The second Carmel Jazz Festival lineup is starting to take shape.
Blair Clark, founder and artistic director, announced Average White Band will be the Aug. 10 headliner at the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. As previously announced, Antonia Bennett, daughter of the late Tony Bennett, will be the Aug. 9 headliner at the Palladium in the two-day festival. She will be joined by the Carmel Symphony Orchestra.
Average White Band, a Scottish funk and R&B band, includes founding members, Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre. The band, which was formed in 1972, is known for hits such as “Pick Up the Pieces,” “Cut the Cake, “Queen of My Soul,” “Walk On By” and “Schoolboy Crush.”
“I was able to communicate with an agent I had in the past when I lived in California and got a recommendation for the Average White Band,” Clark said. “We’re really excited about them coming and excited about the collaboration with the Palladium as always.”
Jazz clarinetist Dave Bennett will be the Carter Green headliner at 9 p.m. Aug. 9, while saxophonist Tim Cunningham will be the 9 p.m. Aug. 10 Carter Green headliner.
“Dave Bennett is coming back by popular demand,” Clark said. “He’s a phenomenal artist.”
Clark said the same is true of Cunningham, who also returns as a performer.
“We brought back acts that people really loved last year and we’re looking forward to them coming as well as our new artists,” Clark said.
In The Tarkington at the Center for the Performing Arts, saxophonist Danny Lerman will be the headliner Aug. 9. The Tarkington headliner for Aug. 10 will be announced later.
“What I love is we have a mixture of jazz, blues and R&B and jazz sounds,” Clark said.
“With Antonia Bennett and Carmel Symphony, we have that element. With the Average White Band, you have an R&B funk kind of feel. Tim Cunningham is very jazz funk and Dave Bennett is very traditional jazz with a kick. We want to make sure we give our audience a great blend of blues, jazz and R&B. It’s staying in that jazz world but we’re mixing it up so people are entertained and have a great time.”
One difference this year is the outdoor concerts on Carter Green will be free to the public. There will be a section at Carter Green for VIP ticket holders. There will be drink tickets and food vouchers with the VIP tickets, Clark said.
Clark said there will be separate acts at Feinstein’s cabaret at Hotel Carmichael during the Carmel Jazz Festival. Those will be announced later with separate ticketed events.
The event is 5 to 10:30 p.m. each day. For more information and tickets, visit carmeljazzfest.org.
