Whose Jazz?

 

Belyin’s response to yesterday’s post gave me reason to go back and scrutinize the Jazz Fest’s jazz offerings more closely. Snug Harbor aside, it’s hard to look at that lineup and not see it as a complete rejection of the Frenchmen Street/St. Claude Avenue jazz scene – as players, as a concept and as a community. On the other hand, there’s room for shows on two days for Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.