Bellevue sets lineup for Jazz Festival

Singer Dianne Reeves and the Mingus Big Band are among the headline performers for the 2009 Bellevue Jazz Festival, coming up at the Meydenbauer Center in May, event organizers announced Wednesday.

Reeves and the Mingus band will perform in the Meydenbauer's center hall. Other headliners include vocalist Kurt Elling, pianist and singer Patricia Barber, pianist Danilo Perez and singer Mose Allison, who will all perform in the theater at Meydenbauer.

Produced by the Bellevue Downtown Association (BDA), the three-day festival takes place May 22-24, the Friday and Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

It will also feature local musicians performing at various restaurants and bars in downtown Bellevue. Plus, several high-school bands will play during the day at the Bellevue Arts Museum.

While the festival has a long history, going back to 1978 when the festival was held at Bellevue Community College, until recently it was an event with mostly local aspirations. Last year, its organizers booked national acts for the first time.

Festival director and BDA president Leslie Lloyd described last year's effort as a "crawl," this year's as "walk" and next year's as "run."

"The old festival is very fondly recalled here," she said. "But it was all local artists. We're also trying to bring in bigger names so you don't have to go to San Francisco or Monterey."

The city's involvement with the festival grew out of a series of free jazz concerts it has sponsored the past eight years in downtown Bellevue.

"Jazz is a good fit for Bellevue," Lloyd said. "Our ZIP codes are among [jazz-radio station] KPLU's top listing ZIP codes. We have tremendous jazz-education programs in our schools and ... this complements our mission as downtown association, to bring more people to downtown Bellevue."

The festival will also include a program that will give about 20 area high-school students a chance to rehearse and perform with professional musicians at the festival, in a small-group setting.

"We want to attract top national talent and put the spotlight on local talent," Lloyd said. "We also want to educate emerging audiences and focus on students, bringing them out of classroom and gym," and into a professional environment, she added. "We want their friends to come and hear them."

Ticket prices have not been finalized, although Lloyd said admission to the headline shows should cost between $20 and $75.

The bars and restaurants did not ask for a cover charge last year, but this year's policy has not been determined. All-day passes will be available, as will passes to see just the shows in the theater.

Tickets and passes will go on sale March 5 at www.bellevuejazz.com and www.brownpapertickets.com.

Hugo Kugiya: hkugiya@yahoo.com