Zoot Fest at ESU on November 13

ZootFest

For Immediate Release
Contact: Bob Bush at (570) 422-3828 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Zoot Fest at ESU on November 13 to honor Zoot Sims and Al Cohn and remember the NYC jazz loft legacy of photographer W. Eugene Smith

Featuring: author Sam Stephenson, Phil Woods, Bob Dorough, Bill Crow, Lew Tabackin, Ronnie Free, Bill Goodwin and the COTA Festival Orchestra

To benefit the Al Cohn Memorial Jazz Collection and COTA CampJazz

EAST STROUDSBURG, PA – Zoot Fest, a relaxed afternoon of music, mirth and memories, will take place on Sunday afternoon November 13th at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. This first-annual jazz party will honor saxophone greats Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, and will be held in the Keystone Room on the ESU campus from 12 Noon until 6 pm.

The theme for this inaugural Zoot Fest will be a remembrance of the jazz loft scene in New York City in the fifties and sixties, particularly the infamous digs at 821 Sixth Avenue where acclaimed Life magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith made his incredible images and historic tape recordings. Zoot and Al were frequent visitors to this infamous location in the Village.

Sam Stephenson, author of The Jazz Loft Project will kick off Zoot Fest with a multi-media presentation, including a digital display of a selection of Smith’s photos and tapes. Phil Woods, Bob Dorough, Bill Crow, Lew Tabackin, and Ronnie Free, amazing jazz musicians who personally frequented the NYC lofts, will share stories and participate in a “Jazz Jam á la Zoot” hosted by Bill Goodwin, with surprise guests. Finally, the Grammy-nominated COTA Festival Orchestra will close the afternoon in a swinging style with a ”Library Alive Big Band Jam,” performing the charts of Al Cohn and other composers and arrangers taken from the music inventory of ESU’s Al Cohn Memorial Jazz Collection.

Seating in the Keystone Room is limited and advance purchase is required. The $50 per person admission fee includes the program plus a lunch buffet with drinks, desserts and other refreshments. For tickets, call (570) 422-3828 or visit www.jazzatesu.com.

Zoot Fest is a major fundraising event to benefit the Al Cohn Memorial Jazz Collection at ESU’s Kemp Library, and its important outreach initiatives, including the ESU Jazz Synergy Series and Library Alive Concerts. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the COTA Fund for Young Musicians for COTA CampJazz.

Sponsors are needed to support Zoot Fest and its commitment to jazz education and preservation. For more information about how to donate, visit www.jazzatesu.com or call (570) 422-3828.

Performing at the annual Delaware Water Gap jazz and arts festival since 1992, the COTA Festival Orchestra has twice toured Europe as the Phil Woods Big Band.  Nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997, its members include: Nelson Hill, Jay Rattman, Tom Hamilton, Bob Keller, and Jim Buckley (reeds); Ken Brader, Danny Cahn, Eddie Severn, and Patrick Dorian (trumpets); Rick Chamberlain, Fred Scott, Kevin Haines and Jim Daniels (trombones); Eric Doney (piano), Evan Gregor (bass), Marko Marcinko and Bill Goodwin (drums).

Dedicated to preserving all forms of jazz from all eras, the Al Cohn Memorial Jazz Collection (ACMJC) was founded in 1988 to honor the life and legacy of Al Cohn –
legendary saxophonist, arranger, composer and conductor, and long-time Pocono resident.  The collection is housed in Kemp Library on the ESU campus and consists of jazz recordings, oral histories, sheet music, photographs, books, videos, and original art and memorabilia, all generously donated over the years by supporters from around the world. Its official jazz magazine, The NOTE, is published three times a year and distributed to a world-wide readership. For more information about the ACMJC, visit www.esu.edu/alcohncollection.

COTA CampJazz, an educational outreach program of the Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts Fund for Young Musicians, will benefit from a portion of the proceeds from the concert. This popular program, held for the fifth annual time this past summer in the Delaware Water Gap, provides an opportunity for young musicians to study the art of jazz improvisation by working in small groups with the jazz masters of the COTA organization. For more information about COTA CampJazz, visit www.campjazz.org.

Zoot Fest and Library Alive concerts are part of the ESU Jazz Synergy Series sponsored by the ESU Regional Jazz Coalition and the Al Cohn Memorial Jazz Collection. For more information, visit www.jazzatesu.com, call (570) 422-3828, or send email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .