Snowmass history: Jazz Festival

“All that Jazz… In its 3rd Season, Jazz Aspen is Making its Mark” touted the Aspen Daily News in June 1993.

“It may be cliché, but Jazz Aspen has come a long way in a short time — baby … A frequent visitor to the Roaring Fork Valley, (Jim) Horowitz decided Aspen was the ideal place for a festival, ‘Aspen was a very logical choice,’ he says. ‘I needed to find a place that didn’t already have a festival, but also a place that could use one. Like I said, Aspen was a very logical choice.’ Horowitz first approached the Aspen Music Festival in 1989 about starting a jazz festival. Two years later, the first Jazz Aspen Festival was underway. This year, the festival (June 24-27) has a new home at the Snowmass Rodeo Lot, which Horowitz believes will add to the Festival’s ambiance. ‘We are trying to be unique by focusing on concerts that give people an [sic] intense experience in an [sic] intimate setting,’ he says. The Festival’s new performance facility is a 2,000- seat circus tent. As a four-day event, Jazz Aspen strives to bring both internationally recognized and promising young artists to the Festival … This year’s Festival, billed as ‘Le Cirque du Jazz,’ could be a turning point for the organization, according to Horowitz. ‘I want everyone to think of the Festival as a ‘must see’ event — something you don’t want to miss,’ Horowitz says. ‘If it doesn’t become known around the world and world-renowned, I will consider it a failure.'”

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