[Dixielandjazz] Festival players

[Stephen Barbone]

Patrick Cooke wrote: (quoting Barbone and answering)

> >>> Just that all jazz festivals seem to be having
> attendance problems. They seek new ideas, broader music horizons.<<<
>
>        I can understand that.....So there's a festival coming up.....I check
> the list of performers, and note that I saw all of them just a few months
> ago at another festival...except the performers I liked best got omitted
> from the upcoming fest.
>         Do all of the performers (excepting the ones I liked best) at a
> festival just get on the same plane and go to the next one? :-)

Ha Ha. Good point Pat. Are you talking about the typical "Dixieland" Festivals?
It seems from both American and Mississippi Rag ads, write-ups, etc. that a
high percentage of the same bands perform at these festivals. I've also been
told the the same fans rotate around these festivals. Must be a clubby scene.

>From the performers point of view and the promoters, I guess one hand washes
the other. From the fans point of view, they are all dying off anyway, so what
does it matter?

I am talking about a different set of Festivals. Berk's for example has the
following appearing, list taken from their web site.
http://www.berksjazzfest.com

Rehoboth and Clifford Brown may duplicate two or three of the below. (certainly
one, us.) but the others will probably not duplicate any of the above
performers who will be at the Berk's Jazz Festival, except for us.

Ticketed Event Lineup (advanced reservations necessary) Average ticket cost
about $30 per performance.

Boney James    George Duke    Peabo Bryson

Chuck Mangione with the Reading Pops Orchestra

Yellowjackets    Brenda Russell    Stanley Jordan

Ponco Sanchez & His Latin Jazz Band with the Reading Symphony  Orchestra

Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Band featuring Jon Faddis, Slide Hampton, John
Lee, Mulgrew Miller and Antonio Hart

David Mann    Peter Mayer Group    Kim Waters

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band plus Barbone Street Jazz Band

Mindi Abair    Euge Groove    Deanna Bogart Band

Dixie Power Trio    Gerald Albright    Randy Brecker

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones    Dave Samuels

The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman with special guest Eric Marienthal

Gato Barbieri    Stanley Clarke    Brian Culbertson

Pieces Of A Dream, with special guest Gerald Veasley

John Scofield Band    Chuck Loeb    Freddie Ravel

Jeff Kashiwa    Club Trini    Cyrus Chestnut Trio

Karrin Allyson    Tab Benoit and Jimmy Thackery

Ken Gehret and Friends    Down To The Bone

Jaco Pastorius Tribute: Brian Bromberg Band with special guests Gerald Veasley,
Victor Bailey, Michael Manring and others

Habana Sax    Tim Price & Dig This

PLUS about 65 more non-ticketed events at smaller venues.  Barbone Street has a
gig at a couple of those too. Usually Club venue with a requirement to buy
lunch and/or a drink minimum. No Cover. This is a very different breed of Jazz
Festival.

Rehoboth and Clifford Brown Festivals may duplicate two or three of the above.
(certainly one, us.) but the others will probably not duplicate any of the
Berks Jazz Festival performers except for us.

The audience is younger, has broader musical tastes and is willing to spend $30
to $55 for an hour and a half performance. Twelve hours of music might cost
upwards of $350 which would be outrageous to the typical Dixieland festival
goer. Additionally at least half of the ticket buyers 25,000,  come from within
a 100 mile radius. Our band booked 8 festivals so far in 2003, within a 90
miles radius. We only stay overnight at the farthest one, Rehoboth.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone