CSUB JAZZ turns 20 this spring

by Jaclyn Loveless

"In the spring of 1986 Doug Davis received a call back from Chick Corea's agent," reads an excerpt from the first entry of Davis' online journal. It was a phone call that has helped launch an event now celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The Bakersfield Jazz Festival, held on the CSUB campus, has seen its share of successes and literally rainy days, but it has developed into much more than just a concert. "The festival has taken some major steps in the last couple of years to become more than just a jazz festival but also a true celebration for the community," said Davis, festival organizer and director of CSUB's jazz program. Davis has brought in a number of notable acts over the years from Wynton Marsalis and Chick Corea, to last year's David Benoit and Rick Braun.

In addition to poll and Grammy-winning musical talent, event organizers are excited to highlight outstanding CSUB students and community musicians.

All proceeds from the festival go towards student scholarships. "Last year from the stage we presented $14,000 in scholarships to CSUB students in eight different academic disciplines," Davis said. "We allow our major scholarship sponsors to designate the academic discipline they would like to support. It's nice as a donor to have an audience of 3,000 plus people see so clearly your contribution to the campus. The CSUB president (Horace Mitchell) has most generously matched these scholarships bringing the total amount of each of the last four years to more than $20,000." Davis works with individual department heads to select the scholarship recipients. Over the years the festival has created a scholarship endowment of more than $60,000 from the proceeds.

"The most important thing is the expansion in our community corporate support," he said. "With the addition of BMW of Bakersfield as our titled sponsor for the event we now have a major corporate partner guaranteed for the next five years." Other major sponsors include Budweiser, Occidental Petroleum Corp., Walters and Associates, and Touchstone Home Mortgage. "The media is our partner in creating advertising and we have more than $40,000 in donated television advertisement and about $15,000 donated in radio advertisement. Certainly that much media support helps create excitement in the community."

So what goes into planning an event that has had such longevity? Organization for the May event starts in December and "things start to fall in place" in February. "Each day requires a headliner of someone you hope jazz lovers will absolutely have to come see. This year we will have David Sanborn," Davis said. "Most music lovers will have some knowledge of David Sanborn; his name goes beyond the jazz realm. I also look for emerging artists like Mindi Abair, Joyce Cooling, Charlie Hunter, the Rippingtons, and numerous other artists who were only beginning their careers and now are established stars.

"This particular festival has always tried to give the greatest variety to the audience. So the pure jazz lover may have established poll-winning instrumentalists such as Kenny Burrell, Wallace Roney, or Christian McBride along with the headliners and emerging artists. Last year, we had an Indian tabla player and we always have some Latin jazz," he continued. "And most importantly, I always try to feature our local musicians who are creating new and interesting music as well as the young talents of the Kern County Honor Jazz Band."

Passion doesn't hurt either. "What I love about jazz is being in the presence of spontaneous creation," Davis said. "When you hear jazz in person you can sense that energy that is in the moment, the artist finding inspiration and dancing through time with such joy and intensity." Concerning his own background, Davis recalls, "My initial encounter with jazz dates back to listening to my parents play the 'Rhapsody in Blue' of Gershwin as a duet at the piano. My two older brothers began to listen to jazz and my dad played the piano everyday, a tune or two to unwind. It was natural to have an appreciation for the music growing up in such a household."

And Davis doesn't do all the work alone. The event comes together thanks to the others that accompany him on the festival committee. "Sue Wallace and Mike Ramsey work with the vendors and design the site layout; Mark Ramsey designs our posters, logos, and festival T-shirts; Rick Peace in recent years has spearheaded our growth in corporate sponsorship; Dennis Muleady, whose vast experience helps at every turn and provides sage advice; Jill Klein is in charge of the artisan tent; and my wife, Adele, is in charge of the festival work force. It's an army of 250 volunteers over the two-day event. It's a lot of phone calls," he laughed. "I haven't even scratched the surface of all that has to get done."

With Sanborn on board, Davis strives to make this year extra special.