Jazz on the Pentacrest: The Geoff Keezer Trio at the 2006 ICJF (Andrea Canter)

Nostalgia might have prompted my first trip to my hometown jazz festival in Iowa City, but the quality of the music and organization bring me back. Within a day’s drive of the Twin Cities (about 5 hours south), Chicago, Omaha and St. Louis, the Iowa City Jazz Festival has deservedly earned its “top ten” reputation among free public festivals nationwide. Beyond three stages boasting the best in national, local and student musicians, the ICJF supplies the classiest “street food” in mid-America, and the sum total is one hot holiday weekend, July 4-6.  

The 18th Toyota Scion Iowa City Jazz Festival is now a component of the Iowa City Summer of the Arts; long-time festival director and guitarist Steve Grismore remains on the scene as festival coordinator. Summer of the Arts brings several big events under one umbrella and calls attention to Iowa City as the cultural mecca it has become, featuring music, dance, theater and creative arts of all sorts throughout the summer (and, in fact, all year long). But the biggest draw to this college community in eastern Iowa is the jazz festival, bringing an average of 25,000 each summer to the heart of downtown and the University of Iowa campus. Now held on the partially shaded lawn of the famed Pentacrest (the center of the U of I administration anchored by “Old Capitol”—Iowa’s first statehouse), the festival has grown from a one-day local showcase in 1991 to a three-night/two-day jazz menagerie combining the highest level of international touring artists with local, college and high school bands, late night jams at the Sheraton Hotel, radio interviews, school clinics, and more.  

Charles Lloyd

It’s no longer a well-kept secret that the northern California town of Healdsburg holds one of the finest small jazz festivals in the nation. Tucked into the picturesque vineyards of Dry Creek, Alexander Valley and Russian River in Sonoma County, Healdsburg welcomes a diverse array of internationally acclaimed and locally prominent musicians every summer, scattering performances around restaurants, hotel lobbies, small theaters and winery grounds, usually over the course of ten days. The 2008 festival marks the tenth anniversary of this event, and will celebrate in grand style with two weekends of prime time performances and a week of engaging jazz related activities in-between.  

Over its ten years, the festival has presented a long list of legendary performers. The first festival in 1999 included the late Billy Higgins as well as Cedar Walton and Bobby Hutcherson, who return for the anniversary celebration. Fred Hersch, Charles Lloyd, Randy Weston, the Heath Brothers, Billy Hart, Abbey Lincoln, Roy Haynes, Frank Morgan, Gary Burton, Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, McCoy Tyner, Delfeayo Marsalis and Patricia Barber have all appeared over the past decade, with Hersch, Lloyd, and Hart on the bandstand several times. 

Dave Brubeck © Steven Sussman.

The 13th Annual Litchfield Jazz Festival is set and tickets are now on sale at www.litchfieldjazzfest.com. The event will be held on August 1, 2, 3, at the Goshen Fairgrounds in Northwest Connecticut.  Diana Krall, who made her US festival debut on the first Litchfield Jazz Festival, recently called it “one of the best festivals.”  Litchfield has a reputation for introducing the next “big thing” while also presenting jazz giants.  JazzTimes named it “among the best of the best,” and the New York Times hailed it “a model jazz lineup.”  This year’s headliners are Tony & Emmy Award winner, Bebe Neuwirth, multi-Grammy winner, Paquito D’Rivera, Grammy Lifetime Achievement recipient, Dave Brubeck and John Pizzarelli, the best exponent of Sinatra’s music since Sinatra.  

With past performers like Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick and Dr. John, it’s no wonder the Litchfield Jazz Festival has been nominated for two Festie Awards and named a “Top100 Event” in the US and Canada.  The weekend kicks off on Friday, August 1, with the “Friends of the Festival Gala” at Winvian Luxury Resort in Morris, CT.  The party will offer hors d'oeuvres with fresh seasonal ingredients by Winvian’s Executive Chef, Chris Eddy, micro-brews and premium wines, with music by outstanding students of Litchfield Jazz Camp.  The party is followed by the Opening Night performances at the Goshen Fairgrounds.  Winner of nine Grammy Awards and the National Medal of Arts, Paquito D’Rivera appears with the Zaccai Curtis Trio.  Next on the double-bill is two-time Tony & Emmy Award winning actress, singer and dancer, Ms. Bebe Neuwirth, best known as Lilith on Cheers and Frasier.