Swinging for the fences
Siletz Bay Music Festival makes fund-raising pitch with Swing Into Spring
Latin jazz vocalist Jessie Marquez
The Siletz Bay Music Festival is kicking off the 2023 season with the Swing Into Spring fundraiser dinner at the Lincoln City Cultural Center this Saturday, April 15.
Music lovers are invited to a lively evening of dinner, fundraising and music from Latin jazz vocalist Jessie Marquez, who blends Cuban, Brazilian, jazz and pop sounds with lush harmonies and cool grooves.
Marquez grew up eating her grandmother’s Cuban cooking and hearing stories about the family’s days on the island. She first visited her father’s childhood home in 1996. Right away, she said, “there was something very familiar about it — the way people spoke, their gestures, their attitudes. I felt at home.”
In 2003, members of the Afro-Cuban Allstars heard her sing and offered to arrange and record her first CD. In a Havana home studio, between power outages, they recorded “Sana Locura,” which reached the top of charts in Latin America, Europe and the United States. Marquez appeared on Cuban television and radio and subsequently spent a year performing throughout the island.
Her latest release, “All I See is Sky” features a textured soundscape alongside the singer’s intimate and understated approach.
The evening will begin with a signature silent auction and reception with tantalizing appetizers prepared by Biscuit & Pickles Catering. Lincoln City Mayor Susan Wahlke will serve as celebrity bartender at an open bar. Loquacious locals Roger Robertson of Allways Traveling and our very own publisher, Patrick Alexander, will emcee.
Auction highlights include a six-night stay in a three bedroom/three bath home in Loreto Bay, Mexico, a hands-on Beachcrest Brewing experience where the winner will formulate and brew their own custom beer, with plenty of beer samples and wood-fired pizza along the way, and “Fish with the Commish,” a four-hour salmon fishing trip for two on the Alsea River with Lincoln County Commissioner Kaety Jacobson during the fall salmon run.
Proceeds from Swing Into Spring benefit the Siletz Bay Music Festival, scheduled this year from August 25 to September 3. Artistic Director Yaacov Bergman and an ensemble of more than 50 virtuoso musicians from around the world will stage chamber and jazz performances at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, the Congregational Church, Regatta Park and the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center in Newport. Orchestral performances will take place at Chinook Winds Casino Resort.
Swing into Spring runs from 5:30 to 9 pm at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, located at 540 NE Hwy. 101. Tickets are $100 and available at siletzbaymusic.org or by calling 541-264-5828.