Western Bureau:

The three-night JAMAICA Jazz and Blues Festival last Saturday ended on a superb musical note but the international event was not immune to the global economic crisis, which affected this year's crowd turnout.

"You're looking at the economic picture in the world and there is a downturn and I believe the economy had something to do with the turnout," the executive producer of JAMAICA Jazz and Blues Festival, Walter Elmore, told The Gleaner.

Gratitude expressed

Despite the global financial crisis, he expressed gratitude that the event saw a large crowd on Friday and Saturday night, which featured international recording artistes Lionel Richie and Maxi Priest.

Elmore also said the date for the inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States might have influenced the attendance at the festival as potential patrons might have gone to Washington for the inauguration.

Nevertheless, the production team headed by Elmore is promising to improve the quality of the event to make it even better for patrons come 2010.

Interactive

"We want to make this stage more interactive as we had a lot of great talents this year, many of whom will be on the main stage next year," said Mitch Watson, coordinator of the 'Art of Music' stage.

Meanwhile, vendors at the festival said they, too, had suffered as a result of the economic downturn.

"Business this year was not as good as last year," said artist Peter Peart. "I think it has something to do with the economy but this is my third time at the festival and despite what is happening, I plan on coming back next year."

Similar sentiments were expressed by food vendors inside the grounds.