Jazz Festival moving to Town Center?

[02roadking]

 
I'm kidding....I hope.

  Expect changes for the 2016 Jacksonville Jazz Festival, scheduled over the Memorial Day weekend.
  Herrell said the jazz festival and other city-produced events are up for evaluation to identify ways to make the events better for the audiences and the city.

Story here:  http://jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=546232

[UNFurbanist]

They should put it somewhere in LaVilla like near the Ritz theatre and try to build interest in the area while linking the event to the past Jazz history of Jax.

[marksjax]

Perhaps it's time to switch up the entire idea of a Jazz Fest.
If you have upwards of $800000 to a million dollars to spend I wonder what other type of music festival could be held that might involve different genres (types) of music to appeal to a larger audience.
Look at the recent line up at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. It has been expanded way past jazz.
As long as they are going to do a review I vote for a clean sheet of paper approach and get creative with it.
We had Tony Bennett about ten years ago. Now THAT is a headliner. Since then not so much.

[tufsu1]

Jaxtoberfest moved to the Town Center because the Shipyards space is being remediated...apparently they tried to find a single space downtown large enough, but to no avail.

[Jax Friend]

They should put it somewhere in LaVilla like near the Ritz theatre and try to build interest in the area while linking the event to the past Jazz history of Jax.

Not a bad idea. The spotlight will soon shine on LaVilla, the Jazz fest could help spark earlier interest. I have to say that the recent Bay Street version of the festival is not my favorite. It seemed much more interesting when it was centered around Hemming Park.

I find it hard to believe that Jaxtoberfest couldn't find a suitable space. LaVilla again could have played a bigger role. There is the convention center and I know the Soul Circus packs plenty of people into an adjacent lot.

[CCMjax]

Perhaps it's time to switch up the entire idea of a Jazz Fest.
If you have upwards of $800000 to a million dollars to spend I wonder what other type of music festival could be held that might involve different genres (types) of music to appeal to a larger audience.
Look at the recent line up at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. It has been expanded way past jazz.
As long as they are going to do a review I vote for a clean sheet of paper approach and get creative with it.
We had Tony Bennett about ten years ago. Now THAT is a headliner. Since then not so much.

What about Ron Burgandy??  I heard he plays a mean j(y)azz flute.

[camarocane]

Perhaps it's time to switch up the entire idea of a Jazz Fest.
If you have upwards of $800000 to a million dollars to spend I wonder what other type of music festival could be held that might involve different genres (types) of music to appeal to a larger audience.
Look at the recent line up at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. It has been expanded way past jazz.
As long as they are going to do a review I vote for a clean sheet of paper approach and get creative with it.
We had Tony Bennett about ten years ago. Now THAT is a headliner. Since then not so much.

What about Ron Burgandy??  I heard he plays a mean j(y)azz flute.

If you like Ron Burgandy, you should listen to Duke Silver.

[marksjax]

Actually not a bad idea. Make it fun and entertaining. Go ahead and bring in an offbeat celeb type vibe. Something that is fun and less serious.
It's the citizen's money they spend.
Just going to the same jazz names over and over has gotten kinda stale. Jazz in general (like the blues) has declined in popularity over the years. What seemed fresh in the 80's isn't so cutting edge anymore.
I say skip 2016, take time to re-boot and go with a new kick ass event in 2017.
Just a thought.

[UNFurbanist]

I think it should still be a Jazz festival but looking at the New Orleans event would be a good idea!

[Steve]

Have to get it back to the core - that's obvious.

What I'd love to see is a mix of free and paid shows. For example, bring the same/similar lineup to last year, plus 2-3 big names (Tony Bennett was awesome at the 2003 festival). Do those at the T-U Center, Florida Theatre, etc. This way you get the excitement of the free public festival, the big names, and the city doesn't go too far in the red hosting it.

[Captain Zissou]

Steve I think that's a great idea.  A bigger name at Florida Theatre would help create more buzz and breathe more life into the festival.

Does the Jazz fest have full time staff or is it run by the office of special events?  I'd love for some jazz related entity to finally renovate genovar's hall. The other day I drove by it with a full car and everyone complained at what an eyesore it was.  Once I told them the history of the building, they were awestruck and couldn't believe that it was allowed to decay so much.

[brainstormer]

I still remember the Trombone Shorty concert a few years back at the corner of Adams and Main. The core was alive and we had an awesome time that year.