The past few years, even the Atlanta Jazz Festival felt the sting of the country’s economic nosedive.
But for the event’s 35th anniversary over Memorial Day weekend, organizers are celebrating its return to Piedmont Park for three days, which hasn’t happened since 2007.
In 2008-09, the nationally regarded festival moved from Piedmont Park to scaled-down settings in Woodruff and Grant parks. Then in 2010, the festival reverted to Piedmont Park, but with a nipped two-day schedule.
Camille Russell Love, director of the Atlanta office of cultural affairs, which presents the musical feast, said the return to full strength signals that “we’ve rebounded from the issues we’ve had.”
The third day of shows means an additional six acts were able to be programmed for the main stage, which will be situated in the Meadow at Piedmont Park. A second stage, stocked with international acts, will be erected in the Greystone area.
With a lineup ranging from jazz stalwarts Roy Ayers, Tito Puente Jr. and Kathleen Bertrand to Swiss harmonica player Gregoire Maret to Israeli guitarist Nadav Remez to hip pianist Robert Glasper, the festival is dedicated to melding favorites with emerging acts.
Case in point: Jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding performed at the 2010 event, a gig booked months before her Grammy win earlier that year.
This year, 18-year-old saxophonist Grace Kelly will make her Atlanta Jazz Festival debut.
“The festival has grown in a very organic way,” said Karen Hatchett, public relations director for the event. “The vision is to have a showcase to educate people about jazz and celebrate it as a truly American art form. That was the vision of [former Atlanta mayor] Maynard Jackson when it started.”
Unlike many other recognized jazz festivals around the country, the Atlanta version, “is pure jazz,” Love said. “It’s not mixed up with smooth jazz or R&B or other music forms. It’s truly, strictly jazz and that gives us an edge artistically over other festivals.”
About 50,000 people are expected to visit Piedmont Park each day of the event, which costs about half a million dollars to stage. In the 14 years she’s helped produce the festival, Love said it’s common to see a lot of local repeat customers celebrating family reunions and graduations as well as those who travel from Florida, the Carolinas, Tennessee, the mid-Atlantic and even Canada.
The artists, too, seem to enjoy hanging around with each other backstage and making unannounced late-night appearances at haunts such as Churchill Grounds in Midtown. A scheduled after-hours jam will take place May 27 at the Loews Atlanta hotel.
“I am excited every time I see jazz being presented here in Atlanta. You’ve got [Friday Jazz] at the High Museum of Art, SoundWaves at [Georgia] Aquarium, you even have jazz at the airport,” Love said. “Local jazz artists are really happy when May comes around.”
Atlanta Jazz Festival concert preview
May 26-28. Free. All ages. Piedmont Park, 1320 Monroe Dr., N.E., Atlanta. www.atlantafestivals.com.
May 26 Main Stage Performers: 12:30 p.m. Rialto Jazz for Kids; 3 p.m. Dwight Andrews; 5 p.m. Cyrus Chestnut Trio; 7 p.m. Kathleen Bertrand; 9 p.m. Roy Ayers.
May 26 International Stage Performers: 2 p.m. Tropical Breeze; 3:30 p.m. Andre Rievers; 5 p.m. Ernest EC3 Coleman; 6:30 p.m. Ed Martinez & His Jazz Orchestra.
May 27 Main Stage Performers: 1 p.m. Youth Jazz Band (second place winners); 3 p.m. Mushy Widmaier Quintet; 5 p.m. Gregoire Maret; 7 p.m. Lionel Loueke Trio; 9 p.m. Tito Puente Jr. & His Orchestra.
May 27 International Stage Performers: 12:30 p.m. Youth Jazz Band (fourth place winners); 2 p.m. Mace Hibbard; 3:30 p.m. Laura Coyle Quintet; 5 p.m. Son Jazzy Orchestra; 6:30 p.m. Nadav Remez/Omer Avital Quintet.
May 28 Main Stage Performers: 1 p.m. Youth Jazz Band (first place winners); 3 p.m. Yolanda Rabun; 6 p.m. Russell Gunn & Elektrik Butterfly; 7 p.m. Grace Kelly Quintet; 9 p.m. Robert Glasper Experience.
May 28 International Stage Performers: 12:30 p.m. Youth Jazz Band (third place winners); 2 p.m. Saunders Sermon; 3:30 p.m. Marea Alta; 5 p.m. Melvin Jones; 6:30 p.m. Mausiki Scales & The Common Ground Collective.
What to know: Pets are not allowed. Tents that don't require a stake are permitted to be erected in a special area. Guests can bring their own food and drinks (no glass), but vendors will also be on site. Gas grills are permitted, but charcoal cannot be brought into the park (there are some on-site that can be used). No frying is allowed. Families with children can also visit the two "kids zone" areas set up in the park.
Also: At 10 p.m. May 27, the "AJF Late Night Jazz Jam with Friends" takes place at the Lowes Atlanta Hotel in the Ellington Ballroom. Jason Orr hosts. Performers include Lil John Roberts and Robert Glasper. $35. 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com.
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