Co-sponsored by radio station KFAI and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the FJF is a nonprofit, volunteer-run community organization headed by Lamarr Scott and supported by many of the area’s jazz musicians. Main goals of the festival are to present accessible jazz to the greater Minneapolis community, and to “create a future generation of jazz lovers and musicians.” On a glorious summer afternoon at the Minnehaha Park Bandshell, nestled in a tall stand of oaks across from one of the most beloved natural features in Minnesota—Minnehaha Falls, the festival fulfilled this mission and then some.

Dubbed “Jazzing the Avenue,” the 2004 festival featured a wide range of music performed by some of the region’s top jazz artists as well as stars of the next generation. The format was simple—one thirty-minute set after another, often featuring the solo tenor sax of Jimmy Wallace between cast changes. There were no competing bandstands down the street and concessions were a quiet block away, pretty much leaving the bandshell area as perfect an outdoor listening environment as can be imagined. And as outdoor sound systems go, this set-up generally worked well without blasting the ear drums of those in the front rows.

A special treat was the Twin Cities Jazz Masters, a septet of veteran players who came together for one unique set: Mel Carter, Sr on trumpet, Jimmy Wallace on tenor sax, Dean Brewington and Felix James on alto, and W. Rafer Johnson on drums were joined by relatively youthful Anthony Cox on bass and Thom West on the Fender Rhodes. Festival leader Lamarr Scott described these musicians as real “cats—dues-paying individuals who keep it real.” Although a bit ragged as an ensemble that had not come together previously, the individual performances were outstanding on a slow tempo “Straight, No Chaser” and solo-laden “Foggy Day.” Mel Carter Sr ‘s crackling vibrato and alto solos from James and Brewington gave testimony to the wealth of experience they bring to the stage; Thom West’s crystal runs left me wishing it was a Steinway rather than Fender Rhodes.