Before somebody figured out a way to box up a sound and sell it, all music was free. And people making and listening to it were not about money. They wanted the song, needed it.
A little of that spirit makes a comeback here in Salem tomorrow and Sunday, with the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival at the Salem Willows. Yes, it's free. And yes, it features performers who follow their love for a unique sound.
Yet the program, sponsored by nearly a dozen North Shore businesses, includes nationally known performers like Dwight & Nicole and the Sam Kininger Band. Also on the bill is Boston-area prodigy Grace Kelly, the 18-year-old saxophone player who has already performed all over the world.
"There will be a lot of different styles of music," said Henley Douglas Jr., who helped start the festival four years ago. "We've set up something that people would have to pay 40 or 50 bucks for somewhere else."
A saxophonist himself who plans to contribute to the show, Douglas is high on Kelly.
"She's not just a talented young person," he said. "The most amazing thing about Grace is that she gives off this old-school sound. And that's something you cannot learn. It's real."
Kelly sees her relative youth as part of the package. It makes her the musician she is, in some ways distinct from older performers.
"It's my first time at the Salem festival," she said. In addition to playing the sax, Kelly sings, composes and arranges.
Originally named Grace Chung, she was adopted by her stepfather (happily, she was already a big fan of the name and the legendary movie star/princess connected to it). Her mother's family includes several classical musicians, and young Grace was raised on a wide menu of music, from Sinatra to Sting to Stan Getz.
"I have very eclectic taste, and it all comes out in my music," she said. Kelly began performing in public at age 12, and she's the first in her musical family to embrace jazz.
It was hearing Getz for the first time that launched her as a saxophonist.
"I fell in love with the sound," she said.
Graduating two years early from high school, Kelly had never contemplated a career in music, but her talent led the way.
Studying at the Berklee College of Music, she played at the renowned Newport Jazz Festival. She also produced six CDs and built her own website (gracekellymusic.com) before she was old enough to vote.
"Now I can't think of anything I'd rather do," she said. "It's pretty awesome to get to do what you want to do."
Kelly expressed some excitement at coming to perform in the Witch City.
Douglas is urging music lovers to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity.
"Come out and support it," he said. "We put a lot of work into it."
SALEM JAZZ AND SOUL FESTIVAL
When: Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
Where: Salem Willows
Admission: Free
Rain date? Show goes on, rain or shine
Information: www.salemjazzsoul.com
Saturday schedule
Salem High School Jazz Band (10:30 to 11 a.m.)
Eric Reardon & Global Stew (11:30 to 12:15)
Trick Bag (12:45 to 1:30)
Dopapod (2 to 2:45)
Miss Tess & The Bon Ton Parade (3:15 to 4:15)
Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching band, featuring the Boston Circus Guild (4:45 to 5:30)
The Sam Kininger Band (6 to 7:15)
In the VIP Juke Joint, The Erinn Brown Band (12:30 -to1:45) and Dennis Brennan (2:15 to 3:30)
Sunday schedule
The North Shore Gospel Ambassadors, featuring Sweet Willie D and Lisa Marie (noon to 12:50 p.m.)
Peter Fidele's In the Weeds (1:20 to 2:10)
The Sugalito Guitar Trio (2:20 to 2:50)
Dwight & Nicole (3 to 4)
Grace Kelly Quintet (4:30 to 6)
