Five Points Virtual Jazz Festival on KUVO

KUVO is pleased to present highlights from the 2020 Five Points Virtual Jazz Festival on Thursday, June 24, at 6 pm on KUVO. Tune in!

The original two-hour program featured original performances from Denver-based NEA Jazz Master Dianne Reeves, Hazel Miller, Ron Miles, Venus Cruz, and the Five Pointers, Ritmo Jazz Latino, JoFoKe aNem, Ben Markley Big Band, and the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts.

Interviews and commentary were part of the production too, reflecting the “community” spirit of the event.  Contributors included Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, District 9 City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, Colorado poet laureate Bobby LeFebre, comedian Josh Blue, and a host of artists and business leaders from the Five Points neighborhood.

Co-produced with Rocky Mountain PBS in May 2020 under the severe distancing provisions of the early COVID-19 pandemic, with support from Denver Arts and Venues, artists, videographers and editors, and radio producers from KUVO JAZZ worked together to produce and simulcast the special event, in lieu of the cancellation of one of Denver’s premier community events.  The Colorado Broadcasters Association awarded a Certificate of Merit for the radio-television collaboration. The radio show won “Best Public Radio News or Public Affairs Program from the CBA.

Support for this re-broadcast comes from History Colorado Center, presenting “Five Points Plus: Neighborhood Memory Project,” built on narratives about living, working, and growing up in Five Points by celebrating the rich past of the historic neighborhood through art, music, and live storytelling.

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