‘Elephant in the room’: Blue Note Jazz Festival permit hearing turns tense in Napa after racial remarks

A public hearing held to formally permit the Blue Note Jazz Festival’s move to the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa turned tense last week.

A Silverado resident at the Thursday meeting said she was concerned that festivalgoers might behave in ways that would threaten the neighborhood’s security. She referred to them as the “type of people” that “we would not like to invite to our homes” as opposed to being “golf enthusiasts.”

Her comment received backlash from other people in attendance, given the majority of artists scheduled to perform during the festival are Black.

This year’s lineup includes Mary J. Blige, Nas and Chance the Rapper.

Silverado area resident Sue Sparks started her comment by saying that although Blue Note Napa — including musical productions put on at the downtown jazz club and various related festivals — is a “wonderful thing,” the Jazz Festival’s impact on Silverado is worrisome.

“We’re going to need massive security,” she said. “We’re going to have people jumping over our fences into our pools. We’re going to have people walking all over our yards we work so hard to keep up.”

Mel Preimesberger, an area resident whose Silverado Highlands home burned down in the 2017 fires and who is Black, said at the meeting she had many of the same concerns about fire danger and traffic that had been expressed.

But she was upset to hear Sparks say the people attending wouldn’t be welcomed.

Preimesberger went on to say that she’d been to many festivals and concerts so she generally understood there would be concern about attendees.

At the primarily white BottleRock, she said, the stench of cannabis smoke took weeks to get out of her clothes.

Still, she pleaded for sensitivity.

“I’ve been to many events at the Blue Note, and one thing we were able to save from the fire was a saxophone that Kenny G had signed,” Preimesberger said of her home that burned in the 2017 Atlas Fire — the Oct. 8, 2017, blaze that resulted in six deaths and 781 structures being destroyed.

“That was one of the few things we were able to save when he had performed there. I think there needs to be sensitivity in this room. I can’t believe you would say that.”

Sparks apologized to Preimesberger near the end of her comment.

A person who identified herself as Sparks’ sister, and declined to give her name to The Press Democrat, said Preimesberger had misinterpreted Sparks’ comments.

“She didn’t mean those people being African American. She meant the people going to the concerts,” she said.

“It has nothing to do with ‘those people.’ What it has to do with is the type of music is going to be rap, it’s going to be hip hop, it’s going to be controversial language.

“The acts that are booked are very sexually explicit, they waggle their tails all the time. I mean, it’s pretty much vulgar to me.”

Preimesberger responded that she’d paid a “heck of a lot of taxes here” and is invested in the community, and the term “those people” is a trigger.

“It’s the elephant in the room,” Preimesberger said.“It’s all Black artists. Come on, let’s just say it.”

Alan Goldstein also said during the meeting he was “troubled” by Sparks’ comments. But he felt that with proper limitations on the event — which he believed had been put in place — he saw it as a benefit to the community.

Following the meeting, Sparks said she felt she was misinterpreted and that her comments had to do with Silverado not being a proper venue for the festival.

“Blue Note is the most wonderful, fabulous music producer,” Sparks said. “What we are questioning is can this venue be protected. Is it really in their power?”

Preimesberger said after the meeting that the hurtful comment for her was about the concert attendees “likely not being people Silverado residents would invite into their homes.”

Racial bias has previously come up in relation to the Jazz Festival, which was held for the first time in Napa County last year.

Jonathan Butler, a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, had performed two shows at the 2022 Blue Note Jazz Festival then went for dinner at the St. Helena Goose & Gander restaurant, he said in an Instagram video last year.

He paid for the meal, “took care of the waiter,” but then was followed to his car by the manager of the restaurant, Butler said, who had asked whether he took “care of our server.”

The business later apologized to Butler — and he reportedly accepted the apology — but he called the encounter offensive and disturbing.

“He showed so much lack of respect for me and all of us who ate at the restaurant,” Butler said of the manager.

“I don’t think he’ll do that to a white person, but he did it to me. He felt comfortable to come up to me to tell me that ‘I’m coming to find out if you took care of my server.’”

The restaurant reportedly placed the manager on temporary leave and sought sensitivity training for the restaurant’s staff.

And last year, comedian Dave Chappelle, the festival’s host, took to the stage and noted Napa Valley is “a place not renowned for its diversity,” the San Francisco Chronicle had reported.

“This is the Blackest weekend it has ever seen,” Chappelle told the audience, according to the Chronicle report.

Chappelle later said he’d “never return” to Napa Valley if Grammy-winning pianist Robert Glasper wasn’t allowed to return to the stage past the St. Helena noise ordinance curfew time of 10 p.m., according to the Chronicle.

Glasper did return to the stage, and Chappelle is returning to host this year’s Jazz Festival, slated for July 28-30.

Alex Kurland, director of programming for the Blue Note Jazz Festival, said in a statement to The Press Democrat that the spirit of the jazz festival is progressive.

“Culturally, it is very important for Blue Note to champion artistic equality and freedom,” Kurland wrote. “Jazz represents these qualities, and the spirit of our festival embraces excellence and openness within a diverse range of music, culinary and art.”

Ken Tesler, managing director of Blue Note Napa, said he’s proud to have been a leader in attracting culturally diverse audiences to Napa County over the past seven years.

“Blue Note is deliberate to embrace Black business owners, artists and creators to be fully welcomed, embraced, respected and celebrated in the Napa Valley marketplace,” Tesler said.

“We will not tolerate or stand for bigotry, gross racist comments and harmful language directed at our artists, ticket buyers, staff and community.”