Beginning May 23 and continuing through September 5, the Parrish Art Museum will present two casual, outdoor music series featuring a diverse roster of bands and ensembles performing in styles ranging from reggae, to “old school” Latin jazz, to bluegrass, to Brazilian jazz, and more. Sounds of Summer and Jazz en Plein Air concerts are held outside on the Parrish’s covered terrace, Fridays from 6–8pm.

The Sounds of Summer series features the nine-piece New Orleans Jazz band The Hoo Doo Loungers, the five-piece Next Level Band playing reggae and steel drums, the Afro-Cuban/Latin band Mambo Loco, old-time fiddle and banjo duo Edith and Bennett, and down-home bluegrass with the Ebony Hillbillies. Featured Jazz en Plein Air performers are drummer Eliot Zigmund, and bassists Nilson Matta and Iris Ornig. Richie Siegler, jazz musician and founding director of Escola de Samba BOOM, once again selects the ensembles for this second season of Jazz en Plein Air.

Series co-organizers at the Museum, Andrea Grover, Curator of Special Projects and Amy Kirwin, Associate Development Officer for Museum Events and Visitor Services, share, “Our summer music program brings together performers of diverse musical persuasions and encourages all ages to dance, dine, socialize or just enjoy the fresh air.”

The summer concerts begin on Friday, May 23, with The HooDoo Loungers, dubbed the East Coast’s New Orleans Party band and featuring two lead vocalists, a three-piece horn section, and a rhythm section. Keyboard/accordion player and vocalist David Deitch is the band’s music director and arranger; bassist/vocalist Joe Lauro, a popular East End musician who performed with Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks and the Moondogs, is also a featured member of the group. Sounds of Summer concerts continue on the first Friday of each month.

Jazz en Plein Air concerts, scheduled for the last Friday of each month, begin Friday, May 30, with drummer Eliot Zigmund along with Ed MacEachen on guitar and Mike Eckroth on organ. Known among jazz enthusiasts as the drummer who backed up jazz innovators such as Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Fred Hersch, and Jim Hall, Zigmund played with Bill Evans for four years, and appears with bassist Eddy Gomez on Evan’s album You Must Believe in Spring.

Attendees at Sounds of Summer and Jazz en Plein Air concerts are invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets for the Mildred C. Brinn Terrace and Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley Foundation Event Lawn. Food and beverages are available for purchase at the Museum’s Café. All concerts are free with Museum admission.

Sounds of Summer Dates:
* May 23, 6-8 pm: The HooDoo Loungers
* June 6, 6-8 pm: The Next Level Band
* July 4, 6-8 pm: Mambo Loco
* August 1, 6-8 pm: Edith and Bennett
* September 5, 5-8 pm: Bluegrass & BBQ with the Ebony Hillbillies

Jazz en Plein Air Dates:
* Friday, May 30, 6-8 pm: Eliot Zigmund
* Friday, June 27, 6-8 pm: Nilson Matta
* Friday, July 25, 6–8 pm: Iris Ornig
* Friday, August 29, 6-8 pm: TBA

Visit www.parrishart.org for full details.

Photo Credit Information:
1. Sounds of Summer. Photo: Amy Kirwin.
2. Music on the Terrace
3. The HooDoo Loungers
4. Mambo Loco