Jazz Legend: Festival honoring Eddie Durham set for Oct. 15

Eddie Durham is a really big deal, and he’s from here. The American jazz musician known as the pioneer of the electric guitar was born in San Marcos on Aug. 19, 1906, before taking to the road at 18 years old to play with fellow jazz legends like as Count Basie and Lester Young.

On Saturday, Oct. 15 — recently proclaimed Eddie Durham Day by Mayor Jane Hughson — San Marcos will honor its own jazz legend Eddie Durham with an all-day concert in his name. The Eddie Durham Jazz Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Eddie Durham Park, located at 205 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and will feature the Texas State Jazz Ensemble, The Pamela Hart Quintet, Jazzbonez and the Calaboose players led by Morris Nelms.

Ginger Salone, secretary of the Calaboose Museum Board and coordinator of this year’s festival, said she is particularly thrilled to see this year’s festival because the last two were canceled due to the quarantine. “This is the third one I’ve helped plan,” Salone said. “I got on the board in March of 2020, just as everything shut down.”

For this year’s festival, however, Salone and the Calaboose Museum have pulled out all the stops. “The musical talent that we have lined up is going to be stellar,” Salone said. “We have Pamela Hart, who is considered the premier jazz artist in Austin. We have Martin McKaye of Jazzbonez, which is all trombones. This is a tribute to Eddie because he was a trombonist. It’s going to be a great day in the park.”

Many people know Eddie Durham’s music. One of his most recognizable tunes is “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire,” which he wrote with Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus and Eddie Seiler. The song was later included in the soundtrack for the popular video game series, Fallout. Durham first began experimenting with resonators and megaphones to enhance the sound of his guitar in 1929. In 1935, he was the first to record

Oct. 15, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Live music all day. Free & family-friendly. Arts & Crafts vendors.

an electrically-amplified guitar with Jimmie Lunceford in “Hittin’ the bottle.” Durham traveled and toured with regional bands all over the country, including an African- American all female swing band called Eddie Durham’s All-Star Girl Orchestra.

“I suspect there are many fans of his music,” Salone said. “But they don’t know that he’s from here.”

Eddie Durham’s daughter Marcia “Topsy” Durham will serve as this year’s special guest MC. The festival will feature continuous live jazz music on an outdoor stage, local arts and crafts vendors as well as food and information booths. This is a family- and dog-friendly event, and the festival producers encourage everyone to bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy an afternoon of music and fun.

Topsy Durham (pictured above) will serve as MC.

The Eddie Durham Jazz Festival is produced by the Calaboose African American History Museum with support from the City of San Marcos and the San Marcos Arts Commission.

For more information, visit calaboosemuseum. org/up-coming-events or check out the event page on Facebook by searching for the Eddie Durham Jazz Fest.