Oceanside Pier Jazz Series Is Canceled

Poor ticket sales have caused the cancellation of the First Annual Windham Hill Jazz Series, which was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the Oceanside Pier band shell.

Only 101 tickets for the concerts had been sold for the event at the 4,000-seat venue. Promoter Greg Butler of KUBS Productions said he needed to sell 3,200 tickets to break even, and that he and three partners had spent $37,000 on the show.

Ticket refunds will be given at local points of purchase, including Ticketmaster outlets.

The series was to showcase Kit Walker, Ray Obiedo, Andy Narell, Tuck & Patti, Billy Childs, Michael Manring, Denny Zeitlin, the Turtle Island String Quartet and Ben Sidran; all but Sidran record for the jazz division of Windham Hill.

Several things went wrong for the fledgling promoter, who admitted he had no experience doing such a large event.

“I had no idea it would take so long to get our permits and approvals,” Butler said. “That affected our ability to get adequate sponsorship.”

Wednesday, International Music Network pulled Tuck & Patti from the show when the promoter didn’t make a required deposit, and threatened to cancel four other acts for the same reason.