'Jazz & Beyond' Music Festival features entertainment at the Nevada Sesquicentennial Fair

The "Jazz & Beyond: Carson City Music Festival," in collaboration with Carson City, is proud to present five of several bands at the Nevada Sesquicentennial Fair in Fuji Park on Saturday, August 2. "Jazz & Beyond" runs from Aug. 1 to Aug. 17 and features over 50 events, mainly in the downtown Carson City area.

The five "Jazz & Beyond" bands at the Fair on August 2 are Sons of Slide Mountain, RVGS Tantalus, Lynne Colvig Latin Jazz, the Reno Jazz Orchestra with singer Jackie Landrum, and the St. Christopher Project, featuring the music of Tom Waits.

Sons of Slide Mountain, a bluegrass band, will perform at noon on the BAC Stage on the east side of the grassy part of the fairgrounds. The group has performed all over northern and western Nevada and eastern California, including at the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off, at the Harvest Fest at Squaw Valley Resort, for the Northern Nevada Bluegrass Assoc., and at the Hawkins Amphitheater.

RVGS Tantalus will perform at 2:30 on the Main Stage, on the west side of the grassy part of the fairgrounds. RVGS Tantalus is one facet of the Reno Video Game Symphony, an assortment of individually run ensembles that all work together for the same goal: to arrange music from popular games and bring them to various audiences. RVGS Tantalus, the jazz band, features Nate Hamer on bass, Brandon Melnar on alto saxophone, Clark Harrell on keyboards, and one elusive rogue drummer.

Lynne Colvig Latin Jazz performs at 4:00 p.m. on the BAC Stage. Singer Lynne Colvig sings jazz with intensity and often with humor. She will be accompanied by Kevin Tokarz on keyboard, Dennis Steele on congas, and Mic Valentino on guitar.

The Reno Jazz Orchestra performs with vocalist Jackie Landrum at 7:30 p.m. on the Main Stage. After big bands in casino showrooms in the Reno and Lake Tahoe area were replaced by recorded music or by small combos in the early 1990s, musicians in those former house bands joined together in 1997 to keep northern Nevada's big band sound alive and to promote jazz education in the middle schools, high schools, and colleges. RJO musicians are some of the best in the business, and their individual performances have included backing Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Elvis Presley. Members have traveled with the bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Ray Charles, and Buddy Rich. The RJO has appeared at the music festival in Carson City each August since its inception in 2004.

The St. Christopher Project rounds out the "Jazz & Beyond" performances at Fuji Park on August 2 with a performance at 9:00 p.m. on the BAC Stage. Tristan Selzler, on vocals and drums, leads a small but highly talented group in the music of Tom Waits.

A list of other entertainment at the Sesquicentennial Fair, July 31 through August 3, can be viewed at www.nv150fair.com (click on "Fair Events"). Except for the Comstock Cowboys' performance on the night of August 1, all Sesquicentennial Fair concerts are free.

In addition to the events at the Sesquicentennial Fair, live music can be heard morning, afternoon, and evening in Carson City on August 2. The Saturday Morning Farmer's Market on Third Street features live entertainment by A Class Act from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Judith Ames and Rocky Tatarelli perform "A Little Jazz, A Little Latin" inside the Carson Mall from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. The Carson City Downtown Business Association's monthly Wine Walk, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., will feature Colin Ross Acoustic Duo from 2:30 to 4:30 at the Purple Avocado (904 N. Curry St.) and Slow Djinn Fez from 2:30 to 4:30 at Yaple's Ballroom (315 North Carson St.). Singer and guitarist Dave Medina will provide entertainment from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at Bella Fiore Wines on Third Street between Carson and Curry Streets.

"Jazz & Beyond" will present more than fifty performances; most of them are free. Information can be found at JazzCarsonCity.com.

"Jazz & Beyond" is supported by Mile High Jazz Band Assoc., Carson City, and the Nevada Commission on Tourism. For more information, call the Mile High Jazz Band at 775-883-4154, or visit the web site: JazzCarsonCity.com.