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Jazz singer Shawnn Monteiro.

Three Days of Jazz

At the Provincetown Jazz Festival

By Kahrin Deines
August 1st, 2007

Jazz is no stranger to Provincetown. Take it back about fifty years and nightclubs in town were hosting stars like Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone. Move it to the present and on any given night of the week you can likely find a jazz performance at one of the town’s many entertainment venues, whether it be at a theater or a restaurant. But there is one event, the Provincetown Jazz Festival, which will take place between August 10 and 12, when jazz truly takes over the town.

Now in its third year, the Provincetown Jazz Festival has rapidly established itself as a summer tradition, growing from a one-day event in its first year to a three-day affair in short time. “We’re producing the only three-day jazz festival on Cape Cod in this wonderful place, Provincetown,” says Bart Weisman, the event’s founder and organizer. “It continues to grow every year, we’re always adding new events and venues.”

This year the festival will feature two concerts at Provincetown Hall, as well as a showcase concert at the Provincetown Theater, a new venue for the event. There will also be a master class with Shawnn Monteiro, also a new component for the festival, at the Fine Arts Work Center.

Shawnn Monteiro will kick off the weekend with a concert on August 10. “She’s a very well known jazz vocalist in Europe. They put her on a pedestal over there,” says Weisman. Monteiro, whose father played bass for Duke Ellington, is a second-generation jazz musician who grew up to the sound of jazz. Jim Robitaille, a guitarist who has received the Thelonious Monk Composition Award, will also perform on August 10, opening for Monteiro, along with his jazz group.

Next up are Lou Colombo and Suede, who will perform at Town Hall on August 11. “He’s a legend on the Cape,” says Weisman of Colombo. “He’s just shy of his eightieth birthday and he’s been a favorite for so many years. It’s his first time at the Jazz Festival.” Suede, who is back for her third year at the festival, is also a favorite and will follow Colombo in what will be her only performance in Provincetown during the summer.

To close the weekend with a big finale, there will be an afternoon showcase with eight jazz musicians on August 12 at the Provincetown Theater. John Harrison III, Christine Rathbun and Weisman will start off the performance on piano, bass and drums, respectively. (They are also backing the headline performers on August 10 and 11.) Then, Bruce Abbot, a well-known Cape saxophonist will take the stage to perform a tribute to Herbie Hancock and four singers – Lori Colombo, Carol Wyeth, Ann Austin and Steve Wark – will follow.

Weisman says that he originally thought the Jazz Festival’s growth would lead to bringing big jazz stars to the Outer Cape, but he’s found instead that the festival’s audiences appreciate the opportunity to hear jazz musicians from the area. “The most surprising comment from participants is that they’re very happy to have a chance to come from other places and see talent they might not see anywhere else,” says Weisman. “We’re giving them that chance and in a very intimate setting.”