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Chapter 14: Traveling Jazz: Your Ticket to the Best Festivals
Jazz fans from colder climes escape for a five-day weekend of jazz that
begins the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. The Dixieland Jazz
Festival (www.dixielandjazzfestival.org/festival.htm) books
bands from around the world alongside American groups. You haven’t
lived until you’ve heard a band like Paris Washboard (from France) belting
out authentic American jazz.
Planning a Trip to a Festival
You’ve read about a few of the best festivals, and hundreds more around the
world feature all sorts of jazz. So how do you decide where to go?
� Do some research. A search engine like Google is your best friend. You
can find reviews of many jazz festivals dating back several years. These
reviews give you a good idea of the music and the shortcomings, such as
uncomfortable venues and poor sound.
� Consider cost. Your choices range from a festival close to home to one
requiring air travel, hotel rooms, ground transportation, and meals.
� Choose a festival that has a lot of the music you like. If you lean toward
experimental jazz, don’t go to a traditional jazz festival. And if you’re
purely into old-school jazz, you probably won’t be satisfied by one of the
more progressive festivals. Also, if you’re a jazz purist, take a close look
at what music is presented under the “jazz” banner. Many festivals feature
some jazz alongside all sorts of other music.
Here are a few more tips for planning your great jazz getaway:
� Start planning your jazz festival vacation at least six months in
advance. If you have a line on a good travel agent, he can help with
details. If you’re reasonably organized, though, you can do a lot of planning
and booking (of flights, hotels, rental cars, and so on) online. Before
you make travel plans, though, be sure to purchase or reserve your tickets.
Many festivals sell out in advance.
In cities that host major festivals, the best hotels are likely to be booked
well in advance. With a little research online, you can figure out whether
you want to stay near the festival, or maybe in a quaint, less crowded
location not far away.
� Check the weather of the city you plan to visit. Some places are dry as
a bone, and others get torrential rains. Some have T-shirt weather, and
others require warm jackets — especially at night in mountain locations.
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