Jazz & Blues Festival returns to Morristown

Perhaps something was in the water 100 years ago. Perhaps it is mere coincidence that three iconic American musicians — Muddy Waters, Les Paul and Frank Sinatra — all happened to be born in 1915.

Whatever the reason, 2015 marks the centennials of these three hugely influential artists. So attention is being paid by the organizers and participants of the fifth annual Morristown Jazz and Blues Festival, which takes place Saturday.

Five different musical acts from the (occasionally overlapping) worlds of jazz and the blues will perform on the Green. Each has been asked to perform at least one song associated with any of the centennial musicians.

The idea of paying tribute to Waters, Paul and Sinatra was proposed months ago, according to Morristown Mayor Timothy Dougherty. He credits Don Jay Smith (who co-produces the festival with his wife, Linda Smith) with making the connection.

“This is our fifth year for the festival, a big year,” Dougherty said. “Don brought to (the planning committee’s) attention the centennials of these iconic musicians. It seemed a natural.”

Each performer at the festival represents a different style, Dougherty noted.

Kicking off the afternoon is Swingadelic, a self-described “little big band” of 10 pieces.

“It’s a great way to begin the festival,” Dougherty said.

The band is followed by a guitar group led by Bucky Pizzarelli, the Paterson-born jazz guitarist who is something of a living legend himself; he will turn 90 in January.

“To watch him play the guitar is a treat,” Dougherty said.

Following Pizzarelli is trumpeter/vocalist Bria Skonberg, an up-and-coming face of jazz.

“When I first heard her, I knew she was something special,” Dougherty said.

Roomful of Blues, the fourth act in the festival, has gone through several personnel changes since its founding in the late 1960s. The group has long championed jump blues and swing, even before those genres experienced a revival in the 1990s.

Headlining the festival is Charlie Musselwhite, whose career as a blues harmonica player began more than 50 years. As a session musician, he has played with such artists as Tom Waits, John Lee Hooker — and Muddy Waters.

“It’s amazing that we were able to get him for our festival,” Dougherty said.

These events are as much a treat for the artists as for the attendees, Skonberg said. “Festivals are a celebration of music and people. I fell in love with jazz because the city where I lived (in Canada) had a jazz festival.”

Skonberg is particularly pleased to return to Morristown. One of her earliest East Coast gigs took place at the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum.

“It’s a special place to me,” she said.

Dougherty said the Blues and Jazz Festival has evolved exactly as he hoped when it was instituted in 2011. He credits the support of local sponsors with keeping the festival a free event.

“We started it as a way to bring people to Morristown,” he said. “People come for the music but stay for shopping and local restaurants.”

“August is traditionally a slow month for businesses,” Dougherty added. “It’s a way to give an extra bump for summer business. Some of our restaurants say it’s one of the best days of the year for them.”

Dougherty estimated that a few thousand people — some from out-if-state — come to Morristown for the festival. “It’s still a relatively small and intimate,” he said.

However, Dougherty thinks that the festival has room for growth. At some point, it might become a two-day event, with some local artists performing on Friday evening.

In addition, Pioneer Plaza at Headquarters Plaza, within walking distance of the Green, is currently undergoing a renovation that would make it a suitable second stage for the festival, Dougherty said.

“We’re very pleased with what’s happened with the festival,” Dougherty concludes. “What better way to bring people to Morristown than the arts, and what’s better than jazz and the blues?”

FIFTH ANNUAL MORRISTOWN BLUES

AND JAZZ FESTIVAL

WHEN: Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday

Noon: Swingadelic

2 p.m.: Bucky Pizzarelli’s Guitar Summit

4 p.m.: Bria Skonberg

6 p.m. Roomful of Blues

8 p.m.: Charlie Musselwhite Band

WHERE: The Green, Morristown

TICKETS: Free

INFO: www.MorristownJazzandBlues.org