Indiana University East will bring Direct Contact Latin Jazz to the Richmond Music Festival, an event organized by the Starr-Gennett Foundation. The festival is Friday, September 12 through Sunday, September 14.

Direct Contact will kick off Saturday’s Music on Main Street programming at 1 p.m. in front of IU East’s Room 912, on the E. Main Street stage between 9th and 10th streets. The Latin jazz band is brought to the festival by IU East’s Diversity Committee, Mindful Explorations, and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Mindful Explorations is courtesy of the William H. and Jean R. Reller Endowment.

Visitors may also visit the art gallery at Room 912 for a preview of a new exhibit featuring works inspired by Argentina, where a group of IU East students visited for a study abroad trip in May. Both the performance and the exhibit are a part of a series of Hispanic Heritage Month events at IU East.

Direct Contact includes 2013 Chicago Music Awards nominee Pavel Polanco-Safadit, who has teamed up with Henry Mancini’s bass player and 2013 Indianapolis Jazz Hall of Fame Inductee Steve Dokken, Tito Puente’s sax player Al Shikaly, Ball State University Director of Jazz Mark Buselli and Latin American music specialists Raul Padro and Andre Artist to form an incredible and super entertaining Latin jazz group.

Direct Contact Latin Jazz is known throughout the Midwest for its high-energy and challenging music, much in the vein of the modern pyrotechnicians of today’s Latin jazz. Featured as headliners in festivals, conventions, radio, television, and sharing the stage with major artists such as Dave Valentin, Direct Contact is a one of a kind group with a unique combination of flavors that will make your experience an unforgettable one.

The performance is a part of the annual weekend that celebrates the Starr-Gennett company’s Richmond history and Gennett Records impact on the music recording industry. This year the celebration has been expanded into the Richmond Music Festival, bringing together a variety of institutions and organizations including IU East, Earlham College, Richmond High School, the Richmond Art Museum, the Veteran’s Association, and the Downtown Business Group to celebrate Richmond’s musical and cultural heritage.

In addition to the Music on Main Street Fair, the festival features performances by the Jeff Hamilton Trio at 7:30 p.m. on September 12 at Earlham’s Goddard Auditorium; the Deacon Jones Blues Band at 7:30 p.m. September 14 at McGuire Hall; and September 15 is the Praise in the Park during the afternoon at Glen Miller Park, followed by the Tom Daughtery Band in Veteran’s Park that evening. For a calendar of events, visit Richmond Music Festival at visitrichmond.org.

 Photo Cutline: Pavel Polanco-Safadit of Direct Contact Latin Jazz band will play in Richmond September 13.