When Good Jazz Keeps Getting Better
The Lake Arbor Jazz Festival Celebrates 10 Years With Successful Event
Updated: July 16, 2019 // 5:52 p.m.
By Raoul Dennis @suitemagazine and Natasha Pollard @natasha84865123
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMIR STOUDAMIRE, RAOUL DENNIS AND JOHN BODY
The success of the Lake Arbor Jazz Festival July 11-14 is proof that when you have a winning formula, you stick with it. See PHOTOS, click here.
Smooth Jazz: Ten Years And Flowing
(The article below was first published June 10, 2019)
A love of jazz and community was the initial inspiration.
After traveling home from a phenomenal jazz festival in California in 2008, Kevin C. Alexander wondered why Prince George’s County could not have the same kind of feel good jazz experience. The kind of experience that had just made him travel 3000 miles from home to be inspired.
He put pen to paper and by the time the flight had landed in Washington, DC, Kevin had sketched a plan for the First Annual Lake Arbor Jazz Festival.
It is now 10 years later and the Lake Arbor Jazz Festival has exploded into a local and nationally acclaimed jazz event attracting talent and artists known all over the world.
The first few LAJF events were free to the community but as the needs of the festival expanded and consumer desire for more sound and for more artists grew, organizers decided ‘to blow it up a little more.’
Today, LAJF is arguably one of the best jazz festivals in the region.
What makes it so?
“Honestly, I think diversity,” says Kevin C. Alexander, Founder and Executive Director of the Lake Arbor Jazz Festival, “When you look at our lineup, what we try to do every year is to keep young musicians in the lineup. We also put regional and local artists on the stage and for the past three years we decided to put national artists on the lineup. We also have female artists. So we’ve tried to be diverse over the last 10 years. If you look at our whole lineup historically, it has been extremely diverse.”
In a recent interview with Prince George’s Suite Magazine & Media, Alexander discussed a number of things about the budding institution including the way Lake Arbor was chosen to be the site, the event’s expansion to a full weekend, LAJF’s lifelong sponsors and the vision for the future [see video Lake Arbor Jazz Festival: The First 10, above, or click here].
But the tenth anniversary demands that LAJF leaders do something special.
What jazz lovers will see done differently includes all of the events being hosted in the county, starting with the OTI Restaurant, then moving to the Bowie Performing Arts Center on Friday. On Saturday, there will be the All-White Affair at Camelot by Martins, and of course, the cornerstone event will be held at the Lake Arbor Community Center.
Organizers are proud to say that the Lake Arbor Jazz Festival is moving and growing but more importantly it is staying in Prince George’s County for this important 10 year anniversary event.
The Performances
(The following is a list of scheduled artists for the festival as this article was first published June 10)
“This year we think we probably have the best lineup since we started 10 years ago. We have a couple of heavy hitters in this lineup!”
This year’s festival will begin with the Pre-Festival Jam July 11, with Willie Bradley, Eddie Baccus Jr., and Alisha Glover.
On July 12, the VIP White Affair & Scholarship Concert will feature Jeff Bradshaw, Elan Troutman, Althea Rene, Jeanette Harris, and Kayla Waters.
On July 13, the 10th Annual Lake Arbor Jazz Festival will culminate with Host/MC Tony Richards, and performers Kim Waters, Kayla Waters, Adam Hawley, Julian Vaughn, Secret Society, We Are One X-Perience Band, David Bach and Lil Asmar.
The Sunday Inspirational Jazz Experience on July 14 will proudly host internationally acclaimed Grammy winners Jonathan Butler and Kirk Whalum, along with The Blackbyrd and Lil Asmar. It will be held at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts.
The Grand Finale All-Star Jam will conclude at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts. on Sunday evening with Host Gerald Veasley and artists Kim Waters, Willie Bradley, Elan Troutman, Jeff Bradshaw, Adam Hawley, Julian Vaughn, David Bach, and Eddie Baccus Jr.
With continued support from sponsors, LAJF plans to continue bringing quality events to Prince George’s County for years to come for jazz lovers and artists who have made it a part of their annual summer music experience.
