The Sounds of Summer

WHEN? September 19-21, 2003, the 46th annual festival.
WHERE? Monterey’s County fairgrounds.

When you think of Monterey you think of an amazing aquarium, of a wide bay famous for sea lions and harbor seals, and of Cannery Row and John Steinbeck, right? Well, what about jazz?

In 2002, 500 artists took to 7 stages at the 45th Monterey Jazz Festival. The world’s longest-running jazz festival draws 40,000 plus people and the area around the oak-studded County Fairgrounds was alive with the sounds of lively jazz music, the same spot it’s been held since 1958.

Tickets cost $35 and the organizers are very strict about the ‘no re-admittance’ rule: if you leave the fenced fairground area you have to buy another ticket to get back in. Programs are $6 and posters $20. Proceeds go to Jazz Education.

Within the fairgrounds, stroll along the paths lined with many food booths and stalls selling a variety of items, from ethnic dress to charm bracelets to stuffed animals and jazz CD’s. Sit on the grassy area of the Courtyard Stage in the International Food Court to munch on your snack to the sounds of jazz piano wafting melodiously through the air- somehow the organizers placed a Disklavier on a small islet in a small pool in the middle.

The Garden Stage is also outdoors, but The Night Club, Dizzy’s Den, and Coffee House Gallery stages are indoors. Seating is limited with no reserved seats. Generally, the afternoon sessions begin around 1pm and the night sessions at 8pm. The MJF has tried through the 46 years of its history to keep track of the evolution in jazz music and to honor the various musicians who made the changes. In 2002, Dave Brubeck, a founding father of the festival, performed a piece he debuted here in 1962; Randy Weston performed selections from an album he recorded here in 1966; the Heath Brothers, who played one of their first gigs here in 1973, returned; and there was a tribute to Charles Mingus. (insert fest2 here) In 2003 the line-up includes the Billy Bang Sextet, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Michel Camilo Trio, Ralph Towner, Carla Cook, Dave Douglas, and Mary Stallings. For more information go to. For more information go to www.montereyjazzfestival.com.

MERRIT MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL

WHEN? July 15-20, 2003, the 11th annual festival.
WHERE? At Merrit Mountain, , NE of Vancouver, British Columbia Canada.
WHAT? Country Music. “The sun, the spectacular setting, and the music will be the backdrop for four days of continuous country good times”.  The line-up includes LeAnne Rimes, Clint Black, Loretta Lynn, Terri Clark, Jo Dee Messina, and Marty Stuart.

Go to www.mountainfest.com.

HOLLAND FESTIVAL IN AMSTERDAM

WHEN? June 5-June 29, 2003

This international festival of performing arts has been happening since 1947. The festivities include music, dance, theatre, and film, much of it non-western as the focus is on the international dimension in the arts. A huge line-up includes Pina Bausch, Trisha Brown, Reinbert de Leeuw, and John Zorn.

Tel: 0031-20-530-7110

Go to www.hollandfestival.nl and follow the English prompts.

NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL

WHEN? July 11-13, 2003, the 28th annual festival.
WHERE? The Netherlands Conference Centre in The Hague.

Also considered to be one of the best jazz festivals in the world.

Tel: 0031-15-214-8900
Go to www.northseajazz.nl and follow the English prompts.

SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN MUSIC FESTIVAL, GERMANY

WHEN? July 12-August 31, 2003, the 18th festival will take place.

The Schleswig Holstein Music Festival is one of the cultural highlights on Germany’s calendar this year. The event will focus on Great Britain, with the theme “Great Britain: May We Have the Pleasure?” The patron of the event will be HM Queen Elizabeth 11.

Concerts will be held in 57 venues in 33 locations throughout the state of Schleswig Holstein, including Hamburg, Lubeck, Kiel, and Schleswig, plus in Tondern (Denmark). The concerts will feature mainly a wide range of classical music glories, from Purcell, to Elgar, to Britten, to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, to violinist Nigel Kennedy. However, besides British composers and players, there will also be many international composers and players.

Tel: 0049-451-389570
Go to www.shmf.de and follow the English prompts.

MUSIKFEST AM RING

WHEN? August 15-17, 2003, the 11th annual festival.
WHERE? Bayreuth, Germany (not too far from Nurnberg, north of Munich)

Pop fans from around the world are awaiting this Mega open-air Party and more than two million visitors are expected. As an accompaniment to the Popkomm, the biggest international fair for pop music and entertainment, hundreds of singers and musicians (international, national, and local) will play on 8 stages.

Tel: 0049-451-389570
Go to (both sites in German) www.koelntourismus.de or www.ringfestkoeln.de.

BAYREUTH RICHARD WAGNER FESTIVAL

WHEN? July 25-August 28, 2003.
WHERE? Cologne, Germany, on the Ring in Cologne’s city centre.

Bayreuth, Germany (not too far from Nurnberg, north of Munich) This festival, known as the Ring Cycle, focuses specifically on the music of Richard Wagner. Under the direction of Wolfgang Wagner, one can enjoy the whole cycle, beginning this year with Hollander 1, then to the first part of each of these, and then the second and the third parts: Tannhauser, Rheingold, Walkure, Siegfried, Gotterdammerung, and Lohengrin.

Go to www.bayreuther-festspiele.de.

CABO JAZZ FESTIVAL WHEN? July 24-27, 2003. WHERE? Sunset Beach, Cabo San Lucas, Baja, Mexico. This festival, sponsored by the Pueblo Bonito Resorts, will showcase top names in Latin and mainstream jazz. The line-up includes Nestor Torres, Albita, Gregg Karukas, Brenda Russell, Joyce Cooling, and Stanley Clarke. On Thursday 24th July you can enjoy some free concerts at the Puerto Paraiso Entertainment Plaza overlooking the Marina. Friday and Saturday evenings are the main concerts and tickets are fairly expensive, I think, at $60 for one night or $110 for both nights. There are also other fun activities, such as a Salsa Cruise on the Sea of Cortes. Go to www.cabojazz.com.

For lots more music festivals go to www.worldmusiccentral.org.

Coming December 2003 –June 2004, the Cultural Olympiad in Greece. Billed as “Greece’s Gift to the World” this festival of concerts, ballets (and museum exhibits) will take place throughout the country, leading up to the next Olympic Games. Highlights in Athens: in December 2003 and June 2004, opera works of the Albanian composer, Vasil Toler, will be in the spotlight. A premiere of a Philip Glass composition will also take place in June 2004. Many of the debuts in Greece will go on-road around Europe. In upcoming months look at www.olympiaka.com (right now it’s still under construction).