BY KAREN BOSSICK

The 23rd annual Jazz in the Park concert series kicks off Sunday with a Sun Valley Resort favorite musician. And it will run through July 27 with performers delivering classic jazz standards, Brazilian samba rhythms and Afro-Cuban jazz.

“Featured this summer are four bands with women lead singers,” said curator Will Caldwell. “New this year is Michele Eastland & Menagerie, also Katie G. & the Half Maccs with an evening of Brazilian jazz—Musica Brasileira.’ ”

The free jazz concerts will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Sundays in Ketchum’s Rotary Park across from the Wood River YMCA on Warm Springs road. Concertgoers are invited to bring picnics and low-back chairs.

Nicole Christensen will perform July 20. COURTESY

The lineup:

June 22—The Travis McDaniel Band, a Wood River Valley favorite, will perform soulful neo-jazz tunes with special guest artists. 

 June 29—Boise’s Michele Eastland & Menagerie will engage the audience with Eastland’s powerful voice and vocal range delivering compelling renditions of classic jazz standards.

July 6--Katie G & The Half Maccs come from Boise to perform classic Brazilian jazz full of samba rhythms, bossa guitar and smooth vocals. 

Will Caldwell, flanked by his wife Julie, has curated Ketchum’s free Jazz in the Park concerts for 23 years. PHOTO: Karen Bossick

July 13—The Ashley Rose Band from Boise will perform creative and expressive jazz and soul-infused Americana.  

July 20—The Nicole Christensen Band, a longtime valley favorite from up the Salmon River, will feature vocalist Nicole and her partner Ben Burdick on guitar, plus their band.

 July 27—The Bossa Nova Quintet from Boulder, Colo., and Ketchum is anchored by Latin hand percussion with silky mandolin, guitar, and keyboards. The group will play Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, and American jazz classics.

The concert series is sponsored by the city of Ketchum with major funding by individual donors and concert production donated by Will Caldwell Productions.