The Roswell (New Mexico) Jazz Festival takes place throughout the town mid-October. The beloved festival draws visitors from all over the U.S. and from overseas. Musicians who usually appear on the larger stages in New York City, New Orleans, or Kansas City come to the small town in the middle of the high desert. How is that possible?
It all started in the aftermath of the terrifying days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. People were trying to find shelter and leave the drowning city; among them was legendary jazz pianist and two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Roger Dickerson.
While the art communities of metropolitan cities such as New York and Los Angeles offered safe haven to many of the celebrity performers, Roswell’s own Frank and Carole Schlatter opened up their home to Dickerson. Roger and Frank had became friends while serving in the military overseas.
The first small festival was organized with the help of several Roswell jazz fans in 2006, such as the late Roswell Daily Record publisher Cory Beck, a jazz fan; Michael Francis, musician and editor of the Vision Magazine at the Daily Record at the time and member of the board of directors of the newly formed festival; organizer Paula Grieves; the late Frank Schlatter; the late Hugh Burrows, pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Roswell; and musician and singer Tom Blake—all were original supporters of the festival.
Dickerson himself returned to New Orleans to help clean up, only to return later in November 2005—according to the Daily Record archives—when he volunteered his musical skills and teamed with the Roswell Museum and Art Center for a benefit concert for the Louisiana Children’s Museum and young victims of Hurricane Katrina. In February 2006, he rejoined the community to perform at the first jazz festival benefiting the survivors of Katrina, promising to return every year.
True to his word, Dickerson returned to Roswell, a city that is known today for its annual jazz festival and champions of jazz performing.
Every year, the festival is getting bigger, with on average seven to eight venues and close to 30 artists performing.
Francis, who has been volunteering as Roswell Jazz Festival’s artistic director, always finds a new and fresh way to surprise the audience. Sometimes it is a special dinner show at Pecos Flavors Winery + Bistro or the iconic restaurant Peppers Grill and Bar; other times he arranges for younger performers to attend and participate.
For the musicians and Francis, it is also important to make the performances accessible for children and those with a smaller budget—free concerts are always included at the Chaves County Courthouse and Reischman Park.
A special treat for young jazz fans is the annual School of Jazz that takes place at a local museum or at the convention center. School bands and young musicians from local universities can learn from legendary musicians such as Ricky Malichi, Dan Barrett, Charles Gordon, and—when his health permitted it—Dickerson himself.
Another highlight for the children happens usually on the Thursday before the concert weekend. The musicians go to the local high schools and middle schools. The idea is to get the kids interested in jazz in all its forms.
The scheduling and organizing of the event takes a lot of work, but Francis can count on extra help sponsoring the event from local businesses, utility companies, and local jazz fans.
Christina Stock is editor of Vision Magazine at the Roswell Daily Record.
