JAZZ FEST
The following are in response to Jan Ramsey’s Blog “The Changing Face of Jazz Fest.”
I believe that the Fest has lost its way. I know the reasoning behind bringing in these so called arena acts, for the money, but it’s just not the same anymore. I love to go to the smaller stages. Fais Do Do is my favorite. If I want to see Elton John, etc., I’ll go to an arena in my area. It’s much too crowded, and if it rains, as it often does, it’s a muddy mess. I’ve been going to the Fest for 28 years now, and I miss the old days!
—Dom Versaggi, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I was looking at my Jazz Fest history book for the year 1975—all roots and all New Orleans, and mostly weird. Today roots music doesn’t sell to the masses. New Orleans is in Economy Hall, and corporations like AEG don’t know how to do weird—that and that most of the local talent that the fest thrived on for years is long gone and not replaceable.
The fest is like most great ideas that start out relatively small, become more popular, people realize there’s tons of money to be made, especially if the concept is broadened to fit in more ticket buyers, and the original idea, or place, loses what made it special, its soul.
—Andrew “Joe Fox” Towne, Altadena, California
My first Jazz Fest was 1977, and I went to 24 of them after that. In the beginning it was such a wonderful experience of New Orleans music and culture. In the early ’90s I wrote a letter to Quint Davis expressing my feelings about the Fest getting too large. The amount of people in the Fairgrounds was awful. Health reasons stopped me from going, but I’m not sure I would have gone anyway. The magnificent Jazz and Heritage Festival was the greatest music and cultural event I ever attended. I did not miss one day at the Fairgrounds for the first 21 years, and I do thank Quint Davis for bringing us the Fest in the first place.
—Bob Vogel, Burlingame, California
We went to Jazz Fest about five years ago, and the suffocating crowds for the Dave Matthews appearance made me not want to attend another Jazz Fest. One thing that this festival tremendously lacks is crowd control. And it can be done.
Our Portland Waterfront Blues Festival began to develop this problem until they got into trouble with the fire marshals. A top-notch local events coordinator took the reins and implemented walkways through the grounds for walking only, and now if you stop to say hi to someone or to snap a photo of someone, a staffer will be on you like flies on cow-patties. It gets obnoxious—but it has to be done. And with the capacity requirements, it doesn’t get so stinkin’ crowded like it used to. It has thus become manageable.
—Mary Raymond, Hillsboro, Oregon
REWIND
I’m just finishing reading the Jazz Fest Bible (nice job!) and came across the “Rewind” feature by Paul Sanchez, regarding an old Radiators album.
I don’t even like the Radiators, but I love the piece! I hope that it will become a monthly feature.
Too bad that some of the people whose reflections would be invaluable have been passing away, but I would love to hear from Phil Frazier, the guys in Galactic, Dr. John, Kermit, Corey Henry (the Li’l Rascals’ 2001 “Buck It Like a Horse” may be the apex of post-Dirty-Dozen brass band recordings), Fats Domino, Roger Lewis, the Meters, the Nevilles, Irma Thomas, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and even Davis Rogan on their recollections of older recordings.
—Dave Pendergast, San Francisco, California
CORRECTION
In this year’s Jazz Fest Bible, we erroneously ran a photo of Tank and the Bangas without proper photo credit. The photo was taken by Michael Wilson of DOPEciety. Thanks, Michael!
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