8th Annual Jazz and Beat Festival

Saturday, October 16, 1pm - 10pm, experience the live collaboration of jazz painters and musicians live on two stages at the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts, 521 First Street, Davis, CA. Friday, October 17, 6:30pm - 10pm, special guest, Beat poet Michael McClure performing and Poetry Contest Winners reading their work! This event is the premier collaborative conference in the region.

The Beat Goes on! Saturday, October 17, 1pm-10pm, experience an intimate festival filled with poetry readings and painting improvisations set to the rhythm of live jazz. This is a unique opportunity for attendees to experience exclusive performances by well-known jazz musicians, jazz painters, and poets. Combining visual art and music, two live sites will feature jazz musicians and painters, working at a rapid pace, to simultaneously create improvisational artworks -- a unique and exclusive privilege for the audience. Featured musicians include Trance Mission and Nadal.

Beat poet Michael McClure will perform Friday evening accompanied on the keyboard by Tony Passarell, followed by the Jack Kerouac Annual Poetry contest winners reading their work. 

Poetry Contest Guidelines

We are looking for poems that reflect upon or honor the spirit of “Beat,” whatever that means to you. Typically, Beat-influenced poems are anti-authoritarian, rhapsodic, ecstatic, jazzy, etc. Send a maximum of three poems, not to exceed six total pages. Entries must be the original work of the contestant. Entries will not be returned. Please provide a page with your name, phone number, address and email. Submit the 
information page with your entry to:

Dr. Andy Jones, Beat Generation and Beyond Poetry Editor 
Jackkerouaccontest@gmail.com 
(Winners must attend the (free) conference on October 16, 2015, to read and have the opportunity for their work to be published.)

What others are saying about the Jazz Festival: 
“I don’t know of anyone else who is doing this level of interdisciplinary collaboration between the visual, musical and literary arts. It’s the great work.” 
-Joyce Jenkins, Poetry Flash

“Those for whom the San Francisco Beat phenomenon is merely the stuff of legend can get a taste of the real thing in an all-day conference sponsored by the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis.” 
-Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle

For more information, go to http://www.natsoulas.com, or contact Nancy Resler, art@natsoulas.com.