FOR FANS IN S.J., $10 CHARGE 'STILL AWESOME BARGAIN'
This summer's new $10 admission didn't appear to thin the crowd Saturday at this weekend's 19th annual San Jose Jazz Festival, where thousands turned out for a range of music, wine, carnival food, dancing - and all that jazz.
The popular festival, which includes jazz, blues, R&B, and salsa, is held in and around the Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose for one weekend each summer. Last year's total attendance topped 85,000. The festival used to bill itself as the largest free jazz event in the country, but a few years ago, the price of admission was bumped up to $5.
“We couldn't keep the festival free without reducing the quality," explained festival spokesman Dan Orloff. He said the $10 entry fee “is still an awesome bargain." (By comparison, the cheapest adult tickets for the Monterey Jazz Festival in September cost $35.)
The laid-back crowd Saturday at the San Jose festival was as diverse as Silicon Valley, and included families with older children, young couples and groups of friends with matching lawn chairs.
Rajesh Krishnan of Hayward was listening to the JazzFunk All Stars in the shade of a magnolia tree. He's said he's been coming to the jazz festival for five years because, “they have good shows and it's still worth it."
This year, Krishnan brought along 3-year-old Arti and 8-month-old Varun. Arti amused herself by decorating the perimeter of her dad's baseball cap with magnolia leaves.
She gave herself a similar leafy crown while Varun crawled in the grass.
This summer's new $10 admission didn't appear to thin the crowd Saturday at this weekend's 19th annual San Jose Jazz Festival, where thousands turned out for a range of music, wine, carnival food, dancing - and all that jazz.
The popular festival, which includes jazz, blues, R&B, and salsa, is held in and around the Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose for one weekend each summer. Last year's total attendance topped 85,000. The festival used to bill itself as the largest free jazz event in the country, but a few years ago, the price of admission was bumped up to $5.
“We couldn't keep the festival free without reducing the quality," explained festival spokesman Dan Orloff. He said the $10 entry fee “is still an awesome bargain." (By comparison, the cheapest adult tickets for the Monterey Jazz Festival in September cost $35.)
The laid-back crowd Saturday at the San Jose festival was as diverse as Silicon Valley, and included families with older children, young couples and groups of friends with matching lawn chairs.
Rajesh Krishnan of Hayward was listening to the JazzFunk All Stars in the shade of a magnolia tree. He's said he's been coming to the jazz festival for five years because, “they have good shows and it's still worth it."
This year, Krishnan brought along 3-year-old Arti and 8-month-old Varun. Arti amused herself by decorating the perimeter of her dad's baseball cap with magnolia leaves.
She gave herself a similar leafy crown while Varun crawled in the grass.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
