I went to Stern Grove on Sunday, 16 July 2000, for the Jazz in the Grove concert featuring Cassandra Wilson with Olu Dara as the opening band. Saturday was a nice sunny day; Sunday was not. There was heavy overcast and once I started to cross the Bay Bridge, it began to drizzle. My friend and I reached Stern Grove at 11:30 am and started to hunt for a parking space. The parking lot for Stern Grove was full as were many of the surrounding spaces. It was decided that we should park at the Stonestown Shopping Center to buy lunch to take with us and then walk from there. This would have been a good idea, seeing that it was only three blocks, except that while walking along 19th Avenue we realized that there were two empty blocks with parking. Since there were no cars there when we drove by, we just assumed that it was a no parking zone.
We soon reached the edge of the park and made the descent into Stern Grove. The Grove itself is much lower than street level, so much lower; in fact, that once one reaches the grove it is hard to believe that it is actually located in the middle of a city. At the bottom of the entrance to the left and right are vendors selling food such as hot dogs and hamburgers. Straight ahead is a large grass meadow where people can sit on blankets and watch the show. Upon entering this meadow, I noticed that every possible spot was taken. To the left was the stage, to the right was a steep hill covered with trees.
I have been to Stern Grove once before, but that was more than ten years ago. I remembered Stern Grove as being a large lawn that sloped up the hill, providing excellent seating for everyone. This is not the way it really is. The large lawn is actually flat, making it difficult for people to see over those in front of them. Fortunately, the stage is raised which helps to reduce this problem.
Behind the lawn is the aforementioned hill. This hill is rather steep, with slopes that are perhaps 40 degrees. There is no groundcover, so walking around is somewhat dusty. But the trees provide good shade, or in this case, protection from the heavy fog and drizzle. After walking around looking for an open spot, it was discovered that the traction on my friend’s shoes were woefully inadequate, as she kept sliding around on the slopes. Anyone who is going to Stern Grove should be sure to either wear hiking shoes, or get there very early and find a space on the lawn.
The spot we finally found was rather good. It was centered on the stage and about one-third of the way up the hill. The only problem was that it was too steep to sit on; we kept sliding off the picnic blanket. I used a rock to carve a bench into the hill and this solved the problem. After about thirty minutes, the concert began.
Olu Dara came out onto the stage. This group consisted on four people: the lead singer/trumpet player, a drummer, a guitar player, and a second guitar player who also played various percussion instruments. The style of music they played is not exactly what I would label as jazz. To me it sounded more like the blues. I mean, I wasn’t expecting some Kenny G type drivel, but I was expecting something more jazz like. More like Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, or bosa nova, or anything more jazz like.
I wasn’t alone with this observation. Someone a few people over questioned, “Isn’t it supposed to be jazz this weekend?” It was still good music, nevertheless. However, the crowd didn’t seem completely interested in what was happening on stage. There was quite a bit of milling around and chattering. Of course, that could be caused by the fact that it was outside and the concert was free. People didn’t feel like they had to get “their money’s worth.”
After Olu Dara had played for 50 minutes or so, it was time for a 20 minute intermission. Then Cassandra Wilson came on stage, and this was what the crowd was waiting for. A large cheer erruped as soon as she walked on stage. Wilson sounded more like jazz. (I guess I was expecting things to sound like what they play on KKSF or something. I think that’s jazz, or maybe just “easy listening.” Whatever it is, my parents always play it at dinner time.)
Unfortunately, the temperature continued to drop and the drizzle started to turn into light rain. Sitting out there started to seem less and less like fun and more like work. After one song by Wilson, my friend wanted to return to the more pleasant climate of the mall. As we were walking out of the park, we passed a police officer, who commented to another officer, “See, it’s too crowded in there. People can’t see, so they are leaving.”