Fort Collins kicks off jazz weekend Thursday

FORT COLLINS – The Downtown Business Association has teamed up with Beet Street and downtown businesses to bring a full weekend of jazz music and its history to Fort Collins.

The Fort Collins Jazz Experience begins at 7:30 p.m. July 9 with a performance at Lincoln Center by jazz icon, composer and pianist Ramsey Lewis and his trio, and will continue through Saturday evening. Free continuous jazz jams from local and regional musicians, films about jazz, jazz art and educational sessions for students by a renowned jazz historian will be part of the weekend.

All day Saturday, July 11, a community celebration of jazz, featuring 15 live groups, takes place on two stages in Downtown Fort Collins: The Zydeco’s Old Town Square Stage and Oak Street Plaza Stage. The celebration wraps up that evening with an 8 p.m. Lincoln Center performance by five-time Grammy winner Al Jarreau.

For a full schedule of events, and a link to purchase tickets for the Ramsey Lewis Trio and Al Jarreau shows, visit the Downtown Business Association at http://downtownfortcollins.com/dba.php/jazz/.

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