This Friday evening the streets of Bay View will be filled with jazz. Now in its 4th year, the Bay View Jazz Festpromotes both jazz itself and the musicians who make it. The Fest takes place at venues along the intersection of Lincoln and Kinnikinnick avenues tomorrow starting at 5pm.
Although musicians will be in the public eye tomorrow evening, one key goal of the event is to spark an interest in jazz music year-round in Milwaukee. With efforts such as the renovation of the Jazz Estate, the local jazz scene is strong for musicians and the venues that house them. However many local musicians hope that new interest and appreciation of jazz will spread beyond the regular crowd.
"Some people are like, jazz is just some kind of weird swingy stuff my grandparents liked. But really it’s not. And I feel that at an event like the jazz fest people our age can really get a taste of what jazz is now," says local percussionist Mitch Shiner.
While they don’t officially play in a group together, Shiner, guitarists Tommy Antonic and Neil Davis, and trumpeter Jamie Breiwick joined forces in the Lake Effect performance studio to speak about the Bay View Jazz Fest and their hopes for Milwaukee's jazz scene:
