Announcing 2018 TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival – June 28 to 30!
Thanks to the generous support of the TD Bank Group, the TD PEI Jazz & Festival is pleased to announce three days of the best jazz and blues music in Atlantic Canada, running June 28th to 30th this year and featuring performances by David Myles, Rachel Beck, Ken Fornetran and more.
The 2018 program keeps the focus on celebrating the incredible music talent in PEI and Atlantic Canada beginning with an intimate jazz show at the historic St. Paul’s Church on Thursday June 28th with presentations to honour this year’s Doug Riley Artist, Ken Fornetran. “Doug Riley Artist” is a designation awarded each year to an Island musician who exemplifies the spirit of dedication to musical excellence as personified by Doug Riley, the late, great keyboard master, composer, producer and arts exponent who chose PEI as his home.
Living in PEI for years now, Ken grew up in Windsor Ontario having the opportunity to hear and meet many of Detroit’s finest jazz musicians at a young age. In the late 80’s he moved to Toronto to study with Pat LaBarbera at Humber College and since then, he has performed at festivals, and club dates across Canada with leading jazz musicians including Roy Styffe, Bob Mover, Norman Marshall Villeneuve, Bernie Senensky, Jerry Fuller, David Occhipinti, and Paul Tynan and has performed with international musicians like Curtis Fuller and bassist Rodney Whitaker. Ken’s debut CD “Shadows and Short Stories” with pianist David Restivo and singer Thyron Lee Whyte was given a 4* star review in Downbeat Magazine and labeled as one of the “best CDs of 2005”. In addition to his career as a musician, Ken has also earned a reputation as one of Canada’s finest woodwind repair technicians.
“Hosting the TD PEI Jazz and Blues Festival is a great tradition for the City of Charlottetown. It’s an event that we’re honoured to be a part of each year,” said Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee. “The diverse programming makes an important cultural impact and provides an opportunity for our citizens and visitors to be exposed to the talent of artists from across the country. We are grateful to the organizers for their continued commitment to putting on a world-class event and we look forward to celebrating local and regional artists at the upcoming festival.”
The 2018 TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival is proudly supported by the generous support of TD Bank Group, Heritage Canada, and the City of Charlottetown.
For details about concerts and tickets please visit www.jazzandblues.ca and follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @PEIJazzAndBlues.