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Jazz Festival Memories From The CapRadio Archives

  •  Gary G. Vercelli 
  •  Paul Conley 
Tuesday, December 19, 2017 | Sacramento, CA
Capital Public Radio File

CapRadio Music's Jazz Music Director Gary Vercelli and Managing Editor Paul Conley work the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee in the early 1990s.

Capital Public Radio File

This week organizers of the Sacramento Music Festival announecd that after 44 years, the festival would be coming to an end. 

During most of the 1990's, CapRadio presented 12 hour live broadcasts from the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee (later to be known as the Sacramento Music Festival), featuring a wide variety of bands performing everything from traditional jazz and blues to Latin jazz, zydeco and gypsy swing.

Our live broadcasts continued into the 2000's but were shortend to 6 hours. I have many memories of sharing ideas at the broadcast table with great international artists and coordinating matters (many times on the fly) with the assistance of Paul Conley, Mark Jones, Nick Dragos and Matias Bombal.

Our own Mick Martin was an annual presence at the festival, organizing blues sets and performing with his own Blues Rockers. 

The late bassist Roger Krum, who in addition to serving as executive director of the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, which produced the festival, also kept extremely busy performing all weekend with the Fulton Street Jazz Band. He was a joy to work with in planning our broadcasts.  

— Gary G. Vercelli, Jazz Music Director


We produced several radio features over the years related to the festival.  Here is a sampling from the CapRadio archives:

In 2003 we talked with Mick Martin about the history of the blues at the Jazz Jubilee 

Mick Martin on blues at the Festival

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Traditional jazz bands from other countries were always a big draw at the festival.  Steve Milne filed this story about Hungary's Hot Jazz Band in 2003.

Hot Jazz from Hungary

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And Paul Conley put together this feature about Scotland's Fat Sam's Band in 2004

Fat Sam's Band

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From the start a major focus of the festival has been on raising funds for youth education. Steve Milne did this story on one of the STJS-sponsored youth bands, The New Traditionalists (TNT), in 2004.

The New Traditionalists

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Here's another story from August of this year featuring Bria Skonberg who performed numerous times at the festival as soloist and with her former band Mighty Aphrodite.

Canadian Jazz Star Bria Skonberg Keeps Strong Ties To Sacramento

BRIA-R

 

— Paul Conley, Managining Editor, Music and Arts

    Related Stories

  • End Of The Sacramento Music Festival

    Tuesday, December 19, 2017
    The Sacramento Music Festival is coming to an end after 44 years. Organizer Lyle Van Horn explains what’s next for jazz in the Capital City. Musicians Mick Martin and Bob Ringwald share stories.

Gary G. Vercelli

Jazz Music Director

Jazz Music Director Gary Vercelli produces CapRadio's terrestrial and online jazz programming, including JazzStream.org. He also hosts Excellence In Jazz and Acid Jazz and writes reviews of new jazz releases.  Read Full Bio 

 Email Gary G. Vercelli

Paul Conley

Managing Editor, Music and Arts

Paul oversees CapRadio's music formats on our radio stations and digital streams. He also supervises the creation of music and arts content across departments and platforms, including capradio.org.  Read Full Bio 

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