Tickets on sale for Sisters Jazz Festival

Tickets are now available for the 12th annual Sisters Jazz Festival.

Ten bands presenting a variety of jazz styles will be showcased in the four main venues of the Sisters Jazz Festival when the event returns September 12-14.

Headliners include several bands familiar to followers of the festival. Those groups are The Titan Hot Seven, featuring clarinetist Bob Draga; Chicago Six; Blue Street Jazz Band; Gator Beat, and the Oregon Coast Lab Band. Coming to the Sisters stages for the first time will be Cornet Chop Suey, from St. Louis; Lily Wilde and her Jumpin' Jubilee Orchestra, from Portland; the California-based Pieter Meijers Quartet, with Cheryl Stephens; Yve Evans and Company, also from California; and the Good Bait Quintet, Ashland.

A new feature of the 2003 jazz festival will be a Saturday night two-hour show by the 15-piece Lily Wilde orchestra, performing big band music of the '30s to '50s. That program will be held at the festival's major venue at the Village Green.

The Sisters Jazz Festival again will present regional jazz groups at several "mini-venues" throughout town during meal hours Friday and Saturday (September 12-13) of the festival. Free gospel programs will be offered at two venues on Sunday morning, September 14.

In addition to staging a popular cultural event in the community, the Sisters Jazz Festival encourages development of youth jazz programs in Central Oregon and provides specific resource support to the jazz band program in the Sisters School District.

For more information visit http://www.sistersjazzfestival.com or call 549-1332. Tickets can be purchased online at the website, by telephone, or direct mail to SJF, P.O. Box 248, Sisters, OR 97759.

Sisters Jazz Festival tickets include a three-day all-events badge at $55 ($60 after September); Friday-only badge, $25; Saturday-only badge, $30; Sunday only badge, $15; and a Saturday night program only, $15.

The festival offers a three-day all-events badge for youth ages 12-18 for $10.

Children under 12 years are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.