Real Lyrics to Great Songs

Molly Ringwald will sing '50s and '60s jazz with her quintet. There's a chance that she might also perform with her dad's Fulton Street Jazz Band. Special to The Bee

Pianist Bob Ringwald performed with his Fulton Street Jazz Band at the first Sacramento jazz festival back when it was known as the Dixieland Jazz Jubilee. So did his 6-year-old daughter, Molly, who sang with the band. Both will be back this year - separately and (it is rumored) together again.

Bob Ringwald formed his jazz band in the 1960s and rechristened it the Fulton Street Jazz Band in 1971. "I played on Fulton Avenue, at a place called Capone's Chicago Tea Room," Ringwald said in a recent telephone interview, "but I didn't think Fulton Avenue sounded cool enough for a jazz band, so I changed it to Fulton Street. Molly was 3 1 / 2 when Fulton Street began."

When he moved to Los Angeles in 1978, Ringwald relinquished leadership of the band and didn't perform regularly at the festival, although the Fulton Street Band did. It is the only musical outfit that has performed at all 37 of the annual Memorial Day Weekend music festivals. Ringwald moved back to Sacramento in 1995, rejoined the band in '98 and became leader again in 2005.

This year, he also was on the committee that chose the bands to perform. Since his return to the festival, the musical genres represented have expanded to include much more than Dixieland. So the traditional jazz pianist listened to the hundreds of bands that wanted to perform this weekend, and had a hand in selecting the blues, zydeco and "other" genre players.

Expanding the offerings wasn't his idea, Ringwald said. "I was dead set against it at first, but I came to realize that it was a necessary thing," he said. "A lot of the people who grew up during the Dixieland era, they're getting old and dying away. We've got to bring in new audiences, and maybe they'll hear some good Dixie land, too!"

When Molly Ringwald has performed with her dad's band, she has sung songs in his traditional jazz and ragtime repertory. On her own, she's more of a modern gal.

"My taste tends toward the modern - by that I mean '50s, '60s, bebop jazz," she said. "But I grew up with 'Dad's jazz.' It's the musical equivalent of comfort food. It always reminds me of home and good things," she said in a telephone interview from Southern California earlier this week.

This will be the first time Molly Ringwald has appeared at the festival with her own band.

The Molly Ringwald Quintet - Peter Smith on piano, Allen Mezquida on saxophone, Trevor Ware on bass, Clayton Cameron on drums and Ringwald on vocals - will perform two sets Saturday, one at 4 p.m. and the other at 8:30 p.m., both at the Hyatt Ballroom. The quintet is working on its first recording. "We had hoped to have it ready in time for the festival, but it's not," she said.

In addition to fronting her own band, Ringwald stars in the ABC Family channel series "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (filming on the third season is going on now) and has written a book, "Getting the Pretty Back," which was inspired by her turning 40.

"I had been talking about writing a book for a long time, and the idea came to me when I was turning 40 years old that there were no books about being a mature, 'stylish' woman. It's all about looking younger and emphasizing sexuality and all that, and I wanted something that was about what goes into being a woman.

"Because I have the unique experience of having people feel like they grew up with me, I thought I was in a position to write about motherhood and career and all things womanly."

She had now signed a two-book deal with a publisher, so there will be more books to come, and more music and more acting.

"It's part of the mix," she said. "All the things that I do. I don't have to choose one over another.

"It's important to feel nourished creatively, and writing and singing are both things that I enjoy doing and will keep doing.

"I'm a pretty good multitasker," she said. "And fortunately for me, my husband is very organized. He keeps the calendar and stays on top of things."

As for that rumored set with her dad's band, Molly Ringwald confirmed that if it happens, it will be at Fulton Street Jazz Band's 5:30 p.m. Sunday set at the Holiday Inn Ballroom.

SACRAMENTO JAZZ FESTIVAL & JUBILEE

WHAT: The 37th annual Memorial Day Weekend music event

WHEN: Opening Day parade begins at 11:45 a.m. today; music officially begins at 1 p.m. Closing ceremony and final performances begin at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

SPONSOR: Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society

LOCATION: Old Sacramento and sites in and around the Sacramento Convention Center

TICKETS: All-events badge (four-day pass) is $110 general and $50 ages 7-20; daily passes are $35 Friday ($15 ages 7-20); $45 Saturday or Sunday ($20 ages 7-20); and $20 general Monday, $15 ages 7-20 and $10 ages 60 and older. Children 6 and younger are free at all times.

BUY TICKETS (Or redeem ticket vouchers): Ticket trailers at Second and K streets; Front and L streets; J Street between Second and Front streets; Holiday Inn, Third and J streets; Convention Center Box Office, 13th and J streets

PARKING: Garages at 300 Capitol Mall and 400 Capitol Mall will have parking available beginning at 4 p.m. today Fridayfor $8 per day. City parking lots at Third and I streets and 17th and L streets will be available, as well as the L Street garage. Shuttle buses will run from the garage to venues in Old Sacramento.

INFORMATION: Festival information booths will operate between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in Old Sacramento at Second and K streets, at Fourth Street on the K Street Mall and at 13th and K streets near the Sacramento Convention Center.

The Fulton Street Jazz Band, from left: Bob Williams, Bob Sakoi, Paul Edgerton, Bob Ringwald, Vince Bartels, Darrell Fernandez. Courtesy of Bob RingwaldMolly Ringwald will sing '50s and '60s jazz with her quintet. There's a chance that she might also perform with her dad's Fulton Street Jazz Band. Special to The Bee

The Fulton Street Jazz Band, from left: Bob Williams, Bob Sakoi, Paul Edgerton, Bob Ringwald, Vince Bartels, Darrell Fernandez. Courtesy of Bob RingwaldMolly Ringwald will sing '50s and '60s jazz with her quintet. There's a chance that she might also perform with her dad's Fulton Street Jazz Band. Special to The Bee

Pianist Bob Ringwald performed with his Fulton Street Jazz Band at the first Sacramento jazz festival back when it was known as the Dixieland Jazz Jubilee. So did his 6-year-old daughter, Molly, who sang with the band. Both will be back this year - separately and (it is rumored) together again.

Bob Ringwald formed his jazz band in the 1960s and rechristened it the Fulton Street Jazz Band in 1971. "I played on Fulton Avenue, at a place called Capone's Chicago Tea Room," Ringwald said in a recent telephone interview, "but I didn't think Fulton Avenue sounded cool enough for a jazz band, so I changed it to Fulton Street. Molly was 3 1/2 when Fulton Street began."

When he moved to Los Angeles in 1978, Ringwald relinquished leadership of the band and didn't perform regularly at the festival, although the Fulton Street Band did. It is the only musical outfit that has performed at all 37 of the annual Memorial Day Weekend music festivals. Ringwald moved back to Sacramento in 1995, rejoined the band in '98 and became leader again in 2005.

This year, he also was on the committee that chose the bands to perform. Since his return to the festival, the musical genres represented have expanded to include much more than Dixieland. So the traditional jazz pianist listened to the hundreds of bands that wanted to perform this weekend, and had a hand in selecting the blues, zydeco and "other" genre players.

Expanding the offerings wasn't his idea, Ringwald said. "I was dead set against it at first, but I came to realize that it was a necessary thing," he said. "A lot of the people who grew up during the Dixieland era, they're getting old and dying away.

We've got to bring in new audiences, and maybe they'll hear some good Dixieland, too!" When Molly Ringwald has performed with her dad's band, she has sung songs in his traditional jazz and ragtime repertory. On her own, she's more of a modern gal.

"My taste tends toward the modern - by that I mean '50s, '60s, bebop jazz," she said. "But I grew up with 'Dad's jazz.' It's the musical equivalent of comfort food.

It always reminds me of home and good things," she said in a telephone interview from Southern California earlier this week. This will be the first time Molly Ringwald has appeared at the festival with her own band.

The Molly Ringwald Quintet - Peter Smith on piano, Allen Mezquida on saxophone, Trevor Ware on bass, Clayton Cameron on drums and Ringwald on vocals - will perform two sets Saturday, one at 4 p.m. and the other at 8:30 p.m., both at the Hyatt Ballroom. The quintet is working on its first recording. "We had hoped to have it ready in time for the festival, but it's not," she said.

In addition to fronting her own band, Ringwald stars in the ABC Family series "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (filming on the third season is going on now) and has written a book, "Getting the Pretty Back," which was inspired by her turning 40.

"I had been talking about writing a book for a long time, and the idea came to me when I was turning 40 years old that there were no books about being a mature, 'stylish' woman. It's all about looking younger and emphasizing sexuality and all that, and I wanted something that was about what goes into being a woman.

"Because I have the unique experience of having people feel like they grew up with me, I thought I was in a position to write about motherhood and career and all things womanly."

She signed a two-book deal with a publisher, so there will be more books to come, and more music and more acting.

"It's part of the mix," she said. "All the things that I do. I don't have to choose one over another.

"It's important to feel nourished creatively, and writing and singing are both things that I enjoy doing and will keep doing.

"I'm a pretty good multitasker," she said. "And fortunately for me, my husband is very organized. He keeps the calendar and stays on top of things."

As for that rumored set with her dad's band, Molly Ringwald confirmed that if it happens, it will be at Fulton Street Jazz Band's 5:30 p.m. Sunday set at the Holiday Inn Ballroom.

Molly Ringwald will sing '50s and '60s jazz with her quintet. There's a chance that she might also perform with her dad's Fulton Street Jazz Band. Special to The Bee

Tom Bengtsson has attended all the Sacramento jazz festivals since their inception in 1974. He poses Friday with Sister Swing singers, from left, Leigh Hannah, Valerie Marsden and Paula Chafey-Merrill.

As the sounds of horns and drums began an echoing march through Old Sacramento for Friday's kick-off parade for the jazz jubilee, Tom Bengtsson looked down at his wristwatch.

"Right on time," the 80-year-old said to himself. The parade began as scheduled, as has every one of the annual festivals since 1974.

Bengtsson knows because he's been to them – all of them.

The Sacramento Jazz Festival & Jubilee isn't just a musical experience for the retired chemist from Menlo Park, who has witnessed the event expand and contract, change names and add musical genres over the years.

"This is my Fourth of July, Christmas, New Year's and Easter rolled into one vacation," he said. "It's like my birthday – I can't forget it."

But Bengtsson nearly missed it this year. Many of the friends he usually meets up with no longer attend. His fixed income seems to cover less and less as time goes on. And, once spry and athletic, Bengtsson now depends on a walking stick to support him.

One of his three daughters, Jeanette Beard of Idaho, thought it best that Bengtsson forgo his annual Dixieland swing pilgrimage.

"He's just kind of at the age where anything like that is a concern," said Beard. "But then I thought, 'You know, it's what gives him life.' Everybody would like to go out doing what they liked the most. So I decided to try and help him do it."

Beard called festival organizers, who agreed to give Bengtsson a free pass. She called the Embassy Suites, an easy walk to Old Sacramento, which offered Bengtsson a room with a view of the Sacramento River and Tower Bridge for the four nights of the event. And Beard made sure her father had his transportation schedule sorted out – a taxi from home to the Greyhound bus, then a second taxi to the hotel.

On Friday, a wide grin rarely left Bengtsson's face as he videotaped bands parading down Second Street. He staked out a spot, just across from the review stand, an hour before the start, bringing a paper shopping bag to sit on.

He threw strands of gold beads around his neck, removed his brimmed hat when a line of American flags went by, and tapped his toe as the rows of brass horns passed.

He bopped his head while listening to Dutch's Gramercy Six in the leafy courtyard of the Firehouse Restaurant, and he tracked down the three women who make up Sister Swing for a photograph after their show in a venue transformed from a parking lot.

"It's so upbeat, your feet can't stop," said Bengtsson about jazz. "It's happy music."

An estimated 60,000 are expected to turn out for more than 450 live performances by 70 bands in Old Sacramento and downtown during the event spanning Memorial Day weekend.

Women paraded down the streets of Old Sacramento with frilly parasols Friday. Members of the Ophir Prison marching band, with their funky hats depicting animals or processed meats, meandered from venue to venue. And police officers on bicycles passed out strands of beads.

"It's turning back the time to when people said 'Hello' to each other. Now there are TVs and iPods and video games," said Bob Draga, a clarinetist who has played at the festival since 1983 and is serving as its emperor this year. "Here we have people with people, and this is the whole value of life."

Bengtsson remembers the years when the event centered around the now-defunct El Rancho Hotel in West Sacramento. Musicians played the hotel bar all night long and people would stay until the last instrument was packed.

"You slept by the pool in the daytime to get some strength back," Bengtsson recalled. "Those were the days – good days."

Still, Bengtsson is happy he was able to attend this year as his daughters hope he'll move to Idaho this fall.

"I'm going to resist it, but I've got to be realistic," he said. "This might be my last hurrah."

Plunger in hand, Neil Hillel of Folsom – performing as Capt. Rufus T. Whizbang – struts his stuff with the Ophir Prison Marching Kazoo Band on Saturday. The festival continues today and Monday, with a ceremony and final performances Monday at 2:30 p.m.

Here are some quick facts about the Jazz Festival and Jubilee and the folks who put it on.

Sponsor: Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society

Location: Old Sacramento and sites in and around the Sacramento Convention Center. Performances begin at 10 a.m. today and Monday. Last performance today is at 10 p.m. Closing ceremony and final performances begin at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Tickets: Daily passes $45 today ($20 ages 7-20); and $20 general Monday, $15 ages 7-20 and $10 ages 60 and older. Children 6 and younger are free.

Parking: 300 Capitol Mall garage and 400 Capitol Mall garage will have parking available for $8 per day. City parking lots at Third and I streets and 17th and L streets and the L Street garage will be available. Shuttle buses will run from the garage to venues in Old Sacramento.

Information: Festival information booths will operate between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in Old Sacramento at Second and K streets, at Fourth Street on the K Street Mall and at 13th and K streets near the Sacramento Convention Center.

Fans crowd around Saturday as Ho Bo, center, and owner Art Howell, left, entertain at the Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee in Old Sacramento.

Robin "Birdman" Kurth of Fair Oaks walks through the K Street tunnel to Old Sacramento to play with the Ophir Prison band.

FILE - In this Sept. 14, 1994 file photo, The Temptations, from left to right, Theo Peoples, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Ali-Ollie Woodson, pose after being given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Woodson, who led the legendary Motown quintet The Temptations in the 1980s and '90s and restored them to their hit-making glory with the song "Treat Her Like A Lady," has died. He was 58. Motown Alumni Association President Billy Wilson says Woodson died Sunday, May 30, 2010 in southern California after battling cancer.

Ali-Ollie Woodson, who led the legendary Motown quintet The Temptations in the 1980s and '90s and helped restore them to their hit-making glory with songs including "Treat Her Like A Lady," has died, a friend said. He was 58.

Woodson died Sunday in southern California after battling cancer, Motown Alumni Association President Billy Wilson said. Wilson said Woodson's wife, Juanita, told him about the death Sunday.

Woodson was not an original member of the group, which had several lineup changes since it started in the 1960s. But he played an integral part in keeping the Temptations from becoming just nostalgia act.

By the early 1980s, the Temptations were no longer posting hit after hit like they did in the 1960s and '70s with classics such as "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," "My Girl," and "I Wish It Would Rain."

The group had lost original members, and Woodson was charged with replacing Dennis Edwards, whose passionate voice defined the group during the 1970s.

Woodson's voice, though similar to Edwards' with its fiery tone, was distinct in itself, and helped the group notch the R&B hits "Treat Her Like A Lady," "Sail Away," and "Lady Soul," from 1984 to 1986.

"He had this swagger about himself. He was cool. He had a coolness about himself that was really very inviting," said Wilson. He said he first met Woodson in 1980 before Woodson joined the group and that he last spoke with his friend about two weeks ago.

Despite his fame, Woodson was "always a gentleman and always polite and kind to everybody. If we ever asked him to do anything, he never said, 'well, it's going to cost you.' He'd always say, 'yeah, let's go,'" said Wilson, who founded the Detroit-based Motown association in the mid-1990s.

"He was just a star performer. Wonderful person. Wonderful, wonderful person. He was very kind."

Messages were left Monday for a producer and a manager who worked with Woodson. A recorded message at a phone number for his wife said the voice mailbox was full.