CASTRIES, St. Lucia – Grammy Award winning American balladeer Michael Bolton as well as soft rock duo Air Supply have joined the line-up for the 2008 edition of St. Lucia Jazz set to celebrate its 17th anniversary from May 2 to 11 in the Caribbean this year.
Organisers announced that the Air Supply and Bolton bookings completed the selection of headliners for the final weekend of concerts, which will feature among others Angie Stone, Anita Baker, Dianne Reeves, Dionne Warwick, Jonathan Butler, Najee and Wyclef Jean.
Considered one of the Caribbean’s premier jazz festivals, St. Lucia Jazz – produced by the St. Lucia Tourist Board in partnership with BET Event Productions – attracts droves of visitors each year to enjoy island-wide musical acts.
“We expect St. Lucia Jazz to be another spectacular event on the island’s tourism calendar this year,” said Cybelle Brown, Vice President of Sales and Business Development for BET Digital Networks. She reported that both BET and BET J are promoting the festival to their vast viewers through on air preview productions while leveraging distinctive marketing opportunities through its Viacom-related brands.
“This year we’re continuing to improve the quality of the event,” said Senator Allen Chastanet, St. Lucia’s Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, who added major infrastructural improvements were being planned, including showcasing St. Lucia’s premium restaurants on Pigeon Island. “Our aim is to re-establish St. Lucia as hosts of the premier jazz festival in the Caribbean. Having great artistes is not enough if we don’t bolster the experience,” he explained.
Other acts carded for the festival include the Juilliard Quintet, featuring saxophonist Ron Blake, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, drummer Carl Allen and bassist Ben Wolfe. Also performing at St. Lucia Jazz will be saxophonist Jacques Schwartz-Bart; keyboardist Alex Bugnon, guitarist Nick Colionne and neo-soul singer Ledisi; along with top local and Caribbean performers.
St. Lucia’s 10-day jazz celebration focuses on the straight jazz category as well as acoustic, new age, jazz, soul, fusion, R&B and Hip Hop held in a variety of locations and venues around the island, including Jazz on the Square in Castries and Fond d’Or Jazz in Dennery.
