The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Diamond B. Wranglers, a five-member band comprised of members of the Central Oregon musical Booher family, will perform at the High Mountains Jazz at Sisters festival September 15-17.

Ten jazz bands and a special performance by a young jazz pianist are scheduled at the 10th annual festival. Over 3,000 jazz fans will come to Sisters for three days of Dixieland, swing, big band and other music.

Paco Gatsby from Guatemala, one of three international bands originally scheduled to perform at Sisters, encountered transportation problems and will not make it to Sisters this year, executive director Ray Buselli said.

They have been invited to next year's festival, Buselli explained.

The Diamond B Wranglers will play a variety of music, including swing and country.

Two international bands will play at Sisters for the first time -- the Hot Jazz Syncopators from Vienna, Austria and the Michael Kaeshammer Trio from Victoria, British Columbia.

Returning bands from last year include Black Swan Jazz Band with Marilyn Keller from Portland, Chicago Six with Yve Evans from Cardiff, California; Gator Beat from Sonoma, California; Grand Dominion Jazz Band from Vancouver, British Columbia and northern Washington; and the Wall Street Jazz Band, from Bend.

Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band from Florida returns after a one-year absence, as does the Blue Street Jazz Band from Fresno, California. A special guest artist will be David Hull, 14-year-old jazz pianist.

Performances start Friday afternoon and run through Sunday afternoon. A detailed program of band performance times at each of the four venues will be available at the festival.

For complete information on ticket badge prices and order forms, contact the festival hotline at 549-1332 in Central Oregon or 1-(800) 549-1332 outside the area, or visit the festival website at http://www.informat.com/bz/jazz.