True meaning of classic

Don’t go to the Orange County Classic Jazz Festival expecting to hear your favorite Miles Davis or John Coltrane hits.

The word “classic” in the title might look harmless to those who aren’t in tune with jazz history, but for those who are it means that the festival is devoted exclusively to a much older style of jazz — ragtime, Dixieland, swing and other styles from the turn of the century through the 1930s.

The crowd the music attracts has an addiction to the genre that could easily seem excessive to those on the outside.

The festival, which is in its 10th year in Orange County, goes through the weekend at the Hilton Costa Mesa with 20 bands and solo performers playing from the early morning to the late night each day.

Ticket holders wander through the hotel to a handful of conference rooms that host a variety of bands.

Many in the crowd it draws are old enough to have first-hand memories of the time when the twangy, New Orleans rags and boisterous big band dance numbers came out.

In most of the halls, a 65-year-old would be at risk of being patronizingly called “youngster” by the white-haired stalwarts who travel from around the country and abroad to see the shows.

Don Behnar, of Florida, flew with his wife from their farm in Ohio just for the festival and estimates that the five-day trip cost them $2,000.

They’re not the only ones. Festival Director John Dieball says the event sold out all 400 rooms they were allotted by the Hilton, and has done the same each year for the entire decade-long run of the festival.

“We love this music and we pitch in a lot of money to make this happen,” Behnar said.

Jazz festivals are a dime a dozen, but they mostly feature music from the bebop ’40s and beyond, with plenty of modern smooth jazz and contemporary fusion. Old-school jazz is a rarity to which only a few festivals commit themselves.

Perhaps the biggest is the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, some of the musicians said.

Another well-known one takes place on the border of Switzerland and Italy, in a town called Ascona.

It isn’t just the fans who travel thousands of miles — the musicians also make the trek.

Trumpet player and sound engineer Bryan Shaw, who lives and has a studio in Costa Mesa, has played in Europe, Africa and Canada, to name a few, in the last year alone.

“I can’t seem to work much in town,” Shaw said.

He’s playing this weekend with his seven-piece High Sierra Jazz Band.

Dan Levinson and his wife, Molly Ryan, brought their band from New York to play the festival.

Both younger than 50, Levinson and Ryan are concerned about the future of their genre, given the age of the patrons.

Levinson worked young Costa Mesan ragtime pianist Andrew Barrett into his Canary Cottage Dance Orchestra this year and says he’s always trying to get younger musicians involved.

Strangely, though, he has noticed that the crowds appear to be the same age as they did back in the 1980s, when he first started performing, which gives him hope that the demand for his craft will endure.

“I’ve concluded that when you get to be a certain age, you automatically start getting into traditional jazz,” Levinson said.

If You Go

WHAT: Orange County Classic Jazz Festival

WHERE: Hilton Costa Mesa hotel, 3050 Bristol St.; Costa Mesa

WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. today and Saturday; 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

COST: All events pass $90; Individual day passes from $45 to $55