Monk Institute Gala: The Blues and Jazz: Two American Classics Gala Benefit Concert

[Lois Gilbert]

Blues Legend B.B. King to be Honored by Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at
The Blues and Jazz: Two American Classics Gala Benefit Concert
in Association with The Recording Academy® Los Angeles Chapter on
Sunday, October 26 at the Kodak Theatre

Gala Concert will Feature Herbie Hancock, Keb’ Mo’, Cassandra Wilson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Robert Cray, Terence Blanchard, Wayne Shorter, George Duke, Lee Ritenour, and many more.

(Los Angeles, California – September 29, 2008) – Today, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and The Recording Academy® Los Angeles Chapter announced that blues legend and 14-time GRAMMY winner B.B. King will be honored during The Blues and Jazz: Two American Classics Gala Benefit Concert being held on Sunday, October 26 at 5 p.m. at the Kodak Theatre.

The Gala concert will bring some of the biggest names in music together to pay homage to two of America’s most original musical art forms. Artists confirmed to date include 2008 GRAMMY Album of the Year winner Herbie Hancock, Keb’ Mo’, Cassandra Wilson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Robert Cray, Terence Blanchard, Wayne Shorter, Poncho Sanchez, George Duke, Lee Ritenour, and many more to be announced.

The Gala will be in conjunction with the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition Finals and will also include the presentation of the 2008 Herbie Hancock Humanitarian Award. Herbie Hancock Humanitarian Award recipient will be announced in the coming weeks.

Proceeds from The Blues and Jazz: Two American Classics Gala Benefit Concert will help fund public school blues and jazz education programs throughout Los Angeles Unified School District, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Delta.

Tickets for The Blues and Jazz: Two American Classics and International Jazz Competition are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com, by calling 213-480-3232 or by visiting the Kodak Theatre box office, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Calif. Tickets prices start at $35 and go up to $1000 for VIP Orchestra seats, which includes admission to the post show cast party at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. For more information on VIP ticket packages, please call 202-364-7272.

This is the second year in a row that the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz will present the annual International Jazz Competition and Gala Benefit Concert in Los Angeles at the Kodak Theatre. Last year, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Jamie Foxx, Chris Botti, George Benson, Nancy Wilson, Al Jarreau among many others came together to pay tribute to jazz legend and 12-time GRAMMY winner Herbie Hancock with a two-hour, sold out concert that highlighted some of Hancock’s most recognized work. Nigerian native Ambrose Akinmusire won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition.

B.B. King released his latest album, “One Kind Favor,” on August 26 on Geffen Records.

United Airlines serves as the Official Airline of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and has generously donated the air travel for the participants of the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition and The Blues and Jazz: Two American Classics Gala Benefit Concert.

[Valerie]

happy to say that i plan to be in attendance! looking forward to it.