Each year since it adopted Mears Park as its permanent home base, the Twin Cities Jazz Festival has grown in size and scale. Now in its 17th season, the festival is about to make history in St. Paul.
Saturday afternoon, New Orleans singer/songwriter/pianist/guitarist Dr. John will become the first musical act to headline Lowertown’s new CHS Field, a move that will open the festival up to an even larger audience and serve as a test run for a venue that’s set to blossom into a new favorite for live music in the city.
“I love it,” said St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. “The reason we pushed so hard to get that stadium built, beyond the Saints, is all the other things we could put down there, including music festivals. It gives us the opportunity to do things we haven’t been able to do before. We’re thrilled to be able to bring in someone like Dr. John.”
Now 74, the man born Malcolm John Rebennack is likely to draw fresh faces to the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, which already has an expected attendance of 30,000. The six-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has always pulled from multiple influences, including blues and psychedelic rock, to create his own brand of voodoo music. He’s also well known for his numerous collaborators across several genres, including Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, B.B. King, Allen Toussaint, Paul Weller, Spiritualized, Bonnie Raitt, Christina Aguilera and John Legend.
“Dr. John has such a large reach, he’s going to bring in new audiences,” said Steve Heckler, the festival’s executive director. “Our mission is to help people understand and enjoy jazz music.”
Admission to the Dr. John concert is free, although organizers asked concertgoers to reserve tickets online.
“We are still a free festival,” said Alden Drew, chair of the festival’s board of directors. “But we needed to have (an idea of the crowd size), so we knew how to set up the field, and how to orient the stage.”
Reserved tickets also gave the staff the opportunity to raise some funds, and they suggested a $15 donation in exchange for a Dr. John ticket. They are also offering a $75 VIP option, which comes with preferred seating, free beverages and a T-shirt. Heckler said they projected a crowd of 3,000 for Dr. John, and it now stands around 4,500. Online ticket reservations are no longer accepted, but the festival will take walk-ups at the gate on Saturday, which could drive the attendance even higher.
Assuming the show goes off as planned, it will be just the start of the festival’s involvement with CHS Field. “We’re the first concert there. We don’t know what the experience will be like,” Heckler said. “But moving forward, maybe we’ll try two days. I’d like to bring in, say, Tony Bennett or Esperanza Spalding or Diana Krall.”
Those are the kind of acts, Drew added, that have name recognition beyond the jazz world. “This is a civic event as much as it is a jazz event,” he said. “This is a real boon to St. Paul.”
The music starts Thursday with Pippi Ardennia in Mears Park. Other main stage performers in Mears Park include the Araya Orta Latin Jazz Quartet and the foursome of Chris Potter, Dave Holland, Lionel Loueke and Eric Harland (Friday) and the Marquis Hill Blacktet and Francisco Mela’s Crash Trio (Saturday).
Dr. John’s concert is just the start for this year’s expansion. The festival partnered with the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts to present a dance stage in Rice Park with big band and swing music and dance lessons. The new Como Dockside Pavilion will host concerts this year. There will also be music at stops along Metro Transit’s Green Line, which opened just weeks before last summer’s festival.
“We’re also expanding the bazaar and art fair on Wacouta (Street),” Drew said. “The idea is to become more like the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans. We want to give people stuff to do so when they’re milling around, like the atmosphere of a street fair. That’s only going to grow with more food trucks, vendors and artists.”
For the first time, the Twin Cities Jazz Festival has appointed an artistic director, Cuban drummer/composer Francisco Mela. During the past few weeks, Mela has acted as an ambassador for the festival, meeting fans and donors and drumming up interest in all things jazz. He’s also helping shape the festival’s future.
“I think he’s the best drummer playing right now,” Drew said. “He also has contacts and experience. He has a festival in Mexico where he brings in his big-name buddies for a week. He’s played with everybody. We brought him in for the first time (as artistic director) this year, and he’ll play an even larger role in 2016.”
With four outdoor stages, more than 20 indoor venues and hundreds of musicians booked to perform, the Twin Cities Jazz Festival could become a victim of its own success. But Heckler said there’s plenty of thought behind the expansion.
“A lot of these venues already have music in them and an established crowd,” he said. “We want to introduce those people to the rest of the festival. We’re looking at geometrically growing the crowd and exposing more people to the art form.”
Pop music critic Ross Raihala can be reached at 651-228-5553. Follow him at Twitter.com/RossRaihala.
What: The 17th annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival, featuring hundreds of jazz musicians playing on four outdoor stages and more than 20 indoor venues
When: Thursday through Saturday
Where: Mears Park serves as the main stage, with music spilling out into other clubs and outdoor stages throughout downtown St. Paul
Tickets: Admission is free, although some clubs may have cover charges
Shuttle: A free shuttle will run from 8 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday between the following venues: Bedlam Lowertown, Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, the Bulldog, Golden’s Deli, Hat Trick Lounge, Heartland Restaurant, SW Craft Bar, Amsterdam Bar and Hall, Camp Bar, the Saint Paul Hotel and Vieux Carre
For a full schedule: hotsummerjazz.com
