with R&B legend Luther Vandross. She has served as Musical Director for SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development, performed on Prairie Home Companion and at The Ritz Theater with T. Mychael Rambo. Patty has also performed in Black Nativity at Penumbra Theater, Minnesota's only African American dedicated theater.

www.soundsofblackness.com

A global artist in the truest sense of the term, Hagos left Eritrea in 1974 due to the political unrest that was plaguing his country. Between his departure and 1988, he travelled around the Middle East and established a large following in Addis Ababa, the Sudan and Saudi Arabia. He also performed at a number of Eritrean music festivals and, in 2001, fulfilled his dream of returning to his homeland to perform at the 10th Annual Eritrean Independence Celebration. His last album, “Millennium,” earned high critical praise as well as a #1 rating from Eritrean music fans from around the globe.