Annie Anderson | Blog

My Thoughts on the 2008 KJWZ Smooth Jazz Festival

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The KWJZ Smooth Jazz Festival yesterday was AWE.SOME! I cannot even begin to tell you how cool it was. I’ve never been to a concert at the Chateau Ste. Michelle so that was an experience as well. (I have been to the Chateau numerous times for other things, though. It’s a gorgeous place. If you’re anywhere in the Seattle area, you owe it to yourself to check out the wineries in Woodinville.)

Anyway . . .

My mom picked me up about 10 am so that we could arrive early enough to hang out, look at all the booths (food, food, wine, food, and many others) and enjoy the surroundings. We even got there early enough that we got into the VIP parking on the Chateau grounds.

The weather wasn’t all that warm, in the low 70’s and it was kinda overcast but it was comfortable for an outdoor concert. I’m actually glad it wasn’t hot. I don’t do that well in temps above 80.

Gates opened at noon-ish and we found our seats in the reserved seating area. Even though security had to check everyones bags and coolers, it went surprisingly fast and we were inside within 10 minutes.

Since we both have food allergies, we brought a cooler of stuff (I’ll post my moms killer vegan potato salad recipe maybe later this week) so we didn’t sample any of the great food booths - except an incredibly tasty and delicious Mango Lemonade - but wow! The smells were enough to make ones mouth water and tummy rumble!

First up was Nils, kicking off the concerts at 2pm. He did a mix of old and new stuff that can only be described as incredible. Nils is a great guitar player and a true showman. He even waltzed through the isles a couple of times and it was great. He really knows how to have fun. Nils’ 2007 CD, Ready to Play is beautiful.

Next was Marion Meadows. His set was awesome! Marion is a pretty funny guy, he had us laughing a couple of times - a real character. And his sax skills are spectacular! I wish I could play the sax like that. He also stepped into the isles a couple of times and touched hands with some of the fans. A very personable and instantly likable guy. His show was great. And his band is awesome too. His keyboardist is a little gal with awesome pipes. I don’t remember her name, but he introduced her as the gal who sang the Lion King vocals in the movie. She was great, too. Check out Marion’s 2006 CD “Dressed to Chill.” If you like sax, he’ll blow you away.

Third was - how to describe, because AWESOME just isn’t enough - Wayman Tisdale. I’ll tell you, that guy is one hell of a guitar player. And so nice! He’s incredibly down to earth and humble for being such a huge star, both as a guitarist and in NBA basketball. He played a bunch of songs from several of his CD’s including his most recent, Rebound. Wayman had the crowd up on our feet almost the entire set. It was the by far the best the set of the day. I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.

And last, was the Crusaders. The lineup included the original members - Joe Sample, Wilton Felder, Nils Lundgren and Ray Parker, Jr. - along with Joe’s son, Nick Sample and a guy on drums whose name I didn’t catch. I mentioned Friday that I don’t particularly like the Crusaders, but seeing Joe Sample and Ray Parker, Jr. was cool. Ray even sang a bit of his famous “Ghostbusters” song, except that Joe made him change the words to the Crusaders. It was pretty fun. They sure can rock a crowd still for being “old guys.”

My mom and I bought a wine we hadn’t tried before - Syrah, pronounced like sir-ah - that was delicious. It’s very similar to Merlot (which is my favorite) except that it has a more spicy flavor. We shared it with my husband when we got home last night.

So - there you have it! I’m definitely going to both days next year and hopefully my husband will come with me too. He’s not that into jazz but he’d still have fun. And although I liked sitting in the reserved seating area because it was so close - we were about 12 rows back! - I think next year, I’d rather bring all my stuff and my lawn chairs and sit in the grass.

And if you’re in Seattle, let me know if you go next year. I’d love to meet you.

In the arena,

PS - Just a quick update - our septic is fixed!! YAY! My husband and his buddy put a new line from the house to the tank, fixed the junction box and got it all put back together before noon yesterday.

Make $10k in a weekend - “Too good to be true.” That’s the first thing I said when
I heard of http://tinyurl.com/5lq2g4. You can’t REALLY make $10K in a weekend. But I quickly bit my tongue once I saw the content. . .

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

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