2010 Jazz Festival brings the sounds back to downtown Fort Smith

 

story and photos by Joel Rafkin
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Hot sound and hot weather — they go nicely together. Such was the case at the Fort Smith Jazz Festival held Saturday (May 22) at Ross Pendergraft Park in downtown Fort Smith.

Previous festivals had been held at Creekmore Park.

The 2010 Fort Smith Jazz Festival was presented by The City Wire, Downtown Fort Smith, Arvest, Kirkham Systems, Raymond James and Associates, Dixie Digital, and Arkoma Services.

Six jazz groups took to the stage beginning at 1 p.m. and ending at about 8:30 p.m. Each group was scheduled for an hour and fifteen minutes with the exception of Northside High School and The D.J. McRoberts Combo who performed for half an hour and forty-five minutes, respectively. Headliner Ted Ludwig and his trio were scheduled for an hour but played longer. The lineup also included Scott McQuade, Odis Elevator and the Flights and Rogers Jazz Society, from up the hill in Rogers.

The family friendly free event featured food vendors such as Sweet Bay Coffee and Whole Hog Café and a drawing for an acoustic guitar which was won by Kyle Scott of Alma.

The park proved the ideal place for the event as people spread out blankets to relax and listen. Some found shade under trees on the grass while other took advantage of provided seats or brought their own lawn chairs.

The Ted Ludwig Trio closed out the event with top-notch guitarist and group leader Ted Ludwig on a seven-string guitar. Ludwig, originally from New Orleans, now makes his home in Little Rock after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina.