[Dixielandjazz] San Jose Jazz Fest goes to New Orleans as well

[David Richoux]

>
It was a "Free" festival in the past, but now there will be a minimal  
charge event...
still not any true OKOM except maybe Kermit Ruffins (Never has been  
and in previous years, as far as I can remember.)

Dave Richoux
===================================

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/14431204.htm
Sounds of New Orleans will mark S.J. Jazz Festival

By Richard Scheinin
Mercury News
People like to say the San Jose Jazz Festival is the city's biggest  
party, as well as a major benchmark on the culture front. Well, this  
year, from Aug. 17 to 20, the party is really coming to the forefront  
as the festival wraps itself in a New Orleans banner with headliners  
including Dr. John, the Neville Brothers, trumpeter Kermit Ruffins  
and swamp-rock guitarist Sonny Landreth.

Coming just shy of a year after Hurricane Katrina, it will be ``a  
good time to help out some of the New Orleans musicians and to remind  
people of where the music comes from,'' says Geoff Roach, the New  
Orleans native who runs the San Jose Jazz Society, which stages the  
festival.

``I also think a large part of having a festival like this is having  
fun, and something I always associate with New Orleans is having  
people of all sorts of colors, creeds and backgrounds getting out and  
having a blast.''

The festival -- technically it's the Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival  
presented by Southwest Airlines -- also is likely to go through a  
metamorphosis of sorts this summer, its 17th. Until now, it always  
has been a free event, billing itself as the world's largest free  
jazz festival. (One caveat: The festival's gala kickoff,  
traditionally on a Thursday night, this year featuring Ruffins and  
his group the Barbecue Swingers at Santana Row, always is a paid event).

This summer, as Roach has said, there probably will be a $5 charge --  
one charge, covering all the music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday --  
in order to keep the festival in the black and possibly to generate  
much-needed extra funds for the society's year-round music education  
mission in the schools. The society's board of directors is expected  
to approve the change this week.

The $5 charge has been under consideration for a while now and ``the  
more this sinks in, the more people say, `No big deal,' '' Roach  
says. ``Where else in the world can you see this quality of music for  
this type of money? The Neville Brothers for $5?''

Still, free is free, and it remains to be seen whether an admission  
charge, if enacted, will have an impact on the turnout. Last year,  
about 160,000 people attended the festival.

Roach is still signing acts for the festival's nine downtown stages,  
which feature straight-ahead to big band and Latin jazz as well as  
blues and salsa.

Among other artists signed to appear are saxophonist Bud Shank,  
pianist Eldar, B-3 organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, the Spanish Harlem  
Orchestra, trumpeter Tom Harrell (with Serbian guitarist Rale Micic),  
percussionist Pete Escovedo (with the group Mambo Tropical), steel  
drummer Andy Narell (with the band Sakesho), pianist Bill Mays,  
saxophonist Anton Schwartz and vocalist Roberta Gamberini.

Thus far, the schedule seems somewhat tilted toward pop (Dr. John,  
the Nevilles) and music that floats around the periphery of jazz.  
Shank, Harrell, Mays and some of the others are significant players.  
But a jazz-heavyweight critical mass has yet to be reached: What  
about players on the order of Jimmy Heath, James Moody, Geri Allen,  
Ray Barretto, Mulgrew Miller and Greg Osby, who all graced the  
festival's stages the past several years?

Likewise, the ``Jazz Beyond'' stage at San Jose Rep last year  
featured a pair of groundbreaking groups: pianist Jason Moran and  
Bandwagon, and the Bad Plus; each packed the Rep with a youthful  
crowd, and the music pushed the envelope in devilishly smart and  
entertaining ways.

This year's lineup will include No Jazz, a group from Paris that  
brings funk and hip-hop to bear on jazz; it's the only ``beyond'' act  
yet announced.

Roach promises to fill in the blanks. Meanwhile, he talked about the  
key acts so far signed to appear this year on the Main Stage in the  
Plaza de Cesar Chavez. (Friday's Main Stage schedule has yet to be  
announced):

Saturday, Aug. 19

Eldar. The teenage pianist already is ``playing like Chick and Herbie  
and all these guys,'' Roach says, referring to Chick Corea and Herbie  
Hancock. ``One of the things we do at the festival is show off  
emerging artists, and he's phenomenal.''

Dr. Lonnie Smith. The soulful, veteran organist is ``from a parallel  
universe,'' Roach says. ``I keep joking that he drives such a deep  
groove that they're going to have to bring dump trucks into the park  
to fill in the groove when he leaves. Can you imagine thousands of  
people in the park listening to Lonnie Smith?''

Dr. John. ``Can't get much more New Orleans than that. Well, maybe  
the Nevilles.''

Sunday, Aug. 20

The San Jose Jazz Society Orchestra. Roach is still looking for just  
the right special guest soloist to play with the festival's big band  
and maybe bring along some charts. ``We took a survey earlier in the  
year,'' he says, ``and one of the things people wanted was to have  
more quality big band music, and we're going to give it to them.''

Bud Shank. The great alto saxophonist, a linchpin of West Coast jazz  
for decades, is ``going to be 80 this year; he just doesn't stop. If  
you listen to him and his progress as a player over the years, he  
just keeps getting better. And there's a lesson in that: Excellence  
is something you continually have to work at.''

The Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Roach calls these Grammy winners ``the  
best salsa band in the country.''

The Neville Brothers. ``Oh, boy. The Nevilles used to be in the  
Meters. I can remember being a teenager, standing outside the bars  
listening to the Meters play. I can't wait for this one. It's going  
to be New Orleans time.''

San Jose Jazz Festival

Aug. 17-20 on nine downtown stages

Aug. 17: Gala kickoff at Santana Row with trumpeter Kermit Ruffins  
and his Barbecue Swingers

Aug. 18-20: Acts include Dr. John, the Neville Brothers, Dr. Lonnie  
Smith, Eldar, Bud Shank, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Bill Mays, Pete  
Escovedo, Andy Narell, Tom Harrell, Sonny Landreth

Information: (408) 288-7557