Adi Oasis and the Flynn Announce the 2024 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival Lineup

Adi Oasis was on hand at the Flynn in Burlington on Friday morning to help announce the lineup for the 2024 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival in a press conference. In March, Flynn executive director Jay Wahl hand-picked the French-Caribbean funk and R&B artist to curate the 41st iteration of the annual festival. Oasis follows Lakecia Benjamin and Michael Mwenso, nationally known musicians who performed similar roles at the festival the past two years in what's become a new tradition. Following an introductory performance from the Edmunds Middle School Band, Wahl and Oasis revealed all the details of this year's festival, from the headliners to local school bands. [content-1] Haitian-American composer, singer and visual artist Cécile McLorin Salvant, regarded as on of the best jazz vocalists of her generation, kicks off the festival at the Flynn Main Stage on Wednesday, June 5. Six of Salvant's seven albums have been nominated for Grammy awards, including her 2018 album The Window, which marked her third win in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category. The Flynn also hosts the festival's closing show: composer and pianist Robert Glasper  performs on the Main Stage on Sunday, June 9. Glasper's Black Radio series of records blends many styles of music with jazz — as does the musician himself, a leading presence in the modern jazz scene who has appeared on records with hip-hop stars Kendrick Lamar and Q-Tip. As in recent years, all other jazz fest shows will be free and open to the public, including the large-scale performances at Burlington's Waterfront Park. New Orleans' Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia, follows Oasis and her band on the Waterfront Stage on Friday, June 7. Saturday's waterfront lineup features Montréal voudou and rara musician Wesli, as well as headliner Seun Kuti & Egypt 80. That band continues the legacy of Seun's father, Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti. Explaining her approach to curating the festival, which heavily features female artists, Oasis said, "I wanted to share my perspective. I wanted to bring in things that I thought were missing." Oasis said one of her goals was to highlight women in jazz and music in general. As she pointed out, only two percent of published music is produced by women. "We made sure we had women performing and women that write their own songs and have their own stories to tell," Oasis said. "I also wanted to put the emphasis on women of color in jazz. I don't…