[Dixielandjazz] Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee

Tue May 12 11:11:30 PDT 2009

On Sunday, May 10, 2009 7:29 AM, Mike Marois wrote regarding the Sacramento 
Jazz Jubilee, now renamed the Sacramento Jazz Festival:

Hey All;
Thanks for the link Bob.
I find it interesting that the festival direction
has steered away from what had made it the greatest festival in the world
during the 70's and 80's.
I remember the hay days of over 100 jazz bands
from all around the world with attendance of well over 100,000 patrons.
With this festival rename it looks as if the festival direction is trying to
distance itself from what the Borcher bunch created.
Take care,
Mike Marois

Bob Ringwald says:

Mike, I sent your e-mail (above) to the Exec Director of the festival, Gene 
Berthelsen, for his comments.  Below is a note from Gene.

******

What the writer refers to is a conundrum. Our world-wide attendance has been 
falling
for the past decade, with a larger and larger percentage of our audiences 
from within
a 25-mile radius of the festival. In the early years, there was great 
enthusiasm
for traditional jazz, but as the years have passed, the representation of 
traditional
jazz purists has fallen. Our local audiences want newer and more varied 
styles of
entertainment. Over the years, starting even when Bill Borcher was our 
executive,
we have provided varied styles of music, but our local "brand" has not 
caught up
with what we offered. So, after extensive discussions, we have taken the 
first step
- referring to the festival both as the Sacramento Jazz Festival
and
 as the Sacramento Jubilee, interchangeably. I might say that we continue to 
provide
plenty of swing and traditional jazz, including BED, Bill Allred's Classic 
Jazz Band,
Company B, Fulton Street Jazz Band, Gramercy 6, Sister Swing, Steve Lucky 
and the
Rumba Bums, the 101st Army Dixieland Band, Black Tuesday Jazz Band, Blue 
Street
Jazz Band, Big Tiny Little Jazz Band, Catsnjammer Jazz Band, Climax Jazz 
Band, Cornet
Chop Suey, Dr. Bach and the Jazz Practitioners, Firecracker Jazz Band, 
Fulton Street
Jazz Band, Golden Gate Rhythm Machine, High Sierra Jazz Band, K Street 
Ramblers,
Midnight Rose Jazz Band, Natural Gas, New Lowdown, Night Blooming Jazzmen, 
and Polly's
Hot Paupers, and Royal Society Dance Orchestra, two dozen all star 
performers who
play traditional and swing jazz and, this year, the Benny Goodman Centennial 
Tribute
Band.
-gb
Gene Berthelsen
Executive Director
Sacramento Jazz Jubilee
2787 Del Monte Street
West Sacramento CA 95691
(916) 372-5277 x11
  *****

I might add that I have been involved in the talent selection process for 
the past few years.  Many hours of thought, research, soul-searching, etc 
has gone into the selection of talent for the festival.

 Be aware that every band, every set is rated 30 minutes into the set.  It 
is not rated for quality of music and musicianship because 99% of the people 
doing the rating are not qualified musically.  However the bands are rated 
on the amount of seats filled, their decorum, how well they relate to the 
audience, how well the audience is relating to the band, etc.

We realize that a band can have a bad set for one reason or another.  Thus 
if they are rated badly on one set and good on 9-sets, we know that the bad 
set was a fluke.

However, if a band is rated badly on 9-sets and good on one set, then the 
opposite is true.

Oddly, out of the  top 25 bands, their are only about 5 bands playing OKOM, 
(Our kind of music).  The other 20 are Zydico, Blues, Western Swing, etc.

For us folks who helped start the festival some 36 years ago, this is very 
disappointing to us.  However, we have to book the bands that sell tickets. 
Otherwise we'd be completely out of business.

If you want more OKOM at our festival, come to it and support the OKOM 
bands.  Talk your friends into coming.  It is the law of supply and demand.

There is still plenty of really great OKOM at our festival.

The Thursday night Count Basie Orchestra concert should be a gas.  The band 
is not full of local, pickup    musicians.  It is the real thing.  They have 
recently recorded with Tony Bennett.

The Benny Goodman Centennial  Band should be a gas.  It is filled with great 
musicians who will be playing in other combinations throughout the festival.

Bed is another very popular band with Eddie Erickson, Rebecca Kilgore and 
Dan Barrett.

The Bill Allred Band is great!

Cornet Chop Suey is one of the most popular bands in the country.

Our own Listmate Scott Anthony and his Golden Gate Rhythm Machine with Bob 
Schulz is one of the countries top bands.

The Firecracker Jazz Band from NC was very popular last year.  It is full of 
a bunch of young guys.

Check out:

www.sacjazz.com for all the info.  You can order tickets online there, or 
call 916/372-5277.

Don't forget the Sacramento Jazz Festival DJML Bloody Mary party, 10 AM 
Friday May 22 aboard the Delta King in Old Sacramento.

 --Bob Ringwald K6YBV
rsr at ringwald.com
530/642-9551
916/806-9551 Cell
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band

Hear our latest CD at:
www.fultonstreetjazz.com/music.htm

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