Bringing Home the Five Points Sound

Between the 1920s and 50s, the Five Points neighborhood was the heart of Denver’s jazz scene. Known as the “Harlem of the West,” Five Points played host to all the greats: pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington, singers Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, saxophonist Charlie Parker, and trumpeter Miles Davis, just to name a few. Local players also kept things cooking, and soon enough the Five Points sound emerged, a brand of jazz characterized by red-hot swing and boundless  joie de vivre. Today, the keeper of the Five Points sound is Purnell Steen and Le Jazz Machine. 

Saturday, March 8 at 7pm, Purnell Steen and Le Jazz Machine perform at the Crossroads Theater 2590 Washington Street. This will be an evening of live, swinging hot jazz in an intimate venue. Proceeds benefit the Jazz Youth Workshop. Tickets available at  at www.jazzatthepoint.org. Call 303-909-9754 for information.