Jazz festival in full swing

The sounds of cool jazz will be filling downtown Carson City this hot August weekend.

"Jazz! Carson City," the city's annual jazz festival that kicked off last week, is getting into full swing this weekend with more than two dozen performances in various downtown venues.

The burgeoning festival now in its sixth year is bigger than ever with a total of 35 events featuring more than 100 musicians, according to organizer David Bugli, the leader of the Mile High Jazz Band and conductor of the Carson City Orchestra.

Friday night highlights include Blues Assault playing at Doppelgangers starting at 5 p.m., Sol Jibe, which bills itself as world rock for the Gypsy soul, performing from 7 to 11:30 p.m. on Third Street between Carson and Curry streets, and the Tony Cataldo Experiment taking the stage at 8 p.m. at B'Sghetti's plan: b micro lounge.

Saturday's jam-packed schedule starts at 9 a.m. at the Third Street Farmers Market with Hot Two Plus One, a three-piece band featuring banjo, cowbells and washboard, as well as jazz guitarist Colin Ross, a member of the Mile High Jazz Band, playing solo in Comma Coffee's courtyard.

The day boasts more than 20 performances, including jazz keyboardist Chuck Wayne playing at the Greenhouse Garden Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Carson City Symphony's Summer Strings Jazz Ensemble from 11 to noon at Family Pop-Up Park at the Brewery Arts Center and Dave Fritz & Lake Effect from 6-7 p.m. at Bella Fiore Wines at Third and Curry streets.

The day ends with a jam session from 9 p.m. to midnight in the Comma Coffee courtyard featuring members of the 18-piece Mile High Jazz Band and any other musicians who want to participate.

Sunday's schedule features Two Plus with Dan Lancaster and Tom Stryker from 4:30-5:30 p.m., followed by the Reno Jazz Orchestra with Cami Thompson from 6-8 p.m. in the Legislative Plaza/Capitol Amphitheater, which closes the festival.

For a schedule of all the events, including the Fantods at the Brewery Arts Center and Kenn Pettiford at the BAC Artisans' Cafe tonight, go to www.jazzcarsoncity.com and click on the "Festival details" link.

"Carson City is sort of developing a reputation for jazz now," said Bugli, who said he has a waiting list of musicians who would like to take part in the festival. "The musicians are sort of driving it."

Also driving the festival was a grass roots effort to keep it going after the BAC, which had co-sponsored it in the past, dropped out this year.

The Mile High Jazz Band Association decided to go ahead with the event and Bugli and his wife Elinor secured grants, including federal stimulus money distributed through a Nevada Arts Council grant, as well as private donations.

"When people heard there might not be a festival this year, people came through," said Bugli.