52nd Monterey Jazz Festival presented by Verizon Photo Gallery

Here's a preview of the gallery. I have another 40% of the images to go through and edit.
 

Live from Monterey

It's festival time. I'm heading down there shortly, looking forward to a great weekend of music. If you're in the area, there are still tickets available for the grounds, and an extremely rare opportunity to buy single-show tickets to for the Arena. Watch this space for daily updates and photos. Follow me on Twitter (@jamesadamsphoto) for the mid-day updates as well.

2009 Monterey Jazz Festival - Single Show Tickets - What's your excuse now?

Okay, so the announcement that you could still get Arena seats caught you completely off guard. It was too late to coordinate a hotel, appropriate traveling companion, and all the other things that go along with a weekend trip. I understand. On the other hand, a day trip is a different story. With single show Arena tickets available, you can still see an incredible set of artists on the main stage, and have access to any of the venues on the grounds.

The weather will be fantastic; temperatures in the 80s, offshore winds (read, no fog), pleasant nights. It'll be a wonderful thing. Best part is, you don't have to bring anything. Food, beverages, artisan vendors, and some outstanding performances by a few hundred very popular jazz legends, luminaries, and rising stars. What on earth could you possibly be waiting for? 

Buy online, or buy CDs.... Simple choice?

I fought it as long as I could. Yeah, the practice is becoming outdated, and has threatened to become extinct for a few years now. I still enjoy going to a "record store" and purchasing CDs. There's something about looking through the racks of discs on display and finding treasures, both new and old. I can still spend a couple hours in one of the few remaining large CD stores in the area with no problem.

The transition from physical media to digital is more traumatic to us OGs. Going from vinyl to CD was easy. You still had a tangible product in your hands. This is much tougher. About 7 years ago, I transitioned my DJ rig from CDs to my laptop. My entire library was on a hard drive. The convenience was incredible. I could search for a song within seconds. I could switch songs within 8 seconds if necessary. Still, it didn't feel right. It wasn't organic enough. With vinyl or CDs, ideas for programming the next few tracks would come from fanning through the collection. I would change the entire direction of the set based on an album or CD cover. Looking through the database for songs just didn't have the same feel, and to be honest, the process wasn't as much fun.

Monterey Jazz Festival - Yes, you can still go

If you have to ask what is the 52nd Monterey Jazz Festival presented by Verizon, you probably should skip the rest of this post because by the time you act on the information, it'll be too late. Normally, there's a scramble for the few remaining tickets for the Festival Grounds. This year, this close to the festival there are still tickets available for an Arena Ticket subscription.

This is extremely rare, and is no doubt caused by the current economic climate. The last time this happened precedes my festival experience by a lot of years, and I've been going for 13 years. The purchase of an arena subscription allows you to be a part of this magnificent annual music event that is world renown.

Why should you hurry to buy tickets, arrange for hotels, and figure out how to get your behind to Monterey for September 18-20? If you're a true jazz fan, these are all the reasons you need: Chick Corea, Lizz Wright, Kenny Baron, Regina Carter, Esperanza Spalding, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra, Hank Jones & Joe Lovano, George Duke, Soulive, Kurt Elling, Russell Malone, John Scoffield, and a whole host of others. Monterey Jazz Festival, - handle your business