All that jazz

Andrew Glazer

New Orleans jazz, like New Orleans gumbo, has a little bit of

everything thrown in: African and Caribbean rhythms, French and Spanish

marches and European classical music.

“And all the ingredients have simmered over a low flame for more than

100 years,” said Dennis Jaffe, who plays bass for the New Orleans-based

Preservation Hall Jazz Band and manages the band’s home venue.

Orange County jazz lovers will get a taste of the musical stew when

the band, along with more than a dozen other classic jazz acts swing into

town for the Orange County Classic Jazz Festival next week.

“This is the music of Scott Joplin, the Cotton Club and Mississippi

riverboats,” said Connie Baker, one of the festival’s producers. “This is

not barbershop quartets.”

But the cushy Doubletree Hotel in Costa Mesa, home of the three-day

festival, is a far cry from the traditional jazz hall. In the Jazz Age,

musicians typically played background music in sweaty saloons and sleazy

bordellos.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s home base is a rickety wooden shack,

built in the heart of New Orleans in 1750. The building became a jazz

hall in 1952. Jaffe’s parents, who moved to New Orleans on a whim from

Philadelphia, bought the building in the early 1960s.

“It’s important to recognize the history of the art form, whether it’s

drama, visual arts or music,” said Jaffe about the venue. “Sometimes when

you hear jazz in a concert hall or see art in a museum, it’s so far

removed from its origins and what it was intended to do.”

Which is not to say that festivals aren’t an excellent opportunity to

give more exposure to what historians call the first truly American

music, Jaffe said.

“You get to know people all over the world who appreciate what you’re

doing,” he said. “Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to come

to New Orleans. And our music is something we’re extremely proud of. It’s

great to be able to show off.”

The Jim Cullum Band also will show off their musicianship. Like the

Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the San Antonio-based band, which formed in

the 1960s as the “Happy Jazz Band,” spends much of the year in its home

venue.

Many jazz fans have heard the band’s popular radio show, “Riverwalk,

Live from the Landing,” which airs weekly on more than 170 National

Public Radio stations.

“This is a rare opportunity for those who haven’t been to San Antonio

to hear the band live,” Baker said.

FYI

WHAT: The Orange County Classic Jazz Festival

WHERE: Doubletree Hotel, 3050 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.

WHEN: Noon to 11 p.m. Aug. 4 and 5; 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 6. The

Jim Cullum Band will play at 3:45 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Aug. 4; and

at 2:30 and 10 p.m. Aug. 5 in the Doubletree Ballroom. The Preservation

Hall Jazz Band will play at noon and 1:15 p.m. Aug. 6; a prefestival

party will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

HOW MUCH: An all-events pass, $70; Friday only: $35; Saturday only:

$40; Sunday only: $30; Prefestival party, $10; Patrons: $200 (Patron

passes allow holders to sit in reserved sections at all shows, a Saturday

night dinner in Maxi’s Ballroom, a gift from Pierre Cardin, a drawing for

a two round-trip tickets and two-night stay in the Doubletree Hotel in

Manhattan)

PHONE: Information: (714) 540-7000; Tickets: (888) 215-2222