Jazz guitarist Matt Silva was in a down-tempo mood by the time he took the stage Sunday at Cotati's La Plaza Park.
"I'm gonna grab my nylon string and just chill," Silva said, taking hold of his acoustic guitar.
Silva and drummer Nick Otis had driven to Sonoma County earlier Sunday from Los Angeles, where they played a gig Saturday night. In Cotati, they found relief from their fatigue in the warm embrace of a crowd that also seemed content to relax.
After 34 years, the Cotati Jazz Festival is like an old friend you love dearly and no longer feel the need to impress. It's come-as-you-are, and to boot, admission is free.
The festival's casual style was reflected by event coordinator Andre' Morrow retrieving a ladder to fix a sign that had partially blown off the park's gazebo where bands performed.
"Every year I have to do this," Morrow said with a smile.
Asked afterward what was new about this year's festival, Morrow replied, "absolutely nothing. And that's the way we want it."
Seated in fold-out chairs on the grass, Jack and Muriel Mahall recalled being turned away from the festival after its debut because their infant wasn't allowed inside Cotati's bars, where the performances took place. In the ensuing three decades, the Cotati couple has become a mainstay of the event.
"I was never a rock-'n'-roller," said Jack, whose first album was Benny Goodman's 1938 performance at Carnegie Hall.
"I want to be able to tap my foot," he said.
For Santa Rosa's Victoria Saltariche, Sunday's festival capped a recent stretch of jazz events she has attended in Sonoma and Napa counties. She said Cotati's event was "lovely" by comparison.
"People are relaxed and they seem to be appreciating the music," Saltariche said.
Morrow said the festival costs about $5,000 to produce, and all proceeds are given to the city's Chamber of Commerce. The festival has sponsors and makes money from vendor fees and sales of beer and wine. All of the event's producers are volunteers.
"We put that money right back into the community," he said.
The jazz festival almost was cancelled a decade ago when the event's producers ran out of money. The chamber stepped in and has been helping to underwrite the event ever since.
"It's wonderful, man," said Mario Lewin, who operates the festival's sound system. He said the event appeals to an older crowd.
"This isn't for college students," he said. "They don't care about this music."
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