Jazz Buzz

jAzz BuZz and the succulent life

Bringing back the San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival

By Melanie Maxwell

Rainbow Promotions hit the jackpot with

a new waterfront venue for their San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival: The recently constructed Rady Shell, the centerpiece of the 3.7-acre public Jacobs Park located behind the San Diego Convention Center.

In addition to the scenic setting on the Embarcadero Marina Park South with harbor and downtown skyline views, The Rady Shell offers a large, technologically and acoustically advanced stage; state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems; three large Planar CarbonLight LED Displays (two IMAG side screens and a media/LED wall behind the performers) to project stage activity or programmed images; terraced seating with unobstructed views from nearly every seat; table sections with food and beverage service; dining pavilions; and plenty of permanent restrooms. However, Kim Benoit, president of Rainbow Promotions and producer of this event, didn’t discover this location until a few months prior to the original dates for the twice postponed (due to the pandemic) 4th Annual San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival, normally scheduled in July. After she exhausted any possible solutions to challenges she was experiencing in securing her usual venue, a short swim away at Embarcadero Marina Park North behind Seaport Village, she began exploring options at The Rady Shell. “The Port [of San Diego] stopped doing major events on the north side, and they suggested The Rady Shell, as did Marilyn James,” Benoit explained. James and her husband, Richard Phetteplace, are supporters of not only smooth jazz artists and events, but they are also patrons and donors of the San Diego Symphony, which developed and manages Jacobs Park. The Rady Shell is the first permanent outdoor venue

The San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival at The Rady Shell with video images and the live performance projected onto Planar CarbonLight LED Displays on June 12

in the Symphony’s century-long history, which they also rent out to other promoters on their non-concert dates. “Rick and I have been major supporters of the San Diego Symphony since we moved downtown over a decade ago. Last year, we saw the completion and grand opening of the new Rady Shell. It occurred to us that it would be a great place to hold the San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival,” James said. “I contacted the Benoits and suggested they might want to consider a tour of the new outdoor structure, as it seemed to me to have all the artist and guest features desired of a music festival locale. I put them in touch with the right Symphony contacts, and the rest is history.” In gratitude for James’ and Phetteplace’s contributions, the San Diego Symphony dedicated a bench at Jacobs Park in their honor.

Private donors fund Rady Shell

“The funds to build the $85 million Rady Shell were provided by private donors, and no government funding was involved,” James explained. “Since my husband, Rick, and I have no children, we wanted to leave a legacy for our San Diego community. Our donation is relatively small compared to lead donors, but we are very pleased to have helped support the construction of The Shell.” However, as perfect as this venue seemed, the only dates available were the same weekend as Brian Culbertson’s Napa Valley Jazz Getaway. Many fans, such as James and Phetteplace, were still holding VIP tickets from the postponed 2020 San Diego Smooth

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Rick Phetteplace and Marilyn James sitting on a bench at Jacobs Park dedicated to them by the San Diego Symphony

continued from page 29 Jazz Festival, which would be valid for this year’s event. Although the dates had not yet been announced, James assumed it would be in July. The couple had also attended Culbertson’s Getaway since its inception, and they already booked their trip for June 8-11, 2022. Plus, the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Jazz Festival was scheduled for the prior week. By the time Benoit secured the venue and finalized her lineup, those festivals had already been on sale for several months, minimizing her potential ticket-buying base. “Brian [Culbertson] was supposed to play our event, but when we had our festival on the same weekend as his, he had to cancel with us,” Benoit said. “We didn’t want to stay out of the market any longer. We hadn’t produced a festival since 2019 due to COVID. People are counting on us. We didn’t want to go against Brian or the week after Newport, but that’s the way it happened,” Benoit added. Tickets went on sale and the lineup was announced in early April, two months before the event. Surprisingly, on Saturday, June 11, the San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival nearly filled the 4,718-seat venue to capacity. “Our marketing team did a great job of getting the word out,” Benoit said. A good lineup also helped sell tickets. Headliners on Saturday included Jonathan Butler and Boney James on the five-act bill, which also featured saxophonist Najee; Brass Attack BBZ with trumpeters Willie Bradley, Johnny Britt and Rob Zinn; and Kings of Groove with David P. Stevens and Tony Exum Jr. Sunday’s attendance was slightly smaller, with saxophonist Eric Darius hosting and headlining, along with a roster featuring vocalist Maysa, saxophonist Jessy J and pianist Brian Simpson; Down to the Bone; Chieli Minucci and the Special EFX All-Stars; and trumpeter Lin Rountree with bassist Julian Vaughn. Benoit said that one of her goals is to always book rising stars and East Coast acts who don’t get out to the West Coast very often. “Giving up-and-coming artists a platform to be seen and heard is important to me,” she said. “That’s why I booked Lin Rountree, Julian Vaughn, David P. Stevens and others. Giving back and allowing musicians to play in a market they don’t get to play in, and giving them exposure, that’s what we believe in,” said Benoit, whose father, Al Williams, is a bebop drummer and the retired founder of Rainbow Promotions. Everything was first-class From all accounts and customer feedback she received, praise was high and complaints were minimal. “We received quite a few compliments,” Benoit said. “They expressed how beautiful the venue was, the overall production, great sound, lighting, videos. Everything was first-class. Everything went well, and the Rady team was wonderful to work with.” Benoit said that The Rady Shell has such a comprehensive organization in place that there was much less for her to tend to. Most everything they needed to handle could be accomplished by Benoit and a smaller staff, including her husband, Ozzie, daughter Blair, son Christen, administrative assistant Lauren Horton, and several others. “We brought our own production people, video and camera crew. They did the content for the big screens. We programmed everything from the time the gates opened, making sure each show starts on time and ends on time.

Marina section patrons responding to Jonathan Butler’s “We didn’t have to do all of gospel music at the San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival the leg work we usually do when we go into a venue: build the stage, fencing, hospitality, order port-a-potties, etc. We needed less staff and didn’t have to use any volunteers because they have their own front-of-house staff, ticket takers, ushers, people giving directions and handing out our lineup, etc.,” Benoit explained. “Basically, the promoter is responsible for the artists and the primary marketing of the event,” said Victoria Andújar, director of venue rentals for The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park and Copley Symphony Hall at Jacobs Music Center. “The majority of the Boaters anchored next to The Rady Shell enjoying the music staffing and infrastructure is from the San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival provided by the Symphony and thus included in the rental.

Photo: Craig Collier

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park features state-of-the-art stage, lighting and sound systems. There are also dining pavilions and plenty of permanent restrooms (far left). The peninsula point across the water was the previous site of the San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival at Embarcadero Marina Park North

“The San Diego Symphony provides in-house sound and lighting equipment, house managers, baseline security staff, event support staff (engineers, etc.), custodial services, box-office staff, parking and traffic attendants, on-site EMT, utilities, Local 122 stage crew, and, the Symphony can assist with sourcing backline, if needed,” she added.

Food and beverage table service

Food and beverage are provided by a partnership with The Shell Provisions and their local partners. These on-site restaurants and food carts include Chef Richard Blais, Urban Kitchen, BIGA, Lola 55, Achilles Coffee, Kitchens for Good and Minocqua Popcorn. According to Andújar, the menus are a collaboration among their restaurant partners, Sodexo Live! and the Symphony. “For this particular event, Sodexo Live! partnered with Rainbow Promotions to develop a custom in-seat dining menu.” Food and beverage table service were available to nearly 1,800 patrons within the front few sections. Meals included muffuletta sandwiches, Blaisburgers (with andouille remoulade), summer corn salad (with cotija cheese and jalapeno), boudin rice balls (with andouille sausage and garlic), Faroe Island salmon, chicken scarpariello (with peppers, onions and potatoes), banana bread pudding and coconut cake. All other guests could purchase food and drinks from the dining pavilions in Prebys Plaza, which offered items such as New England-style shrimp rolls, hot dogs, tacos, pizza, salads and soup (coconut curry chicken soup, corn chowder and vegan chili). Plus, wine, cocktails, beer, soft drinks, coffee, tea and hot chocolate were available in both locations. However, there weren’t any fried fish vendors, lemonade stands, a funnel cake booth or other typical festival fare. Benoit said that next year, she plans to work with catering to modify their menus even more to include items more to her clientele’s liking, such as fried chicken and catfish. Benoit is currently reviewing available dates for the 2023 San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival. However, according to Andújar, the Symphony has first right of refusal on all dates during the busy summer months. Due to the Symphony’s schedule, which generally runs from the end of June through September, it probably won’t be in July. “We contract a mix of about 40 private events and ticketed concert rentals each year,” she said. “I work closely with our artistic planning office to identify a few dates for outside rental clients.” With Benoit’s main objective of continuing to bring great music to San Diego in an exceptional atmosphere, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park certainly contributes to that goal. And, it quite possibly has set the gold standard for future festivals of all genres. “We’re not striving for mediocrity. We want to be the best, and provide patrons with a wonderful time and experience,” Benoit concluded. For more information on the San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival, and other Rainbow Promotions events, including the Long Beach Jazz Festival and Cincinnati International Jazz Festival, visit https://rainbowpromotions.com. For more information about The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, visit www.theshell.org.