French Lick Springs Jazz Festival celebrates jazz traditions and centennials of two grand hotels

Indiana’s grandest hotels—one still operating as a hotel and one as a historic icon—celebrate their centennials in 2002. In honor of the milestone, the French Lick Springs Jazz Festival brings jazz and swing legends to the landmarks of the Jazz Age—and makes room for ticket buyers who want to join a 21st century jam session. The French Lick Springs Resort & Spa and the West Baden Springs National Historic Landmark, both built in 1902 less than a mile apart, host dinner concerts during the French Lick Springs Jazz Festival, March 15-17.

The weekend festival opens Friday, March 15 with Jazz at the Springs, a dinner dance featuring The Woody Herman Orchestra, directed by Frank Tiberi, at the French Lick Springs Resort & Spa. Eminent jazz critic Leonard Feather gives the big band, known as the Thundering Herd, high marks for its mix of classic swing with finger-snapping arrangements of Coltrane, Chick Corea, and new tunes. The Monika Herzig Acoustic Project performs during the dinner hour.

Jazz under Glass, a cabaret-style dinner concert under the famous dome at West Baden Springs on March 16, features Jane Jarvis, Benny Powell and Earl May Trio performing on piano, trombone and bass. Individually recognized as official “Statesmen of Jazz,” the three have performed with the greats—Chet Baker, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie,

Lionel Hampton, J. J. Johnson, Randy Weston and more. Although quite well known in East and West Coast jazz circles where she has spent most of her career, Jane Jarvis is less recognized in her native Indiana and the festival aims to build her profile in the Midwest. Other live jazz performers will entertain during the cash-bar cocktail hour and Creole dinner at the former hotel, a National Historic Landmark that has undergone a $34 million partial restoration.

Afterglow sessions in the historic lobby of the French Lick Springs Resort follow the Friday and Saturday night concerts. Indianapolis jazz pianist Shirley Judkins and vocalist Kathy Andry manage the open mike sessions and encourage participation from guests. “Bring your instruments,” they urge. Late-night live jazz in the resort’s Derby Bar features Nashville, TN, vocalist Cynthia Kaay Bennett.

On Saturday afternoon, concurrent performance workshops are open by reservation: Pat Harbison, Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at IU, leads a trumpet workshop and Monika Herzig, jazz piano instructor at IUPUI, instructs the piano workshop. Jazz violinist Cathy Morris & Collage take the stage for an afternoon concert at French Lick Springs. A jam session immediately following the concert invites audience participation. From 1 to 5 p.m., guests also will have a chance to enjoy Seeing Jazz, an exhibition of Duncan Scheidt’s photos of great jazz performers.

Visitors can spend the entire weekend enjoying jazz and relaxing in historic surroundings by buying a special weekend package at the French Lick Springs Resort. The package includes hotel accommodations for Friday and Saturday nights, tickets to Friday and Saturday nights’ dinners and concerts, Saturday afternoon’s seminars, photo exhibit, concert and jam session, and bus transportation to and from the West Baden Springs National Historic Landmark for Saturday evening’s festivities. The package costs $199 per person based on double occupancy or $398 per couple.

Call the French Lick Springs Resort & Spa for information and reservations for the French Lick Springs Jazz Festival weekend package, 800-457-4042. To buy a ticket only for the Jazz under Glass concert at West Baden Springs, call Historic Landmarks Foundation at 800-450-4534 (the dinner concert is included in the package).

The French Lick Springs Jazz Festival is sponsored by the French Lick Springs Resort & Spa, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, and the West Baden Springs National Historic Landmark. The Jazz under Glass concert received major support from Richard E. Ford, with additional sponsorship from Cassady Electrical Contractors, Inc. and Earth Tech.

The Springs Valley towns of French Lick and West Baden Springs are located on Indiana 56 in Southern Indiana approximately 100 miles south of Indianapolis, 70 miles north of Louisville and 140 miles southwest of Cincinnati.

Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, the largest statewide preservation group in the U.S., saves and protects buildings and places of architectural and historical significance. From its network of eight offices across the state, Historic Landmarks leads and assists individuals, organizations and communities in preserving and revitalizing endangered landmarks through education, advocacy, and financial support. A private, not-for-profit organization, Historic Landmarks seeks to enrich contemporary life and leave a legacy of landmarks. For more information, call Historic Landmarks at 317-639-4534 or 800-450-4534; or logon to www.historiclandmarks.org.