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Jazz Festival descends on downtown Aug. 7-8 Six-time Grammy Award-winner Mitch Frohman among highlight performances by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff Artscene 57 | Friday, July 31, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Teen musicians from Oakville's Merriam Music will get a rare opportunity next week to learn from a six-time Grammy winner for a headlining performance at the upcoming TD Downtown Oakville Jazz Festival. Saxophonist and flautist Mitch Frohman will be working with 23 young musicians to teach them the music of Tito Puente, culminating in a concert for this year's jazz festival, currently in its 23rd year. Frohman, who will also be performing at the festival (running Aug. 7-8), had a 25-year stint with the Tito Puente Orchestra and is the only licensed holder of Puente's orchestral music charts. "He's such a legend and it's a neat opportunity for those kids in music... to be instructed and tutored by him throughout the whole week," said Sharlene Plewman, Downtown Oakville Business Improvement Area (BIA) executive director. The local BIA hosts the annual free music event in the heart of Downtown Oakville, spanning six blocks along Lakeshore Road East from Navy to Allan streets. "For us, it's an important event, both to highlight the great things that downtown has to offer, a chance to visit the restaurants and shops while you're here enjoying the great music (and) we do think culture is very important too, so we want to highlight that downtown is a great place that you can discover and enjoy great cultural activities," said Plewman. "And it's also a chance for the businesses to thank the community and visitors for their ongoing support over the years -- giving them an enjoyable experience downtown." Six stages of musical acts This year, there will be six main stages and three restaurants hosting bands, with more than 25 performers slated to entertain crowds throughout the festival. Frohman and the Merriam Music Orchestra will perform Puente's hits on the TD Towne Square stage Saturday, Aug. 8 at 8 p.m. "It's also something we pride ourselves on, a youth element called Youth in the Spotlight," Pleman said. "That's on the Saturday starting at 1 p.m. It's something we've been doing for years... featuring elite youth who are up-and-coming in the music industry. And we've seen some of those youth we've had, years gone by, who we're now hiring back because their careers are taking off and they're professional artists." The first performance on Friday, Aug. 7 is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., while shows on Saturday, Aug. 8 start at 1 p.m. -- the festival closes at midnight on both days. There will once again be an extra performance in Towne Square on Sunday, Aug. 9, from noon to 3 p.m., featuring the Mississauga Swing Band. New this year New to this year's event, and to kick it all off, is a ticketed show Thursday, Aug. 6 featuring Juno Award-winning jazz vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow at the Oakville Centre for the Per- The TD Downtown Oakville Jazz Festival committee and event-host Downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA) want residents to come and enjoy the free tunes that will fill the streets Aug. 7-8. From left, at Towne Square, are: (in front) Milan Bowie and Ronnie Brown, festival committee chair; (in back) Brittany Goettler; Pencon Equipment's Brian Penny; Sharlene Plewman, BIA executive director; and Jenny Knight. | photo by Nikki Wesley ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or www.facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) forming Arts, 130 Navy St. Tickets to that show are available at www.oakvillejazz.com or www.oakvillecentre.ca. Also new this year will be a Family Fun Zone, available the Friday and Saturday, which will include inflatables, games and -- on the Saturday -- an opportunity to paint a communal 30-foot by six-foot tall mural. Plewman said what she's most looking forward to at this year's festival is the lineup, in addition to showcasing the downtown and some of its new shops. "It's (the lineup) going to have people moving from stage to stage because you're not going to want to miss any of them," she said. Musical acts are selected by the festival committee and chair Ronnie Brown. This year's performance highlights include shows by: 16-year-old Quinn Sullivan; Juno-nominated LeE HAR- Vey OsMOND; trumpeter Bria Skonberg; and Coldjack, Lily Frost, The Bros. Landreth and The Ault Sisters, to name a few. For a complete list of this year's performers, visit www. oakvillejazz.com/lineup.html. "I think what people are always shocked about is the quality see Free on p.59