Jazz Blues Florida - Florida's Online Guide to Live Jazz & Blues at JazzBluesFlorida.com: “Thin Man” Watts Jazz Fest - A Celebration of Florida's Contributions to Jazz, Blues and Gospel February 8, 2025 in DeLand FL

"This is not just a festival…

it honors the lives and works of masters like

Florida's Thin Man Watts and Sam Rivers..."

TICKETS are on sale now at www.wattsjazzfest.com for the 16th annual “Thin Man” Watts Jazz Fest, which honors DeLand native and renowned saxophonist Dr. Noble “Thin Man“ Watts.

The Jazz Fest is unveiling a new format and a new location this year, with the African-American Museum of the Arts in DeLand as the hosting organization and beneficiary. Florida jazz fans will come together for this annual event, which will feature three acts indoors on Stetson University's Second Stage Theater at 600 N. Woodland Blvd., which shares the building the Museum of Art - DeLand. The acts will perform between noon and 5 p.m. on Saturday Feb. 8, and ticketholders get admission to all three shows, plus poetry performances organized by Kevin Campbell. TICKETS cost $15 in advance, or $20 on the day of the event.

Saturday, February 8, 2025 | 1-5p

Stetson University

Second Stage Theater

600 N. Woodland Blvd

DeLand, FL 32720

MAP

Noon-1:15p - Adam Kornecki Trio

Featuring

Vocalist Jodi-Ann Taylor

1:15-2p - Poetry Readings

2-3p - The Alley Cats

Featuring

Thom Chambers & Vocalist Linda Cole

3-3:30p - Poetry Readings

3:30-5p - The Rejuvenation Orchestra

Tickets are on sale now at www.wattsjazzfest.com for the 16th annual “Thin Man” Watts Jazz Fest, which honors DeLand native and renowned saxophonist Dr. Noble “Thin Man“ Watts. Tickets cost $15 in advance, or $20 on the day of the event and can be purchased ONLINE or at three DeLand locations: The African American Museum at 325 S. Clara Ave., Steve's Downtown Music at 108 S. Woodland Blvd., and The West Volusia Beacon newspaper at 110 W. New York Ave. All proceeds from this year's event will be dedicated to the African-American Museum of the Arts, which is currently constructing a much-needed 3,500-square-foot expansion of its facility.

An annual event in Downtown DeLand since 2011, the Jazz Fest commemorates the life and legacy of renowned saxophonist Watts, a DeLand native. The mission of the festival, in addition to fundraising for the AAMA, is to unite the community in a shared appreciation of music and of DeLand's musical heritage.

During the festival, the lobby will be open for last-minute ticket sales. Also in the lobby, food and beverages will be available, including burgers, hot dogs, chilli dogs and pulled-pork sandwiches, with soft drinks and chips. Options for beer and wine are planned.

Sam Rivers

Rejuvenation Orchestra

The 16-piece instrumental orchestra specializes in playing the charts written by internationally acclaimed jazz musician Sam Rivers for his Rivbea Orchestra. Many of the Rejuvenation members played with Rivers’ group before Rivers’ death in 2011. The orchestra is led by bassist Doug Matthews and Mike Iapichino. The band’s sound is built on the funk style of the bass and drums, accentuated by energetic, sometimes dissonant brass and sax sections. Rejuvenation’s catalog of music was composed by Rivers beginning in the 1960s. He moved from New York to Central Florida in the 1990s, when he put together a band made up largely of music educators and members of the Walt Disney World musical community. The body of work was recognized in the late 1999s with two Grammy nominations.

The Alley Cats with

Thom Chambers and Linda Cole

The Alley Cats with Thom Chambers and Linda Cole will bring musical perspectives reflecting decades of experience on the Florida music scene.

The Alley Cats are an instrumental group that started performing in Downtown DeLand on Artisan Alley during the COVID pandemic, offering a way for people to gather safely for free concerts outdoors. For the Jazz Fest, the group will be joined by retired band director, composer, multi-instrumentalist and widely respected saxophonist Chambers, a veteran of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and hundreds more concerts. Cole, also well known to Central Florida jazz fans, comes from a family of musicians; her father was one of the Cole Family Singers, and her father’s second cousin was Nat King Cole. She grew up playing the piano and singing gospel with her family, and has continued to delight audiences across the state with her classy demeanor and delivery. Cole will be inducted this year into the Central Florida Jazz Society Hall of Fame.

Members of the Alley Cats at the Jazz Fest will be saxophonist and band leader Jeff Shepherd, bassist Wayne Bishop, percussionist Jay Messick and keyboardist Neil Bondurant.

Adam Kornecki Trio

Pianist Adam Kornecki and his trio will play jazz inspired by styles ranging from bebop to the post jazz/rock fusion era. The trio consists of Kornecki on piano, Jarobi Watts on bass, and David Weatherspoon on drums, with the addition of vocalist Jodi-Ann Taylor.

Kornecki said he finds inspiration in the music of all of the masters, including Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans, and he hastened to recognize the influence of the more contemporary, and versatile, Brad Mehldau. Asked about his approach to his music, Kornecki said he feels like it is very much about the fundamentals.

“I keep it simple, like the blues, but with an understanding of jazz harmony. We will just lean into playing a really great concert,” Kornecki said.

Taylor’s performance with the trio will present a different facet of the genre. Taylor’s repertoire is generally the more popular standards, such as Gershwin’s Summertime, or Porter’s Night and Day. Taylor may also delve into gospel, particularly with songs she recently wrote and recorded for her 2024 album, All Creation Sings.

THE POETS

Quin Killin’ is an alumnus of the University of South Florida and Stetson University whose work is featured in The Bitchin’ Kitsch’s January 2025 publication and has been published on YouTube by Arts Axis Florida. They are also the creator, co-founder and editor of the nonprofit organization The Blunt Space, which caters to art for and by marginalized artists and also advocates for social justice and cultural education.

D-Rod, a member of Black on Black Rhyme, founder of Island Vybez Poetry and a co-host for WMNF Tampa’s poetry show “Poetry Is … ,” has been performing in the Tampa area for more than 20 years. He was the 2023 Fall Festival’s grand-slam champion and was ranked ninth in the United States at the 2022 Blackberry Peach National Poetry Slam.

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS

The annual Jazz Fest would not be possible without its sponsors, and SPONSORSHIPS are still welcome. Sponsors this year include Ken Goldberg Construction Co. LLC, Judy Thompson, the Rotary Club of Downtown DeLand, Mainstreet Community Bank, the West Volusia Tourism Advertising Authority, and Barb and Jeff Shepherd in memory of Cliff and Betty Shepherd. In-kind sponsors and other supporters include Tinker Graphics & Web Design, The Beacon newspaper, Sunny’s Wine and Liquor and S.R. Perrott.