Create
Clearwater Beach’s Suncoast Jazz Festival returns
Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo, who fuses bossa nova, samba, jazz and more, is among the headlining artists at the 34th annual Suncoast Jazz Festival, Friday through Sunday at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort on Clearwater Beach.
Figueiredo, who has performed often in Pinellas County – at the Suncoast Jazz Festival and at the Palladium Theater’s Side Door Cabaret, records for the Clearwater-based independent label Arbors Records. Said DownBeat: “Figueiredo has the touch and tone of a master guitarist hitting his prime, playing with exquisite style and facility, but always at the service of the music at hand.”
Composer, musician and educator Wycliffe Gordon. Publicity photo.
Other nationally and internationally-known musicians include vibraphonist Jason Marsalis and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, Ken Peplowski (clarinet and tenor sax) and trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso.
New England’s New Black Eagle Jazz Band, and Wally’s Warehouse Waifs (Michigan) will also perform.
As always, however, the Suncoast Jazz Festival is where fans can hear many of the bay area’s best players, all under a single roof (three stages in three days) and making music with each other, and with the name artists.
For 2024, the local musicians include:
James Suggs (trumpet)
Nate Najar (guitar)
Daniela Soledade (vocals)
La Lucha (piano, bass and drums)
Bryan J. Hughes (vocals)
Synia Carroll (vocals)
Theo Valentin (vocals)
The Al Downing All-Stars
The Georgia-born Gordon, formerly with Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, will teach master classes for young area musicians.
You don’t have to have a room at the Sheraton to enjoy the music; in fact, the Suncoast Jazz Festival website has a dedicated section on Clearwater lodging and transportation.
Tickets, information and the performance schedule are here.
New Orleans vibraphonist Jason Marsalis. Publicity photo.
