The wave of jazz music that just washed over the North Bay during the 10 days of the Healdsburg Jazz Festival will continue to ascend and flow all summer throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, culminating, as it’s done every year since 1958 at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Sept. 16-18.
Riding the wave from Healdsburg to Monterey will be the Billy Hart Quartet, the featured artists at this year’s 18th annual HJF gathering. Joshua Redman, from this year’s lineup, and several other musicians form past year’s performances will be among the 500 artists in Monterey.
Headlining the 59th Monterey Jazz Festival will be the Wayne Shorter Quartet, a tribute to Quincy Jones led by Christian McBride, Pat Matheny, Gregory Porter, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Redman with Bad Plus and Brandford Marsalis with jazz vocalist Kurt Elling.
Monterey tickets for single day, full weekend and hard-to-get Arena seats are still available. Admission ranges from $47 single day grounds passes to $380 full weekend reserved seating.
Already, there is a local buzz about the Monterey performances as Sonoma County jazz patrons are steadily increasing based on conversations overheard during the recent Healdsburg jazz Festival.
Maybe it’s the beer, with the North Coast Brewery, serving as a main sponsor at north festivals once again. It could also be the wine, with familiar labels offered at both events. But it is probably the music, with many artists appearing on both stages interchangeably over recent years — also shared by SF Jazz in the middle.
At Monterey, jazz fans are treated to a full weekend experience and atmosphere that is spread over the Monterey Fairgrounds near the center of the city and close to lodging, the Fisherman’s Wharf and a short shuttle to Carmel or Pacific Grove.
Eight stages are kept alive through the three-day festival featuring lectures, films, discussions and historical jazz displays aside the day and night live performances.
Festival grounds admission ($47, $57 or $137) allows patrons the full run of the fairgrounds, except for the reserved Arena concerts. Monterey jazz crowds are notorious for both their friendliness and jazz knowledge.
The grounds is full of food, crafts and jazz-related gifts and items. Parking is a real challenge as there is no on-grounds parking. But there is a shuttle service from the nearby Monterey Peninsula College.
For tickets and more information visit www.montereyjazzfestival.org.
— Rollie Atkinson
Sonoma Discoveries
