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Smooth jazz and red-hot blues By BILL VARBLE The U.S. Cellular Smooth Jazz and Blues Festival opens with a rock and reggae show Friday night at Eden Farm on Highway 66, Ashland, continues with a blues lineup Saturday and wraps up with jazz on Sunday. The Reputations, Michael D and Onefulness, Stem, Zion Train and The Beau Berry Band all perform Friday night. Alligator Records recording star Coco Montoya headlines Saturday's show. Jazz star Tom Grant headlines Sunday's program, which also features blues diva Linda Hornbuckle. Admission is $15 a day in advance, $20 at the show. A three-day pass is $25 in advance, $35 at the show. Special admission for Friday only is $5. Get tickets at Gourmet Coffee Company, Larry's Music and Paddington Station, or go to www.ladybugshows.com, or call 944-6755. Coco Montoya is known for his incendiary blues guitar playing, but he actually started back in the 1970s with a stint of several years as a drummer for bluesman Albert Collins. His next gig found him playing guitar for British blues legend John Mayall. Montoya stepped out on his own in 1993. Tom Grant is a native Oregonian who has long worked the interface of jazz and pop. For three decades, his compositions and instrumental work have shown up on both adult contemporary and smooth jazz charts. He helped pioneer the latter genre in the 1980s. Grant's last album, "Tune It In," was on the Windham Hill label. His radio show has had a three-year run on Portland's KJAZZ 106.7 FM and is bound for syndication. The festival has a strong local flavor, too, with Rogue Valley favorites such as Zion Train, the Rhythm Kings, Usual Suspects and Broadway Phil and the Shouters. Look for orange balloons at Ashland bus stops and ride a free shuttle to the show. The weekend also features food, wine, microbrews, arts and crafts, volleyball, horseshoes and a kids' activity area. Food and potables come from Weisinger's and Paschal vineyards, Walk About, Standing Stone and Caldera microbreweries, and Red Lion, Primavera, the McCully House, 1st Choice Catering and Celena's Grill. No beer or wine may be taken into the show. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] If you go Here's the lineup for the U.S. Cellular Smooth Jazz and Blues Festival Sept. 7-9: FRIDAY 5:30 p.m. - The Reputations Band. 7 p.m. - Zion Train. 8:30 p.m. - Stem. 10 p.m. - Beau Berry Band. SATURDAY 11 a.m. - Rhythm Kings. Noon - The Usual Suspects. 2 p.m. - Broadway Phil and the Shouters. 3:30 p.m. - Dave Amour Band. 5 p.m. - Jim Mesi Band. 6:30 p.m. - Aaron Black Band. 8 p.m. - Red Archibald and the Internationals. 9:30 p.m. - Coco Montoya. SUNDAY 11 a.m. - Carol J. Toca. 12:30 p.m. - Tony Windle. 2 p.m. - Thara Memory. 3:30 p.m. - Tay Obiedo. 5 p.m. - Tom Grant, featuring Linda Hornbuckle. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.