Denver cancels Five Points Jazz Festival in favor of grant program
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DENVER — The Five Points Jazz Festival — an iconic annual music event in Denver’s historically Black neighborhood — has played its last note.Denver Arts & Venues, which organizes the event each year, announced Thursday that the festival will be replaced by a “fund to provide local, year-round programming that honors the history of jazz in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood.”
The Five Points Business Improvement District and the office of Councilman Darrell Watson, who represents Five Points, will work with DAV to distribute $225,000 to “businesses, nonprofits and creatives that present jazz and jazz-related programs,” according to the news release.
“Our neighborhood was once known as the ‘Harlem of the West’ and our history continues to be written,” said Norman Harris, executive director of the Five Points Business Improvement District.
“This fund will help support businesses that truly appreciate the art form and what it has done in our community.”
The fund is called the Five Points Jazz Activation Fund. Grant applications will open in early 2025, according to the city.
The Five Points Jazz Festival dates back to 2003 when it was first held in the parking lot of the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library on a cold, rainy spring day. Arturo Gómez, the music director and on-air host at KUVO Jazz, was there.
“To see the growth and the flourishing of the festival from its humble beginnings to its peak,” said Gómez about his favorite memories of the festival.
KUVO Jazz previously served as the primary media sponsor for the festival. (KUVO Jazz and Rocky Mountain PBS are both part of Rocky Mountain Public Media.)
“I think [the city] is losing a lot of prestige by not presenting a festival in the heart and soul of where jazz was flourishing for so many decades, from the ‘20s right up to the early ‘60s,” he said.
“It’s going to really upset a lot of people — fans and followers of the festival.”
Note: Rocky Mountain PBS and KUVO Jazz are both subsidiaries of Rocky Mountain Public Media (RMPM). KUVO and RMPM leadership had no influence on the reporting or editing of this story.
Photos:
1. KUVO Jazz host Paul Donovan (center) carries the banner at the Five Points Jazz Festival’s 2024 parade. Photo courtesy KUVO Jazz
2. Arturo Gómez at the 2024 Five Points Jazz Festival. Gómez is the music director at KUVO Jazz, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025. Photo: KUVO Jazz
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