True Blue Jazz Festival

Schedule of Events:

12:00 pm - 6:00 pm: True Blue Smokin’ Hot Firehouse Big Band Jazz Marathon

Once again for 2024…It’s The Big Band Marathon & Jazz Organ Trio Party!!! Saturday October 19th from 12N-6P Tickets $35.00 / Online or At the Door at Rehoboth Volunteer Firehouse….located at 219 Rehoboth Avenue in Downtown Rehoboth Beach!

Swingin’ into its 8th BLOCKBUSTER YEAR & still Smokin’ RED HOT!!!! This Firehouse Jazz Event keeps turning’ & burnin’… with Delaware’s ALL STAR Jazz Organist…Bill “Mr. B3” Dilks & his Trio…keepin’ the Jazz embers Red Hot between the Big Band Sets!

It’s Year #8 with our FANTASTIC Crew at the Rehoboth Beach All Volunteer Fire Company…& as always…ALL PROCEEDS from our Ticket Sales for Saturday October 19th donated back to the incredible work of our RBVF Company!!!

…with 4 Big Bands swingin’ it hard All Afternoon!!!

Cape Henlopen High School Jazz Band • Lewes DE
Delmarva Big Band • Delmarva Peninsula
Columbia Jazz Orchestra • Columbia MD
St. Marks Spartan Alumni Jazz Big Band • Wilmington DE

Location: Rehoboth Beach Fire House 219 Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE

Cost: $35

6:00 pm - 7:15 pm: Buster Williams and Something More Quartet

Legendary bassist Buster Williams leads his Something More quartet that includes Steve Wilson on Saxophones, George Colligan at the piano, and Drummer Lenny White. The Guardian calls Williams one of the great acoustic bassists, and JazzTimes states Williams resumé ranks with that of any bassist in the modern era. It s a resumé that includes working with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt when he was 17; backing singing legends Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughn and Nancy Wilson in the 60s; anchoring Herbie Hancocks’ Mwandishi Sextet into the 70s; and co-founding the Timeless All-Stars and Sphere after that. As important as he is as a bassist with his virtuosic technique and an unmistakable sound, he is equally known for his compositions and bands, which The New Yorker hails as modern, mainstream Jazz at its best.

“Buster decided it was time to take the plunge, step up to the front, play his music, and express his concept of a cohesive musical unit. Since the inception of his own band, Something More has toured the globe many times.” • All About Jazz

“Bassist Buster Williams is one of the key players in modern jazz with a rock-solid grounding in harmony, counterpoint and orchestration. Buster’s musicianship is impeccable and his rhythmic sense unfailing. Williams work as a leader is a blueprint for bassists on how to assume a more proactive, forward position in an ensemble without throwing it out of balance.” • The New Yorker

“In Williams hands, the bass is a fully articulate solo voice. His big, deep, resilient and inventive playing has made him the bassist of choice throughout the jazz world. He has worked with just about everyone of import on the jazz scene, including long stints with Herbie Hancock and Nancy Wilson.” • JazzIs

Location: The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel 2 Olive Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE

Cost: $55

8:00 pm - 9:15 pm: Buster Williams and Something More Quartet

Legendary bassist Buster Williams leads his Something More quartet that includes Steve Wilson on Saxophones, George Colligan at the piano, and Drummer Lenny White. The Guardian calls Williams one of the great acoustic bassists, and JazzTimes states Williams resumé ranks with that of any bassist in the modern era. It s a resumé that includes working with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt when he was 17; backing singing legends Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughn and Nancy Wilson in the 60s; anchoring Herbie Hancocks’ Mwandishi Sextet into the 70s; and co-founding the Timeless All-Stars and Sphere after that. As important as he is as a bassist with his virtuosic technique and an unmistakable sound, he is equally known for his compositions and bands, which The New Yorker hails as modern, mainstream Jazz at its best.

“Buster decided it was time to take the plunge, step up to the front, play his music, and express his concept of a cohesive musical unit. Since the inception of his own band, Something More has toured the globe many times.” • All About Jazz

“Bassist Buster Williams is one of the key players in modern jazz with a rock-solid grounding in harmony, counterpoint and orchestration. Buster’s musicianship is impeccable and his rhythmic sense unfailing. Williams work as a leader is a blueprint for bassists on how to assume a more proactive, forward position in an ensemble without throwing it out of balance.” • The New Yorker

“In Williams hands, the bass is a fully articulate solo voice. His big, deep, resilient and inventive playing has made him the bassist of choice throughout the jazz world. He has worked with just about everyone of import on the jazz scene, including long stints with Herbie Hancock and Nancy Wilson.” • JazzIs

Location: The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel 2 Olive Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE

Cost: $55

8:00 pm - 10:30 pm: The Roy Hargrove Big Band

A two-time Grammy winner, Roy Hargrove posthumously topped the 2019 DownBeat Readers’ Poll for his instrument.  Roy is widely acclaimed as one of the premier trumpet players of his generation.  He was a musician of wide tastes with a special gift for composition and melody. While always keeping one foot firmly planted in jazz, Hargrove’s career was one of exciting genre-crossing exploration, including collaborations with Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, Christian McBride, Chucho Valdes, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Common and many others. He toured worldwide throughout his 30-year career with the Roy Hargrove Quintet, the Roy Hargrove Big Band, Roy Hargrove’s Crisol, the Jazz Networks, the Jazz Futures and his funk/jazz outfit, the RH Factor™, until his death in 2018 at age 49. He entered the DownBeat “Jazz Hall of Fame” in 2021.

Roy Hargrove is survived by his wife, Aida Brandes-Hargrove, and daughter, Kamala Hargrove, who in 2020 launched the company, Roy Hargrove Legacy LLC, to preserve and extend his legacy. The Roy Hargrove Big Band, which gives live performances featuring original band members and other musicians who supported Hargrove in his various ensembles was re-launched in 2022 by the Roy Hargrove Legacy. The RH Big Band continues to in concert performances and tours today across the USA and Internationally.

Over his 30-year career, Hargrove composed and recorded several original compositions, one of which, “Strasbourg-St. Denis”, has been characterized as reaching the status and recognition as a Jazz Standard.

Location: Nassau Valley Vineyards 32165 Winery Way, Lewes, DE

Cost: $60