Sony Presents Blue Note Jazz Festival Announces 2018 Lineup

With over 100 events in five venues throughout New York City, the 2018 Sony presents Blue Note Jazz Festival will take place June 1-30, 2018. Sony Corporation is the Festival's Official Title Sponsor and INGLOT Cosmetics of Poland is thePresenting Sponsor. Ticket information and a current schedule of events are available on the festival's website, www.BlueNoteJazzFestival.com. Additional performances, venues, and events will be announced in the coming weeks.

Highlights for the eighth edition of the festival include GRAMMY® Award winning trumpeterChris Botti at the newly opened Sony Hall in Times Square; an intimate evening with American music icon Art Garfunkel at The Town Hall; two-time GRAMMY® Award nominee jazz vocalistGregory Porter (presented by City Parks Foundation at Central Park SummerStage in association with Blue Note Jazz Festival); jazz fusion guitar virtuoso Al Di Meola; renowned folk singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot; a very special 5-night residency with future funk collectiveLettuce performing for the first time ever at the historic Blue Note Jazz Club; jazz vocal groupThe Manhattan Transfer; Latin jazz legend pianist Eddie Palmieri; three-time GRAMMY® Award nominee and revered blues guitarist Tab Benoit at Highline Ballroom; iconic Brazilian producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist Sergio Mendes; celebrated blues guitarist Robert Cray; GRAMMY® Award winning multi-genre vocalist/musician Bilal performing with Victory(presented by founding festival partner Jill Newman Productions); New Jersey-based rockerSouthside Johnny and many more!

This year's Blue Note Jazz Festival features the addition of several new key partnerships marking a new chapter in the festival's history.

Earlier this year, Sony and Blue Note announced a landmark sponsorship agreement resulting in the creation of a new Manhattan venue, Sony Hall, in addition to Sony's title sponsorship of the festival. Located in the heart of New York's Theatre District (235 W. 46th St at the Paramount Hotel), the space was previously known as the Diamond Horseshoe (est. 1938) and is the newest addition to Blue Note's New York City properties, joining this year's festival venue lineup for the first time, expanding its city-wide takeover. The 12,000 square-foot venue is a platform to showcase Sony's new and exciting audio and video technologies. The multi-dimensional audio technology installed in Sony Hall will provide audiences with a groundbreaking immersive music experience that is the first of its kind for a music venue anywhere in the world.

The festival also welcomes INGLOT Cosmetics of Poland for the inaugural year of their multi-yearofficial presenting sponsorship of the event. In celebration of the partnership, Blue Note Entertainment Group and INGLOT will release a limited edition Blue Note-branded cosmetic collection, as well as special showcases of iconic Polish jazz musicians for the festival.Performances include esteemed Polish pianist Wlodek Pawlik and his trio with special guest Randy Brecker on Monday, May 28th as well as acclaimed jazz fusion band Walk Away onSaturday, June 23.

The festival will spread its international reach even further with the addition of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations as a supporting partner of the Blue Note Jazz Festival. The partnership will present the Blue Note Jazz Festival: European Sounds Series, a special collection of curated performances at Blue Note Jazz Club with the objective to showcase European culture and jazz within the United States. Participants include Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Consulate General of Luxembourg, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Consulate General of Greece in New York and Onassis Foundation USA, Balassi Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center New York, Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, Consulate General of Slovakia, and Consulate General of Spain New York, as well as performers representing each respective country (lineup to be announced soon). The partnership coincides with the European Year of Cultural Heritage, an initiative to encourage more people to discover and engage with Europe's cultural heritage, and to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space. For more information, visit europa.eu/cultural-heritage/

"2018 is a paramount year for the festival," says Steven Bensusan, President of Blue Note Entertainment Group, "Our new partnerships with Sony Corporation, INGLOT Cosmetics of Poland, the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations and its associated member states and organizations have allowed us to expand our global footprint and collaborate with different industries to produce an extra special event for fans and artists alike. We are extremely grateful for their contributions and are excited to work together to extend the festival outside of New York City and showcase some of the most talented musicians from all over the world. We are also excited to present some of the industry's biggest icons this year including Chris Botti, Art Garfunkel, Gregory Porter, Al Di Meola and many more."

Established in 2011, the Blue Note Jazz Festival was initially formed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Greenwich Village's iconic Blue Note Jazz Club. Presented by Blue Note Entertainment Group - which owns and operates the diverse venue lineup of Blue Note, Sony Hall, and Highline Ballroom - the festival has quickly grown into an annual 30-day event, emerging as the city's largest jazz festival, with each venue offering its own unique cultural contribution to the New York City musical landscape. Additional venues and partners include The Town Hall, Central Park SummerStage, and Jill Newman Productions. Past festival headliners include Aretha Franklin, The Roots, Wyclef Jean, Natalie Cole, Brian Wilson, and more.

Please visit www.BlueNoteJazzFestival.com for the most current public lineup and schedule.

About Blue Note Entertainment Group:
Founded in 1981 by Danny Bensusan, Blue Note Entertainment Group is a multi-faceted entertainment company that owns, operates, licenses and/or programs Blue Note Jazz Clubs worldwide, including New York, NY; Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan; Milan, Italy; Waikiki, Hawaii; Beijing, China; Napa, California; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The company also owns and operates Sony Hall and Highline Ballroom. Additionally, the company programs the Regattabar Jazz Club (Cambridge, MA) and Blue Note branded concerts throughout Italy. Blue Note Entertainment Group presents shows outside of its club network. The annual Blue Note Jazz Festival was established in 2011 and has since grown to become the largest jazz festival in New York City each June. Subsidiaries of Blue Note Entertainment Group include the GRAMMY®-nominated record label Half Note Records, whose catalogue includes over fifty titles recorded live at New York's Blue Note Jazz Club, as well as Blue Note Travel and Management Group.

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