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Strike Up The Bands, It's Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival Time (Editorial)

The Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival continues to spread its wings after adding a day to the event last year. We encourage anyone who hasn't joined in the fun to make this their coming-out year.

Fans of the festival know why they'll be back Friday night and all day Saturday: The festival gets the heart of the city pumping, transforming places we take for granted many months of the year.

Music-lovers come for the variety of artists booked for what's now a three-day event. Everyone else gets a heaping helping of versatile musicianship, goodwill, community and good times. For a spell, Springfield becomes New England's jazz capital, thanks to Kristin Neville of the nonprofit Blues to Green, which presents the festival, and key backers like Evan Plotkin.

Nothing brings people together quite like live music. This year's festival lineup, as in years past, celebrates glorious traditions in jazz and roots music steeped in the Black experience.

This festival's most ambitious offering may be bassist Avery Sharpe's collaboration with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Together, the musicians will perform Sharpe's work, "400: An African American Musical Portrait," from 3:50 to 5 p.M. On the Charles Neville Main Stage off Stearns Square, between Worthington and Bridge streets. Both of those streets will be closed, creating a walkable entertainment district.

That performance is just one of nine at that venue starting Friday at 5:30 p.M., when Frank Manzi takes the stage, to 10 p.M on Saturday., when Delfayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra will be wrapping up a set. Saturday will also see eight sets by seven bands on the Urban Roots Stage. That performance site is located on Bridge Street facing into the park that stretches from Main to Barnes streets.

Entry points are positioned around the festival area. While tickets are free, people are asked to RSVP on the festival website, springfieldjazzfest.Com.

The festival got going Thursday night with a performance by the Garifuna Collective at the Student Prince Cafe and The Fort. Still more events are planned Saturday from the steps of City Hall – the infectious Second Line Parade, starting at 12:30 p.M. – and film screenings and a workshop at the Reevx Labs at 270 Bridge St. For a full lineup, see the Weekend section in Thursday's issue of The Republican or visit the festival's website.

Organizers deserve to be proud of what they've created. By putting great American art forms on stage, they help us celebrate a rich history. And by doing it here in Springfield, they give listeners a new reason to take pride in their city.

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Winter Park Jazz Festival Celebrates 40 Years Of Music And Community

The Winter Park Jazz Festival is celebrating 40 years this weekend.

It began as a quaint little festival with a jazz music lineup held on the side of a mountain at the Winter Park Resort. Over the years the annual festival began incorporating performers from other genres of music and eventually relocated to its permanent home at Rendezvous Event Center, a much bigger venue.

It now annually draws some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as Chaka Khan, Kool & The Gang, Charlie Wilson, Babyface and Kem. 

"It is the most anticipated festival of the summer," said Becky Taylor, the festival's host and emcee for the past 30 years. "That's what makes it grow, not only Coloradans. We're starting to get people in from all across the country. It feels great [to celebrate] 40 years!"

Longtime fans say the musical lineup, which has included jazz favorites such as Brian Culbertson, George Duke, Pieces of a Dream, Boney James and Colorado's own Gerald Albright, is what keeps them coming back each year, many for decades. They say what makes the festival unique is the effort put into featuring other genres of music, including traditional and contemporary R&B acts. Headliners have included The Average White Band, Fantasia, Bell Biv Devoe, Charlie Wilson, Kem and Babyface. 

Sisters Tracy and Stephanie Williams of Aurora say the festival has been the highlight of their summer for more than 30 years. They haven't missed one since their mother insisted they attended with her in 1990. Now every year they take the lead on plans, renting a condominium within walking distance of the venue and staying in Winter Park for an extended weekend, with their children and extended family members in tow. 

"Now we're inviting her up," said Tracy Williams of their mother. "She'll be coming with us this year. It's really a family affair."

Tracy Williams says her and her sister's deep love for the festival has been passed on to their children who also attend, including her 11-year-old twins. They asked to start playing the violin, after watching violinist Damien Escobor, who is on this year's lineup, play at the festival a few years ago. The boys recently made their debut playing on the children's stage at the Colorado Black Arts Festival.

Stephanie Williams says the festival is both nostalgic and endearing.

"It's something about the clouds up against the mountains and it is beautiful. Sometimes it looks a little rainy and then you have this amazing music and the food. It's just a total vibe."

Other longtime fans of the festival say, along with amazing music, they love the "family reunion" ambience.

"Winter Park is a premier event and to me it's probably one of Colorado's – if not Colorado's most – unifying event," said Tony Exum, Jr., a Denver native and national recording artist. "There are people from every major city in the state, from all walks of life, Black, white, Hispanic, who come together one weekend and just enjoy an incredible amount of music and seeing the best entertainers in contemporary jazz and R&B and old school."

Exum, a saxophonist, says opening the festival in 2019 is among the highlights of his career. 

"I saw a lot of looks of pride on people's faces while I was on that stage and that felt amazing," he said. "All the energy they were giving me allowed me to harness that and return it to everyone on stage. Musically, a lot of great festivals have come and gone. So, for Winter Park to be able to hold on and remain an institution for 40 years speaks volumes to not just Winter Park, but the community of Colorado for keeping it going."

The Winter Park Jazz Festival runs July 15-16 at Rendezvous Event Center in Winter Park. The festival features Jazz Funk Soul, Dave Koz Summer Horns with Candy Dulpher, Brothers of Brass, Leela James and Grammy-winning singer Maxwell.

Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival Gears Up For 10th Year

Kathleen and Tommy McCarthy, of Russell, and bill Gumlaw, of Springfield, having a good time at the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival kickoff on Aug. 12, 2022. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival returns to Springfield, starting today, for three days showcasing a diverse lineup of national stars and local talent spanning jazz, blues, funk, hip hop, Latin, and African music genres.

All the action takes place on Fort Street on Thursday, and moves to Stearns Square and Tower Square Park for Friday and Saturday.

The festival is produced by Blues To Green, a nonprofit organization inspired by the late Charles Neville and founded by his wife, Kristin Neville, that is dedicated to using music and art to center the cultures of the African diaspora within American culture, nurture personal freedom, strengthen multicultural community, and catalyze action for racial, economic, and climate justice in Springfield and beyond.

Monique Bourgeois, of Goshen, dances with Rob Peck, of Greenfield, at the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival kickoff Friday evening, Aug. 12, 2022. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

Neville said she is "especially excited" about some new aspects to the festival this year.

"We extended the festival to two days last year, and we are once again expanding the growing festival's footprint to include a special Thursday evening kickoff concert by the Garifuna Collective outdoors at the Student Prince on Fort Street from 7-8:30 p.M.," Neville said.

Garifuna Collective was co-founded and led by the late Andy Palacio, a musician dedicated to preserving the unique Garifuna language and culture. Today the group of accomplished, multi-generational Garifuna artists continue to tour in his memory and focus on the roots of Garifuna tradition, adding contemporary elements to traditional forms to bring the soul of this music into a modern context.

"I'm also looking forward to a collaboration between Avery Sharpe and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on Saturday. His '400′ project is a musical portrait of African-American history for the last 400 years. It's a powerful piece that we are going to make even more powerful and profound in Springfield by incorporating musicians from our local orchestra. It's our biggest production yet requiring us to get a bigger stage to make room for the nearly 50 people participating in the performance. It's a 'don't miss' event," Neville said.

Avery Sharpe's project, "400 An African American Musical Portrait," was released in 2019 on JKNM Records. Sharpe decided to mark the 400th year of Africans being brought to the United States shores in Virginia in 1619 as enslaved people with a musical portrait/recording.

Friday night's musical performances at the Charles Neville Main Stage in the festival's Stearns Square and Tower Square Park area will feature well-known local performer Frank Manzi beginning at 5:30 p.M. His performance will be followed by the jazz-funk fusion sounds of Imperial Boxmen and soulful blues artist Shemekia Copeland.

Janet Ryan performs at the 2022 Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

The party gets started earlier on Saturday with the Second Line Parade, a New Orleans tradition which began as part of the festival in 2017.

"Second Line Parades in New Orleans are community street parades, very joyous occasions, that stem from the history of jazz funerals. Charles was a guest teacher at the Community Music School and taught the students about New Orleans music and they went on to lead our first parade. Charles died before the 2018 festival and the parade continues in tribute to him and as a celebration of life," Neville said.

This year's parade will be led by the Brown Rice Family and the Community Music School of Springfield's Sonido Musica students and faculty. The parade begins at 12:30 p.M. On Saturday and leaves from Springfield City Hall, dancing it way through the streets until its final destination at the Charles Neville Main Stage for the kickoff performance at 1 p.M. By the Evan Arntzen Trio.

The complete musical lineup on Saturday at the Charles Neville Main Stage and Urban Roots Stage includes Ron Smith and the Soulful Jazz Trio, TapRoots, Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead, Jayko Y Su KombolLoko, Avery Sharpe 400 Project, Jonathon Suazo: Ricano, Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, Fabeyon/Tang Sauce, Breakin' Battle, Brown Rice Family, The Paradigm Shift, and Delfayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra.

The festival's Jazz & Justice series begins on Friday night at 6 p.M. At REEVEX Lab on 270 Bridge St. With a screening of the film "City of Million Dreams - Parading for the Dead in New Orleans." The acclaimed documentary, directed by Jason Berry, is based on his book which explores New Orleans jazz funerals and second line parades. A question-and-answer period will follow the screening, which is repeated on Saturday at 3:30 p.M. And 6 p.M. Also taking place at REEVEX from 2-3 p.M. On Saturday will be a workshop with Puerto Rican saxophonist/composer/educator Jonathan Suazo entitled "Explorations in Afro Puerto Rican and Afro Dominican Rhythms."

Also, the Jazz & Justice series continues on Saturday outdoors in Tower Square Park with "AGRI.CULTURA: A Food Sovereignty Pop Up" held from 1-8 p.M. Understanding that Springfield and surrounding towns and cities have the highest density of Boricuas and other Latinx communities per square mile in the United States, and in the way of celebrating not only shared struggles but shared stories, El Departamento de la Comida, a grassroots food project from Puerto Rico, will be creating a "living breathing pop-up space" dedicated to the seeds, farms, and practices of "campesinxs," from Borikén and other islands, to join and share Caribbean food and agricultural ways of life.

"A family-friendly event," Neville said, "the festival will also feature local pop-up craft and food vendors, and beer from White Lion, and there are also many popular brick-and-mortar restaurants surrounding the festival to choose from."

The festival is made possible by grant funders, local business sponsors, and donors.

Admission is free, but donations are encouraged and welcomed. Organizers are asking those planning on attending to RSVP on their website, springfieldjazzfest.Com, due to the capacity limit.

For complete information on the festival and performance times, visit the Springfield Jazz Festival website.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

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