BBM Goes to the Detroit Jazz Festival

What do Brown Borkowski & Morrow attorneys and staff do with their vacation time? Work the Detroit Jazz Festival of course! The Detroit Jazz Festival (“DJF”) is the biggest free jazz festival in the United States and gives the Chicago festival a run for its money. This Labor Day marked the 33rd annual event and featured such jazz greats as Chick Corea and Gary Burton, Wayne Shorter, George Benson, Randy Brecker and many more.

Attorney Mary Mahoney celebrated her 22nd year working the DJF. As the festival’s transportation coordinator, Mahoney is in charge of securing all modes of transportation (sedans, golf carts, vans) for the artists, VIPs and media. She is also responsible for ensuring that everyone gets to where they need to be on time (well, jazz fest “on time”). Mahoney also coordinates transportation to and from the airport for people. “Sometimes I’ve just gone to bed at 2:30 and I get a call for a 4 a.m. run,” said Mahoney.

Mahoney worked closely with BBM employee Beth Brown, one of the many volunteer golf cart drivers responsible for transporting artists and their equipment tostages, media interviews and hotels. “Once it was just me and a six foot electric keyboard in the passenger seat,” quipped Brown. Brown has had the pleasure of transporting Ed Love and Marcus Belgrave, among other artists. She said some artists like to chat, some don’t. But what she loves about volunteering in the transportation department is the ability “to show people what Detroit is really like instead of what they think it is. Detroit is really a beautiful city.”

“It’s so much fun,” said Mahoney, “it’s exhausting, but it’s so much fun working with these people.”