Blues & Jazz Festival Returns!
Blues & Jazz Festival Returns!
by P.J. Ryder Jr.
MUSIC
"The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is BACK! Peter Andrews has been waiting to say these words for 18 years. Now, with the help of City Council, the Parks Department, Prism Productions and a whole lot of us little folks, The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival will fly again!
"We want this to be a family event," says Festival co-producer Lee Berry of Prism Productions. "A lot of us who went to the Festival 20 years ago are still around. Now we have kids and homes, and we are going to have a Blues Festival again. This is not a oneshot deal to come in, make some money and move on. We want to establish a tradition. The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a non-profit Corporation run by people who live right here. We have long-range plans for this Festival and its part in making this an even better city than it already is."
This year's Festival will be held September 11-13. TheFest will kick of fon Friday at Crisler Arena with a very special Women In the Blues show with Bonnie Raitt, her very good friend Katie Webster, and local knockouts Thornetta Davis and the Chisel Brothers (who were personally selected by Raitt). Saturday the show will be at Gallup Park on the peninsula. Headlining that day will be James Cotton, the renowned blues harpist from Chicago. There are rumors of a blues harmonica summit. We will just have to stay tuned for more information. Saturday night will feature a jazz show at The Michigan Theater. Sunday heads back to Gallup Park with the fabulous AI Green headlining. It makes no difference whether Mr. Green does gospel or secular music. Be prepared to be thrilled!
The selection of the peninsula at Gallup Park (pending Ann Arbor Council approval) is "the only place in Ann Arbor for the Festival," according to Andrews. "The Gallup Park site is one of the most beautiful and pristine sites in the city," said Berry. "We intend to keep it that way. Cleanup begins before the Festival starts, not after it's over."
Andrews, who produced the first three Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festivals, including the last and financially disastrous Festival in Exile in Windsor, expects a successful revival of the festival. "The first two Fests did pretty well. We at least broke even," said Andrews. When a GOP-majority Ann Arbor City Council pulled the Festival' s permit in 1974, it was moved to Windsor. Many of its fans did not follow it, and it died a horrible financial death.
The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival in general was by no means an unsuccessful festival though! Muddy Waters, Sun Ra, Koko Taylor, Johnny Shines, Junior Walker, Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, Howlin' Wolf, WillieDixon, Sippie Wallace,Otis Rush,Hound Dog Taylor and many others graced the stage of this Festival. In a lot of ways it put Ann Arbor on the musical map.
"One of the most pleasant and surprising aspects of putting this Festival together again is how enthusiastic everybody has been," said Andrews. Ann Arbor City Council, Ron Olsen and all his staff at the Parks and Recreation Department, the Ann Arbor Police and Fire Departments, various merchants' associations and corporate sponsors have all lent their support to this project." Berry echoed his sentiments. "At first, it was just Peter, Eric Cole and myself. But the more we asked and looked around, the more support we got. Now we have Bonnie Raitt and John Sinclair helping us with artist selection. Gary Grimshaw is going to do an original poster for the event. Various merchant associations and the Convention and Visitors Bureau are in volved in this too. Of course we are always looking for more sponsorship. If there are other businesses, corporations or individuals out there that want to help, please contact us immediately. There are sponsorships available."
"Over the years, Ann Arbor has had pretty sophisticated musical tastes," said Berry. "Part of the reason for this was the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival. We plan to carry on this tradition." Tickets go on sale July 18 at all TicketMaster outlets. To charge by phone call 645-6666. For more information call 763-TKTS.
"The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival 1972 was organized by Peter Andrews and myself as one attempt out of many we make to restore the music to its rightful context and its righteous primacy as a first term in the lives of a people (just as Black people have done before them), and who are as open to its magic and its precise utility as the people who first gave rise to it and who continue to create and absorb it as a first term in their lives." -John Sinclair January 22, 1973 Liner notes from Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival 1972 (Atlantic SD2 502)