What's wrong with this picture?

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 4 May 2013 11:52 am

http://www.startribune.com/entertainmen ... 07011.html
Pardon me, but do either of these groups have anything to do with jazz?

They are appearing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival...

Ken Pippus · Post by **Ken Pippus** » 4 May 2013 12:07 pm

Not much to do with Heritage, either!

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 4 May 2013 3:45 pm

same thing happened to the sacramento jazz jubilee..great festivals that used to honor a specific special type of music for specific music lovers finally have the old guard pushed aside by younger soul-less promoters who see money as the important feature...not culture. and then they can barely keep it alive because it's just another hodgepodge of unrelated non-connected acts.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 5 May 2013 4:05 am

The "show" is not about music, it's about making money. The theory is, of course, that die-hard jazz fans will attend anyway, and that the rock and NCS country groups will bring others into the potential audience.

Richard Damron · Post by **Richard Damron** » 5 May 2013 7:32 am

Right on, Donny Hinson.

The "Jazz Festivals" of yore are long gone. Just as with the word "country", the term "jazz" is also bastardized beyond recognition. The almighty dollar reigns supreme - above all else.

Richard

William Lake · Post by **William Lake** » 5 May 2013 8:20 am

The Montreal Jazz Festival has been bastardized for a few years now.
George Foreman had a good quote. "Jazz is a lot like boxing. The better it is, the less people like it".

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 5 May 2013 8:21 am

"Once you're in it, it kind of feels good," said Mary Kathryn Gatlin, of Greenville, S.C., who danced shoeless in the mud, the muck covering her feet past the ankles. Gatlin was taking in her first Jazz Fest with her sister, Frances Gatlin.

When you can get people to pay to dance in the mud, you've made the big time.

It has nothing to do with jazz, but I still love Fleetwood Mac's music. Hard to begrudge success, especially when it's earned.

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 5 May 2013 8:31 am

I love Maroon 5 !!!!!

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 5 May 2013 9:28 am

Theresa Galbraith wrote:I love Maroon 5 !!!!!

Coming soon to a country music festival near you!

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 5 May 2013 10:04 am

b0b wrote:
Theresa Galbraith wrote:I love Maroon 5 !!!!!
Coming soon to a country music festival near you!

No doubt opening for Mike Love's Beach Boys(tribute)

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 5 May 2013 10:50 am

http://lineup.nojazzfest.com/ Jazz giants like the Mavericks, Maroon 5, the Del McCoury Band, Billy Joel and Dave Matthews band.

Aside from that, I see more blues acts than jazz.

So I guess it's not just country that's gone berserk. Soon, the billings will be "Music, more or less, of some type or other probably."

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 5 May 2013 3:32 pm

b0b wrote:
Theresa Galbraith wrote:I love Maroon 5 !!!!!
Coming soon to a country music festival near you!

I hear their next hit will feature much more musical complexity...

It will have 3 different notes!

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 6 May 2013 12:19 am

According to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival website, it is a 10 day cultural feast.
"The Festival celebrates the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana, so the music encompasses every style associated with the city and the state: blues, R&B, gospel music, Cajun music, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk music, Latin, rock, rap music, country music, bluegrass and everything in between. And of course there is lots of jazz, both contemporary and traditional."

After reading the history of the Festival, it looks like when it was started, in 1970, it was never meant to be just a "Jazz Band" festival. It was to show the music of the state and area around New Orleans, and to show the music that influenced Jazz, and the music Jazz has influenced.
Looks like just about every kind of music is welcome there. Not just a bunch of old guys playing "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" on a trumpet and clarinet.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 6 May 2013 1:03 am

I see, Alvin. That is enlightening. Just from reading the billing title and announcement one might expect the focus to be on jazz music.

It appears I should have done a bit of research before posting my earlier comments.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 6 May 2013 7:34 am

In checking out the website regarding the daily schedules of the festival you will see that it encompasses 12 stages, and if one were in fact some kind of a jazz purist, they could easily "avoid" any mainstream big name non-jazz acts - it's almost unbelievable how many performers are booked for this thing each year.

I have a friend whom has been to this festival on several occasions and he's told me that he actually spends most of his time watching the sets of local acts since Lousiana has such a rich musical tradition.

Speaking of New Orleans and Del McCoury, a couple years ago at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco I really enjoyed the set of Del & the boys playing with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 6 May 2013 11:48 am

Merle Haggard had more Dixieland Jazz in his music and no one cried what wrong with that picture.I know what wrong with people's thinking,but,I can't say or did I already say it without saying it. The disability of others who can't activate music the way others can I think hurts them deep inside of wishing they could. Why couldn't I be from New Orleans? The God Father Of Southern California Country Music & the 9th ward of New Orleans,Louisiana,Uncle Leo J.Eiffert,Jr. PS;I Think I got it in the Jazz system.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 6 May 2013 7:51 pm

According to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival website, it is a 10 day cultural feast.
"The Festival celebrates the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana, so the music encompasses every style associated with the city and the state: blues, R&B, gospel music, Cajun music, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk music, Latin, rock, rap music, country music, bluegrass and everything in between. And of course there is lots of jazz, both contemporary and traditional."

They can call it anything they want, but if it encompasses all styles, then why not just call it the New Orleans Music Festival?

Anything else is a misnomer IMO.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 6 May 2013 10:51 pm

Barry Blackwood wrote:
According to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival website, it is a 10 day cultural feast.
"The Festival celebrates the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana, so the music encompasses every style associated with the city and the state: blues, R&B, gospel music, Cajun music, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk music, Latin, rock, rap music, country music, bluegrass and everything in between. And of course there is lots of jazz, both contemporary and traditional."
They can call it anything they want, but if it encompasses all styles, then why not just call it the New Orleans Music Festival?
Anything else is a misnomer IMO.

When the festival was first started in 1970, the New Orleans Hotel Motel Association hired George Wein to produce the event. He was the one that did the Newport Jazz Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. The New Orleans Hotel Motel Association didn't want to do a strictly "Jazz" or straight "Folk" festival, so they named it "Jazz & Heritage" festival, so it could be inclusive to all.
IMO I don't see any misnomer in that.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 7 May 2013 2:13 am

Yeah Alvin, but the other way makes for a better, more curmudgeonly forum topic.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 7 May 2013 3:53 am

It's entirely understandable that those unfamiliar with the event would expect the focus to be jazz. Their own website has the words "jazzfest" in many places.

I agree with Barry that that's what the event title implies.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 7 May 2013 7:14 am

It's entirely understandable that those unfamiliar with the event would expect the focus to be jazz. Their own website has the words "jazzfest" in many places.

I agree with Barry that that's what the event title implies.

Yes, and being associated with New Orleans further strengthens that implication, especially among us SGF curmudgeons unfamiliar with the event..

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 7 May 2013 2:53 pm

Jerry Overstreet wrote:It's entirely understandable that those unfamiliar with the event would expect the focus to be jazz. Their own website has the words "jazzfest" in many places.

I agree with Barry that that's what the event title implies.

That's just people being lazy, instead of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, it get shortened to NOLA Jazz Fest.

Jerry, when people ask you what you play do you always say "I play a 1984 Emmons single ten string neck on a double ten string body pedal steel guitar"??
Or do you just tell them you play a "steel guitar"?

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 7 May 2013 11:17 pm

The Classic Country Music Festival. Headlining this year will be that great band, The Bashing Cymbals.