Matt Munoz / Entertainment Features / 2017

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Editor: Jennifer Self • Phone: 395-7434 • Email: jself@bakersfield.com • Online: Bakersfield.com/Entertainment

T h u r s day,

A p r i l

2 7,

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2017

EYE STREET CHANGES OF NOTE

AT A GLANCE

Come taste the joy at Jewish Food Festival. . . . . . . . 17 Here’s a chance to get smitten with kittens. . . . . . . 18 Everything old is new again for museum. . . . . . . . . 19

The Lowdown with Cesareo Garasa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Street rods roaring at fairground show. . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27

Rebranding of jazz festival ‘as a jazz festival’ part of new vision for Bakersfield showcase BY MATT MUNOZ

I

For The Californian

mprovisation works for jazz, shouldn’t it also work for jazz festivals? Bakersfield fans will find out this weekend when a slightly new vision unfolds on the stages of the annual celebration of jazz music, now in its 31st year. “I really, really wanted to book artists that would help rebrand this festival as a jazz festival,” said Jim Scully, who, for the first time, is running the festival without the help of founder Doug Davis, who retired last year. “Now that doesn’t mean it’s a straight-ahead jazz festival, but it did mean that I wanted to present amazing improvisers, creative composers, and steer more toward a lineup that was steeped in the tradition of the music but unafraid to embrace 21st century musical aesthetics.” Interpretation: Swinging tempos will give way to smooth, groovy, and in some cases, moody and oddly intense numbers. As part of the festival’s new expanded programming, the 2017 Bakersfield Jazz Festival Gala and Launch Party featuring musician and composer Jacam Manricks will take place at the Dore Theatre this evening. A fixture in the New York contemporary jazz scene, Manricks will present a jazz clinic for students and attendees, along with a live performance with the CSUB Jazz Collective. The addition of tonight’s event is one of a number of ambitious moves by Scully and his team of volunteers, an army that includes campus professors, sponsors, marketing professionals, community members and more. “I shared a lot of duties last year with Doug (Davis)

PHOTO BY JIMMY KING

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN SCOTT

Christian Scott co-headlines Saturday’s lineup at the Bakersfield Jazz Festival.

31ST ANNUAL BAKERSFIELD JAZZ FESTIVAL When: Gates open at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday Where: Cal State Bakersfield, 9001 Stockdale Highway Admission: Free for children under 12 and current CSUB faculty, staff and students with valid school ID. Three-day pass — $80; $35 students Two-day pass — $70, $30 students Friday only: $40, $20 students in advance; $50, $18 students at the gate. Saturday only: $45, $22 students in advance; $55, $20 students at the gate. Tickets available: vallitix.com Friday lineup: Jay Jay Hicks, Soulajar, Ghost

and was doing more the year before, but this is the first full cycle where I coordinated everything, which has been a huge learning experience. I’m not alone. I’m still talking to Doug

Note, Donny McCaslin. Saturday lineup: Kama Ruby, CSUB Jazz Players, Kern County Honor Jazz Band, Haakon Graf, the Kandinsky Effect, Moonchild, Christian Scott, Kurt Rosenwinkel. Information: Bakersfieldjazz.com 2017 BAKERSFIELD JAZZ FESTIVAL GALA AND LAUNCH PARTY WITH JACAM MANRICKS AND CSUB JAZZ COLLECTIVE When: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. today Where: Dore Theatre at Cal State Bakersfield, 9001 Stockdale Highway Admission: $15, $10 for students in advance; $20, $12 for students at the door.

weekly when a question arises, and the festival planning committee: designer Mark Ramsey, Mike Ramsey (no relation) in logistics, Sue Wallace with vendors, Ken Ouellette, marketing

and signage. Also, Jennifer Noblitt is the production manager, and the team at University Advancement from CSUB. They are a serious group of pros and sponsors, so I got a lot of help from them. It definitely takes a village.” As the sun begins to descend and gates open Friday, attendees will be greeted by the sounds of Bakersfield funk outfit J2 & the Business led by bassist Jay Jay Hicks on the festival entry stage. The main stage gets up and running with Bakersfield soul jazzers Soulajar, acclaimed Snarky Puppy rhythmatists GhostNote, and saxophonist Donny McCaslin, known for his work on David Bowie’s final recording, “Blackstar.” On Saturday, the CSUB Jazz Players and Bakersfield chanteuse Kama Ruby will be featured on the festival stage, just before the Kern County Honor Jazz Band opens the main stage. As the day warms up, keyboardist Haakon Graff and an all-star group of Southern California fusion players, including Miles Davis/ Stevie Wonder percussion

Saxophonist and David Bowie collaborator Donny McCaslin headlines the Bakersfield Jazz Festival on Friday. “I think it was the abandon, the energy, and all those things were appealing to him,” McCaslin said of the first time Bowie heard him play.

vet Muyungo Jackson, will kick the jazz fusion sounds up a notch before the electronica experimentation of Paris-based trio the Kandinsky Effect set the tone for the rest of the evening. They will be followed by chill neo-soul trio Moonchild, before the co-headliners of trumpet master Christian Scott and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. “Twenty-first century jazz is hip, fun, exciting and it flat out grooves. I made a conscious effort to bring in artists to the Bakersfield Jazz Festival that would exemplify that — and I will continue to do so,” said Scully. “Our audience, I think, will welcome the slight shift in programming and I know my musician colleagues around town are talking about this lineup with great reverence. I’m honored and happy that they get what I’m trying to do. I can’t wait to share these artists with the audience.” For Scully, who also teaches at CSUB, it doesn’t get much better than watching the community join together for a few days of fun in the sun, celebrating one of America’s most

LISTEN Check out video clips of this year’s lineup of Bakersfield Jazz Festival performers on bakersfield.com

treasured art forms. Plus, proceeds from the festival raise money for CSUB music scholarships. “Our campus is a wonderful beacon for the community, and we love sharing these artists with everyone. It raises over $22,000 a year in scholarships for CSUB students, assisted by a generous matching program enacted by University President Dr. Horace Mitchell. “I would love it if folks brought a beach chair, blanket, cooler of snacks and came out to support CSUB, the music program, our wonderful sponsors, and our students who benefit from the event. The music is amazing and will speak to everyone in one way or another, and I’m humbled to be taking this extraordinary event into its next phase of existence.” Please see JAZZ | 24


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Matt Munoz / Entertainment Features / 2017 by Matt Munoz - Issuu