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Warwick Smith/Stuff
The 56th annual Manawatū Jazz and Blues Festival gets under way again this weekend.
Manawatū is about to come alive with the sound of jazz and blues.
The 56th annual Manawatū Jazz and Blues Festival started on Friday, with performances scheduled for Feilding and Palmerston North throughout the 10-day festival.
The festival was to start with Jazz On Your Feet Swing Dance at Old Savage Club Hall in Palmerston North from 7.30pm on Friday.
Festival director and performer Rodger Fox said the cafe scene part of the festival started in Feilding on Saturday, then moved to Palmerston North next weekend.
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The main event of the festival will be the jazz gala next Saturday night at The Globe: Four Hands, Two Pianos, One Big Band featuring Michael Houston, Bill Cunliffe and The Rodger Fox Big 50th Anniversary Big Band.
Fox said a second show has been added at 6pm because the 8pm show was almost sold out.
“I rehearsed this week with Michael and Bill and it was sounding great.”
He said the other main performances would be Kevin Dowling’s 101 Lab Band, Nairobi Trio and The Lady Sings the Blues.
There is also the high school jazz concert next Saturday, running from 10am to 4pm, with six school big bands and 16 combos from around the country.
“A lot of people enjoy that they get to see the up-and-coming young players,” Fox said.
He said the event was big for bringing people into the city.
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