Pasadena Jazz Fest

I don't know if this is an annual event. If it isn't, it damn well should be. Monthly would even be better. Very well organized and you just can't beat the setting for an afternoon and evening of music. Two stages of alternating acts. It also provides a great opportunity to visit a local treasure. The tour tram is available during the event, so you can actually take a break from the event and take a tour of the arboretum aboard a guided tram. Allow it to drop you off on the other side of the facility and walk the paths among the foliage of Asia, Australia, etc., while a flock of peacocks wander about aimlessly. I hear kangaroos inhabit the acreage too. Didn't see those though.

As for the people, guests of the event itself were of course, chill and jazzy. We bought ourselves a couple of fedoras from one of the vendors and pretended to be chill and jazzy too. Food choices are appropriate, from ribs to pizza, and alcohol was abundant.

Big thanks to yelp for the heads-up on this event.

Jazz = good. Mary b = should not drink. Apologies.

I found a great street spot on Baldwin on a beautiful Sunday in Arcadia. Peacocks? Yes, beautiful exotic birds are walking down Baldwin Ave. eying the mall. It is not your imagination! I learned upon inquiry that these beautiful birds belong to the city and are given free reign to come and go as they please. -Neat.

I enjoyed the Latin jazz that was my entrance to the park at 3 PM. The horn section had their act together and Latin percussion is... always awesome. I bought tickets (no cash taken at the booths) to spend on my lovely friends for treating me to this amazing concert. With discriminant eyes I perused the refreshments. Soul food? at a jazz fest? No brainer right?

I sampled and shared barbecue rib platters with dirty rice and coleslaw. It was Kansas City style so the sauce was ridiculous good eating. I grabbed the first round of pomegranate margaritas for the girls and started the fire.

A table was easy to come by so the we parked it, noshed, gossiped, giggled and listened to the aphrodisiac that live music is. The weather was perfect and the grass was the greenest right where were I was sitting. The air was electric where musicians mingled among us after an exit of stage right.

Who put this lovely Riesling in my hand? Mary B! Everybody knows that you have no inhibitions to lose! Catching a buzz at a cool concert can only lead to mad trouble and will almost certainly lead to wild debauchery. This is why I love espresso!

My favorite kind of jazz is dry, tricky and messy like the wind. I am immensely fond of the classic Miles Davis, Chet Baker and Cole Porter. Many of he acts commissioned by this festival, while phenomenally talented, were more of the "smooth jazz" variety made known to us by the likes of Kenny G. etc.

Polished, refined and a little slick for my taste but there is something to learn and be heard at every concert and this one one was no exception. Each sound wave is one to be treated uniquely.

The choir made a key change  a cappella at approximately 8 PM. SWEET. *This is very tricky and requires an obscene amount of talent. the Soprano sax player's performance was perfect but he was "schooled" by the gospel singer's solo at approximately 9 PM.

I danced in the aisles, sat on the steps and soaked up the energy. I may have been even flirtier that my usual flirty self. Forgive.

Inspired, I hit the *record* button in my studio in the middle of the night with confidence that my skills to pay the bills were "all that". I hit playback at 6 AM this morning. It was anything but "all that"! Mary b should not be hitting the drink!

Well done by all involved in organizing the seamless event at a stunning location. Mad props to all and the many hands that made it happen. Thanks for taking me with you Valerie! (OMG I love that girl!) Next year, no Riesling for Mary b so that she may take away a more inspired take ;-)

Stve W. and I attended the redwhite+bluezz Pasadena Jazz Fest on Saturday, August 28th courtesy of Yelp. Getting there at 12:30 PM allowed us to gain great parking near the entrance at the steep price of $18. Later we found out you could park at Santa Anita Park for $12 and then take a free tram to the event.

I had never been to the LA Arboretum before nor a jazz festival of this size outside of Orange County, so I found this event (because I generally love to go and see live music) and the location to be a treat. The Arboretum includes rolling hills, expansive lawn areas, fountains, trees, a few benches and a gang of roaming peacocks.

I wasn't all that hungry so I drank lemonade, but Steven enjoyed a Greek beef gyro wrap from Neomeze and a diet coke. They were also selling assorted beer, wine and a ton of stuff I couldn't eat made with butter or milk like cobbler and garlic fries. It sounded good, but not for me.

The set-up for the festival was great and it wasn't as busy as I thought it could have been. There were two stages, one main and a side stage which alternated between playing and set-up and they did a good job with the sound system. Surprisingly, the talent on the side stage was outstanding. I really enjoyed The Delgado Brothers second set which sounded a lot like Steve Windwood and G Mack & The Polyester Players which highlighted their two vocalists and three piece horn section. Right out of the gate they were getting the crowd on their feet  and dancing the electric slide in front of the stage to Kool & The Gang's "Hollywood Swinging".

There were also the obligatory vendors selling clothes, jewelry, things for house and home and then we found LA Weekly. They were giving away various ipod clings, summer event guides, copies of LA Weekly (of course) and these square packets of sunscreen that happened to be about the same size as condoms.

While the concert was going on, I spotted a reporter for the Pasadena Star-News and he interviewed Steve and I about the festival. They only used what we said as general comments though about the high prices.  <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pasadenastarnews.com%2Fci_15928601%3FIADID%3DSearch-www.pasadenastarnews.com-www.pasadenastarnews.com&s=8c52c740dc41e369750cffc6f374d18f29b9fee1565b21edb859fd0866267bad" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.pasadenastarn…</a>  Oi vey.

If it wasn't for the ants, the weather that was too cold for me and the fact that we were told we could not go back and forth to get gear from the car, we could have stayed until the very end... We did get to see Everlast do a few songs though before I just couldn't take the cold and the dew anymore and called it a day after being there for something like 6 and a half hours.

All in all, it was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon/evening.