Jazz in June returns to original live format

May 9—The 38th annual Jazz in June Festival will be live next month, after a shift to a virtual and radio broadcast last year due to COVID-19.

Jazz in June 2021 will kick off Thursday, June 17 at Brookhaven Village and Andrews Park, and will run through Saturday, June 19. The family-friendly free festival features both local and widely-renowned blues and jazz talent.

"I don't know if we're going to be the first festival, but we are one of the first festivals to re-open and as the city of festivals, a place we all love, if we end up being one of the first to do that safely, all the better," said Norman Hammon, executive director of Jazz in June.

The music-packed weekend will start on Thursday with a night of blues at Brookhaven Village. At 7:30 p.m., Elizabeth Wise, a local artist who alternates between acoustic, electric and slide guitar, will open the night.

"She's homegrown from Oklahoma, and we try to do a local group each day if possible," said Eric Walschap, chair of the programming committee for Jazz in June. "She's flying in from Memphis, Tennessee, and has played on some albums that are quite famous, so that's going to be an exciting performance."

Ghost Town Blues Band will perform at the 9:15 p.m. time slot Thursday evening. The band's album "Shine" was the top blues album and 26th ranked rock album in 2019 on the Billboard charts. Ghost Town Blues Band was also an International Entertainer of the Year for the 2019 B.B. King Awards.

"They're very much like a party in your face, and are crazy fun," Walschap said.

The festival returns to Brookhaven Village on Friday with Tulsa-based jazz collective Henna Roso, a band dedicated to fighting hunger through its message and its efforts to successfully raise over 90,000 meals for people in need.

Walschap said the band is stacked with talent, and the amalgamation of influences in the group results in a jazz and funk combination.

"They donate a portion of their funds to people with food insecurities, and instead of a cover charge, they just say, 'bring some cans of food as your ticket in,'" Walschap said.

Naughty Professor, a New Orleans-based funk and jazz combo band will headline Saturday's bill. According to the band's website, it's an iconoclastic sextet "whose adventurous recordings and horn-charged, high-energy live performances" have garnered widespread acclaim.

"This is going to be basically a party to close the night," Walschap said.

Saturday evening, the live music moves to Andrews Park for "jazz under the stars," beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the Max Ridgway Trio, who will be the local representatives for the day's lineup. The band is returning to Norman for the festival after its last appearance in 1993.

At 7:35 p.m., the Brubeck Brothers Quartet will take the stage. Walschap said the Brubecks are household names in the world of jazz purists.

"Their father Dave Brubeck is a jazz titan, and they recorded with him and played with him," Walschap said.

Walschap said the group is potentially in the twilight years of its career, so any jazz purists who would like to see the brothers should check their set out.

"The name is synonymous with the entire genre, and should not be missed by anybody," Walschap said.

At 9:15 p.m. Saturday, Grammy Award-winning, Los Angeles-based saxophonist Eric Marienthal will play a set list of jazz, fusion and pop songs.

Walschap said Marienthal has played for Billy Joel, Elton John, Barbra Streisand and the late Chick Corea.

The final act of the night and the festival will be the Lao Tizer Band, a supergroup that features multiple Grammy Award winners, including Marienthal.

Munyungo Jackson, who plays percussion for the band, has played with jazz legends Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, as well as Stevie Wonder and The Temptations.

Walschap said the artists in the group have all shared the stage with musical greats.

He said there will be plenty of parking around the area marked for visitors coming to the festival. Hammon said there will be food trucks at both locations over the weekend, but attendees are encouraged to check out restaurants in the area.

"The whole concert is free, and we're just hoping to see people come out, and we ask that they social distance and be respectful of others," Walschap said.

Hammon said Norman's mask mandate expires on June 1, so the board is still determining what the pandemic safety precautions will look like.

"The festival audience tends to cluster in little circles anyway, because they tend to picnic, so you get clusters of families and friends of five to 10 people, so we are just trying to formalize that," Hammon said.

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at jelkins@normantranscript.com or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.