The outdoor jazz festival to be featured event celebrating park’s renovation
Now in its fourth year, Jazz in Seerley will bring outstanding jazz to the Cedar Valley while celebrating a beautifully renovated Seerley Park on Sept. 21, 4-7 p.m.The park will be dedicated at 3:30 p.m.
Historic Seerley Park, located a few blocks from the University of Northern Iowa campus, has undergone a major facelift over the summer. The park now features a brand new performance gazebo (the stage for jazz performers), an all-accessible playground, and new beautiful lawns and walkways. The beloved purple rocking dinosaur has also been restored – given a new life amidst all-new playground surroundings.
Jazz in Seerley begins at 4 p.m. with UNI’s David Donald Trio inaugurating the new gazebo. Headlining the event is Iowa City-based Blake Shaw’s Big(ish) Band, performing 5-7 p.m.
Blake Shaw’s Big(ish) Band is an 11-piece jazz big band that includes university professors, high school band directors, and stellar jazz musicians under the direction of double/electric bassist Blake Shaw. Shaw is a well-established Iowa City jazz artist who writes original material and arranges familiar tunes in new ways. He has invited UNI jazz piano professor Mike Conrad and local saxophonist (and Jazz in Seerley co-organizer and MC) Simon Harding to perform with the band during the Jazz in Seerley event. “Hearing and playing with the Blake Shaw Big(ish) Band is just a joyous experience,” Harding said. “He really knows how to bring energy and life into all types of music and fuse it with jazz. I knew he’d be the perfect act this year for the first festival in the newly renovated Seerley Park”
Jazz in Seerley will also feature local food trucks Cottonwood Canyon, La Calle, and The Vibe (Skoopski’s), as well as numerous artisan vendors (including kid vendors).
A committee of supporters of the College Hill neighborhood and avid jazz fans is organizing the event. Jazz in Seerley is sponsored by the College Hill Partnership, the UNI Jazz Studies program, and local restaurants Social House, Green House Kitchen, ICON Doughnuts and Whiskey Road. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic blanket or portable chairs.
For more information about Jazz in Seerley, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/24331681526497666.