Panama City Beach, FL (Top40 Charts/ Seabreeze Jazz Festival) Smooth jazz blowing gently in the coastal breezes is just one unique feature at one of the nation's fastest growing "destination music festivals" on the Gulf Coast. Panama City Beach and the coastal Florida communities will come alive April 18th-22nd for the 14th annual 2012 Seabreeze Jazz Festival® . The weekend has become an annual celebration for jazz-minded adults where the allure of great beaches, exciting shopping, world-class restaurants, even a plethora of activities like golf and fishing all combine for a true vacation getaway. The event has attracted attendees from 48 of the 50 U.S. states and over six countries, plus was named "Top 10 Jazz Festival in the USA" by JazzIZ Magazine.
Smooth Jazz fans have a unique and intimate connection to the festival's music and core artists base -very much different that other festivals around the nation. The "smooth jazz lifestyle" is the secret to the success of The Seabreeze Jazz Festival - where the R & B based smooth contemporary jazz literally creates a synergy for the whole weekend. The licks of the funky bass lines and pop-friendly musical hooks keep the crowds moving to the beat….almost like the swaying of the palm trees around the beautiful Pier Park Amphitheater on the west end of Panama City Beach. Smooth jazz is the epitome of "
The Good Life" - laid back yet upscale at the same time, relaxing and familiar as a pair of your most comfortable beach sandals. It's this uniqueness that appeals to a truly upscale college-educated professional adult demographic, primarily 30-55 year old adults with high amounts of discretionary income.
The event hosts close to 25,000 for the weekend, with a large percentage of fans traveling hundreds if not thousands of miles away to attend. 70% of the festival's tickets are sold outside the
State of Florida, making it a true destination festival. The impact to the Panama City Beach community in 2011 was close to $14.2 million. The alluring appeal of Pier Park and the new resort-style architecture along with west end of Panama City Beach beckons even the most cosmopolitan city-dweller to join in on the fun.
The successful melding appeal of Pier Park with the Seabreeze Jazz Festival on site is all about " complimenting distractions". Pier Park (a
Simon Mall property) sports over 150 retail stores, a 16-screen stadium-seating cinema, numerous eateries, nightclubs, even a small amusement park to pacify all of the family's pastimes, while the parents enjoy the live smooth jazz entertainment from the nation's top jazz artists. The newly completed City Pier across the street from the festival stage and miles of white-sand beaches and emerald-green waters also provides a nearby escape from the live entertainment. That is if you muster up enough to pull away from the star-studded contemporary jazz lineup
Artist to perform include Dave Koz, Brian Culbertson, Fourplay, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Richard Elliot, Rick Braun, Down To The Bone, Phil Perry, Nick Colionne, Mindi Abair, Four 80 East, Maysa, Jeff Golub, Cindy Bradley, Jeff Lorber,
David Pack, Eric
Darius Alexander Zonjic, Brian Simpson, Althea Rene', Shilts, Urban Jazz Coalition,
Karen Briggs, Matt Marshak, Gail Jhonson, Mariea Antoinette,
Vincent Ingala, Chris Geith, and Street Corner Renaissance.
To add excitement and an element of comedy to this year's show, the Seabreeze Jazz Festival Host for 2012 will be comedian
Alonzo Bodden -- known for his specials on SHOWTIME® and his appearance on NBC-TV's Last Comic Standing.
Alonzo Bodden has recently hosted the Smooth Jazz Cruise to rave reviews as well.
Saxophonist
Dave Koz - Grammy-nominated and one of the format's top hit-making performers, makes his second appearance at the Sebareeze Jazz Festival, his first back in 2008. Known for his commercial success and as a pioneer in the smooth jazz format,
Dave Koz has been one of the top selling and top charting artists in the contemporary jazz genre since the format began in the 1980's.
In a career that spans twenty years and a dozen albums, saxophonist
Dave Koz has established himself as one of the most prominent figures in contemporary music. His current CD Hello Tomorrow, debuted at No. 1 on both Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and iTunes' Jazz Album chart and was named the "Best Smooth Jazz Album of 2010" by iTunes. Hailed as "an event record" by The New York Times, it has already yielded two No. 1 singles: "Put The Top Down," which spent 18 weeks at No. 1 on the Mediabase Smooth A/C chart (the longest stint at No. 1 of any of Koz's chart-topping hits) and "Anything's Possible."
Produced by Grammy winners John Burk and Marcus Miller (who also appears on most tracks), the album features a diverse army of high-profile guests: Herb Alpert, Jonathan Butler, Brian Culbertson,
Sheila E., Boney James, Jeff Lorber, Keb' Mo', Ray Parker, Jr., Lee Ritenour, Christian Scott and others. Each of the thirteen tracks - most of them written by Koz and his collaborators, others penned by friends and legends - focuses on being open to new beginnings, and trusting that the future is unfolding in all the right ways for all the right reasons.
More than most instrumental music, The Seabreeze Jazz Festival® lineup reflects the diversity of vocal acts with high energy instrumental performances. Included for 2012 is R & B/smooth jazz favorites Brian Culbertson, Fourplay, U.K. based-band Down to the Bone,
Phil Perry and Maysa, along with singer/songwriter
David Pack known for his Top 40/Pop hits with the band Ambrosia. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue make their first appearance at the event, though a well-known top act headlining the New Orleans Heritage and Jazz Fest. And more women than ever are represented on the festival stage in 2012 with the addition of "Jazz In Pink" -- an all-ladies jazz ensemble featuring trumpeter Cindy Bradley, flutist Althea Rene', jazz violinist
Karen Briggs, keyboardist Gail Jhonson, and even a jazz harpist (Maria Antoniette).
"We are always delighted by the Seabreeze Jazz Festival® line-up,
but this year, we are thrilled with not only the diversity of
performers, but with the sheer volume of contemporary jazz stars,
both new and established men and women! The Seabreeze Jazz
Festival® is truly the country's best Smooth Jazz event!!"
~Sandy Shore - President, SmoothJazz.com
Tickets are on sale now at $80 per single day, $150 for a Weekend Pass good for Friday-Sunday, and $200 for a Four Day Pass. Tickets are available for purchase online at https://www.seabreezejazzfestival.com or by phone at 800-595-4849.
Local ticket outlets in Northwest Florida include:
Panama City Beach: Coastal Market at Pier Park (near Target)
(Cash and Credit Cards)
Panama City: Knology on West 15th Street
Playground
Music Center on Harrison Ave. Downtown
(Cash Only)
Destin: Kitchenique at City Market on Highway 98 (Cash Only)
Ft. Walton Beach: Playground
Music Center at Uptown Station
(Cash Only)
Special hotel accommodation packages are also available through the festival's supportive hotel sponsors. Presenting Sponsor and featured festival accommodations partner ResortQuest® is offering free shuttle service from select ResortQuest® properties for the best jazz festival experience ever. Call 888-416-5493 for reservations or see the entire listing of hotels and special offers at https://www.seabreezejazzfestival.com.
A toll-free information hotline is available for details at 800-653-7519. Complete lineup, tickets, and schedule information is online at https://www.seabreezejazzfestival.com with weekly updates on Facebook keywords "seabreeze jazz festival".
General Admission seating is lawn seating so attendees need to bring a lawn chair or a blanket as event is festival seating. No alcohol allowing inside or glass containers. A cash bar will be available inside the venue. Only small personal insulated totes no taller than 12 inches high allowed inside.
See website for additional restrictions.
The 2012 Seabreeze Jazz Festival® presented by ResortQuest® by Wyndham Vacation Rentals is also sponsored by The Smooth Jazz Cruise, The
Panama City Beach Visitor's and Convention Bureau, Pier Park, Quality BMW, BookIt.com, Knology, Viamedia, Fly VPS, Smooth Jazz.com, Smooth Lounge.com, Sterling Resorts, Lake Town Wharf, Oaseas Resorts, The Panama City News Herald, The Northwest Florida Daily News, PCB Daily.com, SoWal.com, Creative Gems of Panama City and WSBZ
Radio The Seabreeze 106.3FM.
Another Seabreeze
Radio Smooth Jazz Concert Event.
