ARCA's Foxburg Jazz Festival in Review

It was another fun filled music weekend as Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts held its second Summer Jazz Fest this past weekend July 20th through the 22nd in Foxburg.

Friday evening Harold Betters came to town for a lawn concert at the Foxburg Green and again there was rain in the air, but after some deliberation and cloud gazing, Harold and band took the stage to the delight of the lawn chair crowd. Not a raindrop was felt and Mr. Trombone played and entertained into the twilight. At eighty-four, he continues to share “What a Wonderful World”.

Saturday afternoon belonged to the Bill Huber Guitar Trio plus drums under the arbor at the Foxburg Wine Cellars. Visitors lingered at the patio tables mellowed by both music and wine. On Saturday night, the Jazz Festival moved to Lincoln Hall. Pittsburgh’s Tom Roberts, both jazz pianist and composer returned to perform a historic progression of the development of jazz piano beginning with the early 1900s. His flying hands performed stride, boogie-woogie, and improvisation thoroughly dazzling all. Sunday stayed hot and at the Winery Clarion’s Jazz Lite cooled things down. The Jazz Fest ended Sunday evening the jazz combo Catro on the patio of the Allegheny Grille. As the sun went down the evening cooled, the music became sweeter and hotter. Some of the audience had been in town to attend all three nights, danced and lingered into the dark , observing as the music flowed downriver,”…. how perfect the summer evening, the river, good food, friends,…it was jazzed.