Op-Ed - Jazz festival a unique community

For a few brief summers during my college years (I won’t say quite how long ago), I worked as a ticket-taker at SPAC. It was a fun job; I loved seeing the excitement of the masses on the way in to see their favorite bands and musicians. And, after everyone was herded through the gates, I loved being invited into the amphitheater to help usher.

A few weeks into the summer season, I had to get to the amphitheater remarkably early for a show that was starting at noon. As I rounded the corner to the Route 50 gate, I realized the Freihofer Jazz Festival was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. People started lining up hours before the gates opened – hours. When I asked why they were there so early, they explained how much it meant to them to get the same exact location they’d gotten year after year. They told me of the friends they’d made at that spot several years ago, and how they continue to meet up there year after year.

And were they ever prepared, coolers came on little red wagons; they brought tents, teepees, umbrellas, enough chairs to seat a baker’s dozen, even pink flamingos and decorations to give their space panache. People weren’t just laying down a blanket – they were creating homes away from homes… for one day. Saturday night they’d take it all down and be ready to do it again on Sunday.

It is very rare an audience of strangers can count as a community, but the Jazz Festival population is just that, a community. People come from all over, many local yes, but from Georgia, Maryland and much, much further. And this year, they came in droves, attendance was the highest it’s been in five years. It’s no surprise either, the Freihofer Jazz Festival at SPAC isn’t just a concert, it is an event in the truest sense.

At no other time through the summer season would I walk past a group of people in my staff tee shirt and be offered a soda, shrimp cocktail or gumbo. Many groups were more than happy to offer nourishment to us staff, merely because we had to work during the high holy jazz holiday. This year, I was thrilled to see the tradition continued. On the hill on the way down to the amphitheater, there was an impressive spread of tarps taking up a living-room-sized space on the lawn dotted with chairs, a fold out picnic table and multiple coolers, each labeled clearly, water, soda, juice and beer. The “entrance” to the space, a fairly narrow opening between a few chairs and one of the coolers had a sign that welcomed staff in for a break.

On Saturday, my husband and I found our little piece of land and sat on our blanket to take in the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. I researched the band the week before while preparing for my interview with bass genius Reid Mathis and was thrilled to see them perform live. After they finished their set, a very large group next to us pulled out bongos, cowbells and every percussion instrument imaginable, to fill the time in between sets. The drum circle caught the interest of both children and adults alike, and every time someone came over to investigate, they were handed an instrument. The group kept swelling in its numbers as people were drawn together by music. An instant community, it didn’t matter who you were, you were welcomed with open arms.

Saturday was a gorgeous day and the musical lineup was stellar: JFJO, Jean Luc Ponty, Roy Haynes, india.arie, George Benson and Tower of Power. I can easily see why this year drew so many attendees.

Even after I moved past the days of working the gates, I still attend JazzFest year after year, and I have a feeling I will for a long time to come. I like being a part of that instant community, drawn together by good jazz.

PS- Visit page 16 for a photo montage of the festival.