After more than two decades running the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, founder and longtime Artistic Director Jessica Felix recently announced her retirement effective at the end of September.

When she leaves, Felix will welcome acclaimed composer and bandleader Marcus Shelby as the festival’s new artistic director. Shelby takes over the role on Oct. 1, with an eye towards the community.

“I believe that Healdsburg jazz, through Jessica Felix, has built one of the strongest foundations possible with a commitment to the art form,” Shelby says. “I want to bring to the table my strengths; part of that is my love for collaborations, and bringing musicians together with other artists. I’m looking forward to being a part of the Healdsburg community, not just as a musician or artistic director but being conscious about the city and how it’s changing, and then seeing how the festival itself can be a strong community partner year-long.”

Shelby is a beloved figure in the Bay Area jazz scene, having first established himself by leading both the Marcus Shelby Trio and the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra. He’s also a composer-in-residence with the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival and has taken on a variety of roles at SFJAZZ, including a stint as a resident artistic director.

A decade ago, Shelby began working with the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, when Felix hired him to bring his Black History Month programming to local schools. Following that, Shelby created and directed the Healdsburg Freedom Jazz Choir.

“Jessica has created a culture that is very pro-artist,” Shelby says. “Artists love to play at Healdsburg Jazz. I speak as one artist, but I know this from talking to others—Jessica has made that a core value of Healdsburg Jazz.”

Something else that Shelby says will continue at Healdsburg Jazz is a commitment to the art form and the artists who create it, as well as a commitment to education that will match the commitment to presenting performance. Recently, Healdsburg Jazz has offered monthly online Zoom presentations on jazz and jazz history.

For Shelby, taking on the role of artistic director for Healdsburg Jazz Festival in 2020 means facing unprecedented challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic that already canceled this year’s event, originally scheduled for last June.

Undaunted, Shelby is already working with the festival’s Board of Directors on strategizing for the 2021 festival, as well as working to continue the year-round concerts and education programs that Healdsburg Jazz regularly hosts, such as a virtual world premiere live streaming concert on Saturday, Sept. 26, featuring acclaimed musicians Charles Lloyd, Zakir Hussain and Julian Lage playing together as trio for the first time ever.

“Every challenge presents ways of being innovative,” he says. “Since we’ve gone online, we’ve expanded our borders. We’re in communication not only nationally, but internationally. With that, when we are able to bring our festival back in person, we’re hoping that this is one way we build a larger audience that will come to this beautiful place and enjoy the music and culture we provide.”

Healdsburg Jazz presents the Lloyd-Hussain-Lage Trio performing live online Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7pm. Admission by donations of $15 and up. healdsburgjazz.org.

by Sean McAlindin

San Rafael string band Late for the Train’s debut album, Plant It or Build It, is a beautiful collection of peculiarly romantic songs full of thoughtful lyricism, stirring instrumentals and sweet harmonies. 

The opening track, “Sang Through the Summer,” is all about celebrating an ephemeral twinkling of bliss before it’s gone. It’s a fitting introduction for the band fronted by Marin County troubadours Laura Benson and Dave Pascoe, who share a penchant for wandering roads less traveled while loving each magical moment along the way. 

The voices of Benson and Pascoe blend like gypsy souls who’ve found a home in each other’s musical arms. They met at an open mic night in a Northern California living room on Halloween night, 2017. Benson was dressed as Rosie the Riveter in bright red lipstick; Pascoe, in cheetah pants, saw her sing to a rapt, silent room. As the party wore on, they both got out their fiddles and started jamming on Celtic tunes. The rest is history, as they now live and create together from their home in San Rafael’s Gerstle Park neighborhood. 

What begins with deft Appalachian flatpicking quickly hints at something more on Plant It or Build It. Through all 10 songs on the album, their voices contrast and meld with a fascinating and plaintive authenticity harkening back to older times while keenly observing those of today.

The album was recorded by Ky Takikawa almost entirely live during a four-day session in a remote, two-story concrete-and-glass house hidden under Bixby Bridge in Big Sur. 

Tracking days began early with a family breakfast and ended well beyond midnight underneath the California stars. During breaks, the band walked an overgrown singletrack path alongside the creek to jump into the roiling ocean and wash away their blues. 

Flawless mastering by The Wailin’ Jennys’ soundman Adrian Dolan shines as the first side of the record ends with the one verse of traditional acapella, “Bright Morning Stars.” The harmonies of this song about staying up all night surround your ears as you long for more.

Side two begins with “The Architect,” a song about what it takes to make a life in this contemporary day and age. Jack Johnson meets Ani DiFranco as Pascoe and Benson ask listeners, “Are you the architect or the gardener of your life?”

The album closes with “Paper Smiles,” a lovely composition about being the black sheep of the family, the one destined to roam the countryside looking for a little love and decent song. 

“Me, I play the sounds of lovers lost and freedom found,” the band sings on the closing track. “So I can hold them close, the ones I love the most.”

‘Plant It or Build It’ is available now. Lateforthetrainband.com.