[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 70 (Wednesday, June 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY/SACRAMENTO JAZZ JUBILEE

                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 8, 1994

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to advise my colleagues that 
International Jazz Day, a day celebrated worldwide by jazz enthusiasts, 
will from this year forward coincide with the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee 
which is the largest annual jazz festival held in the United States. 
This year International Jazz Day will be celebrated on Saturday, May 
28.
  For those not familiar with the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, let me just 
say that it is a terrific story of how a small group of people with 
passion, and a desire to share their enthusiasm with others, can 
generate enough excitement to ultimately create the largest annual 
celebration of Dixieland jazz in our country. From humble origins in 
1973 when an old lot called the 49er Site in Old Sacramento served as 
the grounds for the first jubilee its acclaim among jazz enthusiasts 
and the general public spread. Nowadays the Jazz Jubilee requires 40 
venues and features 125 bands who combine to present 1,100 performances 
throughout the 4-day Memorial Day weekend.
  One of the most stunning developments to come out of the 21 
Sacramento Jazz Jubilees is the discovery of a high level of jazz 
enthusiasm, and a wealth of talented jazz musicians from foreign lands. 
In 1975, Max Collie and his Rhythm Aces from England became the first 
band from abroad to entertain the crowds in Sacramento. In 1979, the 
popularity of the Jazz Band Ball Orchestra from Poland firmly cemented 
the international tradition of our local festival. Over the years, 
bands from such far away lands as Australia, Austria, Denmark, Germany, 
Hong Kong, Japan, and the old Soviet Union have come to temporarily 
shrink the globe as they perform American Jazz interspersed with folk 
music from their homelands. This year, 10 international bands, 
including the first-ever from Mexico, will be on hand the help 
celebrate the newly designated International Jazz Day.
  I am pleased to have my congressional district serve as host for such 
a bastion of jazz fanaticism, and I am especially proud of the jazz 
festival's role in developing international relations. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in welcoming these bands to America.

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