ADVO SummerWind Announces 2004 Season of GRAMMY Winners

ADVO SummerWind Performing Arts Center, Windsor, CT brings presents its third season: Blood, Sweat & Tears; (Jazz Series) Gary Burton & Makoto Ozone, Count Basie Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis; (Americana Series) Roberta Flack, Bruce Hornsby, Folk Festival.

Windsor, CT May 16, 2004 - Bruce Hornsby, Wynton Marsalis and a host of other Grammy award-winning musicians will infuse jazz, R&B, rock and folk into the summer breezes that float over Windsor, Connecticut, during ADVO SummerWinds 2004 concert season at its 10-acre outdoor performance venue at 40 Griffin Road. The concerts will run from mid-July through the end of August.

Now in its third year of presenting world-class performing arts, the ADVO SummerWind Concert Series combines a star-studded line-up with the scenic beauty of the Hartford/Springfield region. Presenting Bruce Hornsby, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Roberta Flack and Wynton Marsalis all in one season is quite a coup for us, says Peter DeMallie, board president. Well kick off the season on July 17th with Blood, Sweat & Tears and a spectacular fireworks display, he said, adding that this will be Blood, Sweat & Tears only Connecticut show this summer.

Two musical series, one jazz and one Americana, will complete the balance of the summer concert season, featuring a sensational line-up. The two series options were created so that people could choose to attend three great shows for one great price, says John Berky, Executive Director of the 2004 ADVO SummerWind Concert Season. Of course, people can always purchase single tickets to performances. But those who purchase a series or the entire season will save between $10-$63 over the single ticket price and will get a free ticket to the Blood, Sweat & Tears concert, he says. The shows will be presented on weekend nights from July 24th through August 28th.

The ADVO SummerWind venue is an open-air venue for the 2004 season. The fabric of the ADVO SummerWind tent was previously damaged under the weight of a heavy snowfall and subsequently removed. The board of directors has elected to leave the canopy off and to present the 2004 season under the stars. In the end, said John Berky, the board of directors decided that the show must go on and voted unanimously to present the 2004 season in the open air.

The ADVO SummerWind Concert Series includes:

Season Opener
nbsp;   Blood, Sweat & Tears, with David Clayton-Thomas, and a spectacular fireworks display. Saturday, July 17, 2004:
Best known for songs such as You Make Me So Very Happy, Spinning Wheel and his rendition of Billie Holidays God Bless the Child, David Clayton-Thomas today carries on the fine musical tradition of Blood Sweat & Tears with musicians who are the very best in New York City, Mecca for the finest contemporary musicians in the world. The repertoire boldly embraces all genres, from David's gutsy blues compositions to Billie Holiday, Steve Winwood and Laura Nyro. The force that holds it all together is the Clayton-Thomas voice, smoky and beautifully controlled on a ballad, deep rooted and soulful with the blues, hard and edgy as he blazes through a rock tune. This show is presented by the Town of Windsor.                           
ADVO SummerWind Jazz Series

nbsp;   Gary Burton and Makoto Ozone, Saturday, July 24
What a way to kick off the jazz series! Burton has received a total of 5 Grammys for his outstanding ability to play the vibraphone with such virtuosity that the listener seems to hear four instruments simultaneously. Best known for performing with Chick Corea and for discovering Pat Metheny, Gary Burton will perform with pianist Makoto Ozone, with whom he has recorded a Grammy award-winning album. We expected high standards of virtuosity and accuracy, but the duo's [Burton/Ozone] audacious reinvention of Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F (third movement) took everyone by surprise; the hall erupted with applause. The old warhorse became a tour de force for Ozone (playing from memory)." The Guardian (UK)

nbsp;   The Count Basie Orchestra, Friday, August 13

The swing revival currently going gangbusters in clubs and ballrooms across the nation is generating a new audience for swing music, both contemporary and classic. These newfound fans, sensing something big is to be found behind the music of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and other favorites of the current scene, have started to seek out the originals, the roots of the music. Inevitably, their search leads them to the Count Basie Orchestra. The Basie band is that rarest of all musical ensembles today: a full-time touring jazz orchestra. Night in and night out, they let audiences experience firsthand that miraculous combination of power and grace that only exists when 19 jazz musicians stand shoulder to shoulder and call themselves a big band.

nbsp;   Wynton Marsalis, Saturday, August 28

Wynton Marsalis has compiled a remarkable track record as a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer and he is the most recognized jazz artist in the world today. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awards and is the first jazz musician ever to be honored with the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in Music (for his epic 1997 recording BLOOD ON THE FIELDS). Describing his most recent CD, THE MAGIC HOUR, critic Benjamin Roesch says, It's a groove record that invites you in with open arms and says, when jazz feels good, it's better than any musical feeling you can find, and we want you to feel good, so let's go." This concert is sponsored by ADVO, Inc.

ADVO SummerWind Americana Series

nbsp;   Roberta Flack, Saturday, August 7
Roberta Flack won Grammy Awards for Killing Me Softly, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Where is the Love, her duet with Donny Hathaway. She has since recorded fourteen albums and is a major influence on many artists, including Anita Baker, Luther Vandross and Oleta Adams.

nbsp;   Bruce Hornsby, Sunday, August 15 (begins at 6 PM)
Hornsbys new CD, Halcyon Days, will be released in July and features duets with Sting and Elton John and includes several tracks with Eric Clapton. With classic hits such as The Way It Is, Every Little Kiss, and Mandolin Rain as well as stints with the Grateful Dead, Hornsbys 2 hour performance is certain to bring the house down in Windsor, CT.

nbsp;   ADVO SummerWind Folk Festival, featuring Richie Havens, Janis Ian, Lucy Kaplansky, Tim OBrien, Peter Ostrusko, and Aztec Two-Step, Saturday, August 21 (begins at 2 PM)

This all-day gathering of contemporary folk singers and folk legends will include Janis Ian, who won a Grammy for Seventeen, and Richie Havens, who is best known for his memorable performance at Woodstock and his classic renditions of Here Comes the Sun and Motherless Child. They will be joined by such contemporary artists as Tim OBrien, a great singer-songwriter of bluegrass and Irish ballads; Lucy Kaplansky, who recently performed to a sold-out audience at the Hartt School; Peter Ostrusko, a master of the mandolin and fiddle best known for his appearances on Garrison Keillors Prairie Home Companion, and a regional favorite, Aztec Two-Step.

Ticket Pricing for the ADVO SummerWind Concert Series is as follows:
nbsp;   Blood, Sweat & Tears: Lawn $10/Premium Seating $20
nbsp;   Gary Burton/Makoto Ozone: Lawn $20/Section B $32/Section A $40
nbsp;   Count Basie Orchestra: Lawn $20/Section B $32/Section A $40
nbsp;   Roberta Flack: Lawn $20/Section B $32/Section A $40
nbsp;   Bruce Hornsby: Lawn $20/Section B $40/Section A $50
nbsp;   Folk Festival: Lawn $20/Section B $32/Section A $40
nbsp;   Wynton Marsalis: Lawn $20/Section B $40/Section A $50
* All single show tickets will be sold through Tickets.com. Prices shown do not include service fees.

Series Pricing (Jazz or Americana; three shows each):
Lawn $50
Section B $80
Section A $100
(includes free BS&T lawn ticket)

Season Tickets (All seven concerts)
Lawn $100
Section B $160
Section A $ 200
(includes 2 BS&T lawn tickets)

All headline acts (except for the folk festival and Bruce Hornsby) begin at 7:30PM. The ADVO SummerWind Performing Arts Center will open two hours prior to each performance, to encourage picnicking and enjoyment of local and regional performances. On-site catering will be provided by Jordan Caterers of Cheshire, CT.

Tickets will go on sale for the 2004 ADVO SummerWind Concert Series after May 20, 2004. To purchase tickets, please visit www.tickets.com or call tickets.com at 1-800-477-6849. For information about show dates and times please visit www.swind.org or call 860-687-9836.

Artist photos are available upon request. All media inquiries should be directed to 860.344.9600.
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Contact: Ellen F. Ornato, publicist
860.344.9600 (o)
860.966.3940 (c)
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Date: May 14, 2004
ARTIST PHOTOS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST