DACAMERA Celebrates Houston Talent With Free Jazz Performances, August 20-21

DACAMERA, a Houston-based presenter of chamber music and jazz concerts, will highlight Houston jazz musicians as a supplement to its HOUSTON SUMMERJAZZ Festival, which features performances by Diane Reeves, Dafnis Prieto Big Band and Marquis Hill at the Wortham Theater Center from August 20 to 22.

DACAMERA will present a free show for the general public in the Wortham's Grand Foyer on Saturday afternoon, and festival ticketholders will have free access to post-concert shows by Houston-based talent on August 20 and 21 at the jazz club Cezanne, conveniently located across the street at 500 Louisiana Street (general admission is $15).

Concerts at Cezanne kick off on Friday, August 20 at 9:45 p.m. with a performance by Chilean-American jazz pianist José-Miguel Yamal. Yamal studied classical guitar and jazz piano at Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and has collaborated with jazz greats and salsa singers. His eclectic sound-which draws from jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz, neo soul, funk and more-is deeply influenced by Houston's cultural diversity.

Free performances continue on Saturday, August 21 at 1 p.m. in the Grand Foyer of Wortham Theater Center with Boomtown Brass Band. This family-friendly concert is open to the general public and does not require a Houston SUMMERJAZZ ticket. Formed in 2015, Boomtown Brass Band's sound is steeped in classic New Orleans jazz, Chicago Dixieland-style jazz, early 1930s "gypsy jazz" guitar and a touch of New Orleans second line.

On Saturday evening, The Woody Witt Quintet takes the stage at Cezanne at 9:45 p.m. Over the last decade, tenor saxophonist, composer and educator Woody Witt has recorded over 25 albums as a sideman and released 10 of his own, He has also collaborated with the Houston Symphony and Houston Ballet, and won the 2010 Chamber Music America French American Cultural Exchange grant and the 2014 International Jazz Saxophone Competition in Taiwan. Witt serves as booker and artistic director at Cezanne.

A commemorative poster for SUMMERJAZZ designed by noted visual artist Tierney L. Malone will be for sale at all of the festival events. It will also be available as a high-quality, limited-edition print. Malone is a visual artist and modern-day storyteller who uses the canon of African-American history and pop culture to create mixed media works that challenge contemporary culture and politics. He has exhibited widely throughout Texas and the United States, and his work is featured in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Kansas City Jazz Museum. Malone is the creator of the Jazz Church of Houston and host of the Houston Jazz Spotlight on 90.1 KPFT, both of which recognize and preserve the city's contribution to the genre.

SUMMERJAZZ Festival passes and single tickets are available now at dacamera.com. Please visit https://bit.ly/3ALy0qv for festival press materials.

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