Memorial Day weekend is annually circled on the calendars of local jazz fans. That is because this weekend coincides with the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. Since 1979, the residents of Jacksonville have been blessed with a free jazz concert in their own backyards and 2017 will be no exception. The festival takes place in downtown Jacksonville and is held over a 4-day span. Throughout the weekend there are multiple stages playing music so there is always at least one performance going on. And it doesn’t end with music. There will be food and drink trucks available, as well as local art venders.

The music technically begins Thursday night with the jazz piano competition at the Florida Theatre. The totality of the festival starts at 5 p.m., Friday evening, with performances at two stages: one located on Main St., the other in Hemming Park. At 5:30 p.m., a 3rd stage at the Jacksonville Landing will begin performing. And from there, the stage is set for a weekend full of music paradise. Saturday and Sunday the music begins at 2 p.m. and doesn’t end until at least sundown.

With about 50 different performing acts, it’s difficult to choose which ones to see. Luckily, you can’t go wrong with any choice, and if you stay long enough you’ll hear a little bit of everything. I don’t know all the musicians that are playing, but I know there is an incredible amount of variety. There are solo artists, trios, bands and ensembles. Horns, guitars, pianos drums, violins and beautiful voices. Jazz, blues, R&B, rock, funk and pop; If there isn’t at least one thing that doesn’t sound appealing there, then you must not like music!

Personally, I am most excited for Sunday afternoon performances by the Joey Alexander Trio followed by the Chick Corea Trio. Joey Alexander is a 13-year old Indonesian piano prodigy. This young star taught himself to play jazz piano by age 6 and was eventually discovered by Wynton Marsalis, a leader in today’s world of jazz and founder of the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. His debut album was released in 2015 when he was only 11 years old. Following the child prodigy is one of his influences, Chick Corea, who I have patiently waited for an opportunity to see live. I guarantee neither one of these acts will disappoint if you’re a fan of exceptionally talented jazz pianists, or just a fan of the piano in general!

These two acts don’t even scrape the surface of what’s to come Memorial Day weekend. There will be funky grooves played by the horns of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Lucky Chops; the deep soulful voices of Gregory Potter, Lalah Hathaway, and Akia Uwanda; the smooth jazz of the Rippingtons; the funky pop renditions of Stank Sauce; and of course The Commodores- better known for their mega smash hits “Brick House” and “Easy” (Easy like Sunday Morning). The list goes on and on! There’s no point in me continuing to describe their sounds in words, you’ll just have to hear them for yourself!