Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival 2020: A Look Inside

I had a wonderful time being a clinician for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival this February. This event, which has taken place since 1967, is hosted at the University of Idaho in the charming town of Moscow, right next to the Washington state border.

This festival is managed by Josh Skinner, a fellow bassist who has a long association with the festival prior to taking over as manager last year. This event, which is the largest education-based jazz festival in the United States brings in thousands of jazz students from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Canada, and neighboring regions.

Moscow, Idaho is located in a geographically fascinating part of the country known as the Palouse. I’d never been to this part of the country before, and I was charmed by the beautiful landscape, friendly people, and thriving musical scene.

History of the Festival

One might wonder how, exactly, Lionel Hampton came to be associated with the University of Idaho. The following video, featuring longtime festival organizer Lynn ‘Doc’ Skinner, shares some of the history of how this came to be:

This video celebrating the 50th anniversary of the festival in 2017 is also a good look at what this event is all about:

My Role at the Festival

Josh invited me to the festival to present a series of clinics revolving around social media. I presented a total of six sessions on storytelling, leveraging social media in the arts, and using social media as an ensemble director.

It was really cool to see the wide range of people that attended these clinics, and to also get a chance to answer questions on all kinds of topics. I had college students, high school students, educators, performers, and even middle school students in the audience.

A look inside the festival

In addition to being a clinician, I got a chance to wander the campus and take in all kinds of sessions, like “Grammys: How to Win, Put on the Show, and Join the Recording Academy” with Bob Santelli:

The event kicked off on Thursday evening (Feb 27) with a showcase of many of the student ensembles at the Lionel Hampton School of Music. I think it is super-cool that the music school is actually named after Lionel!

The campus itself is beautiful, and we lucked out on weather this year, with highs in the 50s for most of the festival. It’s pretty common to find a foot of snow on the ground here this time of year.

I also had the chance to check out several other clinics, including a bass session with University of Idaho faculty member Dave Bjur.

The larger events like student ensemble performances and evening concerts took place at the Kibbie Dome, a massive multi-purpose facility on the U of I campus.

Interviewing Christian Fabian

I had the chance to sit down and do a podcast with Christian Fabian, the bassist for the Lionel Hampton Big Band and an active New York City-based jazz musician. We had a great conversation about the history of this festival (Christian has been involved with it for 25 years), what Lionel Hampton was like, how Brian Bromberg connected Christian with Lionel, and much more. Look for it soon on the podcast!

Headliners

There was a remarkable array of talent performing at this festival, including Amy and Pat Shook, Vertical Voices, Joshua Redman, and the entire Lionel Hampton Big Band featuring Jason Marsalis.

Final Thoughts

What a vibrant event this was! It’s inspiring to see thousands of young musicians congregate to learn about jazz. Many of the students I spoke with have been to the festival many years in a row, and some teachers I met have been coming for decades!

Congratulations to Josh Skinner and everyone else involved for a fantastic event. I can’t wait to follow along with this in coming years!