Jazz and Heritage Festival organizers defend 2008 lineup

It's becoming a seasonal rite, just like baseball spring training, or seeing the first robin of the year: The St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival announces its lineup, and the organizers then attempt to spin the news to make the musical menu seem more appetizing than it first appears.

While many dedicated local jazz enthusiasts have already made up their minds, perhaps some casual fans will be swayed by this year's spin control, as dutifully recorded by Post-Dispatch pop music critic Kevin Johnson in this story for the weekend paper.

One quote from Paul Reuter, executive director of the Sheldon Concert Hall and a member of the Festival's programming committee, seems especially noteworthy. Referring to headliner Cassandra Wilson, Reuter is quoted as saying, "It's great that we're able to attract national-level talent like this to the festival. We're becoming one of the majors in the Midwest that they want to play."

This statement raises a couple of questions. First, if major, national-level musicians are so eager to come play St. Louis, how'd the Festival end up this year with a lineup filled out by the likes of Lao Tizer and Tito Puente, Jr.? And second, just how does the phrase "putting lipstick on a pig" apply in this particular situation?