One of the leading “Texas Tenors,” David “Fathead” Newman was born in Corsicana, Texas and spent his childhood in Dallas. His parents introduced him to jazz through the music of Glenn Miller, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and Duke Ellington. "And of course, there was the blues background,” said Newman. “T-Bone Walker and Lowell Fulson were from the Dallas, Tex., area, and you were just surrounded by the blues. It was all so natural."

Kurt Elling

Building on the overwhelming success of the 2005 Next Generation Festival, the 2nd annual Festival will once again take place in the historic and lively hub of downtown Monterey, filling the town with vibrant musical activity in a celebration of all things jazz. The Festival is set to include the National High School Competition for big bands, combos and vocal ensembles, with top musicians competing to win a spot on the stages of the 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. The weekend celebration of jazz will also include clinics and performance opportunities for Middle Schools, a Big Band Composition Competition, and auditions for the international touring all-star ensemble, the MJF Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. In a thrilling new development, the Next Generation is also set to feature several exciting new components including a new College Big Band Competition, a new Vocal Solo Workshop, and a special performance and clinic featuring the Berklee-Monterey Quartet.

Even ushers have to eat

After two days of terrific music at the 48th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival , I realized I was in California and ought to see a piece of it while I had the chance. We drove to Pebble Beach past jaw-dropping scenery and homes, cruised through Carmel, and turned back. The Jon Jang Seven was playing the Garden Stage and we didn’t want to miss it.

I’d never heard Jon, but my traveling companion Janis Lane-Ewart admires him greatly. When I asked her to describe his music, she said: “I am guaranteed that when I hear Jon Jang, I will be educated, made to smile, and have taken a trip to church.” The program we saw was called “A Song Cycle of Traditions and Transformations.” Jang introduced each selection, which included Taiwanese and Chinese folk songs about love, loss, and women throwing themselves into graves and turning into butterflies. His Asian-infused jazz reminded me of Lew Tabackin’s forays into Japanese folksongs heard at the Artists’ Quarter. I know I want to hear more of Jang’s music and will start with his 1995 solo outing, “Two Flowers on a Stem.” Several of his CDs are on a label he cofounded called Asian Improv.

On day two of the 48th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, Branford Marsalis opined, Mavis Staples took us there, Carla Bley waxed nostalgic, and Tony Bennett proved that he doesn’t just still have it—he’s still inventing it.

In a conversation called “Jazz: The Big Picture” at Dizzy’s Den stage, journalist Yoshi Kato asked Branford Marsalis about his family in New Orleans (they’re fine), his new label, Marsalis Music, and his views on the current state of jazz. If you’ve ever heard Branford speak, you know he has strong opinions and he’s not at all shy about expressing them. This day was no exception. A sampling of Marsalis-isms:

On jazz today: “In a lot of ways, this is a really good time to be a jazz musician because the music is totally unpopular in American culture.”

On being a jazz artist: “You have to immerse yourself in the music. If you’re meant to be innovative, it will happen. Otherwise you’ll have to be satisfied with being an excellent craftsman, and there’s no shame in that.”

Over thousands of heads, somewhere in the distance—look! There’s Sonny Rollins on the big screen!

Under an almost-full moon and with the occasional jet screaming overhead on its way to the nearby Monterey Peninsula Airport, the 48th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival opened with a sonic boom on seven stages. Janis Lane-Ewart, executive director of KFAI Radio, and I are here to celebrate the birthday of a mutual friend, Suzan Jenkins, president of Jazz Alliance International. Suzan is a veteran of the festival; it’s the first time for Janis and me.

Like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (a moment of silence as we all pray for its return), Monterey is also about crafts and food. Tempting vendors lined both sides of the walk toward the Jimmy Lyons Stage as we headed toward our first event: the John Hardy “40th Anniversary Quintet.” The Jimmy Lyons Stage is the “indoor” part of the festival—actually an open-air equestrian stadium that seats about 7,000. As first-timers (and relatively late ticket-buyers), we found ourselves in the middle seats of the very last row on the main hay-covered floor. The performers were tiny spotlit dots in the distance. The giant screen on stage helps, but today I’m bringing binoculars. Luckily, the sound system is superb.