Wally's Warehouse Waifs
Say "Jazz Jubilee" and people automatically think Dixieland.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
But what Dennis Ramsden would like people to know is that Dixieland is just one part of Medford's annual music party for itself.
"I used to think that myself," says Ramsden, who is handling the marketing for the event.
In fact, when the three-day extravaganza gets under way Friday, Oct. 13, look for a wide variety of swing, zydeco, gospel, blues and more.
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Or sometimes not, as in Wally's Warehouse Waifs (ragtime to swing), New Reformation (classic Dixieland), Queen City (Dixieland).
And if the Dixie Fat Cats do indeed play just what the name suggests, Igor's Jazz Cowboys play western swing (imagine Duke Ellington meeting the Sons of the Pioneers), and Cornet Chop Suey is a traditional jazz band that plays a repertoire ranging from the rags of 100 years ago to '30s swing and modern jump tunes.
Tickets are $60 for a three-day pass, $25 for Friday only, $40 Saturday only, $25 Saturday evening only, $25 for Sunday. Anybody under 18 gets the entire weekend for $10.
Whatever your taste in traditional, jazz-based music, it shouldn't be hard to find. Events are centered in Medford's downtown core with the exception of the shows at Ramada Medford (formerly the Reston), at 2300 Crater Lake Highway. And a trolley runs between there and downtown constantly.
Other venues include the ballrooms at the Red Lion Hotel, 200 N. Riverside Ave.; KOBI-TV's Studio C, 124 S. Fir St.; the Medford Elks Lodge, 202 N. Central Ave.; the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater, 23 S. Central Ave. and Vogel Plaza at the corner of Main Street and Central Avenue.
In all, there will be more than 150 hours of music from 18 bands. It all begins with a kickoff ceremony at noon Friday at Vogel Plaza with Wally's Warehouse Waifs. Things crank up a notch at 12:30 p.m. with bands at three other venues, and they hit full swing that afternoon with all venues getting in the live music act. The Red Lion Ballroom, Ramada and the Elks will be jumping until midnight.
For those who can't wait for their jazz fix, a jazz breakfast with the Oregon Coast Lab Band will be designed to get the blood pumping at 8 a.m. Saturday at KOBI's Studio C.
Can't dance? Check out free lessons with the folks from Follow My Lead Dance Studio from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Everything figures to jump until about 11 Saturday night except for the Plaza and the Craterian, where the Titan Hot Seven are expected to wind up their show around 9:30.
Vogel Plaza will be a youth venue from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, with students from area middle and high schools playing 20-minute sets mixed in between the pros. It's free.
Look for a champagne breakfast at 8:30 Sunday morning at the Elks, along with gospel shows at that hour at the Red Lion Ballroom and Ramada. Beth Baker's popular gospel show is set for 10 a.m. at the Craterian.
Big Sunday finales are slated for 2:30 p.m. at the Red Lion Ballroom and Ramada.
There's lots more, of course. Like the fifth annual golf tournament at Stewart Meadows and Quail Point, which will be history by the time the first notes sound this weekend. And like the educational programs during the week with Wally's Warehouse Waifs and the Dixie Fat Cats in area grade and middle schools ranging as far as Prospect.
And speaking of kids, a portion of the proceeds goes to buy new band instruments for Medford schools (more than $112,000 raised so far since the inception of the program).
Just remember, it takes lots of different kinds of music to make a jazz jubilee.
"Please," Ramsden pleads, "don't think it's just Dixieland."
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
National bands performing at the Medford Jazz Jubilee include Brady McKay from Sacramento, Calif.; The Mighty Aphrodite Jazz Band from Vancouver, B.C.; Gator Beat from Sonoma, Calif.; Queen City Jazz Band from Littleton, Colo.; River City Pubcrawlers from Sacramento; Blue Street Jazz Band from Fresno, Calif.; Titan Hot Seven from Nashville, Tenn.; Wally's Warehouse Waifs from Otisville, Mich.; Igor's Jazz Cowboys from Tempe, Ariz.; Cornet Chop Suey from St. Louis; and New Reformation from Saginaw, Mich.
Local and regional bands appearing at the festival include the Dixie Fat Cats; Larry Bernard and The Journey's End Jazz Band, Leslie Kendall and the Jump Daddies, Beth Baker and A Little Good News, Club 7 from Eugene, Oregon Jazz Band from Coos Bay and the Oregon Coast Lab Band from North Bend.
Call 770-6972 or see www.medfordjazz.org for tickets, a concert schedule, a map of the venues, links to accommodations and other information.
Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or bvarble@mailtribune.com.
