[Dixielandjazz] Jazz Aspen Snowmass Controversy

[Stephen Barbone]

G. William:

Well now, where in that article does it say it is a Jazz Festival? Does it not
list the musicians who are appearing? Like Dylan and Willie Nelson? Are you
saying that this article justifies the context of the letters that were
written, like false advertising, miss-leading people etc. You've been had by a
knee jerk follow the leader reaction of people who told you on the list that
this group was touting the Labor Day Festival as a Jazz Festival. That
contention was simply not true. Get a grip.

This has been a major music festival for the past 10 years or so. In Summer
they promote all types of music including lots of jazz. And they have summer
sessions to promote jazz among young, talented musicians. They are quite good
at what they do, generating major corporate sponsorships as high as $420,000,
major season subscriptions to $2000 per person. The last thing these folks are
worried about is a few misinformed OKOM "fans" who don't know how to read.

Who among the letter writers read this article and based their letters on it?

Pretentious? Not me, I'm rolling on the floor laughing my ass off.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

"G. William Oakley" wrote:

> Apparently you did not read the Denver article which set off the brouhaha.
> Here is the article:
>
> "All that Jazz Aspen
>
> Jazz Aspen boss Jim Horowitz is jazzed about the upcoming Labor Day
> festival.
>
> "The advance sales are triple anything we've had in the past 12 years," says
> Horowitz. In 2000, it was Lyle Lovett, Joe Cocker, Jimmy Cliff and the
> Allman Brothers taking the stage. This year, it's Phil Lesh, Macy Gray, Keb'
> Mo', Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Nickel Creek.
>
> "The Dylan show on Sunday (Sept. 1) is the biggest one of all," says
> Horowitz. "The venue holds 10,000, and we expect to sell out early on the
> day of the show."
>
> It's a new venue this year - the base of Buttermilk Mountain, close to Aspen
> and the action.
>
> And the action will be at Colony, a new restaurant/nightclub in town where
> Horowitz will hold court every night after the bands wrap. He's invited all
> the musicians to sit in, so it should be a jam to remember."
>
> When I see it in the Denver Post I assume there is a certain amount of truth
> to the article.  According to you we are supposed to go to their web site
> and verify.  If I had seen it on their site should I go to the Post to
> verify.  I don't think so.  Thus, your suggestion of reacting to a hearsay
> note is,  to put it mildly,  nonsense.  There is another word I would choose
> but I won't.  It was a reaction to a legitimate newspaper source and your
> pretentious chiding cannot change that.
> Regards,
> G. William Oakley
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stephen Barbone" <barbonestreet@earthlink.net>
> To: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Friday, August 23, 2002 1:47 PM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Jazz Aspen Snowmass Controversy
>
> > Well, we got hoisted on our own petards. Maybe all who wrote the
> > festival producer rushed to judgement?  A look at the web site reveals
> > that Jazz Aspen Snowmass is not the name of the Labor Day Festival. The
> > name of the Festival is something more exotic like "Labor Day Festival".
> >
> > Jazz Aspen Snowmass is apparently a generic name for the producer and/or
> > venue.
> >
> > Note also that the description of this Labor Day Festival that follows a
> > few paragraphs down, It quotes their site which says "ROCK, FUNK, WORLD,
> > SOUL, R & B, and more". There is no mention of jazz, or this being a
> > jazz festival.  NOTHING ABOUT JAZZ AT ALL.
> >
> > So, this poor bastard festival producer gets all these nasty letters
> > from people reacting to a hearsay note that a "Jazz Festival" is
> > occurring in Aspen and it has no jazz. People who obviously did not read
> > the information on the event web site.
> >
> > Me, I don't blame them for getting just a little pissed.  Especially
> > since during the year they produce more than one jazz event, with some
> > big time jazz artists in performance.
> >
> > We are lucky that Charlie Hooks, Jim Beebe or I are not the Festival
> > Producers cause then we'd really see some tough love letters back.. :-)
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Steve (Trust But Verify) Barbone
> >
> > HERE IS THE FESTIVAL DESCRIPTION ON THEIR WEB SITE.
> >
> > "Description: The open air Labor Day Weekend music extravaganza features
> > four full days of rock, funk, blues, world, soul, R&B, and more. Set in
> > the shadow of the spectacular "bowed roof stage", four acts perform
> > daily from noon ? 8:30pm. The dance-oriented event never skips a beat,
> > and attendees keep moving during intermissions in the 'JAS Village', an
> > international bazaar of exotic food, crafts, drumming circles and more.
> > Between main-stage acts the music is continuous with bands at the Janus
> > Music Club throughout the day. The broad and diverse collection of ages
> > (12-60+) and music attract daily audiences of 8000+ from around the
> > U.S.A. and beyond..."
> >
> >
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