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Rich Tones Curated Jazz

1974 Monterey Jazz Festival | Dec. 10, 2021

By Rich Rector

Published December 5, 2021 at 10:30 AM MST

The Festival was dedicated to Duke Ellington

Let's Go Back 47 Years and Revisit the Monterey Jazz Festival

Monterey Jazz Festival PROMO.mp3

This was September 20-22, 1974 and was the 17th Annual Festival which began in 1958. I attended the Festival with my college roommate right before our senior year at Stanford. We slept in my car at a campground and drove into town each day for the music.

Here is a YouTube Video about some of the history of it.

A quick story: When walking around Monterey, I saw a California license plate and a Nevada license plate on cars that said "JAZZ." It just so happened that that was the year Arizona (where I was from) started personalized plates. So I applied for the plate and have had it on every one of my cars ever since. My wife's plate says "JAZZED!"

Here is the playlist from tonight's show:

Rich Tones Curated Jazz

Rich Rector

Rich Rector is the host of Rich Tones Curated Jazz. A one hour journey into the wonderful world of jazz music.

See stories by Rich Rector

allan henry - ahenry.com

Rich has been around music all his life. His dad had a swing band in the 1940’s and played saxophones and clarinets. Rich played one of those clarinets in grade school band, and also took up the guitar in high school. But never was a jazz player. Instead, he listened! RichTones Curated Jazz on KPCW gives our listeners a new perspective on jazz.

While attending Stanford University Rich's roommate, Ian McIlraith, was a jazz saxophone player who was familiar with many jazz players and songs. Ian really educated him about jazz; he taught him how to listen closely for different artists’ playing styles and he introduced him to the classic jazz standards.

He honed his listening skills by attending many concerts and jazz festivals. Some of the people and places Rich remembers are Mike Stern at The Regatta Bar at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA; Milt Jackson at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, CA; Bill Frisell at The Blue Note in NYC; local combos at The Green Mill in Chicago; and The Blue Room in Kansas City’s Jazz District, just to name a few. In addition, Rich was able to see performances by Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and many more.

If you’re new to jazz, Rich Tones will introduce you to new players and sounds; if you’re already a jazz buff, Rich Tones will give you a new personal perspective on the genre.