Friday morning I headed north to Omaha for the weekend jazz festival and to do some sightseeing. Because of major flooding by the Missouri River, I had to veer northeast into Iowa which added an hour or so to the drive. But I arrived around noon, checked into the hotel, and walked over to the Old Market area to M's Pub on 11th and Howard, a restaurant recommended by the hotel.
The Old Market area, at the end of the 19th century, was at the height of its splendor, bustling with produce dealers, buyers, and transporters. Omaha was in its prime as a great railroad center, connecting the settles East with the wide-open West. The bustle continued until the 1950's but the area has now been restored and is alive with restaurants, pubs, unique shops and boutiques. The 4 by 3 block area still has its original brick streets.
The Omaha Riverfront Jazz and Blues Festival began 10 years ago in an effort to bring world-class entertainers to Omaha to perform and also to create economic development and put Omaha on the "musical map." Today this festival is considered one of the premier festivals in the Midwest.
Friday night's line-up featured Tizer - a great trio composed of Lao Tizer on keyboards, Chieli Minucci on guitar, and Karen Briggs on violin. I saw Karen last year at the Kennedy Center with her band Soulchestra. A chat with Lao revealed that he will be performing in Kansas City on July 21.
The evening ended with Jazz Attack, a fabulous band featuring Rick Braun on trumpet and flugelhorn, Peter White on guitar, and Gerald Albright on sax.
