Lineup set for Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition at Florida Theatre
The five finalists in the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition have been selected.
The five will perform at the Florida Theatre on Sept. 29 to kick off the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. The free festival is Oct. 1-3 along the downtown riverfront.
Contestants for the competition were selected blindly based on recorded submissions. The winner earns a spot on the jazz festival stage.
Competitors are Anastassiya Petrova from Kazakhstan, a student at Berklee College of Music; Jeongmin Ha, a student at the University of North Texas; Paul Cornish of Houston, who works at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz; Steven Feifke of the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music; and Spencer Zweifel of Colorado, who also competed in 2018.
The competition begins at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Florida Theatre. Tickets are $20.
The festival will be held on two stages along Bay Street in downtown Jacksonville. Jeffrey Osborne, Lalah Hathaway, Theo Croker, Marcus Click and the Let’s Ride Brass Band are scheduled to perform Friday, Oct. 1. The lineup for Saturday, Oct. 2, includes Sheila E, Cecile McLorant Savant, Poncho Sanchez, Tia Fuller, Emmaline, Kandace Springs, Elisha “Atlas” Parris and Party in a Box featuring Allana. On Sunday, Oct. 3, George Benson, Kurt Elling with Charlie Hunter, Melissa Case and Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science are scheduled to play. Admission is free, but VIP packages are $149-$349.