Moment Of Truth @ Jazz Aspen Snowmass

September 4th, 2006 at 07:48am Michael Conniff 2

Much has been made of the dearth of jazz at the 2006 Labor Day edition of Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS)—and I have been making much of it. But the story still to be written is whether the audiences coming to the big stage at Snowmass are ready for rap and hip hop as a staple of their holiday weekend diet.

So far, I’m saying the answer is no, but not all the data is in as I write this, just hours away from the performance by the Chassidic reggae rapper Matisyahu, considered by critics far and wide to be an incredible performer. My guess is that Matisyahu, performing at 6:30 PM—with opening acts Polyphonic Choir and Keller Williams starting at 2 PM—will come up far short of the attendance at a typical Labor Day performance by someone emanating from the mainstream.

 Pop, rock, folk, and even jazz would do better, or so goes my theory. And by headlining major hip hop star Kanye West and emerging star Matisyahu, JAS executive producer Jim Horowitz has boldly gone where JAS has never really gone before: into the unknown.

Until the final numbers are in, you almost have to give Horowitz the benefit of the doubt because of his demonstrably golden gut. A jazz pianist himself, his taste is invariably impeccable—and that goes double for Kanye West and Matisyahu. Hope still stirs that the audience will respond to the menu. Consider the fate of Jack Johnson and Donavon Frankenreiter, the super-cool surfing dudes who drew 11,000 two years ago on the way to a record 34,000 festival attendance. I’m not sure anyone quite expected the laid-back hordes immersed in their music to pay the freight for the whole festival.

I could be wrong—I hope I’m wrong—but my guess is numbers will be down. I’m nonetheless glad Jim Horowitz took the gamble, though I wonder if JAS will ever rap down this road again.

Entry Filed under: Snowmass Music, Snowmass Entertainment, Fractional Post