With Screaming Jets Above, Jazz Fans Rocked Out - Central Coast News KION/KCBA

MONTEREY, Calif.- The 55th Monterey Jazz Festival was a weekend to remember, not only because of the Space Shuttle Endeavour that flew over the Monterey Peninsula or because of the Thunderbirds' F-16 jets that made quite the show in the sky at the nearby airshow, but because of the incredible performances by debut artists and returning masters, including Tony Bennett.

On September 23rd, 38,000 fans came through the gates of the Monterey County Fairgrounds to listen to music from around the globe, and from all styles of classic jazz, blues, contemporary sounds, compelling conversations and films, and engaging exhibits.

The California International Airshow in nearby Salinas provided an extra element of unexpected excitement to the 2012 Festival, with a squadron of F-16 Thunderbirds taking off and landing at the Monterey Peninsula Airport on Saturday and Sunday, adjacent to the Fairgrounds.

According to a Jazz Festival news release, that didn't seem to matter for the powerhouse Arena shows of Robert Randolph and the Family Band and Trombone Shorty, whose high energy sets were some of the most intense of the weekend. The Garden Stage also provided an afternoon and evening of pyrotechnics, from The Blues Broads, Mingo Fishtrap and Robert Randolph in his second set, with vocalist Catherine Russell and drummer Antonio Sanchez and Migration in the evening. The Coffee House featured an intimate setting for two sets from the Aram Shelton Quartet, the Berklee-Monterey Sextet, and three sets from the Gerald Clayton Trio. Gerald also appeared in the DownBeat Blindfold Test in Dizzy's Den, which was also the site of three stellar and highly-anticipated sets with the Tribute to Cal Tjader, Ben Williams and Sound Effect, and the Monterey Jazz Festival 55^th Anniversary on Tour.