Jazz festival salutes John Ernesto

This year, Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival has named another jazz festival contemporary as its producer of the year.

Berks Jazz Festival General Manager John Ernesto said he was surprised to learn he had been named the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival 2019 Producer of the Year – but he said it’s an honor. “The two festivals have a great working relationship,” said Ernesto. “There’s always been great synergy.”

The Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival announced Ernesto as producer of the year in the spring. In a Facebook post at the time, the festival cited Ernesto “as a constant inspiration, motivator and educator to our festival each year here in Southern Delaware.”

Ernesto said he and Rehoboth Jazz Festival President Denny Santangini are in constant contact throughout the year, bouncing ideas off each other to make their respective festivals better. It’s not just about presenting the artists, there’s also the business of the festival, he said. “It’s a challenge,” Ernesto said.

Both festivals are celebrating 30 years of success this year. Ernesto has been the general manager of the Reading, Pa. festival since the early 1990s and involved since the very beginning. “It’s been a long time,” he said.

Ernesto said he began working with the Berks festival when he was tapped to help with marketing because he worked for the local newspaper. After a few years working on marketing, he said, he was named general manager in 1994 by the Berks Arts Council.

Not a musician himself, Ernesto said he enjoys jazz music, and working with the Berks Jazz Festival is a good way to indulge. The Berks Jazz Festival takes place in the spring of every year, and Ernesto said a lot of people attend Berks and Rehoboth. 

“That’s what it’s all about. We’re trying to cultivate a partnership that’s a win/win for both,” said Ernesto. “It’s great to work together to make everybody successful.”

This is the second time Berks Jazz Festival has been honored as producer of the year. In 2017, Gary Spencer, who works with Ernesto booking talent, also won the award. 

In addition to Producer of the Year, the jazz festival honors an artist. The 2019 Artist of the Year is Gerald Albright, an American jazz saxophonist who has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards in the past 30 years.