Bill Frisell |
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Fri. September 15.2000 12:51 PM EDT |
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Wayne Shorter, Bill Frisell, Lou Rawls At Monterey Jazz FestivalThe 42-year-old festival starts Friday (Sept. 15). by Sonicnet.com's Ben Schnayerson |
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Guitarist Bill Frisell is the artist featured in the "Monterey Showcase" of the festival. (Andrew Lepley) |
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The Monterey Jazz Festival — the longest-running jazz festival in the country — gets under way Friday (Sept. 15) and runs through Sunday, with a roster that includes guitarist Bill Frisell, trumpeter
The three-day festival in Monterey, Calif., two hours south of San Francisco, was born in 1958. Throughout the years almost every major jazz musician has performed at Monterey. With six venues, the festival packs a lot of music into a weekend. More than 500 artists will perform. "The nice thing about the multiple venues is that you can move from venue to venue," said festival general manager Tim Jackson. "If you don't like what's in the night club, you can go over to Dizzy's Den or the Garden Stage and there's bound to be something that will suit your fancy." The main stage is named after Jimmy Lyons, the festival's late founder, who ran the event until his death in 1994. Jackson, who also is the director of the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, Calif., took over as general manager in 1992. According to Jackson, festival attendance had dropped off in the 10 years preceding his arrival. "The festival needed a shot in the arm," Jackson said. "There were a whole crop of artists that didn't have the festival on their radar map. We have definitely, over the last 10 years, re-established our international credentials as a major jazz festival." Jackson not only injected new blood into the festival by embracing younger, cutting-edge acts such Douglas and Frisell, but he also has a knack for creative presentations. On Sunday afternoon he has Rawls reunite with keyboardist Les McCann, on Sunday evening Wayne Shorter will play a new work with the 20-piece Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra and a Saturday night tribute to Louis Armstrong will feature Hargrove, trumpeter Nicholas Payton and trumpeter Tom Harrell's big band with saxophonist Greg Osby. Armstrong played at the first festival in 1958. One innovation Jackson instituted this year is "Showcase Monterey," in which a selected artist performs throughout the weekend in a variety of contexts. Frisell has the honor, and he'll play with a quartet Friday night, a septet Saturday night and in a duet with drummer Paul Motian Sunday evening. Frisell's latest album, Ghost Town (Nonesuch), features the Hank Williams cover "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (RealAudio excerpt). The festival is an annual ritual for hundreds of people who flock to the Monterey forest setting, regardless of bookings. "There are a few people that have been here for all 43 years," Jackson said. "Most of the people kind of wear it as a badge of honor. Their season tickets are handed down to their children and it becomes a family type of thing. We have even had calls from attorneys over the years that said the tickets are contested in divorce settlements." The Monterey Jazz Festival has maintained its ties to the community through its $500,000 annual jazz education program. One of the major components of the program is the annual high school jazz competition. This year's contest was held in April and produced winners from California, Washington and Illinois. Previous winners include pianist Benny Green and saxophonists Joshua Redman and Dave Koz. For more information on the Monterey Jazz Festival: www.montereyjazzfestival.org. |
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