{"id":2445647,"date":"2019-06-23T23:20:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T05:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/jazz-aspen-snowmass-new-june-experience-has-staying-power\/"},"modified":"2019-06-24T08:57:10","modified_gmt":"2019-06-24T14:57:10","slug":"jazz-aspen-snowmass-new-june-experience-has-staying-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/jazz-aspen-snowmass-new-june-experience-has-staying-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Jazz Aspen Snowmass\u2019 new June Experience has staying power"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.8319482917821\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-308413-225\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Etienne Charles performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the Aspen Art Museum. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Etienne Charles performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the Aspen Art Museum. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-3.jpg\" alt=\"Etienne Charles performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the Aspen Art Museum. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Etienne Charles performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the Aspen Art Museum. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Etienne Charles performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the Aspen Art Museum. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-4.jpg\" alt=\"Etienne Charles performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the Aspen Art Museum. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-5.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/06\/JazzWeekend-atd-052419-1-5.jpg\" alt=\"Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/jazz-aspen-snowmass-new-june-experience-has-staying-power\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/jazz-aspen-snowmass-new-june-experience-has-staying-power\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">After nearly three decades of entertaining the masses and hosting some of the biggest names in music, Jazz Aspen Snowmass went back to its roots this past weekend and reinvented itself at the same time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">And now there\u2019s no going back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The 29th JAS June Experience was a pleasant and surprising departure from the traditional festival that\u2019s been held under <a id=\"N0x2c1fcb0N0x2bf5870:N0x2c1fcb0N0x2c1e1d8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/jazz-aspens-june-experience-moving-from-benedict-tent-to-multiple-venues-downtown-this-summer\/\">one tent<\/a> featuring daily headliners and a few opening acts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Instead, it was <a id=\"N0x2c1fcb0N0x2bf58d0:N0x2c1fcb0N0x2c1e2f8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/recent-stories\/entertainment\/\">three days of music<\/a> at six different venues with more than 10 shows to choose from at night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">And judging by the crowds, the performances, the musicians and the vibe around downtown Aspen on Friday and Saturday nights, it was the ultimate experience that JAS President and CEO Jim Horowitz was hoping for.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis weekend was a transformational weekend for us,\u201d he said Sunday afternoon in between two New Orleans jazz brunch shows featuring Wycliff Gordon and friends. \u201cIt exceeded our expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Throughout the weekend, it seemed that at every turn, the sounds of blues, jazz, soul, funk, R&amp;B and dance music filled the downtown core as people shuffled from one venue to the next.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Skye Gallery on the corner of Cooper Avenue and Hunter Street was transformed into an intimate performance space that was standing-room only Saturday afternoon for guitar duet Hispanica.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Just minutes after that show ended, a bigger crowd gathered a few blocks away at the St. Regis for trumpeter Bria Skonberg and her band.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Then it was a choice between Richard Bona at the Aspen Art Museum, or Patti Austin at the St. Regis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Simultaneously, blues legend <a id=\"N0x2c1fcb0N0x2bf5930:N0x2c1fcb0N0x2c1e778\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/taj-mahal-booker-t-jones-highlight-special-lunch-interview-as-part-of-jas-june-experience\/\">Taj Mahal<\/a> and his quartet jammed out at a packed Belly Up for the first of two performances Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Around the corner, Victoria\u2019s Espresso cafe was turned into a nightclub of sorts with people spilling out onto the sidewalk Friday and Saturday nights to hear Organ Freeman and the Jamison Ross B3 Trio rock the house.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In between it all, Jose James took the stage for a Bill Withers tribute in front of yet another standing-room only venue at the St. Regis on Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">An outstanding performance by Booker T. Jones and his band attracted big crowds at the Belly Up on Friday night with two shows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cHe killed it, it was heroic,\u201d Horowitz said, adding that having the buy-in of Belly Up owner Michael Goldberg was key to entire experience. \u201cWe want to thank Michael for seeing the vision in this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The weekend was certainly a different energy and vibe than what the JAS June Experience has traditionally offered, and it did not go unnoticed by concertgoers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhen people are pissed we hear about it \u2026 if people are happy we hear about it and the instantaneous feedback this time was \u2018we love it\u2019 with no \u2018buts\u2019 and usually I hear a lot of \u2018buts,\u2019\u201d Horowitz said. \u201cWhat\u2019s beautiful about this format is you can dial it in your way. \u2026 It\u2019s about discovery and it\u2019s really user friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As Horowitz pointed out in the festival\u2019s program, the weekend of music was inspired by in part by JAS\u2019 nomadic existence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Since the first concert in 1991, the June festival has moved venues six times \u2014 from the Benedict Music Tent to a few locations in Snowmass to Rio Grande Park in Aspen and back to the Benedict, where it had been for 10 consecutive years until this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The decision to change it up completely was based on the success of Jazz Aspen\u2019s JAS Caf\u00e9 at the Little Nell that runs during the winter and summer high seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The JAS Cafe series attracts around 8,000 people a year, which is more than double the attendance for the June Experience at the Benedict tent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Horowitz likened the new format to that of the old HBO Comedy Festival when comics took over venues throughout town, or the Food &amp; Wine Classic in Aspen, which takes over the downtown core.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The JAS June Experience will continue to be built on as venues get added, or changed, and the nonprofit eventually moves into its new home above the Red Onion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A capital campaign will launch this summer in an effort to fund the <a id=\"N0x2c1fcb0N0x2bf59f0:N0x2c1fcb0N0x2c1ef58\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/jazz-performance-space-planned-for-downtown-aspen\/\">JAS Center<\/a>, a music venue and education center that is expected to open in 2021 in the center of downtown Aspen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cNow we just tweak it and make it better. \u2026 We want it to grow organically,\u201d Horowitz said of the June Experience. \u201cTo have this breadth of music here, the jazz and all of its siblings, \u2026 it all plays right into the center and now we can say, \u2018Look at what we can do under our control.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:csackariason@aspentimes.com\">csackariason@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/jazz-aspen-snowmass-new-june-experience-has-staying-power\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Jose James performs Sunday, June 23, 2019, at the St. Regis Aspen. It was the final day of the new Jazz [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2445647","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 05:59:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2445647"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2445656,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445647\/revisions\/2445656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2445647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2445647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2445647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}