Sweet & Hot Music Festival Labor Day weekend

The 14th annual Sweet & Hot Music Festival will take place over Labor Day weekend, beginning, Friday September 4, through Monday, September 7, at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel, 5855 W. Century Boulevard. The fun-filled event features the music of the '20s, '30s, '40s, and 50's including swing, big band, classic jazz, and traditional blues, as well as New Orleans and Chicago-style jazz. Swing dancing and a myriad of other activities are also included.

This year's event will offer world-class performers, such as Ernie Andrews, Herb Jeffries, The Jack Sheldon Orchestra, Banu Gibson, Rebecca Kilgore and special guest performer Ernestine Anderson. In addition, The Friday Night “Swing's The Thing” Dance and the “Saturday Night Dance,” with Johnny Vana's “Big Band Alumni” will be featured, as well as disco dancing. These are just some of the more than 200 musicians and over 20 bands and 50 guest artists scheduled to appear in 180 scheduled events.

“Something really entertaining this year,” says Festival Director Wally Holmes, “is a tribute to the great Johnny Mandal, with special guest performances.” Holmes adds, “We'll also have a colorful Vintage Ball with Mike Henebry's Crazy Rhythm Orchestra.”

Another of the highlights of the four-day festival will be the return appearance of the Hues Corporation and the popular songs they perform from The Great American Rhythm & Soul Song Book. They'll sing favorites from Gladys Knight, Sam Cook and the Temptations, among others, as well as their own mega-hit “Rock the Boat.” Popular R&B group, “Pieces of Eight” will also keep the Sweet & Hot Festival rockin'.

Music starts at 10:30a.m. and continues beyond midnight in eight venues throughout the hotel (times vary each day). Listening and dancing to live music, as well as shopping for rare records and nostalgic memorabilia, are some of the reasons that the event attracts music enthusiasts from all over the Southern California area, as well as from around the United States.

The Sweet & Hot Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to perpetuating the music of the '20s, '30s, '40s and 50's.

In addition to producing the festival each year, the foundation encourages young musicians to take an interest in this type of music by offering scholarship grants from proceeds raised by the event to various jazz education programs, for Los Angeles area high school students. The foundation began honoring legends in classic jazz when it originated in 1996, by placing permanent bronze plaques with their names, in the ground surrounding the pool and garden area at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel. To date, the names of over 62 jazz legends have been placed around the pool, known as the Sweet & Hot Music Walk of Fame, featuring such greats from Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and Benny Goodman to Cole Porter, Lionel Hampton and Billie Holiday.

Six of these jazz legends will be honored at a special Walk of Fame tribute, with an entertaining, two hour music-filled show on Thursday night, September 3. There is a special price of $25 for this Walk of Fame event.

For the four-day festival, ticket prices are: Friday, $35; Saturday and Sunday, $45 each; and Monday, $25. All-events badges for the entire 4-day festival are only $100 and patron badges are $295.

For more information, visit their website at www.sweethot.org or call Laurie at (909) 983-0106. After August 23, call the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel at (310) 641-5700 (ask for the Music Festival Office).