Playing it fast and loose at the 54th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival
It was a beautiful sunny morning at the 54th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Held September 16-18 at the Monterey Fairgrounds, the festival boasted a wide array of musical acts on eight stages, making the choice of where to sit (and which artists to see), the most difficult task of the day. Settling in at the Garden Stage, the crowd filled in around me. With two hours to go before the first band, smiles were shared, seats were saved, and the first drinks were purchased.

The courtyard where the food booths were located was a highlight—not only for the amazing vegan Jamaican reggae wraps, macaroni and cheese with collard greens (I’m a vegetarian), and delicious tamales, but also for the Oakland street performers and art collective, the John Brothers Piano Company. The duo performed sets on an upright piano and clarinet throughout the event, perhaps putting in more stage time than anyone else playing the festival. Imagine the soundtrack to a black and white film as the villain ties the heroine to the railroad tracks—add in heroic vaudeville antics, and you get the perfect mix of music and showmanship.

Samba Rock Acai Café brings guilt-free berry creations and Latin flavor to Santa Cruz

Just a few years ago, during his couple of trips to Brazil, Ron Wilkerson enjoyed riding his BMX bike throughout the scenic landscape, as well as courting his current wife and business partner, Vanessa. It was there in Vanessa’s beautiful native country, where the Wilkersons had the idea to start an acai restaurant in the United States. “We flirted with moving and starting an acai café in other cities,” says Ron, “but Santa Cruz seemed to be the perfect spot for our first one, as it is such a health-conscious place with people who are open to new things.”

Local children overcome fear of reading aloud with the help of canines

Once, when called upon during class in the second grade, I remember telling my teacher that I didn’t know how to read. She later contacted my family, rather perplexed, at which point the jig was up and I had to admit to everyone the actual truth: like many children, I was just not comfortable reading out loud.

Today, literacy is a very big issue in the United States. Kids are encouraged to read less and less, and instead are allowed to utilize interactive video games and watch TV. For that reason, I was relieved to find out about Santa Cruz Public Libraries’ admirable commitment to literacy within the community, despite budget cuts.

“Just give me something to talk about and I’ll go to town,” admited Stephen Kessler as he adjusted his spectacles in front of an attentive crowd at Bookshop Santa Cruz this past Thursday night, Aug. 25—a crowd that gathered to hear Kessler, the poet, translator, editor and novelist, as well as general cultural humorist, read three excerpts from his new collection of essays entitled: The Tolstoy of the Zulus.

The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit talks bargain shopping, the 52 Week Club, and bringing the hootenanny to Don Quixote’s
Backstage at a local dive bar, in the small town of Oakdale, Calif., Will Taylor calls his band into a huddle. It's time for one of Taylor's pep talks, a locker room-type speech, as if the sextet is about play a ball game instead of a concert. But there's no need for the inspirational sermon—The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit calls this bar, The Cow Track, home.

Singer Chris Doud describes how the band got its start at the bar: “We would play at least every month, maybe even twice a month. All these people were looking to have a good time, do a little drinking, do a little dancin'. We just became the band for that bar.” With foot stomping fiddles and bar hopping banjo, they're like a hoe-down and a hootenanny rolled into one. “That's what our music is all about,” adds Doud, “providing a sound for people to move their feet to.”

Renowned jazz pianist Keiko Matsui is on a journey to find and share hope

For Japanese jazz pianist Keiko Matsui, life's a journey. Her 23rd album is characterized by the ellipsis after the title: The Road ... Matsui says the three dots represent the idea that the road is like a journey that never ends. “We are the owner and creator of the road, each one of us.”

In a renaissance town like Santa Cruz—where every other resident is in a band, or paints, or writes poetry—standing out from the crowd is not necessarily an easy gig. Getting a chance to share your talent with the community can present an even bigger challenge.

Denise Gallant, a video editing teacher at Cabrillo College and co-producer of the recently released documentary “The Catalyst,” hopes to change all that.

Cinematic Syndicate hosts the first ever Santa Cruz Camera Olympics

Most of the time, commercials just annoy us. But sometimes, they just might inspire us.