CARIBPR Wire, NEW YORK, NY, Jan. 10, 2010:  The countdown has begun to the Caribbean’s best music festival – Jamaica Jazz & Blues – which is set to wrap up for three nights on the field of the Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny, just 19 km east of its former home in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Turnkey Productions, producers of the annual festival, says plans are well under day to transform the inner field of the stadium into the phenomenal experience that is associated with Jamaica Jazz & Blues annually.

Walter Elmore, executive producer of the festival and founder of Turnkey Productions, insists that fans of the main event will not have to sit in stadium seats for the festival but as at the Aqueduct at Rose Hall in Montego Bay, fans will be able to sit or stand on the field under the stars and soak in the many extraordinary performances.

“All of the focus is currently on transforming the in-field of the stadium to create the intimacy and mystique that is undoubtedly Jamaica Jazz & Blues,” said Elmore. “It will not be a stadium-style performance but definitely an upfront and personal experience as our loyal fans remain our primary focus and we are dedicated to ensuring we continue to providing the unparalleled experience that has made us the number one musical event across the Caribbean.”

The 2010 staging of the JAMAICA Jazz and Blues Festival will be a seven-day long celebration of The Art of Music that will see the North Coast engulfed in the awesome sights and sounds of the Turn Key Productions event from January 24-30.

The event kicks off on Sunday, January 24^th with Jazz in the Gardens at the Jamaica Pegasus, Kingston, featuring Roy Ayers and Tony Greene from 8-11 p.m.  The line-up of the 14^th staging of the annual includes top Grammy winning acts like Gladys Knight, Kenneth `Babyface` Edmonds, Billy Ocean, Erykah Badu, Third World and The Whispers.

Babyface will take to the stage on Thursday, January 28^th at The Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny along with The Whispers, Joss Stone, Monty Alexander and Joe Roy Jackson. 

On Friday, January 29^th, fans can get ready for Erykah Badu, Billy Ocean, Machel Montano, Robin Banks and the Queens Project – featuring Tamia, Kelly Price and Deborah Cox. 

The festival wraps up on Saturday January 30^th with the Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight, along with Third World, Hall & Oates, Jon Secada and Marion Hall.

The annual Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival will be held from January 24-30, 2010 in Jamaica. Jamaica Jazz since its introduction in 1996 was known as the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, has attracted thousands of patrons from the USA, Europe, the Caribbean and Jamaica.

Jamaica Jazz festival officials are urging all music fans in the U.S., U.K. and Canada to book last minute package to the festival now to experience the sights, sounds and magic of sunny Jamaica, West Indies. Tickets and packages are available at www.jamaicajazzandblues.com or by calling your favorite travel agent. 

This year the festival is again being presented by key title sponsor, the Jamaica Tourist Board. Other sponsors include Air Jamaica, Iberostar, Rose Hall Resort, CVM TV and The Gleaner Company among others.

 SOURCE: CaribPR Wire