Saxophonist Shilts Hosting Palmdale Jazz Festival

By Brian
Smooth jazz saxophonist Shilts, a native of the U.K. who now lives in the Los Angeles area, is the host of the third annual Palmdale Jazz & Wine Festival on Saturday, September 12, at the Palmdale Amphitheater at Marie Kerr Park. Shilts will perform and introduce an impressive lineup: guitarists Norman Brown and Richard Smith, saxophonist Euge Groove, and pianist Brian Simpson.

The festival will feature a variety of local and California wineries. Guests, who must be at least 21, will also be able to purchase a selection of gourmet foods and micro-brewed beers. Reserved seating tickets are $50, and festival seating tickets are $35. Guests who purchase festival-seating tickets are encouraged to bring short back lawn chairs or blankets. Both tickets include four wine tasting tickets and a commemorative wine glass upon arrival. A designated driver ticket is available for $25. Designated drivers are encouraged to bring short back lawn chairs or blankets. Advance ticket sales end today, September 11, at 11:59 pm PDT or when tickets sell out. Parking is free.

Shilts' latest CD is Jigsaw Life, which includes the smooth jazz hit single "Back on the Hudson."Â He explains why he decided to call his new album what he did: "My kids love doing jigsaw puzzles. Especially my daughter. You know it's one of those things that we sometimes do before she goes to bed. We'll just pull a puzzle out. I just saw the pieces and just thought, it's amazing, you can do a lot graphically and stuff with jigsaw puzzles and pieces. And I just thought, well wouldn't it be great if all the tunes of an album sort of made up of different kinds of styles all sort of came together."
For more information on the Palmdale Jazz & Wine Festival, go to cityofpalmdale.org/jazz.
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