COTA Celebration of the Arts Jazz Festival

Headlined by world-renowned legends such as Phil Woods, David Liebman, and Urbie Green, the 32nd Annual Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts (COTA) packs 18 sets of ensemble jazz performances, plus theater, dance, and arts, into a three-day festival in the scenic Borough of Delaware Water Gap, from Friday, September 12, through Sunday, September 14.

The three-day festival in Delaware Water Gap opens Friday evening with a reception for COTA’s Music Motif Show, a juried mixed-media art show, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Antoine Dutot Museum & Gallery on Main Street (Route 611) (no admission charge). In keeping with its tradition of supporting all the performing arts, COTA then presents an evening of edgy political theater, classical music, interpretive dance, and jazz from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church of the Mountain, across the street from the museum. Admission for this event is $8.00 per person, at the door.

On Saturday and Sunday, the music moves outdoors—to a superbly sound-engineered Main Stage on Delaware Avenue (in front of the historic Castle Inn)—and COTA goes “back to its roots” in an eclectic mix of non-stop jazz performed by outstanding musicians who have been with the festival since its birth and infancy. In addition to Woods, Liebman, Dorough, and the Greens (Urbie, Kathy, and Jesse), the festival has featured a host of Northeast Pennsylvania’s nationally known artists, including John Coates, Jr., Eric Doney, Nancy and Spencer Reed (the first to play at the first fest!), Bill Goodwin (with special guest Kim Parker), and Bill Mays, plus two big bands—the high-school COTA Cats and the festival’s own Jazz Artists Repertory Orchestra (JARO).

A perennial Sunday highlight is once again the COTA Cats (Volume XXX), a big band founded by Phil Woods in 1981, and formed anew each year by bringing together selected regional high-school students who are then coached by COTA professional musicians. For their first 20 years, the COTA Cats were organized and directed by Patrick Dorian, Associate Professor of Music at East Stroudsburg University; they are now under the direction of Thomas Fadden, Kyle Glaser, and Lance Rauh. This year’s Cats’ performance marks 30 years of COTA Jazz education.

COTA’s Main Stage Jazz performances run continuously from noon to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 12:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday (following a free 10:00 a.m. Jazz Mass, with a full orchestra, vocal soloists, and 40-voice choir). One-day tickets for Saturday or Sunday are $20/person (tickets for seniors, childen ages 5-15, and students with ID are $10 each day; children under age 5 are admitted free). Two-day tickets may be purchased at the gate on Saturday for $30, or in advance through www.cotajazz.org.

Open all day Saturday and Sunday are COTA’s tented Children’s Space (supervised, with storytellers, music, and craft projects); a multi-vendor Food Court; an Artisans’ Row of fine artists, jewelers, and crafters; and a COTA Booth where fans may purchase records, books, CDs, and DVDs by COTA performers, as well as COTA posters and memorabilia.

No pets or recording devices are allowed at the site. All seating is hillside; blankets or low lawn chairs are advised. In the event of rain, weekend performances will be held beneath a tent, which can accommodate approximately 1,000 fans.

For more information, call (570) 424-2210, or visit www.cotajazz.org.

The Celebration of the Arts (COTA), an all-volunteer-staffed, non-profit, community-supported festival.