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Jazz to rock city

DUBAI - The second annual Philips Dubai International Jazz Festival 2004 is expected to attract more than 10,000 fans between January 21 and 23. After the tremendous response to last year's festival and staging an equally successful inaugural jazz festival in Abu Dhabi in October 2003, Chillout Productions brings a fantastic line-up of artistes to Dubai later this month.

The calm and relaxed yet energetic ambience at the Dubai Media City grounds coupled with some of the world's best musicians performing live, promise a memorable three days for music lovers. A quick glance at the schedule reveals that the festival is much more than jazz.

Musical genres like funk, fusion and Latino are as well represented as blues, soul, mild jazz and popular jazz.

With artistes alternating between the Philips and Cadillac stages, members of the audience can enjoy a shisha in a hospitality tent or just sprawl out on the lawns and let the music take over.

"The interest in this year's festival has been extraordinary. Dubai has all the elements of making it a great jazz city - a cosmopolitan culture, great sponsors and excellent infrastructure to host artistes and concerts," says Anthony Younes, director, Chillout Productions.

The organisers are delighted with the public's response, already indicated by quick ticket sales. "Before last year's festival ended, we already got queries from fans about the next one. Enquiries over the past few weeks and ticket sales clearly point in the direction of yet another successful festival," said Younes.

One of the reasons for the extremely positive response is the moderate pricing of the tickets. For Dh195, a spectator can enjoy 12 concerts that include legends such as Toots Thielemans, Buddy Miles, Carla Cook and popular band Absolute Earth Wind and Fire.

No other festival in the world can claim such rapid strides within a year. If last year saw the legendary drummer, Billy Cobham, thrill audiences with his percussionist talents, this year only promises to be bigger and better.

The doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 7pm. Tickets are priced at Dh125 for a one-night pass, Dh195 for a three-night pass and Dh395 for a VIP-pass that includes a three-night pass and access to the jam sessions after the shows at Pachanga in the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah. Tickets are available at select Starbucks outlets, Disco 2000, Spinneys and Century Cinemas and can also be purchased online at www.itptickets.com or hotline 800 4669.

• UAE