Jazz turns 22

Presale savings end Monday. Buy now!

The Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee is back for a 22nd year this summer.

We put this in your heads now because you can get event tickets for just $85 through March 15.

These tickets are good for the whole five day event.

Returning this year are Tom Hook and the Black Dogs. Though Hook’s been here over the past few years, his band hasn’t. Look for them to be one of the two closing acts at Grumpy’s this year.

Event organizers Flossy and Ken Coulter say Scott Martin’s Latin Soul Band will be the other closer.

The Coulters credit both the County and Town for their monetary contributions the past two years to subsidize costs and keep Jazz Jubilee affordable.

The Town has also provided in-kind Town trolley service.

Sheet: Is this the year you finally break down and bring in a few country bands?

Flossy: You won’t see country (answer: no!). That’s a whole different genre. Though we do have bands like Flashback who play a whole variety of music. A lot of our artists dabble in different genres.

We will have Brady McKay (a singer with the former Wooden Nickel Jazz Band), who’s bringing his own band from the Sacramento area.

We’ll also have Sherri Colby’s New Orleans Racquet Makers, a group of young bucks from New Orleans.

One thing Coulter did want to emphasize is the event’s affordability for families. Kids under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult. Teenagers 13-17 can get a badge for just $10. Tickets are $45 for those 18-22. And if you’re under 30 and you volunteer for 15 hours, you get a free badge.

Sheet: Is beer included as part of volunteer compensation?

Coulter: No, but you get 15 wooden dollars which could be exchanged for beer.

Robin Thompson of Mammoth/June Publishing (760.934.3705) is putting together this year’s official program.

For more information, go to www.mammothjazz.org for tix or pick up one of the 6,000 brochures around town.