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Local Music Tap: Twin Cities Jazz Fest Begins

The Twin Cities Jazz Festival is back for its 16th year in downtown St. Paul and is bringing in great talent from all around the world -- and it's totally free.

Opening Thursday, the family-friendly festival and its events are held on four outdoor stages in and around Mears Park in the heart of the Lowertown neighborhood.

This year, the festival will feature Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Reevea, NEA Jazz Master saxophonist Branford Marsalis, 2013 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition winner Melissa Aldana and New Orleans "Big Easy" award-winning keyboardist Joe Krown.

The jazz festival is a nonprofit organization with the goal of keeping the art form of jazz alive and well.

There are free rides to the jazz festival offered by Metro Transit.

For more details on the exact schedule and where the four stages are, click here.

Also, check out WCCO's Edward Moody's report on the jazz festival early Thursday morning below.

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Local Music Tap is a blog aimed at promoting Minnesota-based musicians, bands, shows and events. If you have music blog ideas, please email cepremo@wcco.com or leave a comment below. Also, follow the Local Music Tap on Twitter and on YouTube.

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