Metro Jacksonville

Looks like the City may be doing this right this year.

I would like to see them include Jax's greatest jazz asset, day in and day out, the outstanding UNF Jazz Band from the top ranked collegiate jazz program in the U.S.  They will knock your socks off.  Really. Why can't we recognize the talent in our own midst (this is, after all the JACKSONVILLE Jazz Fest).  I see they have one of their more successful graduates, Noel Friedline already on the bill.  (The paper list him as a local/regional performer but, actually, he is now national/international.)

If the weather is good, it should pull in a big crowd I would think.  Maybe even boost the $ky-high-way ridership numbers!  Wonder how RAM will do with this - competition or a complement?  Let the good times roll....

From the Florida Times Union (http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/2009-04-17/story/flack_clarke_brubeck_to_head_jazz_fest_lineup ):

Quote
Flack, Clarke, Brubeck to head Jazz Fest lineup
'New' festival to be staged on downtown streets on Memorial Day weekend

    * By Roger Bull
    * Story updated at 5:01 PM on Friday, Apr. 17, 2009

Roberta Flack, Stanley Clarke, Dave Brubeck and Marcus Roberts are some of the performers scheduled to play at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival next month. The festival in undergoing its greatest change since it moved from Mayport to Metropolitan Park. This year, it will be held in the downtown streets.

All the contracts have not been signed and the city's Office of Special Events can't give out the full schedule yet. But it did release the names of some of the musicians and performances:

Flack: The singer and pianist is best known for "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

Clarke: The bass virtuoso has just recorded his first acoustic album. He'll play with pianist Hiromi Uehara and drummer Lenny White.

Brubeck: The "Take Five" pianist, one of the best known names in jazz, will play with the River City Band.

Roberts: The Jacksonville native and jazz professor at Florida State University won the piano competition in 1983 and recently released his first album in eight years.

Warren Hill: One of the leading saxophonists in smooth jazz.

Simone: The daughter of Nina Simone, Simone (she just uses the one name) has starred on Broadway and sings a mix of pop, soul, jazz and funk.

Lao Tizer Band featuring Chieli Minucci and Karen Briggs, the former violinist in Yanni's band.

Remembering Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," which turns 50: Jimmy Cobb's So What Band featuring Terell Stafford, Vincent Herring, Javon Jackson, Larry Willis and Buster Williams.

Latin Jazz All Stars featuring Ray Vega, Steve Turre, Dave Valentin, Yunior Terry, Edy Martinez, Pete Escovedo, Chembo Corniel and Diego Lopez.

Bill Frisell's 858 Quartet featuring Eyvind Kang, Hank Roberts and Jenny Scheinman.

Guitars & Saxes featuring Euge Groove, Jeff Golub, Jeff Lober, and Jessy J.

Celebration of Lionel Hampton featuring Jason Marsalis, Candido, Curtis Fuller, Slide Hampton, Jacey Falk, Terrell Stafford, Red Holloway and Teodross Avery

Spam Allstars: Mixes electronic music with Latin and funk.

Mindi Abair: Saxophonist/singer mixes jazz and pop.

Chris Botti: Trumpeter has evolved from his early smooth jazz days to more straight ahead jazz.

Local and regional performers include Noel Friedline, J.B. Scott's Swingin' All-Stars, Gary Starling Group, Jeff Sipe Trio, J.D. Daniel, Navy Band Southeast and Bill Hart.

This year's festival will be held Memorial Day weekend and will resemble a street party as much as a concert, stretching down Laura Street from Hemming Plaza to the Jacksonville Landing. The main festival will be May 22-24 with music on four stages, along with art show, wine tasting, etc. There's no charge for any of the performances.

There is a $10 admission for the Jacksonville Jazz Piano competition, Thursday, May 21 in Florida Theatre. The finalists: Daniel Meron, Boston; Ignasi Terraza, Barcelona, Spain; Yuval Cohen, New York; Takeshi Ohbayashi, Boston; Max Haymer, Brooklyn.
 

I am extremely excited about this year's jazz festival.  I think we might actually have something special in the works that is really going to benefit the urban core.  I'm sure there will be some glitches, but hopefully the city will learn from them and continue to improve each year.  If I was running the show I'd do the following.

Promote what we have...

Start talking to the business owners in the downtown core.  Encourage them to stay open throughout the weekend with special hours.  Places like Chamblins, the Library Cafe, Magnificat Cafe, Cafe Nola, Subway, Quiznos, TMobile, Chew, etc.  Showcase reasons to come back to downtown after the festival is over.  I'm sure the Landing will do well on its own.

Embrace RAM and instead of competing, cross-promote!  How about a trolley-bus that goes between the two on Saturday.  Three stops, RAM-HEMMING PLAZA-CONVENTION CENTER PARKING.

Come up with a simple plan for parking.  How about daily/weekend parking passes for the Convention Center lot or JTA Kings garage that include roundtrip rides on the Skyway.  At 50cents the Skyway isn't going to make much money anyway, so let's just make it free for the weekend!  Keep the parking traffic out of downtown and make the area more pedestrian friendly.  JTA can make their money off of parking.  The festival is already free.  $20-25 for a three day weekend pass sounds like a great bargain to me.  With a free ride on the skyway right to the action.  I mean what a no-hassle deal!

Advertise the Riverwalk as a great path between the Landing and RAM, some might not be aware that this goes all the way to RAM.

Promote the Bay Street Entertainment District as a special late night destination for those people who want to stay out and party.  The bars and eateries along the stretch would benefit from working together.  What if they hired local jazz musicians to play outside on the street corner?

We are going to have to move the homeless for the weekend.  I was thinking perhaps bus them to Ponte Vedra :) Seriously though, the police and downtown ambassadors will need to step up reinforcement.  You get caught pandering, you're gone.  Public intoxication or littering your brown bagged 40, you're gone.  No exceptions.  We don't need the homeless annoying guests.

Hopefully this get's all of you thinking.  I'm sure there are other great ideas.  At any rate, I can't wait!!!

Guitars & Saxes featuring Euge Groove, Jeff Golub, Jeff Lober, and Jessy J.
I think this is supposed to be Jeff Lorber

Pretty excited to see Chris Botti...

Pretty exciting indeed.  Hopefully, this will be the first of many more to be held on the actual streets of downtown instead of an isolated park.

Seriously - this is what we need more of.  It would be great to use this event to show how "flex space" is not the nd all and be all of downtown."

Will be there.  Would be super excited if they added The Bad Plus to the lineup.

City and businesses getting ready for Jazz Festival


05/14/2009

by Max Marbut

Staff Writer

“After being at Metropolitan Park for so long, we realize this is a big change and there’s a trust factor involved,” said the City’s Special Events Director Theresa O’Donnell-Price of the decision to relocate the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. After a more than 20-year run at the City’s riverfront park near the Sports Complex, the 2009 edition of the four-day celebration of the musical genre is getting a new home along the Laura Street retail corridor between Hemming Plaza and the Landing.

O’Donnell-Price said her staff has been hitting the streets to make sure business owners are aware of the opportunities the festival offers and they are responding. “Welcome Jazz Fans” signs have been appearing on storefront windows and doors this week in anticipation of the Memorial Day Weekend event.

With Super Bowl as a template, she is confident the move will be smooth for artists and fans alike.

“We pulled out the checklists we made for Superfest,” said O’Donnell-Price. “This is not the first time we’ve closed streets and set up a celebration. What has made it easier is the cooperation between our department and all the City departments. We’re all working together to make sure it’s convenient for people to eat, drink and find a restroom while they’re enjoying the music.”

One restaurant owner said the reason he’s excited about the festival moving is because this year it will be easy for him to take advantage of the business opportunity.

“I tried having a booth at the Jazz Festival a couple of years,” said Jerry Ewais, owner of the Zodiac Grill at the corner of Adams and Hogan streets, “But I had to pay a vendor fee and then set up everything at Metropolitan Park. “It makes more sense to bring the festival to the business instead of taking the business to the festival.”

Ewais said his planning for the event includes creating a special menu of his most popular Mediterranean dishes, booking a six-piece jazz band for the weekend and setting up a few hookah pipes. He’s also setting up a beer and wine bar outside to serve those who want to stroll by and get a beverage.

“We all want to see Downtown more active. The Jazz Festival is a great way to make that happen,” added Ewais.

“I think this is the best thing the City could have done,” said Doug Ganson, owner of three businesses at the Landing: Sundrez, Karlene’s Deli and Dipper Dan’s Ice Cream.

He also predicted business that weekend will be comparable to a Florida-Georgia weekend. Like Ewais, Ganson will offer festival-specific products for fans. Sundrez will have a display of jazz figurines for sale and since the “Jazz Juniors” interactive area for children is near the Landing, the store will also carry harmonicas and toy guitars.

“We know how to plan for this type of event,” said Rachel Nudge, Landing public relations director.

She also said moving the Jazz Festival to Laura Street is a natural extension of the “Make a Scene Downtown” initiative.

“It’s great to see the City make this investment for the Downtown businesses,” said Nudge. “And most of the events are free so it’s going to be a great way to remind everyone why it’s great to live in Jacksonville.”

O’Donnell-Price said there will be more than just local fans at the festival. Jazz fans from as far away as Maryland, Texas and California have purchased VIP ticket packages and the Omni and Hyatt hotels are sold out for the weekend.

“Parking and getting to the entertainment will be easy,” she added. “There are plenty of spaces in the Downtown garages. We’re also encouraging people to park at the Kings Avenue Garage on the Southbank or in the lots at the Prime Osborn Center. Then just take the Skyway to Hemming Plaza or the Omni across the street from the Landing.”

For the complete schedule of performers and other events at the 2009 Jacksonville Jazz Festival visit www.jazzfest.com.

Jacksonville Jazz Festival street closures May 20-24

• Laura Street from Duval Street to Adams Street    Thursday at 8 a.m
• Laura Street from Adams Street to Independent Drive*    Thursday at 6 p.m.
• Duval Street from Laura Street to Hogan Street    Thursday at 7 p.m.
• Monroe Street from Main Street to Laura Street    Friday at 9 a.m.
• Monroe Street from Laura Street to Hogan Street    Friday at 9 a.m.
• Adams Street from Main Street to Hogan Street    Thursday at 7 a.m.
• Forsyth Street from Main Street to Laura Street    Wednesday 6 p.m.
• Forsyth Street from Laura Street to Hogan Street    Thursday 6 p.m.
• Bay Street from Main Street to Hogan Street*    Friday at noon
• Independent Drive from Laura Street to Hogan Street    Friday at 8 a.m.
• Hogan Street from Water Street to the River    Thursday at 8 a.m.
• Sister Cities from Hogan Street to the cul-de-sac    Thursday at 8 a.m.

*One lane will remain open on Bay and Laura streets to allow access to Independent Square. All streets will reopen Sunday at midnight. For more information call Jamie Hupp at 630-1044

mmarbut@baileypub.com

http://jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=52373

Got a little wet, but I had a good time. Thumbs up on the location, hope they stick with it in the future.