PORT ANGELES — Wayne Nelson came to the North Olympic Peninsula this weekend for two reasons. For one, his mother lives here. The second was for the jazz, the Fremont, Calif., resident said Saturday after pursuing CDs at the Eagles Club, one of four venues hosting the Jazz in the Olympics festival.
The annual celebration of the syncopated, brassy music runs through today.
A pass to today’s shows at all four locations is $15.
Before leaving home, Nelson showed the program to friends for their advice on which of the 12 traditional jazz bands he dare not miss.
His friends circled 11.
“I think they did that only because they didn’t know the 12th,” Nelson said.
“The quality of the bands here is unbeatable.”
From far and wide
Fans of the early style of the uniquely American form of music came far and wide — from Quebec and Alaska, Arizona and Florida.
Some, like Nelson, came to listen.
Some, like Robert and Norinda Snyder of Yelm, came to dance.
They first attended a jazz fest about 16 years ago, they said.
“We’ve been hooked ever since,” Norinda said.
Chris Mair, 22, of Joyce volunteered at the Eagles Club on Saturday and might have been the youngest jazz fan in the room.
He said his tastes in jazz run from the traditional to the modern, but he takes heart from the jitterbugging of people his grandmother’s age.
“I hope I’m still dancing when I’m kicking in my 70s,” Mair said.
Festival Director Gary Sorenson said the event attracts about 2,000 people and focuses on traditional New Orleans jazz, representing the period between 1900 and 1930.
The only complaint he hears from festival-goers is that at other festivals usually a weaker band will come on, giving jazz lovers a break to grab a bite or catch their breath.
The quality of the bands the Port Angeles festival invites, however, doesn’t give jazz lovers an excuse to duck out.
“You can’t do that here,” Sorenson said.
