KANDACE SPRINGS

Singer/pianist/songwriter and auto enthusiast Kandace Springs brings her ace all-female trio, and a new album, to Jazz in June Camden Maine for the 2024 fest's final feature concert at the Camden Opera House 7:30 pm Saturday, June 15th!  Her new, almost all originals, album, "Run Your Race," is a tribute to her late father, legendary Nashville soul singer Scat Spring.  She credits him with much of her musical inspiration - and her obsession with cars (check out her Instagram feed).  Another mentor was the late great Prince, who served as a mentor and said Kandace "has a voice that could melt snow."

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DJANGO FESTIVAL ALLSTARS

   Samson Schmitt (Lead Guitar and Vocals)

   Pierre Blanchard [violin]
   Ludovic Beier [accordion and accordina]
   Antonio Licusati [bass]
   Francko Mehrstein [rhythm guitar]

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Django Reinhardt’s unmistakable cool and jumping joie de vivre have made him an icon for a list of luminaries, including guitar greats Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton. Jimi Hendrix named his Band of Gypsys in tribute to Reinhardt, and Willie Nelson adopted his influence in playing country swing.

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The star musicians of the Django Festival Allstars have grown into a brilliantly cohesive group that has performed at top concert halls and festivals to standing ovations. The group’s music transports listeners to Paris in the 1920s and ’30s, when gitane music filled the air and Django was king. The Django Festival Allstars bring Reinhardt’s music into the 21st century, honoring traditions and standards while adding their own interpretations, arrangements, and original compositions.  They swing like crazy and will break your heart with a ballad.  

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"The Django Festival with the Django Festival Allstars is the best show in town.  Imagine a stage filled with 5 contemporary Reinhart descendents, and you'll get a sense that the collective talent pool on the bandstand is larger than the Arc de Triomphe!"

..................Wall Street Journal

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"Sensational"........George Benson

 

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HIROYA TSUKAMOTO 

The Saturday show will be opened by innovative fingerstyle guitarist and composer Hiroya Tsukamoto, a familiar face and inspiring performer who has graced the opera house the last few years,  Tsukamoto fuses folk, jazz and world music. 

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THE MYLES KELLEY GROUP

The Myles Kelley Trio is an instrumental passion-project of Keyboardist Myles Kelley, from Appleton, ME. Myles is a recent graduate of University of Maine, Orono, where he completed a thesis titled “Bike Ride” that has become the creative premise behind recent MKtrio performances.  

The music is inspired by John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Chick Correa, Tyler Okonma, Thom Yorke, Michiru Oshima, the band BADBADNOTGOOD, Sun Ra, Charles Mingus, Chief Adjuah, and Daniel Johnston. The performance is set to projected visuals that react to the music with intention.  

In actuality, the “Trio” performs with as many as six musicians, and, although its lineup and repertoire tends to change with the seasons, the group always contains ambitious young musicians with fierce improvisational vocabularies. For Jazz in June, the trio will feature Myles Kelley (keyboard), August Duclos (bass), and Owen Markowitz (drums).

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THE UMAINE FACULTY JAZZ GROUP

The UMaine Faculty Jazz Ensemble will perform a free community concert Saturday, June 15, at 1 pm in the sancutuary of the Camden Congregational Church.  The Group performs often on the UMaine campus and other venues around the state.  Members of the group have performed around the world and have collaborated with numerous jazz greats over the years.  together, these musicians run the Jazz Studies program and direct the ensembles at UMaine.  Performing in Camden will be Mark Tipton, trumpet; Dan Barrett, trombone; Scott Cleveland, piano; Ross Gallagher, bass; and Mike Bennett, drums.  

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MIDCOAST MUSIC ACADEMY

JAZZ FACULTY ENSEMBLE

The Midcoast Music Academy Faculty Jazz Ensemble features world-class musicians from up and down the coast of Maine. They will be joined by guest performers from Flight of the Penguins, MCMA's student jazz ensemble. 

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DAVID CLARKE

The festival's second day begins with Java Jazz by guitarist David Clarke beginning 10 am at Zoot Coffee in downtown Camden.  Hosted by Zoot, come enjoy coffee or tea, breakfast, bakery items and more!

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DAN WENGER & EZRA RUGG DUO

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Dan Wenger is a multi-instrumentalist and board-certified music therapist based in Midcoast Maine. Dan has performed with groups across many genres and styles including Pilfers, Fat Cat Youth Orchestra, Kaido, J Navarro and the Traitors, and the NYC-based collective, Cure Raiders. You can find more about Dan and music therapy at PenBayMusicTherapy.com. 

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Ezra has been a staple in the Mid Coast Maine music community for the last 30 years with his love of jazz and funk. He studied acoustic bass with session player Ben Street, electric bass with local legend Glen Dubois, Afro Cuba percussion with Al Delgado, and drums with Steve Grover. As a recording engineer, Ezra has produced many a local album and has been frequently featured on Friday Night Jazz with host Rich Tozier on MPBN radio. Ezra is a sought after rhythm player for many groups throughout Maine, including, Shirt Tail Kin, and his own band Fully Funktional, where he shares the stage with his son Monty on the drums. He currently enjoys his family life in Maine with his wife Jessica, and kids, Zoe and Monty.

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BAY CHAMBER MUSIC SCHOOL

JAZZ ENSEMBLE

Bay Chamber Jazz Ensemble is a student/faculty ensemble based in Camden/Rockport that meets on Tuesday evenings at the music school. Open to all levels of players the ensemble plays a variety of jazz music styles including swing, funk, and latin. This years group features students Annegien Zuidema on cello, Liam Smith on bass, Neal Yetman on guitar, Nathan Perkins on piano, Jeremiah Khan on saxophone and faculty members Nate Martin on cello and Mike Whitehead on drums.

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