Funk, soul at Grant Street

Buzzing with syncopation, live performances replaced the normal flow of traffic on Grant Street between Fifth and Sixth streets Saturday for Bloomington’s Grant Street Jazz Fest, a celebration honoring jazz music and local musicians.

The festival featured performances from several local and regional jazz musicians, beginning at 11 a.m. and lasting well into the evening. Among the performers were the Postmodern Jazz Quartet, the Trio Collective and Mitch Shiner & the Bloomingtones Big Band.

The event kicked off in the late morning with a parade that began at the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market on W. Kirkwood Avenue and headed down to the main stage at the corner of Sixth and Grant streets. The parade was led by the Bam Bam’s Brass Band, a New Orleans-style funk band that performed a set later in the afternoon.
 
The festival was organized by Jazz from Bloomington, an organization devoted to promoting and preserving jazz through local events and public education, according to the group’s website.

Monika Herzig, who performed with her band, the Monika Herzig Acoustic Project, is one of the co-founders of Jazz from Bloomington. She said she loved the reception the festival received from the community last year, which is why the group decided to bring it back.

Herzig said Indiana has a rich history of jazz music, with musicians like David Baker and J.J. Johnson from the Hoosier state. She said this festival is a way of honoring that legacy.

“Indiana has an incredible jazz legacy that is often overlooked,” she said. “Some of the most prominent jazz players come from Indiana.”

Herzig said a more notable jazz musician has a special connection to the Bloomington festival.

“Hoagy Carmichael was born just around the corner from where the festival is,” she said. “It’s special to have it as that place.”

Peter Kienle, who performed with the Bloomington-based Splinter Group, said the festival is a great rare opportunity for jazz artists.

“For the artists, it’s important because it’s a place where we can play and show off,” Kienle said. “For a band like us, we like to play loud, and you can play loud outside.”

Kienle said the festival also helps artists connect with fellow musicians and fans of jazz music.

“For all the other bands, you can come gather, and you realize how many other people there are in Bloomington who are interested in that stuff,” he said.

For Herzig, the festival is a perfect way to honor the unique style found in jazz music.

“Jazz is the only style created out of the special melting pot of the States,” she said. “It’s important for a town like Bloomington to have a feature like that.”

Follow reporter Carolyn Crowcroft on Twitter @carol_crowcroft