The 38th Annual Detroit Jazz Festival took place in Sept. 1 to 4, which showcased the talents of the musicians who are native to the city, as well as national and international talents. The event was free of charge, and saw numerous Jazz legends from Detroit taking stage to deliver truly wonderful performances for the audiences' delight. Unfortunately, the event had to be cancelled due to a storm.
The Jazz Festival this year took place in four different stages as it took advantage of the diverse back drop of the heavily Jazz influenced city of Detroit. The locations stretched from the Detroit River to the Campus Martius. It was definitely a good idea to have the festival scheduled in the Labor Day weekend to maximize the potential crowd, regardless of the event being free of charge.
As great as this year's Detroit Jazz Festival has been, it has encountered a major bump in the road. WXYZ reported that due to inclement weather, the remainder of the Jazz Festival had to be canceled. As the artists were patiently waiting for the weather to improve, the storm only got stronger, and advisories recommended fans to stay in their homes. The storm consisted of strong winds and lightning which could potentially be harmful for open spaces.
One of the main purposes of the annual festival is to raise the awareness of Jazz music to younger listeners to help keep the genre alive. On its opening night, the artists wasted no time in firing up the crowd, with performances from veteran Wayne Shorter as he played the tenor saxophone, and Brian Blade on the drums.
However, one of the biggest star to grace the event was Herbie Hancock, who is a Jazz icon himself. Hancock, who was formerly a member of the legendary Miles Davis jazz Quintet, applauded Shorter's performance after having seen the performance from the sidelines — regarding the performance of the 84-year-old sax player highly. Hancock also reminded the crowd that they had been a part of something truly special.
