‘Huge success’: Hundreds turn up for first annual Elk Grove jazz festival, despite some rain

Rahim Reed and Brenda Chambliss have lived in Elk Grove for more than 20 years and are used to traveling all over the country, and sometimes to other countries, to attend jazz concerts.

So when Reed heard about a jazz festival coming to their “backyard” in Elk Grove, he knew buying tickets was the perfect surprise date for his wife as they celebrated 35 years of marriage.

With nearly 700 tickets sold, lawn chairs, blankets and canopy tents filled Elk Grove’s Laguna Town Hall amphitheater for the inaugural Elk Grove Fall Jazz Festival.

“I think that Elk Grove could really be a nice destination for this,” Reed said. “Small, intimate settings like this is when you can really enjoy music… ‘cause you can enjoy it and you can enjoy the people. It’s a lot more intimate, and I love it.”

People came from all other parts of California, including San Jose, Fresno and Los Angeles.

Reed admired the fact that the venue was not too small but also not too big.

“It’s not a cramped club and whatnot, with people all over you and smoke and all that. And it’s not a huge place where, like, you know, you need binoculars to actually see who’s on stage or whatnot. There’s not a bad seat in the house anywhere. Anywhere you sit, you can hear the music and you can see the performers, and no one’s all on top of you. And that’s what’s great about it.”

It rained for about 10 minutes during the show, but that didn’t stop jazz lovers from getting their groove on.

As rain drizzled down, some fans pulled out their umbrellas and others put on hoodies, while some raced for shelter, hanging out with vendors who were protected under canopies.

The event was organized by A-List Party Experience, or APEX. Creative director Rob Sutton was satisfied with the turnout for the first concert, despite the precipitation.

“I mean, I think it could have been a little better because of the rain,” Sutton said. “I imagine that we may have missed about 100 more people because of the rain. So, overall, the event was a huge success just for being the inaugural event.”

It turned out to be a funky concert, rain or shine.

Performing acts included: Kevin Cain and the Dirty Mercenaries; Joe Leavy, one of the top-selling jazz and soul artists in the United Kingdom; Robin Duhe, the former bass player of Maze, featuring Frankie Beverly; and headliner Jeanette Harris, known as the “Queen of the Sax.”

Duhe recently released his third album, “The Journey.”

Reflecting on his own “journey,” Duhe said it’s a “blessing” whenever you can go anywhere and play music.

“We take so much for granted here, you know, we take waking up in the morning for granted, and I say it because I’m a cancer survivor,” Duhe said. “So after cancer, just my whole totem pole flipped, and stuff that really wasn’t important, really wasn’t important.”

Showcasing diversity in Elk Grove

Sutton said the event did “surprisingly well” because it almost didn’t happen.

“We initially approached the city of Elk Grove and there were some barriers,” Sutton said. “So with this kind of persistence (we) put together a really good business plan and a good promotional plan…they open up their eyes a little bit, they see that diversity is really important and (to) have something like this here.”

Chambliss sported a navy crew-neck sweater to the jazz concert; it had a baby blue outline and white, graffiti-style letters that read, “Jackson State.” She’s an alumna of the historically Black university.

She’s proud of her HBCU.

When Chambliss and her husband moved to Elk Grove nearly 20 years ago, they recognized there weren’t that many African Americans in the community.

Now, she said, that seems to be changing.

“It seems to have grown tremendously, probably a lot coming from the Bay Area, different parts of the state and from other parts of the country as well,” Chambliss said. “So it’s really incredible to see how much it’s grown in terms of the diversity. It’s exciting.”

Elk Grove resident Dene Wiley was taking a walk around her neighborhood during a break from work on a Saturday when she was handed a flyer for the jazz concert.

She was in disbelief that it was an actual event.

“No way,” she said. “That’s impossible. Elk Grove having a jazz festival? I was like, ‘That’s not real.’”

Wiley, originally from Philadelphia, has lived in Elk Grove for 10 years after moving from San Jose. She said she had never seen anything like Saturday’s concert around where she lives.

She was very impressed with the amount of Black residents that showed up and supported the festival.

“I’m really impressed to see that we have reached out in the right way,” Wiley said. “Obviously, the marketing had a lot to do with it. That’s why I’m here, and that’s why other folks are here. So it’s nice to see the presence.”

Folks were dancing, singing and sliding to the beat.

Slim Fitzhugh was spotted in bright orange from head-to-toe, dancing on the lawn with his friend Carolyn Minor, who happened to be matching him with a shade of orange.

Minor, an Elk Grove resident, found out about the festival and told Fitzhugh he’d needed to take the drive down Interstate 5 from Natomas to Elk Grove.

They’re both fans of jazz music.

“We heard about it. We like music, we like to dance,” Fitzhugh said.

Sutton was happy to see that people were truly enjoying the concert.

“There has never really been entertainment that’s appealed to them like this today. It’s not a negative on Elk Grove saying they don’t want us here, that’s not the truth,” Sutton said. “I just don’t think they realized the resources they could tap into with our community. Now they’ve seen it with their own eyes.”

Good music, good eats

On top of a talented musical lineup, Saturday’s festival had a selection of vendors such as Super Taco, SqueezePlay Lemonade and Sims’ BBQ.

Ron Blakely, owner of Sims’ BBQ, was invited to the concert after members of APEX tasted his meat for the first time.

You don’t ever have to brag — let people brag for you, Blakely said.

Sims’ BBQ is a family business passed down from Blakely’s grandfather and his brother, who started the business with their wives in 1937 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Blakely has been cooking throughout California for the past 25 years and said he’s now coming to the Sacramento area.

“So we’re just gonna try to get out here and try to make it happen,” Blakely said. “I learned that you don’t talk about what you do. What you do is feed people and let them tell you how it is.”

What’s next for Elk Grove jazz scene?

Michael Craft, talent director at APEX, said that next year’s shows will be spectacular and to expect “all different genres” of music.

Craft has his hopes on bringing talents such as Avery Sunshine, Jazmine Sullivan, October London, Eric Benet or Kim Waters. He said the official lineup will be announced in early 2024.

APEX announced dates for two events planned in 2024: an Elk Grove Spring Music Festival featuring R&B, reggae and jazz artists on May 11; and a second annual Elk Grove Fall Jazz Festival on Sept. 28.

“The surrounding area has been so welcoming and so surprised,” Sutton said. “They can’t believe the quality of entertainment like that is coming in their backyard.”