This is The Festival Roundup as printed in our March 2017 issue, the most recent Roundup can be found under Events in our menu.
JAZZ BASH BY THE BAY FESTIVAL. (Monterey, Calif.) – March 2-5.
Born in 1980 at the Monterey County Fair, Dixieland Monterey was fathered by the founders of the Monterey Bay Hot Jazz Society (now the Monterey Hot Jazz Society). Encouraged by its initial presentation, the society staged the festival again in 1982, and it has been going great guns every year since. As it celebrates its 37th season, the Jazz Bash is headquartered at the Monterey Conference Center & Portola Hotel & Spa, about a block east of Fisherman’s Wharf, where diners can relax to the soothing rhythm of the ocean waves. Performances will also be staged at the Golden State Theatre. Festival founder John Keller appreciates this Pacific Coast location. “Who can resist the beauty of the Monterey waterfront?” he asks. “But the real reason people return each year is because they love the music. Dixieland Monterey offers them the opportunity to experience live jazz performed by some of the world’s most talented musicians.”
What began as a one-time supplement to the County Fair has evolved into an annual event with live acts in intimate venues, a talented selection of youth bands and a program that includes big band music along with traditional jazz, zydeco, swing, Gy
