Amelia Island Jazz Festival

• February 14, 2022

  Jazz Festival Names 2022 Scholarship Winner at Big Band Bash

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival, News

  0 comments

  18-year-old Cameron DeVane, a gifted saxophone player from Fernandina Beach, is the winner of this year’s college scholarship from the Amelia Island Jazz Festival, it was announced by Artistic Director, Les DeMerle, at the Festival’s annual Big Band Bash on February 14 at the Courtyard by Marriott. A senior at Fernandina Beach High School, DeVane, accepted the award during the event and sat in with the Dynamic Les DeMerle Orchestra, featuring vocalist Bonnie Eisele, for[…]

  Continue ...
• October 13, 2020

  Jazz Festival Finds International Fans With Virtual Presentation

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival

  0 comments

  The Amelia Island Jazz Festival swung through its online virtual shows this past weekend with searing jazz that thrilled hundreds of fans locally, nationally, and in several foreign countries, including Russia and Romania. “We could not be more pleased,” said AIJF Artistic Director Les DeMerle. “It was definitely a technical challenge but given the terrific support of our Board Of Directors, volunteers, wonderful musicians, and a bank of computers, we proudly pulled it off,” he[…]

  Continue ...
• June 26, 2020

  AIJF Reschedules Big Band Bash

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival, News

  0 comments

  Social distancing measures will be in place for gala Amelia Island Jazz Festival’s Big Band Bash, a popular dinner/dance benefit gala that will feature the Dynamic Les DeMerle 17-piece Jazz Orchestra with vocalist Bonnie Eisele, will now be held 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, in an expanded Amelia Ballroom at the Omni Amelia Island Resort, according to a news release. Omni is allowing event organizers to use four ballrooms in order for guests to follow[…]

  Continue ...
• December 20, 2019

  Ringing in the Holidays on High Seas

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival

  0 comments

  Amelia Island’s Dynamic Les DeMerle Quartet, featuring vocalist Bonnie Eisele, is swinging and ringing in the holidays aboard Royal Caribbean’s mega cruise ship, the Harmony Of The Seas. The Amelia Island Jazz Festival impresarios, Artistic Director DeMerle and its Vice President Eisele, recently completed a highly successful 16th year spearheading the ongoing event. They have taken their energetic show to the Royal Caribbean’s popular jazz room, Jazz On 4. Headlining nightly, the Quartet performs 3[…]

  Continue ...
• November 15, 2019

  Peter Nixon Shines as the Official Artist of 2019

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival

  0 comments

  Legendary musician Wynton Marsalis once said, “Jazz music is America’s past and its potential, summed up and sanctified and accessible to anybody who learns to listen to, feel, and understand it.” Thousands of music fans were treated to a deeper understanding of jazz last month at the 2019 Amelia Island Jazz Festival, a Florida music festival now celebrating its sixteenth year. The festival was co-founded by Les DeMerle—an accomplished drummer and singer who has performed with greats[…]

  Continue ...
• August 2, 2019

  Meet the 2019 Amelia Island Jazz Festival Artist

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival

  0 comments

  Peter Nixon: “It was an honor and a wonderful opportunity to be asked to be the Amelia Island Jazz Festival Artist of 2019, and a rare chance to meet distinguished musicians like Les DeMerle and Bonnie Eisele-DeMerle. I love to listen to Jazz in my studio and find this a complete experience but it isn’t quite as exciting as seeing Jazz in a live setting. Hearing Jazz musicians on record, nonchalantly throwing around intricate musical[…]

  Continue ...
• July 13, 2019

  New Orleans Legends at the 2019 AIJF

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival, Festival Events

  0 comments

  Two critically acclaimed New Orleans artists, highly regarded trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and sizzling trumpeter Jamil Sharif, will headline the 2019 Amelia Island Jazz Festival, October 6-13, in Fernandina Beach, FL. A gifted musician and producer, Delfeayo Marsalis came to prominence alongside his famous siblings, Wynton (trumpet), Branford (sax) and Jason (drums) as a member of the Crescent City’s most illustrious jazz family. Marsalis is an adept improviser inspired by the swinging bop sounds of trombonist[…]

  Continue ...
• January 4, 2019

  Les and Bonnie Jazzing Up the High Seas

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival, News

  0 comments

  by Michael Rothschild Amelia Island Jazz Festival stalwarts Les DeMerle and Bonnie Eisele are spending the holidays and beyond performing with their dynamic new Jazz Quartet on one of the world’s largest cruise ships, the Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, out of Port Canaveral, FL. The 7 day cruise itineraries alternate between the Eastern and Western Caribbean and continue through the winter. The new lineup features DeMerle, the AIJF’s Artistic Director, on drums along[…]

  Continue ...
• October 19, 2018

  Strong Musicianship and Great Crowds Highlight the 2018 AIJF

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival, News

  0 comments

  by Michael Rothschild Boosted by beautiful weather and headliner performances from the exquisite Brazilian styled Requinte Trio, with singer Janis Siegel, plus impeccable guitarist Henry Johnson, the Amelia Island Jazz Festival celebrated its 15th anniversary with a dazzling array of styles and genres. Requinte Trio’s expertly crafted set featured intricate Latin rhythms and vocals, that ended with an audience participation finale on the song, “Tio Mocaco” that had the crowd on its feet and dancing.[…]

  Continue ...
• March 21, 2018

  AIJF Sets Requinte Trio and Henry Johnson as 2018 Headliners

  Amelia Island Jazz Festival

  0 comments

  The critically acclaimed Requinte Trio, featuring multiple Grammy winning vocalist Janis Siegel, a founding and longtime member of Manhattan Transfer, and veteran Chicago guitarist Henry Johnson will headline the 2018 Amelia Island Jazz Festival, October 7-14, it was announced this week by AIJF Artistic Director Les DeMerle. A finely tuned Brazilian project, Requinte Trio also includes Nanny Assis (percussion, guitar, vocals) and John di Martino (piano). Its latest release, “Honey and Air”, has received worldwide[…]

  Continue ...