Jazz Fest: Berks in name, broad in appeal

April 04--When advance tickets go on sale for the Boscov's Berks Jazz Fest, Mark Abrams jumps in his car and drives from Staten Island, N.Y., to Reading.

"I get there about 4 a.m.," said Abrams, 57, an insurance agent. "I'm usually first or second in line."

This year, Abrams and his wife, Phyllis, will attend 16 jazz performances at various venues in the Reading area.

What brings a couple of New Yorkers to Reading to hear jazz music?

"In New York, you park, go to a show and go home," Abrams said Thursday at the Berks All-Star Jazz Jam in the Crowne Plaza Reading, Wyomissing. "In Reading, you can hang out after the show and have a drink with the musicians."

The intimate atmosphere of Berks jazz clubs, camaraderie among friends who share their love of jazz and the convenience of finding hotel accommodations near the venues have brought the Abramses back for the fourth year in a row.

Karen Lynn Haver of the Berks Arts Council, a Jazz Fest organizer, said the Abramses are typical of the estimated 45,000 jazz fans who will attend some 40 ticketed and 120 local events during the 10-day music festival.

"In the past 24 years, Reading has become a destination for jazz," Haver said.

A study by the Berks Arts Council suggests the majority of the jazz devotees who'll attend the festival come from outside Berks County.

In 2012, the study found, 66 percent of visitors traveled up to two hours to attend Jazz Fest.

Those who traveled more than an hour tended to stay overnight in local hotels, and about half attended area attractions other than the Jazz Fest.

Russell Meyers and Carlene Houser of State College took a 10-day vacation to attend the festival.

They came to see Boney James, whom Billboard magazine named one of the nation's most influential jazz musicians, but also took in the Berks Jazz Jam featuring Berks high school musicians.

Meyers, 75, a retired engineer, shared a treasure trove of memories from the 10 Berks Jazz Fests he's attended.

"One time when I was staying at the Abe Lincoln (hotel) I went into the bar and who was holding court but George Benson," Meyers recalls. "There he was, a true American jazz icon right here in Reading."

This year, Benson, a 10-time Grammy Award winning jazz guitarist, is not in the festival lineup.

Harry Spelt holds the long-distance record, taking a nearly 10-hour flight from his home near Gouda, Netherlands.

Spelt, 52, an insurance executive, has attended 14 Berks Jazz Fests.

"I read about it in a magazine in 1999," he said. "Reading had Boney James, Lori Perry and a whole bunch of artists I liked."

At first, Spelt said, it was the music that drew him to Reading. Now, it's the people he's met and became friends with at the festival.

He was joined by one of them, Carol Ogletree of Davenport, Iowa, for the All-Star Jam.

"I look forward to good, soothing jazz music in Reading," said Ogletree, 55, a psychologist involved in educational testing.

Ogletree, who discovered Berks Jazz Fest online, saw four shows in 11/2 days on her first visit six years ago.

Each year, she stayed a little longer. This year, for the first time, she's booked accommodations for the entire 10 days.

"I save my money to come to the Berks Jazz Fest each year," she confided. "This is heaven to me."

Contact Ron Devlin: 610-371-5030 or rdevlin@readingeagle.com.

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