Spring Edition Exit Zero Jazz Festival

Michael Kline is at it again for the Spring edition Exit Zero Jazz Festival. He is lining up talented artists from around the country to perform right here in Cape May.

The 4th Spring Edition of the Exit Zero Jazz Festival is set to kick off in Cape May, NJ, April 21-23, 2017. Festival Producer Michael Kline announces the headliners and first round of club artists for the 2017 Spring Festival. Friday, April 21st, on the MusicConnects Stage in Schmidtchen Theater, Exit Zero Jazz presents The Ultimate Tribute to Ray Charles featuring legendary funk saxophonist Maceo Parker with the Ray Charles Orchestra and the RaelettesThe Ultimate Tribute to Ray Charles premiered at the Hollywood Bowl in the summer of 2016, followed by a performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival.

The performance at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival is the premier of the project on the east coast. Kline remarks about the coup of presenting this spectacular program, “We are thrilled to present Maceo Parker with the Ray Charles Orchestra on the opening night of Exit Zero Jazz. This continues our tradition of hosting world-class artists on the Festival stages. Our audiences recognize and have a deep appreciation for this music and we are thrilled for Maceo and the Orchestra to celebrate the music of American icon, Ray Charles.”

Headlining the Schmidtchen Theater MusicConnects Stage on Saturday, April 22nd, is the Grammy-winning Robert Glasper Experiment. The most prominent artist blurring the musical lines between acoustic jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary R&B, pianist Robert Glasper became a crossover star with his electro-acoustic Experiment band following the game-changing 2012 release Black Radio, winning the GRAMMY for Best R&B Album. Since then, Glasper’s profile has exploded, with the pianist composing the soundtrack for director/star Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead and performing at the White House with rapper Common.

The Exit Zero Jazz Festival is a multi-venue festival with three full days of performances staged in the 1,177 seat Schmidtchen Theater, the 800 seat Cape May Convention Hall and in the clubs of Cape May. A wide array of jazz and other genres of music are presented throughout the weekend.

Featured artists performing on the Cape May Convention Hall / It’s a Breeze Stage include NeTTWork Trio with Charnette Moffett/Stanley Jordan/Jeff “Tain” Watts, NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron, Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah, and 2017 MusicConnects Artist in Residence Michael Pedicin. The New Orleans Swamp Donkeys, PhillyBloco, Brian Betz/Denis DiBlasio Quartet, the Freddie Hendrix 4tet and gypsy jazz violinist Daisy Castro will perform on the Cape May Brewing Company Hops Pass Club Series, with more club artists to be announced February 1.

For more information and tickets click here.

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