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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Patrons gathered at the Preserve in Hoover on September 17 to enjoy the ninth Preserve Jazz Festival.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Friends (L-R) Derick Ferrier, Ann Ferrier, Phyllis Clay, Tim Clay, Herbert Gooden and Tanya Gooden unwind on the lawn of the Preserve during the festival.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Vann Burchfield performs a solo during their performance on September 17.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Camere Barnes, left, and Bernice Sewell enjoy the talent that the festival has to offer.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
A Hoover High School saxophonist performs a solo during their act.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Sisters Avaria Jordan, left, and Wyetta Jordan break out their dance moves at the festival.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Guests (L-R) Lil Lamb, Amanda Merriman, Roberta Pierce and Angie Cacioppo settle in at the Preserve for the festival.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Members of the Vann Burchfield act perform for attendees during the festival.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Jazz festival patrons relax while enjoying the music that the acts had to offer.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
The guitarist from the Hoover High School First Edition Jazz Band looks to the crowd during their performance.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Videos, photos and selfies were prominent during the Preserve Jazz Festival.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Sallie Vines White, Director of Jazz Studies at Hoover High School, directs the first edition jazz band during the festival.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
Hoover High School First Edition Jazz Band trumpet players entertain the crowd with their talent and their choreography.
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Photos by Lexi Coon
Preserve Jazz Festival
(L-R) James Parker, Skylar Thornton, Pam Thornton and Tina Parker enjoy the musical stylings of Vann Burchfield.
While the weather may not have been ideal, the music certainly was for the return of the Preserve Jazz Festival on Sept. 17.
After taking a year-long break and hosting the festival at the Sloss Furnaces in 2014, founder and producer Jason Henderson made the decision to bring the festival back to its birthplace at The Preserve in Hoover.
Henderson said while there were things about the furnaces that looked like they would work in the festival’s favor: location, on-site parking and a covered stage for inclement weather, he said the really didn't fit the event.
“Going from this beautiful park setting to an industrial setting, it just wasn’t the same.”
This year’s advanced ticket sales outpaced any other year that the festival has been held. Guests staked their claim on the lawn with chairs, umbrellas and coolers for the day to enjoy the musical acts, crafts, vendors and food the festival had to offer.
Attendees were treated to six acts throughout the day:
- the Hoover High School First Edition Jazz Band
- Vann Burchfield
- Six Times Cool featuring Cleve Eaton
- “Cashmere” Williams
- The Stooges Brass Band
- “Masters of Fusion” featuring Alex Bugnon, Gerald Veasley and Chieli Minucci
“I think [the festival] is great,” said Ryan Fitzpatrick, Director of Bands from Hoover High School. “It’s one of the few true American art forms, and so much [music] emanates from it today.”
As in past years, proceeds will go toward a music scholarship at Samford’s School of the Arts and funding for WVSU, the university’s radio station.
“I might be the producer, but it’s really a community event,” said Henderson. “Hopefully [we’ll] have a tenth annual Preserve Jazz Festival.”
