Hua Hin International Jazz Festival 2020

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

I attend this event every year.  With the pandemic, there's less international flavor this year but still lots of great jazz music in Thailand.  The late King Bhumibol was quite accomplished on the saxophone and his influence promoted the genre.  Showed up at Hua Lamphong station at noon and all departures were cancelled until 5 PM.  Waited around the station all afternoon.

 

Finally boarded my 2nd class seat in air-conditioned coach for the 6-hour journey.  Ticket cost was 402 baht.

 

 

I booked the Centera Grand Beach Resort, adjacent to the festival stage, where I could use one of the beach chairs to enjoy the performances in style.

 

 

I booked one of the Duplex Suites, very comfortable accommodations indeed

 

 

Bedroom is upstairs

 

 

Love the colonial motif of the resort, and the grounds are beautifully landscaped

 

 

They call this lounge The Museum, where you go for afternoon tea

 

 

There are three pools, but no swim-up bar like at the nearby Hilton

 

 

Tons of activities available like tennis, bad mitten, table tennis, darts, lawn boules, etc

 

 

Play areas for the kids

 

 

I skipped the opening ceremonies and went over to the food area for a bratwurst.

 

 

There's a second stage set up there for some of the lesser known acts

 

 

Back to the main Beach Stage for KOH Mr. Saxman, one of the headliners every year.

 

 

Found some of his material on YouTube, he's very talented IMHO.  See if you agree.

 

 

He also sings

 

 

Next was KOH Mr. Saxman with Blues signer Keithen Carter

 

 

Then with trumpet player Steve Cannon

 

 

The lovely songstress Varitda wowed the audience with her silky smooth voice and outfit, and I loved her hat.

 

 

She spoke Thai to the crowd but only sang English language songs, finished her set with Mel Torme's Christmas Song.  She was well known to the audience, many held up signs with her name in lights.

 

 

Here's some material from YouTube

 

 

I was about to leave after Varitda when some Thai college students sitting next to me said, "No, you can't leave now.  There's a famous singer coming up, we just came to see him."  Well OK, I don't want to offend anyone so I hung around another couple hours.  The next act wasn't that great.

 

 

The headliner came around 12:30 and he was very good.  Two very hot female dancers, dressed in black with black bras, added to the excitement.  The headliner wore a white jacket and sunglasses.  The crowd was very responsive.  He came down into the audience and shook peoples hands.  At several points, he paused singing and motioned to the audience, which continued singing the song.  Everyone seemed to know his songs and the lyrics as well.

 

 

Also found some of his material on YouTube, he closed the evenings entertainment at 1:35 AM.

 

 

NEXT: DAY 2

Edited December 9, 2020 by RhinoTusk

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

Day 2, I started with some lunch at the Resort's restaurant, Coast.  Rock Lobster and seafood pasta with a Piña colada, which came with the shot of rum served on the side.  I don't think I've ever seen this before.  Rum doesn't taste very good but mixes extremely well with fruit juices.

 

This time, I arrived early and staked out my territory in this beach chair near the stage that I would occupy for the next ten hours.

 

 

The Festival started promptly at 7 PM

 

 

Julian Cary is a young African-American from Colorado that teaches jazz studies at Silpakorn University

 

 

KOH Mr. Saxman was on stage once again.

 

 

This black woman sang a song in Spanish, great stuff

 

 

The crowd was captivated, including the giant panda

 

 

A series of divas followed, each singing a single song.  They weren't great but didn't embarrass themselves either.

 

 

The blonde had hot legs

 

 

This one was super cute

 

 

This guy displayed showmanship, and a great haircut

 

 

The Cottonmouth Blues Band, featuring Keith Nolan from Edinburgh, are sometimes featured Sundays at Check In 99 on Sukhumvit Soi 33

 

 

 

 

A Thai pop band called Season Five closed the Festival around 1 AM, they were pretty good.

 

 

They seemed to gain the attention of the girls in the audience

 

 

Here's a music video that has over 19 million views on YouTube

 

 

Yeah, it was a fine show despite fewer international performers this year.  Sunday was clean-up, they removed the stage quickly before it could be washed away by the tide.

 

 

There was some controversy in the aftermath due to the Singha tent on the beach.  It's possible the festival organizers could face criminal charges for selling alcohol on public property.  I think this festival has been happening 15 years and I've always seen them selling beer on the beach.  Unfortunately, there may be some changes in store next year.

 

Stopped at La Villa for an Aussie tenderloin in green pepper sauce on my way to the train station.

 

 

Only 3rd class was available for the trip back, but you don't really need the air conditioning if the train is moving.  The fare was 44 baht.

 

 

Destination wasn't Hua Lamphong station but the newly opened station at Bang Sue that I hadn't seen before

 

[Bazle 1,485]

Thanks, RT. Interesting write-up. ?

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

Varitda Bhirombhakdi caught my eye long before she took the stage.  I had no idea she was an entertainer, although she was overdressed for the beach. 

 

She finished her set with this famous song, despite her audience being over 90% Buddhist, and she can roast my chestnuts anytime.  Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

[BigusDicus 9,878]

Another outstanding adventure brought to us by RT & Company!