[Dixielandjazz] Sacramento Music Festival

[Stephen G Barbone]

> "Mike Marois" <Mike.Marois at HireLiveMusic.com> wrote:
>
> To me the title of the press release should be "R.I.P. Sacramento  
> Jubilee".
> This is what happens when you don't follow your mission statement  
> and let
> outsiders influence your direction all driven by the almighty buck.   
> What
> will happen is within 3-5 years there will be a token jazz band,  
> more than
> likely a pick up group, to tie the festival back to it's roots.

I don't know Mike and certainly hope your prediction does not come  
true. But then, what is the alternative? Trad festivals are having a  
hard time these days with some dropping out completely. To pursue that  
path seems like a dead end to me.

Also consider that the City of Sacramento has some time, effort and  
probably money invested in the event. They probably want to be repaid  
and it seems that a trad only festival isn't gonna be able to do that  
these days.

Mission statements come and go in the business world and IMO music,  
jazz or otherwise, is a business. If a mission statement is no longer  
viable the best alternative is to change it to one that is. I'll never  
forget a conversation with Management guru Peter Drucker who said "The  
Mission of a Business is to Stay in Business."

My hat is off to Bob and the other movers and shakers of the STJS, and  
the Festival, whatever it is called. They are striving to keep  
Dixieland alive in a very tough marketplace. Will it ever be like it  
was? No, but then what is?  Are there 100,000 dixieland fans out there  
that will come to Sacramento like they did in the 1980s? Not likely,  
most of them died.

I can only chide those few one eyed fans who will not show up because  
there isn't enough of the music they want to hear. The reason there  
aren't 100 Dixieland Bands at Sacto anymore, is simply that not enough  
fans showed up to begin with.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband