Joliet gets jazzed up at wine, art and music fest

Jazz lovers were loving it Saturday as they heard their favorite music played live in a local venue at the second Joliet jazz fest.

Make that the Wine, Jazz and Art Fest, the official name for the event that was in its second year at Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park. It combined live jazz performances with a wine tasting and art sale.

“Man, I would love it if we could have it more frequently,” said Michael Norton of Elwood, who came last year and would welcome more opportunities to hear live jazz at local venues.

“We had a pretty good crowd last year,” Norton said. “I hope it expands.”

More than 500 people came last year, said Ron Romero, who organizes the jazz festival and also heads the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 project in Joliet. He expected to at least match last year’s attendance.

Romero acknowledged there are not many jazz venues in the Joliet area.

“That’s one of the reasons I want to do this,” Romero said. “We have a great blues fest. We have a lot of other things but not jazz. Why not?”

Jazz does not enjoy the popularity it once did. But it does have followers.

And there are talented jazz musicians in the Joliet area, said Kevin Gowthorp.

Gowthorp, a Minooka resident, is the band leader for Mr. Lucky and His Orchestra of Tomorrow, which was the opening act at Wine, Jazz & Art Fest.

“This is fantastic,” Gowthorp said of the Joliet festival. “We talk about it – that there are not a lot places to play. But there are a lot of great musicians in the area that need more events and more live venues.”

Gowthorp’s band does have one local venue, which is the Roxy theater in downtown Lockport where it plays every second Thursday of the month. He mentioned it to the during the band’s performance.

Jazz fan A.C. Love of Lockport said he planned to go to the Roxy now that he knows.

Love, 87, said he has been enjoying jazz since the days of Duke Ellington and Count Basie and Bicentennial Park provided the right atmosphere for the music, he said.

“I just love it,” Love said. “It’s outside and relaxing – seeing all the people out and enjoying themselves.”

Julie Doyle said Bicentennial Park itself was an attraction for the event.

“I like jazz, but I like the outside summer music festivals,” Doyle said. “I don’t like to travel, so I like staying in town for this. The park is beautiful.”

If the event introduced people to some local jazz performers, it also introduced some to local wineries.

Providing the wines for the tasting were Bishops Hill Winery in Joliet and Saddle Creek Winery in Plainfield. Both were back at the event for a second year.

“It always helps to expose our wines to different people,” said Phil Soto, one of the owners of Bishops Hill. “A lot of people will say, ‘I didn’t know there was a winery here.’”

Erik Ohrn, one of the local artists exhibiting at the event, looked forward to introducing people to his paintings.

“I’m digging it,” Ohm said of the jazz festival, noting he sometimes paints while listening to jazz music. “This is my first time being at a jazz festival. I’m loving the vibes.”

The Joliet jazz festival for a second year got mentioned among local live jazz venues on WDCB-FM, the public radio station out of the College of DuPage that is the premier jazz radio station for the Chicago area.

“That’s how I know about it,” said jazz fan Chris Kelly of Downers Grove, who also commented on the park setting. “I’m very favorably impressed by it. This is beautiful.”