FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Judy Parisella
Phone: 978-491-7444
Email: jparisella@salemjazzsoul.com
Leading up to the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival’s main event, Aug. 16-17, Sarah McKenzie, an Australian student attending Berklee College of Music, will play the final SJSF/Berklee Summer Series concert of 2014 in Derby Square, Salem, on Saturday, Aug. 9.
The free show will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. and will feature an educational interview about music and the Berklee experience.
Be Driven will sponsor the performance.
McKenzie is a pianist, vocalist, and composer who attends Berklee on a full scholarship. Her second album, “Close Your Eyes,” won the ARIA award for Best Jazz Album 2012.
McKenzie was mentored by legends like Graeme Lyall, Jamie Oehlers, James Morrison, and, most recently, JoAnne Brackeen, the first and only female member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. In 2010, she won the James Morrison Scholarship (Vocal) and was the only finalist to be nominated in both vocal and instrumental sections. McKenzie also sang backing vocals for Michael Bublé on the multiplatinum artist’s Call Me Irresponsible tour and was the opening act for five-time Grammy nominee Chris Botti in 2011.
The eighth-annual Salem Jazz and Soul Festival will follow during the weekend of Aug. 16-17, featuring 10 bands, a family tent, music-education tent, artisan fair and 21-plus beer pavilion. The two-day concert is free.
The festival is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization that produces free concerts and raises money for music education causes on the North Shore.
Check salemjazzsoul.org for more information. Photos provided upon request.