Festival Fever: Jazz in the Valley @ Poughkeepsie’s Waryas Park, 8/18-19/12

The 12th annual Jazz in the Valley Festival is celebrating a new beginning as it moves up the Hudson to Poughkeepsie for the first time this weekend. Sponsored by the non-profit arts organization Transart, the fest will take over Poughkeepsie’s Waryas Park for two days of world-class jazz beginning at 12noon on Saturday and Sunday, (August 18 & 19).

Tix are $29-$67.50.

Here’s the line-up of bands for the 2012 Jazz in the Valley Festival this weekend:

SATURDAY (August 18)
THE COOKERS: The all-star ensemble of Billy Harper, George Cables, Billy Hart, David Weiss, Eddie Henderson, Cecil McBee and Craig Handy draws its hard-bop inspiration from the classic 1965 Blue Note album, “The Night of the Cookers.”
WE FOUR: The crack quartet of Jimmy Cobb, Javon Jackson, Mulgrew Miller and Peter Washington pay tribute to the music of John Coltrane.
LOU DONALDSON: The legendary 85-year-old alto saxophonist known for his soulful, bluesy approach to the horn was recently named 2012 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master.
THE LUTHER FRANCOIS QUARTET: Saxophonist Luther Francois leads his band, which also happens to feature his wife Kellie Cadogen on vocals and his brother Ricky Francois on drums.

SUNDAY (August 19)
ROY AYERS: The Godfather of Neo-Soul bridges the gap between generations of music lovers, from his days in the ’60s as an award-winning jazz vibraphonist to his days as a hit-making R&B bandleader in the ’70s & ’80s with such popular tunes as “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” “Searchin'” and “Running Away.”
SWISS MOVEMENT REVISITED: Pianist Les McCann and saxman Javon Jackson pay tribute to the seminal 1969 album, “Swiss Movement,” which featured McCann and saxman Eddie Harris.
THE HELEN SUNG TRIO: A professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, jazz pianist Helen Sung was also the winner of Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Piano Competition.
ZON DEL BARRIO: A sizzling, intergenerational 12-piece Latin jazz orchestra, led by musical director and arranger David Fernandez.

ADDITIONAL UPCOMING FESTIVALS FOR 2012:

Animation Festival @ Proctors, Schenectady, 8/13-18/12
WordXWord Fest @ various locations, Pittsfield, 8/11-18/12, FREE
Empire State Plaza Food Festival @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, 8/15/12, FREE
SAWFest Music Festival @ Salem Art Works, Salem, 8/18/12
WGNA Summer Picnic @ Saratoga County Fairgrounds, Ballston Spa, 8/25/12
Restoration Festival @ St. Joseph’s Church, Albany, 9/7-9/12
Port of Albany’s Riverfront Jazz Festival @ Riverfront Park, Albany, 9/8/12, FREE
Local Legends Live @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, 9/8/12, FREE
FreshGrass Bluegrass Festival @ MASS MoCA, North Adams, 9/21-23/12
PearlPalooza @ North Pearl Street, Albany, 9/22/12, FREE
Hannaford Hispanic Heritage Celebration @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, 9/22/12, FREE
Kickin’ It Country @ Saratoga County Fairgrounds, Ballston Spa, 9/29/12