For Immediate Release Contact: Paul S. Fingerote

paul@fingerote.com 831/373-3343

BACKSTAGE STORIES OF MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL STARS SPICED WITH CLASSIC JAZZ TUNES

KICKS OFF JAZZ WEEK IN MONTEREY WITH "JAZZ ON MY MIND"

Longtime MJF Marketing Director Paul Simeon Fingerote Shares Stories Told by Bay Area Jazz Icon Dr. Herb Wong

With Songs by Award-Winning Vocalist Jamie Zimmer Accompanied by Local Piano Pro Eddie Mendenhall

Popular Multi-Media Presentation Features

Readings, Historic Photos, Album Cover Art and Live Jazz,

2:00 pm, Sunday September 10th, Monterey Public Library

August 28, 2017; Monterey, California; While the weekend of the 60th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival will be filled with its storied history, if you really want to hear behind-the-scenes stories from the festival, join the Friends of the Monterey Public Library as they present "Jazz on My Mind: Backstage Stories of the Stars of the Monterey Jazz Festival" to kick off jazz week in Monterey at 2:00 pm, September 10th, in the Monterey Public Library. 30-year MJF Marketing Director and longtime Monterey resident, Paul Simeon Fingerote, will be joined by award-winning Bay Area vocalist, Jamie Zimmer, accompanied by local professional pianist, Eddie Mendenhall, in a multi-media presentation, with readings from "Jazz on My Mind," songs associated with artists in the book, classic jazz album cover art, historic jazz photos and more.

Fingerote co-authored the book with Dr. Herb Wong, a seven-decade veteran of leadership in the jazz industry, including 30 years as a DJ on San Francisco's legendary jazz radio station, KJAZ. Wong was a founder and producer for two record labels, Palo Alto Jazz and Black Hawk Records. He was a pioneering jazz educator, a member of the Jazz Educators Hall of Fame. "Jazz on My Mind" is filled with Herb Wong's behind-the-scenes stories of legendary jazz artists, many of them from the Monterey Jazz Festival, an event Wong covered every year from its inception in 1958 until 2013, the last MJF he could physically attend. Monterey Jazz Festival-related artists in the book include Dave Brubeck, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé, Dizzy Gillespie, Jon Faddis, Bola Sete and Shelly Manne, many of whose stories will be included in the September 10th show. "Herb knew all the great jazz artists, not only professionally, he knew them as friends," noted Fingerote. "He gained an intimate knowledge of the artists from his 70-year career in jazz, and I'll share his stories in our Library show." This will be the third performance joining Fingerote and vocalist Zimmer, both of whom, coincidentally, are associated through the California Jazz Conservatory (CJC). Fingerote joined the 20-year old Berkeley-based jazz education institution in February of this year as Marketing Director; Zimmer will be entering her second year at CJC in pursuit of her Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies degree. She was recently named the top vocalist in the 2017 Bay Area-wide, Jazz Search West competition. "Jamie Zimmer is a real star," commented Fingerote. "She is an enormously talented young lady and it's Jamie's talents that turn this into a real show!" Keyboardist Mendenhall is a product of the Monterey Jazz Festival's jazz education endeavors, where he and Fingerote first met when Eddie was a teen-age student in the MJF jazz ed program. "To have Eddie Mendenhall join us is simply icing on the cake," Fingerote said. "I've wanted to work with him for years, and it will be a pleasure having Eddie join Jamie in our show." The event if free of charge for members of Friends of the Monterey Public Library; a $10 donation is suggested for all others. Guests are advised to arrive early as seating is limited.

## Photo Captions Paul Simeon Fingerote will be presenting "Jazz on My Mind" at the Monterey Public Library on September 10th.

Jamie Zimmer will be performing in "Jazz on My Mind" at the Monterey Public Library on September 10th. Backstage stories of Monterey Jazz Festival artists from "Jazz on My Mind" will be presented at the Monterey Public Library on September 10th The Friends of the Monterey Public Library present "Jazz on My Mind" on September 10th at the Monterey Public Library.