Looking for Good Jazz? Check Out the Riverside Jazz Party in Boise

BOISE, Idaho (Press Release) -- Renowned jazz musicians from across the country are converging in Boise the first weekend of June for the inaugural Riverside Jazz Party. Fourteen artists will share the stage in a variety of unique combos over the course of 21 hours June 3-5 in what is widely considered the Treasure Valley's best listening room -- the Sapphire Room at the Riverside Hotel.

The event differs significantly from other music festivals, according to its organizers, the Sun Valley Jazz & Music Festival. "Most music festivals feature established groups of musicians who regularly record and tour together, while a jazz party recruits individual players,"

Carol Loehr, co-director of the Riverside Jazz Party and Sun Valley Jazz Fest, explains. "Jazz parties feature a dozen or two artists -- the best of the best -- who are well known for their musicianship, can read music, and are able to work easily with musicians other than their regular bandmates."

Performers include Charlie Bertini (trumpet, vocals), SherriLynn Colby (vocals), Bobby Durham (bass, tuba, banjo, vocals), Yve Evans (piano, vocals), Jim Fryer (trombone, vocals), Tom Hook (piano, vocals), Paul Johnson (drums, vocals), Nate Ketner (reeds, vocals), Bob Leary (guitar, banjo, ukulele, vocals), Eddie Metz Jr. (drums), Terry Myers (reeds), Sam Rocha (bass, tuba, vocals), and Greg Varlotta (trumpet, trombone).

"We've given all these phenomenally talented players a list of their fellow musicians and asked them who they'd want on their dream team and what they'd love to do musically," Loehr says. "Some of them have never worked together before, so the people fortunate enough to find themselves with a seat will see and hear things nobody's ever experienced."

Loehr says the ephemeral nature of live jazz is what the Sun Valley Jazz & Music Festival seeks to preserve with the Riverside Jazz Party and the October festival in Sun Valley. "The way people played a piece of classical music in 1816 is very similar to the way it's played in 2016, which is great because it allows a full-scale orchestra to perform cohesively," she says. "However, with jazz a song is unique every time it's performed. Sure, everyone's playing the same melody, but they're all improvising, which is why it's important to not just have recorded jazz music but for it to be played live by new generations."

With only 180 seats in the house, the shows will definitely be intimate. "One of our goals is for everyone to be on a first-name basis will all the musicians by the time it's over," Loehr says. "We always tell our festivalgoers you'll arrive as guests and leave as family, and the cozy Sapphire Room and its wonderful acoustics really feels like home."

All seating is reserved, which Loehr says means attendees won't have to feel rushed about getting to the show super early to get a good seat or losing it when they get up. Tickets for the entire weekend are available for $239, $289, and $339 by phoning (877) 478-5277. Music begins at 5 p.m. Friday and continues until 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Visit SunValleyJazz.com/riverside for more details.