The artist line up for the 9th Annual Uptown Jazz Festival was announced Friday, Oct. 16 by District 9 Councilmember Rex Richardson, along with a partnership with local restaurants for the event.
The free event will be held virtually this year and will be streamed live on Spectrum, Fios, LBTV, YouTube, and Facebook on Sunday, October 18th from 3:00-5:30pm, and will include a series of “State of the 9th District” updates.
The theme of this year’s festival is “The Best of Uptown,” and will feature the following event line up:
•Philosophy – Charlie E. Scott is a poet from the Northside of the city who attended Hamilton Middle School and Jordan High School. His art uses elements of history and culture, evolving along with his surroundings over time.
•Biscuits & Gravy Live – Band Members include David Wills (Drummer), Gene Durham (Bass), Emery ‘Funky E’ Beckles, and Kenny Harris (Lead, Background Vocals, & Percussion), friends and band members for over three decades.
• State of the 9th District – Councilmember Rex Richardson and members of the Uptown Community will provide a series of updates, highlighting progress on numerous community priorities
•Tatiana Tate Quartet – An award-winning trumpeter from Long Beach. Tate is currently majoring in Jazz Studies and Commercial Music Composition and minoring in Japanese at California State University Fullerton. Tate’s music utilizes improvisation, avant-garde experimentation and mixes genres with spiritual, Afro-futuristic jazz, hip-hop rhythms and global experimentation.
•Tribute to the Legendary Curtis Counce – Nina Richardson will share the history of West Coast jazz in the Los Angeles region.
•J Boykin & Positive Vibes – Saxophonist J. Boykin, known as the “Sax Sensation,” has experience playing with and opening for artists such as Frankie Beverly, Maze, Ledisi and John Legend. Boykin has also appeared on Fox Television’s “Glee” and his video of the song “Happy” was featured during an interview between Oprah and Pharrell on Oprah Prime.
•Susie Hansen Latin Band – The band plays traditional salsa in Spanish, as well as their own original salsa and Latin Jazz compositions, Latin-style interpretations of American jazz standards, Cuban Charanga music, and salsa and cha cha in English.
•She Wears Black – Formerly known by the stage name ShyButFlyy, this local blues band with an eclectic and soulful sound has appeared at the Uptown Jazz Festival in the past.
•Boxcar 7 – A high-energy septet with a horn section, front man and rhythm section play classic R&B, soul, blues, swing and classic rock songs.
•DW3 – A SoCal R&B, funk, and contemporary urban jazz artist who has appeared at the festival in previous years.
In honor of the festival, the following restaurants in the Northside of Long Beach will be offering 10% customers’ total order.
–Oi Asian Fusion – 6600 Atlantic Ave, Long Beach – (562) 423-2000
–Sal’s Gumbo Shack – 6148 Long Beach Blvd W, Long Beach – (562) 422-8100
–Robert Earl’s BBQ – 703 E Artesia Blvd, Long Beach – (562) 726-1116
–Main Chick Hot Chicken – 6614 Atlantic Ave – (562) 423-1411
–El Pollo Imperial – 5991 Atlantic Ave – (562) 612-3315
–Pupuseria el Kiosco – 1642 E Artesia Blvd – (562) 612-0692
