Downbeat Magazine Notes Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival

Guest artist Ben Williams, second from right, performs with Knox students at the 2013 Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival. Photo by John Williams.

The 2014 Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival gets a shout-out from a leading jazz periodical -- DownBeat magazine. One of the most widely-read publications in the field, DownBeat notes this year's upcoming festival in its recent 2013-14 Festival Guide issue:

Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival, April 10-12: Knox College and the Galesburg community host three days of concerts and workshops. The birthplace of Carl Sandburg (the festival is named for his children's book Rootabaga Stories), Galesburg is a classic prairie city with a thriving arts scene, the historic Orpheum Theatre, the Knox-Galesburg Symphony and Prairie Players Civic Theatre.

The 2014 Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival will feature the Aaron Diehl Quartet, CALJE (Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble), The Knox Jazz Ensemble, Knox Alumni Big Band and the Knox Faculty and Friends Combo.

Held in Galesburg for more than 30 years, the festival has brought jazz greats to Galesburg for more than 30 years, including Ben Williams, Matt Wilson, Noah Preminger, Greg Osby, Julian Lage, Youngblood Brass Band, Ted Sirota, Mose Allison, Kurt Elling, Joey DeFrancesco, and Benny Green.

The Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival is one of several major events presented by the Knox Jazz Program. Others include the Mirza Jazz Residency, which recently featured Ben Allison; and the newly created Winter Jazz Series, which begins in January 2014 with Brazilian guitarist Luciano Antonio.