Jazz scuttles off the beach for the first time in Hua Hin but almost gets run down in town

There was nothing wrong with the concept of holding a second jazz festival in the popular beach resort of Hua Hin, or even with scheduling "Jazz in the Town" for the weekend immediately after the well-established "Jazz on the Beach".

What wasn't such a good idea was locating the stage at the junction of the wide and long Damnoen Kasem Road and the short and narrow Srasong Road. That forced the crowds to watch acts performing in a dark corner, hardly conducive to a festival atmosphere.

Worse still, the entrances to both roads, which the press releases had promised would resemble ornate arches decorated with thousands of light bulbs, were marked by scaffolding draped with cloth, just like any temple fair. There was a good excuse for this though; apparently the organiser had coughed up for the work to be done but was swindled by the contractors.

Heavy rain delayed the opening ceremony but stopped in time for the music, which kicked off with a great set by the Arnon Jazz Band featuring guitarist Jirasak "Maew" Panpoom.

Also taking to the stage were pop jazz band Bangkok Rise, fusion jazz outfit the Infinity, and veteran saxophonist Tewan Sapsanyakorn, who thrilled the crowd with a variety of tunes, including the look thung songs of the late Phumpuang Duangchan and His Majesty the King's compositions.

Pom Autobahn tinkled the ivories before Bangkok Connection closed out the night with a string of pop and jazz numbers that had the audience shouting for more.