[Dixielandjazz] Sacramento comments

[Tim Eldred]

Unfortunately, due to work commitments and family needs, my wife and I did not get to as many Jubilee sets or venues as usual.  But, for those limited ones we did get to, I wanted to offer my comments.

Friday night, we were in the Convention Center area, and attendance was very small.  Cornet Chop Suey put on their usual energetic show, with verve and wit.  Saturday night, we were in the Cal Expo RV Pavilion for Igor, followed by the Zydeco party.  Every set was jammed with about 1500 people. (I think that is capacity - they had to close the doors due to the demand and fire codes.)  Every band commented that it was their favorite venue, for the crowd response and energy level.  The crowd was of every age group, including small children who eagerly participated in the umbrella parades.  It will be a great loss to the Jubilee to lose that site, as well as two other large ones within the Cal Expo site.

We did not get to Old Sacramento this year, the first time since the Festival/Jubilee started.

We did not see as many trad bands as in previous years, basically because of the scheduling and locations we were able to get to.  Some of the "trad bands" that put out fantastic music were not well attended. My guess is because Jubilee "casual visitors" are trying to get to the best-publicized groups.

To be honest, some of the trad bands sounded old and tired.  Time marches on, age brings its changes, and it's possible some of the players weren't feeling well.  Even though we understand that and will go see them anyway, those new to the music and the bands probably will not be so forgiving.

In addition to recording attendance at the venues, it would be fascinating to me to somehow measure the average age at each presentation.  That way, the jubilee could assess which type of music brings in the largest attendance and revenue.  Even if it decreases the percentage of trad bands at the Jubilee, getting more people to the Jubilee and then creatively scheduling outstanding trad bands into the mix can help spread the tradition to more and more folks.

My thoughts, for whatever they are worth...

Tim Eldred
Roseville, CA