Originally published February 29, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified February 29, 2008 at 4:02 PM

Branford Marsalis among stars to play Bellevue Jazz Festival

This spring's Bellevue Jazz Festival will feature Branford Marsalis, Jovino Santos Neto, Gail Pettis, Pearl Django, Thomas Marriott, Ben Thomas and Greta Matassa

By Paul de Barros

Seattle Times jazz critic

The Bellevue Downtown Association has announced a major new jazz festival for this spring, culminating at the Meydenbauer Center Memorial Day Weekend with saxophonist Branford Marsalis performing May 23 and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra on May 24.

The festival will stretch for nearly two months in April and May, as on the six Wednesday nights leading up to Memorial Day Weekend, local artists will perform in a variety of Bellevue locales: Jovino Santos Neto (Bellevue Arts Museum, April 9); Gail Pettis (Bellevue Arts Museum, April 16); Pearl Django (Bellevue Arts Museum, April 23); Thomas Marriott (Bellevue City Hall, April 30); Ben Thomas (Key Center, May 7); and Greta Matassa (Civica Office Commons, May 14).

Bellevue hosted a jazz festival featuring Northwest performers exclusively from 1978 to 1993.

The new festival is being booked by Bill Royston, the force behind the highly successful Portland Jazz Festival.

Tickets are not yet available but information can be found at www.bellevuejazz.com.

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