Thousands Turn Out for Eighth Annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival

The airwaves around the Silver Spring Civic Center building were wobbling early Saturday evening, as "old school" Latin jazz band La Leyenda had just taken the stage.

Babies were bopping on top of their father's shoulders, couples were swinging each other back and forth and one woman was dancing all by herself to the sounds of saxophones, flutes, bongos and bass.

Thousands of Maryland, Virginia and D.C. residents are estimated to have turned out for the Eighth Annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival, to see four acts--each with their own "twist" on jazz.

“What's interesting about jazz is that it's an American original, there are few other art forms that are original to the United States,” said Susan R. Hoffman, co-founder of the festival and Special Projects Manager at the Montgomery County Department of Recreation.

“It's also the music of the African American experience, but now it draws a broader community, regardless of race,” she said.

Hoffman said her main worry of the  evening was the weather; though Saturday morning brought only partly cloudy skies.

Taking the stage later in the evening was the festival's headliner,, who's also a festival co-founder. A Silver Spring resident and native, who attended Montgomery Blair High School, Johnson said coming back and performing in Silver Spring is like a reunion, with many people coming up and saying, “Remember me?”

He said performing in front of so many is energizing, but especially when he knows those people.

“To have 20,000 people looking back at you and screaming is like nothing else. We steal from that energy--it's as invigorating to us as it is to them,” said Johnson, who also opened downtown's Studio 8121 a few years ago. “It's a testament to what community can do, bringing people together.”

Along with him was DJ Young Pulse, who's worked with Johnson only for a year but the two have already created a new sound they call “Euro Jazz.” Pulse was the first DJ to perform at DC nightclub Blues Alley in Georgetown.

“My hope is that people will bring their children, and whether or not they're exposed to this music at home, they'll be exposed to it here and become more familiar with the genre,” said Hoffman, who had 60 volunteers on site for the day.

The recent rains proved to be a blessing to festival-goer Juanita Watkins. who had set up camp right outside the stage in a lawn chair complete with drink holders. The cookout she'd planned on attending that evening had been rained out.

“Jazz is the music I grew up with,” Watkins said, who noted her favorite artists are Anita Baker, Kenny G and Billie Holiday, a variety of jazz equal to this year's festival line-up. “We're just here to enjoy ourselves and meet some friends.”

As the night drew on, Watkins plot had become more crowded and her group starting talking with surrounding festival-goers--exactly the kind of community exchange Hoffman was hoping for.