Quotes from the Press
2011 Quotes:
“Rollins could have been an emblem of the Monterey Jazz Festival itself —which combined historic wisdom and youthful zest.” – Seattle Times
“A strong focus on female composers and bandleaders was the hallmark and highlight of the weekend,but only one aspect of a diverse roster that spanned genres and generations, opening with one of the music’s brightest young stars in Robert Glasper, closing with one of its mightiest veterans in Sonny Rollins.” – Jazz Observer
“This is a full-service, style-inclusive festival—still the best in the west and probably the best American festival overall…” – JazzTimes
“Saturday at the Monterey Jazz Festival was a journey through eras, river basins, continents, climate zones, you name it.” – International Review of Music
“The people who come here like this vibe, and follow this music enough to plan their whole vacations around it. There's a real loyalty to this whole experience. Not just gorging yourself on music, but being able to eat in the food court with Gerald Wilson or Poncho Sanchez.” – National Public Radio’s A Blog Supreme
“…the performances by Richard Bona/Raul Midon and India.Arie/Idan Raichel demonstrated a wider net than the usual predominant Latin jazz subset, and it was refreshing to experience the embracing collaborations between different cultures, a theme worth its weight in gold.” – Monterey County Herald
“…the Monterey Jazz Festival…a potent cultural institution, on the West Coast and in the world.” – Santa Barbara Independent
“…the best weekend of jazz you're ever going to witness.” – Monterey County Herald
“…this weekend’s festival was a joy, if an exhausting one – a 53-hour infusion of music…” – San Jose Mercury News
“Long live Monterey!” – Sonny Rollins
2010 Quotes:
“The Monterey Jazz Festival…is the prevailing anchor for West Coast jazz pride.” -- New York Times
"Monterey cemented its place as one of the premier jazz festivals in the world." -- JazzTimes
“...the best outdoor jazz festival in the nation, bar none…it feels like a mini-lifetime crammed into less than three days.” -- San Jose Mercury News
“The 53rd annual Monterey Jazz Festival...has been nothing less than jazz nirvana.” -- Oakland Tribune
“Years from now, there will be about 100,000 folks all claiming they were there when Trombone Shorty kicked some major tail at the Monterey Jazz Festival. But only a few thousand will be telling the truth. You know who you are…one of the most satisfying of Monterey's festivals I've attended over the past three decades." -- Monterey County Herald
“Roy Haynes…leapt out to steal the show at the very end, bashing away at a lengthy drum solo…When he ended, just at the stroke of midnight, the applause was thunderous.” -- jazzobserver.com
“Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews was clearly this year’s big, emergent star. The artists featured on Saturday’s lineup were part of that [straight-ahead] tradition, but conversant in many others — blues, hip-hop, world music, gospel, even noise.” -- East Bay Express
“There’s only one word to describe Dianne Reeves’ performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival: spectacular.” -- blogmonterey.com
“Certainly the emphasis of Monterey Jazz is on the excellent music, but there’s more to the festival than that. It’s a consistent and reliable celebration of the human spirit, camaraderie and joie de vivre that’s more than welcome in our trying times.” -- examiner.com
“The Monterey Jazz Festival is the West Coast equivalent of a jazz Stonehenge.” -- Good Times Santa Cruz
2009 Quotes:
“Once again, the festival organizers have brought together fantastic music and a warm community atmosphere for an experience that will be remembered for years to come…there’s no place like Monterey.”
-- Jazzobserver.com
“If anyone thought that having Pete Seeger at a jazz festival was a bit odd…they surely changed their tune after the 90-year-old folk icon's immensely entertaining and emotional show in the main arena. I haven't seen that kind of response from an audience in many years. In fact, I can't recall an audience getting up en masse and clapping AND singing along to any other performer.” -- Monterey County Herald
“…what Monterey proves each year is that the ‘jazz era’ is ongoing. [Wynton] Marsalis is one of the really ecstatic and charismatic improvisers of recent decades...to hear him and [the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra]…it felt great…you could hear a pin drop in the arena…” -- San Jose Mercury News
“…the music is alive and thriving…This uplifting message was solidly delivered in Monterey this year…jazz’s death has been greatly exaggerated.” -- Santa Barbara Independent
“The weather changed on the hour and the music was just as eclectic… [Dee Dee Bridgewater’s set] is one of those Monterey shows that will go down in the history books.” -- Jazz.com
“…the most exciting opening night of a festival I can remember…” -- International Review of Music
