FROMONLINE | 2013-09-04

  • By Tami Lange
  • September 4, 2013
  • 414
                        
HED: Jazz of all kinds and lots of it Summary: 10th Annual Wooster Arts Jazz Fest plans a day filled with music, art, food and activities By Tami Lange Jazz comes in many forms – from the swingy big band style of big city clubs to the Creole and Zydeco infused combos of New Orleans. No matter where your tastes fall, there’s bound to be an act at the Wooster Arts Jazz Fest that will have you up and moving. The 10th annual event takes place in downtown Wooster on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. In addition to the music, WAJF features a juried arts show, fine foods at the Jazz Café and a variety of children’s art activities at the PNC-sponsored Kids’ Creation Station. The free event is presented through a partnership of Main Street Wooster, Wooster City Schools, Wooster Rotary and the Wayne Center for the Arts. Local attorney and Wooster native Jason Storck is in his second year on the event’s steering committee and this year was charged with finding bands to perform in three venues: the main stage in the southwest quadrant of Public Square, the Public Square gazebo and a new locale in front of the Wayne County Public Library. New to the lineup this year, Storck said, is the Zydeco Kings, which bills itself as “a hot sauced mixture of old school rhythm & blues infused with the spirit of New Orleans.” The six-member band, based in Meyers Lake, plays throughout the region and was spotted by Storck during a recent performance at the First Amendment Public House in Wooster. According to its website, the Zydeco Kings are “ steeped in gumbo boogie woogie, a dash Caribbean soul, rollicking piano, accordion, guitar, saxophone, bass, drums and of course, some rubboard.” The band has a style similar to Mo’ Mojo, which performed last year. In its absence, Storck said, “I wanted another representative of that type of music to be performing.” For fans of the Big Band era, Storck said, the Akron Big Band will return to the main stage. The band, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and is making its third WAJF appearance, is “a really big draw,” according to Storck, especially for people who like to swing dance. Also scheduled to perform are local combos Standard Time Jazz and the Joe Barone Trio, as well as acoustic guitarist Victor Samalot, the Hal Wyant Trio and Matthew Keeler/ Blues Reveler. The latter, Storck said, plays music “from a little more early time frame.” The three-person ensemble bills itself as performers of “American roots” music – including early blues and jazz, ragtime and Appalachian fiddle music. And, Storck said, the River City Jazz Band, which has played every WAJF, will once again be on hand to perform and also to lead the traditional New Orleans-style jazz parade at 2:30 p.m. Finding interested bands is never a problem, according to Storck, whose own musical tastes can best be described as eclectic. “There’s great music of all genres,” he said, though he has distinct memories of his parents taking him to jazz clubs early in life. For every band booked, he said, there are three are four who are not. “People really enjoy performing at this event,” he said and it affords him the opportunity to meet lots of great musicians. Major sponsors of the event are Audrey Beaverson, French Quarter Grand Arts Sponsor; the Noble Foundation, Jefferson Square Arts Sponsor; PNC Bank, Children’s Art Sponsor; Stanley C. Gault, the Canal Street Visual Arts Sponsor; and the Ralph & Grace Jones Foundation, the Bourbon Street Performing Arts Sponsor.


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