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A jazz festival will be held over two weekends in Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico in a joint effort to honor the late Charles Mingus. Mingus, who played and composed for most of the jazz greats, was born in Nogales, Ariz., and died in Mexico, and this is the second time the two communities, known collectively as Ambos Nogales, have worked together to hold a jazz festival in Mingus’s honor.
Admission to all events is free of charge. The first celebration will be held in Nogales, Ariz., on Saturday in two venues. Starting at 10 a.m. on the lawn in front of the Nogales City Hall on Grand Avenue will be the Tucson High School Jazz 2, followed at 11 a.m. by the Arizona Jazz Academy Ellington Band, at noon by Caray, at 1 p.m. by the Pima Community College Jazz Band, and at 2 p.m. by Seven to Blue.
AMingus documentary film festival and art show will accompany performances slated at the James K. Clark Performing Arts Center on the campus of Nogales High School, 1905 Apache Blvd. The performances start at 11 a.m. with the Nogales High School Combo, followed at noon by Seven to Blue, 1 p.m. by Jazz Werx, 2 p.m. by the Tucson High School Jazz 1, 3 p.m. by the University of Arizona Studio Jazz Ensemble, and at 4 p.m. by the Arizona Jazz Academy Basie Band.
That day at 6:30 p.m., the Nogales High School Band Boosters are hosting the annual Italian dinner, complete with performances by NHS musicians. The cost is $15 for adults, $10 for children. Then on Wednesday, the festival continues in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. At 7 p.m. Sergio Mendoza y la Orquesta will play at the Teatro Auditorio on Obregon Street, followed at 8 p.m. by Los Cacha Latino Jazz.
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Ken Tittelbaugh, a former high-school music educator, organized the event, which drew sponsorship from the Nogales-Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, Young Audiences of Santa Cruz County, the Nogales High School Band Boosters, the cities of Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, the Chicago Store, and Nogales Unified School District.
Mingus began playing music professionally at age 17 and eventually recorded 30 albums and wrote more than 300 musical compositions. He was born in Nogales, Ariz., but was raised in California. He died in Mexico on Jan. 5, 1979, at the age of 56 of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
