‘JAZZ IS ALIVE AND WELL IN FIVE POINTS’

When saxophone player Rico Jones was just 14 years old, he got to jam alongside drummer Tom Tilton and jazz pianist Joe Bonner at Brother Je ’s Cultural Center in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood.

“Joe had performed with artists like Woody Shaw and Pharaoh Sanders,” Jones said. “It was one of the rst times I was so close to the authentic lineage of the music. I was beyond inspired.” at was 2012. Today, Jones — a Latin-Indigenous artist who was born and raised in Denver — has been recognized with more than 10 national awards. He is one of about 40 musical artists slated to perform at this year’s Five Points Jazz Festival. e event runs from noon to 8 p.m. on June 10. It will feature 10 indoor and outdoor stages along Welton Street between 25th and 29th streets. e day kicks o with a parade led by the Guerilla Fanfare Brass Band. Attendees will also nd food vendors, a kid’s zone and artisan booths.

“People love a great music festival,” said Sonia Rae, the cultural a airs program manager for Denver Arts & Venues, which puts on the festival. “ ere’s a powerful and rich jazz or TNT for short — served on this year’s Five Points Jazz Festival selection committee.

Nelson is looking forward to seeing all of the di erent kinds of bands performing this year, she said, “and just being around beautiful people enjoying themselves.”

“People enjoy watching live music because they get to see the bands in