DAYTONA BEACH, FL --  Four distinct ladies of song will team for the Concord Jazz Festival presented by jetBlue AIRWAYS on Thursday, April 29, 7:30 pm at the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center (MMB Center).  The evening of jazz will feature duets between the critically acclaimed vocalists.  Karrin Allyson, Oleta Adams, Diane Schuur, are known as three of the best song stylists today.  And with the introduction of newcomer Sara Gazarek, the night will prove to be memorable, especially when all four ladies sing together.   

Karrin Allyson quickly became the critics' darling upon her first release 10 years ago.  The Grammy nominee is currently enjoying success with her Concord album, In Blue, and will release her highly anticipated follow-up, Wild for You, in May '04 featuring music crafted by the singer-songwriters of her youth.  Constantly touring, the Wall Street Journal says, “She swings like a pendulum, and her slender, sunny voice makes you smile the moment you hear it.”  Allyson will serve as the host for the evening.

Newcomer Sara Gazarek recently received the 2003 DownBeat Student Music Award for Best Collegiate Jazz Vocalist.   The young student of jazz has been called "sublime" by the New York Times.  Her debut recording is expected later this year.

She burst on the scene with the top 10 pop hit, Get Here,  in 1990. Today, Oleta Adams continues to be one of the most praised voices in music.  The three-time Grammy nominee just released All For Love (Pioneer) which features tunes co-penned by Adams, as well as her take on the country hit I Hope You Dance.

Diane Schuur has been dubbed the First Lady of Jazz. And with a body of work spanning 25 years, picking up two Grammy Awards along the way, no one will argue.  Her current release, Midnight  (Concord Records), has the singer crooning original tunes especially co-written for her by Barry Manilow and produced by Manilow and Eddie Arkin.

Tickets to see The Concord Jazz Festival are $39, $29, and $19 and are available at the Ocean Center Box Office, B-CC Cashier’s Office and through Ticketmaster. All tickets are subject to applicable service charges at point of purchase. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.mmbcenter.com or www.ticketmaster.com.               

 The MMB Center is located at 698 West International Speedway Blvd. at the corner of Lincoln Street. There is free, convenient parking adjacent to the MMB Center.  Free roundtrip shuttle service escorts concertgoers to and from the parking lots to the auditorium.

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Bethune-Cookman is a comprehensive college, which offers degrees in liberal arts as well as professional fields, such as business, education and nursing. A United Methodist Church-affiliated school, the College has a diverse and international student population of more than 2,700 and a solid reputation for academic excellence and community service. As evidence of its outstanding program, the College has been listed in the Templeton Honor Roll of Character Building Colleges and Universities, and it was ranked by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “Top 50” schools in the nation for black students.  B-CC is one of 10 charter member colleges of Project Pericles, a program to create civic leadership and involvement on its member campuses.  The College will celebrate its 100^th year of founding on October 4, 2004.

For more information, contact our website www.bethune.cookman.edu. 

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