Live Smooth Jazz Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

One of the finest events on the Smooth Jazz calendar each year is the Catalina Island JazzTraxx Festival off the coast of southern California. The lineup of artists is always top notch, and the scenic backdrop of Catalina Island is matched by few concert venues.

Unfortunately, because of the requirements of my airshift, I have never been able to attend the festival. Taking place in the month of October, JazzTraxx always overlapped with a key ratings period (the radio equivalent of TV's "sweeps"), and airstaff at WNUA was always discouraged from taking any time off. But almost as good as actually being there has been the chance to experience the event vicariously through the many listeners who, over the years, would send me postcards from their trip to Catalina or phone me once they returned to Chicago with reports of how much fun they had out there.

The JazzTraxx Festival is truly a magnificent event. I cannot recommend it more highly. If you've been thinking about attending this year, my Smooth Jazz friends up in Milwaukee have put together a package deal definitely worth considering. Click here, and give yourself something to look forward to once the days grow shorter and the fall winds begin to blow here in Chicago.