St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival announces 2008 lineup

The St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival has announced that singer Cassandra Wilson (pictured) will headline the 2008 edition of the event, which will take place in Clayton's Shaw Park on Saturday, May 31. Other touring acts on the bill will include ex-Crusaders keyboardist Joe Sample with singer Randy Crawford, Latin percussionist Tito Puente Jr., and smooth jazz/fusion keyboardist Lao Tizer with guitarist Chieli Minucci and violinist Karen Briggs.

Local groups and musicians appearing at the festival will include pianist Ptah Williams, doing a set of music composed by Stevie Wonder; jam band singer-guitarist Teddy Presberg; the St. Louis Jazz Orchestra; singer Brian Owens; and Two Times True featuring pianist Carolbeth True and her son, drummer David True.

At the risk of sounding repetitive to long-time StLJN readers, once again I am underwhelmed by the festival lineup. Wilson is a fine singer with a distinctive approach to interpreting contemporary songwriters, but she relies quite a bit on quiet, downtempo material and thus seems an odd choice for a show closer. Sample and Crawford are capable performers who may pull in some older smooth-jazz fans, but given that their one radio hit was 30 years ago, they won't do much to draw younger listeners.

As for the others, although Puente certainly comes from good stock, he has yet to create any truly memorable music on his own, and seems mostly to be trading on his family name. There are many other Latin jazz acts out there making better, more interesting, and more original music, and I doubt if they're all more expensive to book than is Puente Jr. And while I'm not familiar enough with the music of Lao Tizer to offer any intelligent commentary, the presence of Briggs, whose usual gig is working for easy listening schlockmeister Yanni, inspires fear and loathing rather than confidence or interest.

The lineup of local acts seems better balanced, though I'm puzzled by the selection of Presberg, whose music, from what little I've heard of it, bears only a vaguely tangential relationship to jazz. With only five slots open for local musicians, it's a curious choice.

Overall, I'm struck once again by the lack of any headliners playing mainstream straight-ahead jazz, bebop, or hard bop. Older, pre-war jazz styles and any music that might plausibly be called avant-garde, experimental or even adventurous are also noticeably absent. Other than Williams' tribute set, there's no thematic programming, and no programming created especially for the event. It adds up to a stylistically incoherent "festival" with no discernible artistic direction or point-of-view, no unique programming, and no real connection to the institutions, music history or traditions of the city it purports to celebrate.

At $25 for a general admission ticket, the StLJ&HF does offer an entire day of music at a bargain price, but it's only a bargain if you're actually interested in seeing any of the acts being presented. As a pleasant day of diversion in the park, the event may succeed in drawing enough paying customers to ensure its continued existence, but based on the booking choices they've made over the past couple of years, it would seem that the organizers are not really trying for much beyond that. The StLJ&HF's 2008 lineup might be acceptable for a town with no existing or historic ties to jazz, but given St. Louis' rich musical history, its knowledgeable jazz fans, and the many fine musicians who have called the area home over the years, our city deserves better.

So, dear readers, what do you think? Are you excited about the chance to see Wilson, Sample or any of the others? Is St. Louis getting the jazz festival it deserves? Am I being a big meanie by insisting that festival organizers could do better? Feel free to use the comments to express your thoughts and opinions...