Interfaith Works presents:

The 2008
World Sacred Music Festival
OLYMPIA, USA

a celebration of the sacred
through the uplifting music & dance of the world

Saturday March 8 -- 11am to 9:30pm
at The Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts
South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia

Given that jazz is normally thought of as neither world music nor sacred, it might seem surprising that the Jazz Senators are the musicians performing at a benefit concert for the World Sacred Music Festival.

"It seems weird, doesn't it?" said Kathy Erlandson, director of Interfaith Works, which hosts the annual festival. "I thought about that, too."

But in fact, not only are the Jazz Senators giving their time for the benefit - which will help the festival pay performers - but they also will perform at the fourth festival, set for March 8.

"We'll be performing some of Ellington's sacred music," said Richard Lopez, who plays trombone with the Jazz Senators and is a member of the committee planning the festival. "I think there's going to be a 90-person choir performing with us there."

At the Monday night benefit, the band, led by Norm Wallen, will perform selections from Ellington's jazz version of "The Nutcracker Suite" along with holiday classics and a new arrangement of Hanukkah songs.

"We have a brand-new, world-premiere, klezmer Hanukkah medley, which is from the Jewish tradition," Lopez said. "It's a wonderful piece of music. So there is some diversity in this holiday concert."

The klezmer piece was composed by saxophone player Mark Thome.

"The selections from Duke Ellington's 'Nutcracker' should have great community appeal," Erlandson added. "This isn't just a Christmas concert; it's a holiday concert. It should have wide appeal for a lot of people."

This is the first benefit concert for the World Sacred Music Festival, which began three years ago.

"Our World Sacred Music Festival is still pretty new, and we don't have much of a budget for it," Erlandson said. "We mostly engage musicians who are willing to play for nothing, and we would really like to be able to compensate them some, and we'd also like to potentially attract some higher-profile musicians who'd have to come from further and hire them to come, or at least pay their expenses."

But it's far from the first benefit for the Jazz Senators, who help the Union Gospel Mission raise money for its Community Dental Clinic.

"The Jazz Senators do really well attracting community interest," said Lopez, who also plays with Native Blue. "The Union Gospel Mission has been very successful in raising money for its free dental clinic."

Lopez came up with the idea to ask Wallen and the rest of the band members to consider helping this cause as well.

"He said, 'I might be able to get the Jazz Senators to do a concert,' " Erlandson said. "It was a generous offer, and we're so grateful."