October 17, 2008
JazzFest Falmouth, Falmouth’s first jazz festival, was a resounding success, and a very fun time. I was there for almost the full ten hours, watching and listening, and sampling food from various vendors. I also walked around, talked to people, bought some earrings from one of the jewelry vendors, and talked to another vendor about her upcoming plans for a poetry event.
The weather was, miraculously, wonderful. I did bring my warm winter coat, just in case, but the large tent (with sides) remained comfortable. There were people of all ages and a lot of warm camaraderie.
The music was invigorating, innovative, and impressive. Some of it was too loud for me–that’s when I wandered out to check out the vendors, but most of it was well-balanced, which must be difficult to achieve in a tent by the harbor. All in all, it was a great day. Here are a few highlights:
The high school jazz band started things off, at least for me. I arrived too late to see the jazz ensemble from Falmouth Academy.
The Kate McGarry Trio. Kate sang nice mix of jazzy folk and pop.
The Black Eagle Jazz Band whooped it up with New Orleans jazz and other improvisations.
It was hard to get a shot of Esperanza Spalding in focus–she kept moving: singing, playing, dancing.
The Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All Stars
Esperanza Spalding, warming up after the show. She told me she was very impressed with Falmouth’s first Jazz Fest, coincidentally, her first jazz festival too.
Notes on The Arts 