The inaugural Art of Cool Music Festival, which presents jazz artists throughout downtown Durham on April 25 and 26, suffered its first public setback when the Grammy-winning jazz/hip-hop pianist Robert Glasper canceled his scheduled appearance after running into a booking conflict.
But Durham’s loss may actually turn out to be a gain, as it didn’t take festival co-founder Cicely Mitchell very long to fill Glasper’s spot. In fact, with today’s addition of four jazz and soul acts, she made good and then some on her promise that Glasper’s replacement “will probably include more than one national act.”
Two prior Glasper collaborators—the stunning soul vocalist Bilal and the all-female L.A. soul trio KING—have been added to the festival, as well as the Berklee-trained bassist Gizmo and the Grammy-nominated trumpet player Christian Scott’s quintet. Mitchell also announced that the festival will feature a local hip-hop stage dubbed “R&Boom,” with all backing music provided by a live band.
In other Art of Cool news, PNC Bank has added its name to a long list of festival sponsors.
