At the end of the day, on Sunday, there was no way I was going to make it back into Aspen for the Phishful Trey Anastasio, whom I had always wanted to see, and the former James Brown sideman Maceo Parker, whom I had always wanted to hear. By the end of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) June 2006 festival, I was completely out of gas. But what a gas it was.
Continue Reading Add comment June 26th, 2006
When the organizers of Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) signed up Isaac Hayes to perform under the tent in June 2005, the soul man—“Shaft” is his biggest hit—wondered whether he should go to work on some jazz tunes. Not to worry, he was told, because it’s not that kind of festival.
JAS has managed to distance itself completely from jazz for the Labor Day 2006 festival September 1-4 in the Town of Snowmass Village. There are rappers and rockers, country music stars and reggae bands—and, yes, a Hasidic reggae rap star. But there is not a jazz musician to be seen among the stars of the festival.
Continue Reading Add comment June 26th, 2006
Expectations are like--well, you know--everyone's got them, so there's something particularly sweet when all your expectations are met and even exceeded.
So it was Saturday night in Rio Grande Park in downtown Aspen, where a cavernous tent is home to a family of eclectic music and musicians every June. The biggest crowd I've ever seen in three years was wedged under the big top to see Delbert McClinton and Elvis Costello with special guest Allen Toussaint at Jazz Aspen Snowmass Presented by Calamos Investments.
Continue Reading Add comment June 25th, 2006
