Jazz lovers turn national festival into rompin' success

Linda McDonnell-Morse (left) Leilani Chinnery and Mary-Louise Loe. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Blue skies, stars of jazz and a recreated French Quarter drew a record crowd to the Bay of Plenty for the annual jazz festival.

The 47th National Jazz Festival, headlined by Blind Boys of Alabama, doubled its expected audience, pulling 60,000 jazz-lovers over its five days.

The TV3 Jazz Village, with tiled roads and two-storey colonial buildings, transformed 17th Avenue in Tauranga into a slice of New Orleans.

Festival director Arne Herrmann said the event had finally fulfilled its grand potential.

"We have been sitting on a raw diamond here for 46 years. And now ... well, I'm on cloud nine."

The Jazz Steam Train, which toured the region with a jazz quartet on board, turned heads as it pulled into the city.

"The whole town stopped", said Mr Hermann. "People turned with glazed eyes and weird grins - it was unreal."