Tag Archives: Clyde Connor

Downtown Jacksonville does more than just set the stage for the . It becomes the stage! A Memorial Day weekend tradition, the 39th annual Jacksonville Jazz Festival features a lineup of big names, festival veterans and young, emerging artists on two stages at the courthouse lawn and . The legendary Gladys Knight is the 2019 festival headliner. Other artists include Brian Culbertson, Monty Alexander, The Noel Freidline Quartet with Maria Howell, Ledisi, Kirk Whalum, Jazmin Ghent, Moonchild, Avery Sunshine, Alfredo Rodriguez, Terence Blanchard & the E Collective, Camila Meza Quartet, Norman Brown, Greg Adams & East Bay Soul, Amina Scott, …

In jazz music, timing is the nucleus of a song and without it, the music loses its shape. As half of one of Jacksonville’s musical power couples, jazz vocalist  understands the value of perfect timing. Kelly has been an instrumental force in Jacksonville’s jazz scene for the better part of two decades. During that time, she and her husband, trumpeter , created a name for themselves as part of the city’s cultural elite as players, teachers, and mentors. It was that spirit of fostering fresh, new talent that initially prompted Kelly to help cultivate an improvisational jazz jam session at …