September 16, 2008; Monterey, CA; The Monterey Jazz Festival kicks off the weekend’s activities this Thursday with another edition of the special “Concert for Kids” at the Monterey Fairground, with the Berklee Latin Jazz All-Stars performing a free 45-minute set for the children in Monterey County public schools. The concert will start at 12 Noon on Thursday, September 18th at the Garden Stage at the Monterey Fairgrounds.

The “Concert for Kids” is an annual tradition at the Monterey Jazz Festival. The Festival invites children from Monterey County middle and high schools to attend the free event every year, with an estimated 600 children attending. The concert is part of an outreach effort on the part of the educational programs of the Monterey Jazz Festival to bring free jazz music to the students of Monterey County.

The Berklee Latin Jazz All-Stars are six top scholarship students at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. Hailing from Puerto Rico, Israel, and the continental U.S., the band was named the 2008 Best College Jazz Band in DownBeat Magazine’s prestigious Student Music Awards under the name La Timbistica. Members of the band have performed or recorded with Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Valentin, Cachao, Danilo Perez, and Victor Manuelle, among others, and recorded for XM Radio. They have performed at the Tito Puente Latin Music Series in Boston, Washington DC’s Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Festival, and will perform sets at MJF/51 on Friday night September 19, and Saturday afternoon, September 20.

The media is invited to come and capture the excitement and energy of seeing children experience live world-class jazz at the beautiful Monterey Fairgrounds!