Jazz comes to the springs

Regional groups and local restaurants are highlighted at this inaugural event.

By LOGAN NEILL, Times Staff Writer
Published November 2, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Special to the Times] Mermaid shows will take place in the underwater theater throughout A Taste of Jazz events on Saturday and Sunday at Weeki Wachee Springs.

WEEKI WACHEE - When Weeki Wachee Springs starts humming with the sound of trumpets and saxophones this weekend, Patti Cotter hopes there will be a big crowd on hand to hear it.

As the chairperson of what is arguably the most ambitious event ever staged by the Hernando County Fine Arts Council, she believes A Taste of Jazz will fit the community like a glove.

"People in this county are clamoring for some culture," said Cotter, who has spent the past year putting together the event. "What we want to provide is something that they will appreciate and remember for a long time."

The affair seeks to mirror on a smaller scale a concept that Cotter experienced for many years in her native Chicago. A Taste of Chicago typically draws upward of a quarter-million visitors who come to listen to pop and jazz and to sample cuisine from the city's best restaurants.

This weekend's event, which will combine the tastes of eight area restaurants with jazz acts from throughout Central Florida, is a joint production by the Hernando Fine Arts Council, the Hernando Jazz Society and Weeki Wachee Springs.

"What we wanted to do was to create a marriage of ideas that will benefit everyone," Cotter said. "If it's successful, then I think we can expect it to be ayearly event."

The event could become another fine feather in the cap of a rejuvenated arts council that sponsors the monthly Bandshell Bash concerts in downtown Brooksville as well as the annual Art, Craft and Music Festival at Tom Varn Park in Brooksville. Cotter, who has been on the council for three years, said that a recent influx of new blood in the organization has made it possible to consider staging larger events.

"We have a core of people that really want to see these kinds of ideas take off," Cotter said. "We view A Taste of Jazz both as a learning opportunity and as a way to show the community what we're capable of doing."

The event will showcase music on three stages and will feature some of the area's most notable jazz musicians, including Lori and Mike Hafer, Frankie D and the New York Orchestra, and the Southern Exposure Jazz Band. Saturday's lineup will be headlined by the Grammy-nominated Dan McMillion Jazz Orchestra from Tampa.

Participating restaurants include Harmony House Family Restaurant, Scottos Bistro, Our Pots and Pans, Anthony's New York Style Pizzeria, Blue Moon Diner, La Bella Cucina, Chicago Eats and GreekCity Cafe.

In addition to music and other entertainment, admission to the event will include all park activities. Patrons may bring lawn chairs and blankets into concert areas.

Logan Neill can be reached at lneill@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1435.

If you go

A Taste of Jazz

The Hernando County Fine Arts Council and the Hernando Jazz Society will present "A Taste of Jazz" beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Weeki Wachee Springs, U.S. 19 and State Road 50, Weeki Wachee. Admission is $3 and includes park activities. Parking is $1.

For information, call 754-4788 or visit the Web site www.hernandoarts.org.

Jazz it up

Music schedule

Saturday

10 a.m.: Johnny O's Dixieland Band, Hernando Jazz Society Founders Trio, Mike Cusinotto

1 p.m.:Ladies of Jazz featuring Lori and Mike Hafer

2:30 p.m.: Frankie D's New York Orchestra

5 p.m.: Vicki Belmonte

6:30 p.m.: Dan McMillion Jazz Orchestra

Sunday

10 a.m.: Nature Coast Technical High School Jazz Band, Caribbean Knights, Jazz Company Swing Band

2 p.m.: Southern Exposure Jazz Band

2:30 p.m.: Hernando Jazz Society All-Stars

[Last modified November 1, 2007, 20:38:56]