Denton Arts & Jazz Festival // The Roundup

People always seem shocked when I tell them I’m from Denton. Typical responses include, “How do you drive down here EVERY DAY?!?” or “Why do you live there?” Admittedly, it is very odd.

Even though we get a nice HOV lane most of the way down, my typical “commute” can take 40 or so minutes on a good day. And yet I don’t think I could live anywhere else in the Metroplex. Denton has a spirit that can hardly be put into words, a spirit that flows from our two universities- TWU and UNT. Since UNT is a very active music school, Denton is very musical. You can find jazz on the Square (downtown Denton) on Tuesdays and Sundays or plenty of UNT students digging around Recycled Books’ used record section. But at no time is this more evident than at Denton’s annual Arts & Jazz Festival – “Jazzfest.”

Jazzfest always takes place around late April or early May. It lasts three days, this year starting on Friday, April 29, 2011, and going through Sunday, May 1, 2011, with acts continuously playing each day. These acts can range from Denton High School’s Jazz Ensemble to award-winning professionals, who play over a course of six total stages, and none of these acts are restricted to jazz. There is also no excuse to go hungry during the event, as food vendors sell everything from foot-long corndogs to catfish to Greek gyros. And since the event takes place outdoors at Quakertown Park, you can always find something cold to drink; it’s never uncommon to see people walk around with giant mugs of lemonade, soda, or beer. You can even find vendors all across the festival, selling everything from puppets to satellite television. And since Jazzfest keeps a family-friendly atmosphere, you always know where to find the kid’s tent and some of the various rides, bounce-houses, and bungee-trampoline jumping (which, in my opinion, has no age limits).

There are two acts in particular that I’m very excited about this year. The first one is Chris Watson, and he just so happens to live across the street from me. He is nationally ranked as a blues guitarist and his band, the Chris Watson Band, has become a staple of the Denton music scene. You can hear it all across the neighborhood when his band practices, and, unlike my brother Oliver’s and my music, it certainly doesn’t annoy the neighbors. My cousin, who attends his shows regularly, describes Chris as “very talented. And it hasn’t gone to his head, which is also reflected in his performance. He has fun playing, and it in turn makes the shows fun to attend.”

I’m obliged to agree with her, as he is among one of the nicest, most modest people I’ve ever met, especially when considering what he has to brag about. Oliver and I can always show up to any of his band practices and he’ll warmly welcome us, and we’ll usually leave with some music recommendations. He’s even been invited to play in June with two blues legends: Buddy Guy and B.B. King.

The second act is a local favorite: The Brave Combo. They’ve been nominated for seven Grammies, winning two. They play a Christmas show every year, and this year the show got so rowdy that the local DHS kids started a mosh-pit; the organizer of the event had to tell everybody to calm down, reminding them that it was a family-friendly event. The Brave Combo is always the final act at Jazzfest, and you need to get there early if you want a good spot at their show. They’ve even been on The Simpsons. What kind of music do they play? Polka. No, I’m not kidding. One might describe The Brave Combo as “extreme polka,” although their style really combines polka with salsa, merengue, rock, cumbia, conjunto, zydeco, classical, cha cha, the blues, rockabilly and more. Quite a combination, no? Their shows are extremely energetic, and you’ve never heard The Chicken Dance until you’ve heard it The Brave Combo’s way. Singer Carl Finch calls it an “experience.” Trust me, if you’re not dancing by the end of the show, you must’ve shown up at the wrong venue.

Denton Jazzfest website:

http://www.dentonjazzfest.com/index.html

Brave Combo- The Hokey Pokey