Blue Note Records to celebrate 80th birthday

The Journal

Blue Note Records will celebrate its 80th birthday with “The State of Jazz” concert 7:30- 9:30 p.m. Friday at Farmington Civic Center, 200 W. Arrington St. in Farmington.

Blue Note plans to present three new artists in a celebration of the label and jazz music today. Current Blue Note artists Kandace Springs, James Francies and the James Carter Organ Trio will perform a set of their music, followed by a finale in which all the musicians come together to perform a classic Blue Note tune.

Kandace Springs, a Nashville singer and pianist, will release her third Blue Note album, “The Women Who Raised Me in early 2020.”

Other musicians include James Francies, a Houston-born, NYC-based pianist and composer who has played with jazz headliners, and James Carter, a Detroit saxophonist whose music evokes early jazz, jump blues, the avant-garde and music of the African-American experience.

Tickets are $28 for adults; $24 for students, seniors and military; and $20 for groups of 10 or more. To purchase tickets, visit www.fmtn.org/CivicCenter.