District 64 Jazz Festival Features Two Local Stars for 2011

Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 will welcome two local jazz artists to its annual Jazz Festival on April 13.  Students in the Jazz Bands at Emerson and Lincoln middle schools will perform at 7:00 p.m. in the Lincoln gym, 200 S. Lincoln Ave., Park Ridge.  Special guests for 2011 will be drummer Rusty Jones and his Trio, and Joe LaRocca.

A long-time resident of Park Ridge, Jones toured the world with the George Shearing Trio throughout the 1970s, then played for several years with jazz piano legend Marian McPartland. He has played on hundreds of recording sessions, including four discs with George Shearing, and one with world-renowned trumpeter Chet Baker.

LaRocca attended Emerson Middle School and now performs throughout the Chicago area on saxophone and flute.   He has a performance certificate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and is currently in the Instrumental Performance program at Columbia College in Chicago.

The festival is sponsored by the District 64 Band & Orchestra Parents Association (BOPA).  The free event is open to the public.