Jazz Diva Deborah Brown Headlines Final 2024 Jazz in the Park Concert
07/30/24Internationally-renowned jazz diva Deborah Brown headlines this summer’s final Jazz in the Park concert on Sunday, August 4 at Riverside Park in La Crosse.
“Deborah has performed extensively throughout the world in the finest concert halls and jazz clubs," says La Crosse Jazz Orchestra director Greg Balfany. “Originally from Kansas City, her singing has taken her from New York’s Lincoln Center to London’s premier jazz club Ronnie Scott's and onward to lauded venues in Amsterdam, Poland, Spain and Israel, just to name a few. Deborah has found appreciative audiences everywhere she sings.”
This will be Brown's second appearance with the LJO. The August 4 concert will include selections from the American Songbook including “Devil May Care,” “It’s A Wonderful World” and “The Shadow Of Your Smile.” She will also perform contemporary selections such as the blues masterwork “Centerpiece” and Pat Metheny’s haunting ballad “Always and Forever.”
To further enhance Ms. Brown’s international stature, the band will perform compositions from some of the world's top writers including compositions from Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Spain, Balfany says.
Peter Herbolzheimer contributes “How Goes It Doc” as performed by his German/Austrian jazz band.
“This blistering up-tempo offering features several of the band members including a special guest from New York, pianist Dave Marck,” says Balfany.
Spaniard Iñaki Askunze is represented with his flamenco-tinged arrangement of “Cilantro Y Camino.” Featured on this selection will be Marck on piano and Balfany on soprano saxophone.
This is the last of four free outdoor concerts marking the 50th anniversary of Jazz in the Park concerts with the La Crosse Jazz Orchestra.
Jazz in the Park concerts are free and start at 7 p.m. at the Riverside Park Bandshell in La Crosse. The rain and/or heat site is the Cavalier Theater, 118 5th Ave. N., La Crosse.
Visit the LJO Events Calendar for the complete 2024 concert schedule, including the Cappella Concert Series, now in its second year.
ABOUT THE BAND
The La Crosse Jazz Orchestra is Western Wisconsin's premier big band. Directed by Greg Balfany, the group is best known through its Jazz in the Park concert series. The LJO mission: to promote, preserve and forward the creation of jazz music through free live performances available to all in our region. LJO operates under fiscal sponsorship from La Crosse Community Foundation.