Live on the Levee offers nothing for jazz fans

The rest of the lineup for this year's Live on the Levee concert series has been announced, and though the additional acts do broaden the scope of the series slightly, there's really nothing of interest to jazz listeners.

According to an article by pop critic Kevin Johnson in Wednesday's Post-Dispatch, the concerts added to the previously announced lineup will include rock acts Bruce Hornsby, Pete Yorn and G. Love and Special Sauce; neo-soul performer Musiq Soulchild; reggae band Steel Pulse; and Robert Randolph and the Family Band, who work the jam band circuit.

As a jazz fan, I'm once again disappointed that the Live on the Levee organizers apparently never even considered following in the footsteps of the 2004 Riversplash series, which featured a much stylistically broader and musically substantive lineup. More generally, as a music fan, I find the lack of blues and soul performers equally disappointing and, of the announced acts, Robert Randolph and Emmylou Harris are the only ones on the list I'd even consider fighting the traffic and crowds to hear.

Your mileage, of course, may vary. But overall, these additions, while they may fit a narrow definition of musical diversity, still don't do much to address the musical tastes of St. Louis' black community or the city's own musical heritage - a most curious approach for an organization calling itself "Celebrate St. Louis".

The presence of Soulchild and Randolph, both African-Americans, plus the Jamaicans in Steel Pulse, probably is enough to insulate the series' organizers against any charges of outright racism. However, in this part of the country, the audiences for reggae and jam bands are made up mostly of white people, which leaves Soulchild as the sole performer on the series appealing primarily to a black audience.

If this were Cedar Rapids, Omaha, or Spokane, the context would be very different. But for a city with a majority black population that has spawned so many talented blues and jazz performers and current hip-hop hitmakers, the 2007 Live on the Levee lineup seems a pale shadow of what it ought to be.

In the interest of fairness, it also should be noted that fans of others genres such as country music and hard rock, both also quite popular around these parts, have equal cause to feel neglected. And there does seem to be at least some belated, dim awareness on the part of organizers that community input could be beneficial, as Johnson's article also notes, "A yet-to-be-announced act will close out Live on the Levee Aug. 4. That final concert remains open so music fans can help select which act should fill that date."

"Fans can go online at http://www.celebratestlouis.org to view a list of possible acts, then vote for their favorites...Available acts include Doobie Brothers, Black Crowes, Jonny Lang, O.A.R., Yonder Mountain String Band, Jewel, Little Feat, Umphrey’s McGee and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah; there’s also a space to write in an act."

If I sound less than enthusiastic about this opportunity for community input, it's because the list of "choices" reminds me of the line from the first Blues Brothers movie - "We got both kinds of music: country AND western!" - but with the terms "rock" and "jam band rock" inserted instead. Still, if you've got a burning desire to see one of these groups this summer for free, or would like to register a write-in protest vote for the jazz or blues act of your choice, you've got until 5 p.m. April 20 to do it.

(Edited after posting.)