for power outages

“ e people who do special ed do it because their heart is in it,” Johnson said. “Growing up, my brother couldn’t come to school with us because they didn’t have a program for him. at’s why I’m doing this.

“But I’m in my 27th year and funding hasn’t come close to catching up, and it’s a travesty that we have to do it on the backs of general education students who are also struggling.” is story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters

Five Points Jazz Festival returns for 20th year

BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

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 community here in Denver – some of the nest local musicians are playing the festival.” e festival is free and will feature a variety of jazz genres: Latin jazz, smooth jazz, soul, avant-garde, jazz roots, blues and more.

Tenia Nelson, a pianist with the Denver-based Tenia Nelson Trio — 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