Prescott Park Arts Festival, in partnership with Seacoast Jazz Society, is delighted to present the annual festival that will feature a host of local, regional, and international talent, amplifying the different styles of jazz. The festival has a tremendous history on the seacoast. The first festival was held in 1983 under the name, Portsmouth Jazz Festival. For the last 26 years, it has been known as the Tommy Gallant Jazz Festival, to honor legendary local jazz pianist and composer, Tommy Gallant. It has now become the Seacoast Jazz Festival in the hopes to expand the festival’s reach in the future as a destination event featuring acclaimed jazz artists from around the globe.

The Seacoast Jazz Society was formed in 1990 and its mission is to promote jazz through community outreach and education, to support local musicians, and to provide scholarships for young artists. A sincere thank you to this year’s presenting sponsor, Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, and event sponsors, Morgan Stanley, Michael and Rebecca Harrison, and Live from Matt’s House, LLC.

For more information about the Seacoast Jazz Society, or to donate, please visit www.seacoastjazz.org.

* Please Note: the line-up has adjusted due to this date change.

40th Annual Seacoast Jazz Festival Line-Up for Sunday 8/27

1pm Chris Humphrey and the Voice of Clark Terry

2pm Emilio Teubal Trio

3pm YellowHouse Blues Band

4pm Soggy Po’ Boys

5pm Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra

 6:15pm Orrin Evans with Special Guest Tia Fuller* 

*Sean Jones is no longer able to perform due to the date change. Thanks for your understanding

ANNOUNCEMENT: Orrin Evans with Special Guest Tia Fuller* will be headlining Seacoast Jazz Festival.  Orrin has traveled the world performing and is coming off of his appearance at the 2023 Newport Jazz Festival!

During his kaleidoscopic quarter-century as a professional jazz musician, pianist Orrin Evans has become the model of a fiercely independent artist  who pushes the envelope in all directions. Never supported by a major label, Evans has ascended to top-of-the-pyramid stature on his instrument, as affirmed by his #1-ranking as “Rising Star Pianist” in the 2018  DownBeat Critics Poll. Grammy nominations for the Smoke Sessions albums The Intangible Between and Presence, by Evans’ raucous, risk-friendly Captain Black Big Band, stamp his bona fides as a bandleader and composer. In addition to CBBB, Evans’ multifarious leader and collaborative projects include the Eubanks Evans Experience (a duo with eminent guitarist Kevin Eubanks); the Brazilian unit Terreno Comum; Evans’ working trio with bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr.; and Tar Baby (a collective trio of 20 years standing with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits). One of Tar Baby’s two 2022 releases will be released on Evans’ imprint, Imani Records, which he founded in 2001 and relaunched in 2018.

and Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra

Tearing into witty and funky new arrangements of rarefied jazz nuggets from the 1920s and ‘30s, as well as radically transforming songs by artists such as Prince, The Grateful Dead and The Beatles, Steven Bernstein (Grammy-nominated composer/trumpeter) leads an improvisational nine-piece outfit playing irreverent 21st-century jazz.

Hailed as one of New York City’s most legendary little big bands, Bernstein’s MTO is consistently praised for uniting sexy grooves spanning a century of music—from Don Redman to Sly Stone to the present—with daring jazz abandon.

Most recently, Steven Bernstein’s MTO released a four album series dubbed “Community Music”. Few artists have the audacity to undertake recording and releasing four albums in the time it takes the earth to circle the sun, but that said, few artists are Steven Bernstein. He and his closest musical compatriots from MTO, as well as friends like John Medeski, Catherine Russell and Arturo O’Farrill, offered both original compositions and new arrangements of material ranging from Duke Ellington to George Harrison, Charles Mingus to Louis Armstrong, Allen Toussaint to Earl King. Taking the lessons he’d learned working with legends like Levon Helm, Hal Willner, Henry Butler, Lou Reed and Roswell Rudd, Bernstein proves why he’s considered one of the most unique voices in both modern jazz and creative music across the board.

“…exquisite, with just the right mix of polish and irreverence.” 
– DownBeat

“This music grooves on multiple levels.” 
– WBGO

“…the euphoric energy of the pre-Big Band-era territory jazz ensembles with the audacity of Downtown music and the memorable melodies of pop.” 
– Something Else! 

“The Hard Way is at once an exercise in humility on the part of the Sexmob and homage to its likeminded sonic savant.” 
– Glide Magazine 

Chris Humphrey and the Voice of Clark Terry

“The Voice of Clark Terry” featuring vocalist Chris Humphrey singing the music of Clark Terry with new lyrics written by drummer Les Harris Jr.  Along with Chris and Les, the musicians that appear on their new recording, “The Voice of Clark Terry-Volume 1” will be featured in this year’s festival including Mark Shilansky on piano, Marty Ballou on bass and Chris Klaxton on trumpet.

All these musicians have appeared numerous times at this Jazz Festival with drummer Les Harris Jr. appearing in the festival for the 40th straight time having appeared every year going back to the very first Portsmouth Jazz Festival in 1983.

Dr. Clark Terry received an honorary doctorate from UNH in the 70’s and visited the University annually at the festival named for him, The Clark Terry Jazz Festival, until his passing.  A legend in the jazz world, he performed with and mentored all of the musicians in this group. This project is a celebration of Clark Terry as a musician, teacher, and person. The music is fun, joyful, and swinging as was the great Clark Terry every time he stepped on stage.

For more info on the origin of the Clark Terry recording project by Chris and Les, click here.

Emilio Teubal Trio

Emilio Teubal is a pianist, composer and arranger from Argentina and based in New York.  He has recorded over twenty albums, both as a sideman and as a composer and bandleader, including the 2018 Latin Grammy Winner album “Vigor Tanguero” by the Pedro Giraudo Group. “Futuro”, his latest release (his sixth album as a bandleader and composer) has been included on the list of Best Jazz albums in Bandcamp for February 2023.

Emilio is the winner of the 2022 Ise-Shima Art Committee’s 1st Popular Music Composition Competition in Japan. He also received 2nd place in the 2022 Tango Composition Contest at Kavala Tango Days Cosmopolis Festival in Greece. He is also a recipient of the 2007 Meet the Composer’s prestigious Van Lier Fellowship, and NYSCA grantee for a composition commission award that he is currently working on.

A versatile pianist who can navigate through different styles of written and improvised music, Emilio has performed in some of the most prestigious venues and theaters in the United States such as Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Symphony Space, The Blue Note, Birdland, and Le Poisson Rouge.  He has been touring Japan regularly since 2018 performing at the most prestigious theaters and music venues in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, and other cities.

YellowHouse Blues Band

A nine-piece band with high energy and multiple singers, the YellowHouse Blues Band is a Seacoast-based band that will perform for you a setlist tailored specifically for this year’s jazz festival.  Known for playing Benefit Concerts in both Maine and New Hampshire, they’ve raised over $150,000 for non-profits in their communities.

Members of the YHBB have performed all over New England at venues including Gillette Stadium, Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, The Music Hall, Vinegar Hill Music Theatre and Merrill Auditorium.  Band members Matt Becker and Mike Harrison are Board Members of Seacoast Jazz Society and are thrilled to be a part of the festival this year.  Mike Harrison also serves on the Board of Prescott Park Arts Festival, and Matt Becker is in his 15^th year as a Board Member at Big Brothers Big Sisters of NH.

For more on the YellowHouse Blues Band, click here.

Soggy Po’ Boys

The Po Boys formed in 2012 to shake the walls of a local club on a Fat Tuesday but have honed their sound and become more than a Mardi Gras centerpiece. Exploring the vast musical traditions of New Orleans and expanding their repertoire to look beyond NOLA jazz, the band includes traditional Caribbean tunes (it’s been said that New Orleans is the northernmost city in the Caribbean), as well as Meters funk, soul, and brass band / street beat music.

“…These guys have done their homework, worked it out on the bandstand and put in the hours in the studio. It all adds up to a party you can bring with you when you want to treat your friends to a real good time.” -Ben Schenck of New Orleans’ Panorama Jazz Band”.

The Soggy Po Boys are Stuart Dias (vocals, guitar), Eric Klaxton (clarinet/soprano saxophone), Nick Mainella (tenor saxophone), Josh Gagnon (trombone), Mike Effenberger (piano), Scott Kiefner (upright bass), and Brian Waterhouse (drums/percussion).

To Learn more, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Reservations

Table and blanket reservations are non-refundable, but can be transferred to another available date in the 2023 season.

Please Note: General Admission Donations do not include reserved seating. This is a way to make your gate donation in advance.

Table reservations seat four. 

Blanket reservations are placed in the blankets-only area of lawn and do not allow for chair placement.

See you in the park!