Silver Spring's Jazz Festival Brought Thousands of Jazz Fans

Veteran's Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring turned into a concert hall as crowds welcomed Aaron Neville, local artist Marcus Johnson and many others at the 2010 Silver Spring Jazz Festival.

This year's event brought in thousands of music lovers, according to a volunteer at the event's press tent. Some people showed up as early as noon to secure a prime location close to the stage, including Hyattsville resident Betty Ann Bullard. She came to see Aaron Neville.

"I just love this plaza," she said. "I come to see all the stuff that goes on around here, the shops, the movies — I love it!"

The musical lineup included WAMMIE-nominated vocalist Janine Gilbert-Carter taking the stage, just after Albert Einstein High School's entry into the competition for the best local jazz ensemble. As the day went on, every available space was slowly filled with people on chairs, blankets, beach towels or a bare patch of cement. Latin Jazz specialists the Rumba Club kept the crowd moving with heavy percussion punctuated by a trombone, bass guitar and saxophones.

Silver Spring resident and first-time Jazz Festival attendee Fredrica Clair was lucky enough to shoehorn her chair into a crowded space just before Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band put on a rousing set.

"I wanted to see what all the fuss was about!" she said.

Chopteeth, who take their name from the title of an old Fela Kuti song that means "someone crazy enough to eat their own teeth," were thrilled to be invited to play.

"We've played the Takoma Park Festival and many others, but this was very exciting," said guitarist Victor Crisen. "The stage was huge, the crowd was cool and since our homebase is in Silver Spring, it just made sense."

For those not lucky enough to find a seat in the plaza, there was much to see and do nearby.

Vendors such as Flippin Pizza, Gwenni's Trini, Negril and a fruit smoothie truck offered up food and treats, while CDs from all of the day's acts were available for purchase. Downtown Silver Spring had several tents, and staff were selling festival T-Shirts, water and glow sticks. They also ran a "5c" lemonade stand, where volunteers handed out squeeze bottles filled with lemonade.

The large crowds were a boon to local businesses, with long lines visible at most establishments surrounding the plaza. 

Whole Foods Market's Prepared Foods Manager Jaime Guerrero said, "We definitely saw a big increase in our prepared, or ready-to-go foods section, as well as the bakery and café. Next year, we hope to be able to take our grill out to the people at the festival."

Following Chopteeth was Marcus Johnson, "the epitome of local boy done good," according to emcee Derek McGinty. Johnson has played all seven Silver Spring Jazz Festivals and had just recently returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic just to play in his hometown. Johnson's energetic set closed with a cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

County Executive Ike Leggett spoke after Johnson's set: "You all are fortunate to see Silver Spring as it is today, a lot of hard work went into it. Last week, we had the groundbreaking for the Fillmore, the week before that it was the library and just before that this Civic Center opened with a ribbon cutting. All of this was made possible by the vision of my predecessor, Doug Duncan."

Duncan waved to the crowd from the VIP section at stage right. Leggett then presented the band from Hubie Blake High School with the 2010 trophy for Best Jazz Ensemble.

Headliner Aaron Neville's quartet took the stage just before 10 p.m. and got the crowd energized with a six-minute rousing instrumental and solo-filled piece, highlighted by Charles Neville's guitar licks. Aaron joined the band, opening with the Sam Cooke song "Havin' a Party," followed by one of his biggest hits "Don't Know Much," which he originally performed with Linda Ronstadt, and the ever-popular "Everybody Plays the Fool."