SITKA, Alaska — The annual Sitka Jazz Festival starts Thursday.

KCAW reports (http://is.gd/Llnwkb) free concerts are planned Thursday and Friday.

Also planned are evening concerts Friday and Saturday at the Sitka Performing Arts Center. Each concert starts with Alaska students performing early in the evening, followed by professional jazz performers.

Some of the performers are composer and saxophonist Tom Scott, Barbara Morrison, the Grealtanders Air Force Band of the Pacific and tap dancer Katherine Kramer.

Co-director John DePalatis says the festival is more than just concerts, though. There's also 23 workshops planned, covering everything from basic jazz theory to learning improvisation.

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Online:

Sitka Jazz Festival: http://is.gd/iwy5Cc

Information from: KCAW-FM, http://www.kcaw.org