Some concert promoters have a reputation for being in it only for the money. But as anyone involved in jazz knows, the bucks aren’t as plentiful as in other branches of the music business. Jazz people tend to get more substantial thrills from staging something creative than adding to their bank accounts.
Paul Machado, serving as executive director of the annual Telluride Jazz Celebration for his 16th year (the festival itself turns 30 next weekend) goes off on tangents about meeting and befriending his favorite performers over the years: saxophonist James Moody, flutist Herbie Mann and guitarist Larry Coryell, to name-check but a few. He’s obviously a savvy businessman with an eye on the festival’s bottom line (just one of many reasons it’s been around for three decades), but he’s a jazz enthusiast first.
“I’ve tried to stay consistent with high-quality acts,” Machado says of the Celebration, an annual summit for improvisation on a national level. “I’ve purposely not brought in ‘big marquee’ names in order to stretch the budget.”
But the names on this year’s schedule are as consistent and recognizable as any in the time zone: pianist Herbie Hancock, Brazilian duo Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, funky trio Soulive, violinist Regina Carter, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, Denver native/saxophonist Javon Jackson, The New York Voices, turbaned organ wizard Lonnie Smith, vocalist Nnenna Freelon and fusion pioneer Coryell all are slated.
Aside from Hancock, they may not appear to be big names on the surface, but they’re among the most talented practitioners of the art form.
“Telluride is the perfect place for these people to be comfortable,” Machado says of the artists. “There’s the scenery and the ambiance of the venue. And the people of Telluride show a particular appreciation for them.”
Asked about the famous and powerful who take in the festival, Machado acknowledges sightings but refuses to name names.
He’d rather focus on the “relaxed, intimate crowd, nothing like Aspen,” taking a good-natured shot at that community’s higher-profile jazz festival. Telluride’s is a slightly smaller gathering; Machado expects about 3,000 revelers to arrive from around the country.
Of all the performances Machado has witnessed in Telluride, his favorite occurred years back when late lions (drummer) Billy Higgins and (saxophonist) Harold Land held court with their group.
“I was so blown away by that,” he said. “Every musician in town was hovering around the stage. And Higgins was my hero.”
And if he could get any of those “marquee names” to perform on an unlimited budget?
“I’d like to get Diana Krall back! (Krall played Telluride in 1997, before going platinum many times over. She’s also performed numerous times since in Aspen.) I don’t want to tell you how little we paid to have her appear (at the time).”
The Telluride Jazz Celebration, Thursday-Aug. 6, Town Park Stage, Sheridan Opera House and other venues, Telluride. Tickets range from $10-$50 for individual events, $50 for full day passes, and $125-$165 for entire weekend passes. Find out more at telluridejazz.com.
Set list
Trumpeter Ron Miles’ quartet plays the Robusto Room on Saturday … the 20-piece Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra squeezes into Dazzle Aug. 6, and Denver-raised saxophonist Brad Leali returns from New York to appear at Dazzle on Aug. 11 … the Longmont Jazz Festival features Colorado musicians at various locales Aug. 13-20 … the Boulder Theater has announced two exciting dates: Chuchito Valdes’ Afro-Cuban Ensemble on Sept. 14 and the top-shelf trio of Bill Frisell, Jack DeJohnette and Jerome Harris on Oct. 8 … Blue Note Records has made a series of classic jazz ringtones available. Now you can enjoy the strains of Horace Silver’s “Song for My Father” or Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder” before hanging up on a solicitor or wrong number. Me, I’m holding out for all 40 minutes of John Coltrane’s mind-wrecking “Ascension.”
Bret Saunders’ column on jazz appears every other Sunday in A&E. Saunders is host of the “KBCO Morning Show,” 5:30-10 a.m. weekdays at 97.3-FM. His e-mail address is bretsaunders@hotmail.com.
