By JASON OLAINE
Summer of Love Revisited. That’s the theme of this year’s Fillmore Jazz Festival on July 1 and 2, in honor of the 50th anniversary of that impactful, inspired time in 1967 — its epicenter in San Francisco, with the Fillmore being ground zero.
Seminal albums were released by Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and many more, while a number of important bands were being formed — including Santana, Fleetwood Mac, Sly and the Family Stone, NRBQ, Chicago and Credence Clearwater Revival.
The Human Be-In took place here with spoken word by Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary and music by Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead.
Perhaps this summer is the time to collectively take a page from our past — to embrace this unifying message of compassion and community, as important today as it was a half-century ago. Just as the artists of that generation distilled a consciousness or portrayed optimism in the face of serious cultural and worldwide troubles, artists of today give us something to think about, to feel, so we can go back to our daily lives inspired to be a part of the ongoing struggle to live and love.
This year’s artists will honor the spirit of ’67 by performing songs from that period, showing how jazz can embrace other musical genres, with uplifting results.
Jason Olaine is artistic director of the Fillmore Jazz Festival and director of programming for Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.
Filed under: Music