It's time to rock. Gypsophilia, a melange of Gypsy Jazz a la Django Reinhardt [1910-1953], Stephane Grappelli [1908-1997] plus funk, reggae, samba and salsa, prove to be the answer. I stand and sway with hundreds of others, thrilled to be here. Let the headliners siphon off the masses. I'd rather be standing and dancing directly in front of Gypsophilia then thousands deep craning my neck to see Chris Botti, James Cotton, Erykah Badu or King Sunny Ade.
With the music of my first full day over, night in this wonderful city is still electric with meaning. I continue to roam the streets, feeling safe, oohing and aahing at the architecture, stopping at bars, meeting the locals and the not-so-locals. "Bonjour," they all say.
Nestled comfortably in my room, I scan the list of artists for tomorrow. I cannot sleep. I'm too invigorated. But there's no baseball or movies on my TV and almost everything is in French. I settle for CNN and drift off...
It's the free acts, the under-the-radar acts, the wonderful new discoveries one makes that are the heart and soul of this festival whose 37th year will be next June 23 to July 2. Further information can be found at www.jazzfestival2016.com.
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