For those yearning for that feeling of jazz in the sun, a quartet of indoor and outdoor shows is once again peeking over the horizon.
The annual nonprofit Sweetwater Center for the Arts’ Sweet Jazz series is returning this summer to The Walnut Green and Sweetwater in Sewickley, with “doors opening” for each of its shows at 6:30 p.m. and musicians playing from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
What the indoor performances might lack in terms of nourishing Vitamin D, food and vendors, they make up for with the availability of wine for a minimum donation of $5.
Guests attending outdoor shows are invited to bring their own chairs and blankets.
Sweetwater Sweet Jazz series schedule
June 5: Check Your Bucket at Walnut Green. This funky Pittsburgh area act describes itself as playing “mindfully arranged instrumental versions of rare funk and soul recordings from New Orleans, along with adaptations of pieces from more traditional New Orleans musical styles.”
June 12: The Bleil Brothers Band at Sweetwater. A jazz-fusion group of brothers from Pittsburgh, the band describes itself as bringing “a rock-influenced take on modern jazz, featuring unique compositions and arrangements.”
July 10: Dr. Emmet Goods Quartet at Walnut Green. This quarter is led by Goods, a trombonist and assistant professor of music and director of jazz studies at the University of Rhode Island, who has been performing around the East Coast for more than 25 years with jazz and pop music luminaries alike.
July 17: Grace Elliot at Sweetwater. As an award-winning Pittsburgh-born vocalist, songwriter and guitarist, Elliot boasts a “smooth, rich” vocal tone, combining “technical skill with a distinctive musical sensitivity.”
Ticket info
Tickets run $25 a show, and $90 for all four. Children age 12 and under get in free.
VIP tickets for Check Your Bucket and Dr. Emmet Goods Quarter — which offer reserved seating and a private wine or bourbon tasting at 419 Walnut St. — run $45.