CMA Jazz Festival to move indoors due to high temperatures on Saturday, July 20

The Civic Music Association Jazz Festival will move all performances inside Hoyt Sherman Place Theater due to forecast temperatures in the high 90s. The Festival gets underway at 1:00 PM with an afternoon of free performances featuring local and regional artists.

The Festival continues into the night with ticketed performances by the Connie Han Trio and the Bria Skonberg Quartet beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Hoyt Sherman Place Theater. These rising stars are performing at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September, but Des Moines jazz fans get to see them first!

See the updated Festival schedule below.

FREE AFTERNOON PERFORMANCES

Theater

1 p.m. NOLA Jazz Band (Des Moines’ own!)

2:15 p.m. Mitch Towne Quartet (from Omaha)

3:45 p.m. John Kizilarmut Quartet (from Kansas City)

TICKETED EVENING PERFORMANCES

Theater

6:30 p.m. Connie Han Trio

8:30 p.m. Bria Skonberg Quartet

Connie Han Trio:

LA-based pianist and provocateur Connie Han has created an edgy blend of modern and traditional jazz with her incendiary Mack Avenue Records debut CRIME ZONE. “With this album she’s booking a place as a star in the jazz firmament of tomorrow,” says All About Jazz. “Watch out for Connie Han, the face (and shape) of jazz to come.” The New York Times describes her as “the rare musician with fearsome technical chops, a breadth of historical knowledge and enough originality to write tunes that absorb your ear easily.” Weaving in and out of the tradition, Han pays tribute to McCoy Tyner, Mulgrew Miller, and Kenny Kirkland with her own unique edge and fire at the piano.

Bria Skonberg Quartet:

New York-based Canadian singer, trumpeter, and songwriter Bria Skonberg has been described as one of the “most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation” (Wall Street Journal). Recognized as one of the 25 for the Future by DownBeat Magazine, Skonberg is a force in the new generation with her bold horn melodies, smoky vocals, and adventurous concoctions of classic and new. Noted as a millennial “shaking up the jazz world” (Vanity Fair), Skonberg has played festivals and stages the world over, including New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, and Montreal Jazz Festival.

Tickets for the evening performances are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Hoyt Sherman Place Box Office or online at www.ticketmaster.com.