Telluride Jazz Festival: Another Great Time in the Park

Poncho Sanchez and His Band at Telluride Jazz Festival 2014

“Telluride is one crazy ride,” one of the guys in Poncho Sanchez’s band shouted to the crowd. I’d never heard that one before but it’s a good one—-our scintillating mountain town is one heck of a ride, especially at sunset during the Telluride Jazz Festival, the very moment when this musician expressed his exuberance about T-ride.

Poncho

Poncho Sanchez: Guest of Honor

Telluride Jazz Fest Sunset

Lettuce Funk

Grammy-award winning, percussionist extraordinaire Poncho Sanchez was the guest of honor at this year’s thirty-eighth annual Telluride Jazz Festival. My boyfriend, Steve, and I enjoyed one day in the park—-Saturday—-because as much as we love this festival, it’s hard to carve out the time to do all Telluride festivals full-on. We had a great time though, one which went from a sunny, warm day to a cool night—-all without a spot of rain, a somewhat rare occurrence for early August in the Rockies. But even with rain, including a good downpour, the ambiance of this festival ranges from hot and sultry to smooth and mellow, much like the music.

We’re thrilled to see the popularity of this three-day music fest grow from year to year. The bigger crowds indicate that word has gotten out that this is one of the most beloved jazz festivals in the U.S. The first weekend of August in Telluride showcases superior musicians in Telluride Town Park, an unparalleled setting of natural beauty, one which turns even more spectacular as the mountain mist lifts or the sun sets in the distance. It seems as though a more diverse lineup in recent years is attracting a bigger audience and acts such as Lettuce, a seven-piece funk band from Brooklyn which we saw, are bringing out younger folks looking to groove to a more accessible and fun sound.

Lettuce

Not surprisingly Poncho Sanchez came in as my favorite from this year’s festival. We listened to the precision of his conga playing on the CD we purchased at the festival as we drove to Montrose, an hour and a half away, to do a bunch of errands on Sunday. Thankfully my guy had picked up a handful of other CDs from the merchandise booth at the festival, which made our boring errand expedition turn into a little jazz fest of our own.

Snarky Puppy: Another Group We Saw on Saturday

Whether it’s salsa, swing, bebop, blues, jazz, funk, soul, Samba, hip-hop or some other interpretation of the larger definition of jazz, you’ll find it all at the Telluride Jazz Festival these days in a setting that does make all seem like one crazy ride.

This and just about everything else that happens in T-ride give new meaning to that old miner expression “To hell you ride,” when referring to their trip to our remote mountain town.

Now, it can be a gloriously crazy ride once you’re here.

View of the Crowd from the Telluride Town Park Stage

Me and Steve at Sunset During Jazz Fest

Thank you to Telluride Jazz Festival, David Whitelaw and my trusty iPhone for the images in this post.