Oct 7, 2005 2 min read

I read with considerable interest Mark O’Keefe’s column regarding the poor turn-out at the recent Jazz Fest at the Woodlands Zoo amphitheater. My wife and I arrived there around 2 p.m., left for a short while to go over to Mt. Washington Church to have dinner, and returned to this great venue staying until the last piece was played by Harold Betters and his group. During the evening portion we enjoyed an excellent bottle of wine as the Klay Winery was there with a set-up for the occasion. What a great way to spend a day. The admission ticket allowed you to come and go all day, which we did and we thought it was a bargain. All day long I kept wondering when some semblance of an audience was going to show up. Surely they would come for the evening portion featuring local great Harold Betters. They never showed.

A couple of weeks earlier the family of another local favorite, Carl Micarelli, had a memorial concert at the Klay Winery. It was free and guess what? All the seats were taken long before it began. I saw many locals including business and professional people on this occasion.

This scenario suggests the possibility that a lot of our “locals’ are a little on the cheap side. I leave that question to your judgment. I feel entitled to raise the question because I am a lifelong resident – born and raised here and now 72 years old. I’ve had time to observe the local condition.

I can only imagine how much everyone put into this jazz event, only to have it turn out so badly.

You might want to talk to Clyde Tewell about his experience when he tried to operate the State Music Hall several years ago, to gain an insight into this local condition.

Roy F. Dayton

Chalk Hill