Since I've become a world traveler, people ask: What's your favorite destination?

The answer always brings disbelief. It's not Barcelona or Cairo or London or Paris or Rome.

It's Sacramento, Calif.

That's because I'm a traditional jazz fan - happy music, the best kind. And the best place to hear traditional jazz, to hear the bands that never reach Decatur, is at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee on Memorial Day weekend. I've been a regular there since 1980, missing only a few times.

During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, the journey west was in the jalopy station wagon, camping along the way, wolfing a peanut butter sandwich for lunch while driving with one hand. Driving time was three to four days.

Nowadays, I fly and stay in a hotel.

The Jazz Jubilee has changed, too. In addition to traditional jazz, the offerings are New Orleans funk, swing, zydeco, gospel, Latin, blues, ragtime, Western swing, mainstream, big bands and jump jive. There's a choice of 90 bands plus 15 youth bands.

Of course, I'm sticking with the happy music.

Come with me to Sacramento:

DAY 1: A bummer. The joys of traveling turn sour. I jump out of bed at 4:45 a.m., grab breakfast at McDonald's and head for St. Louis. The American Airlines plane is supposed to leave at 11:05 a.m. for Dallas and a connecting flight to Sacramento.

No such luck. There are storms in the Dallas area, so the airport is closed. After a 5-hour delay, the plane at last is off the ground. More delay at Dallas: "We're waiting for the pilot to arrive," the anxious passengers are told. About 9:30 p.m., he's at last aboard.

We arrive in Sacramento at 12:30 a.m., more than seven hours late. By the time I stagger into the downtown hotel room after an $18 ride from the airport, it is past 2 a.m.

DAY 2: Peachy day. The 34th Jazz Jubilee starts after a noontime parade. I hurry to the Convention Center's Yolo Room to applaud, in order, the Leningrad Jazz Band from St. Petersburg, Russia; the New Orleans Ale Stars, led by Australian Simon Stribling; and the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band from Portland, Ore. Marilyn Keller, a Central Illinois Jazz Festival favorite, sings with Black Swan.

As darkness falls, I hop down the street to the Hyatt Hotel Ballroom and see Paco Gatsby from Guatemala and High Sierra from Three Rivers, Calif., one of my all-time favorites because of the baritone singing of Earl McKee. I eat on the run. Food is of little importance when music is waiting to be heard.

DAY 3: Another peachy day. I meet friends at the Sheraton Hotel Ballroom and enjoy, in order, more of the Leningrad guys plus the International Jazz All-Stars, Cornet Chop Suey from St. Louis and High Street from Nampa, Idaho.

After the friends bow out, I take time to eat fish and chips at the River City Brewing Co. on the downtown mall and decide to hang out in the Holiday Inn Ballroom. Good choice. I enjoy Stompy Jones, a swing band from San Francisco, and the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra, also from San Francisco.

Then comes the main course. The BED Trio includes singer Becky Kilgore, banjo player Eddie Erickson and trombonist Dan Barrett - except Barrett is absent because of eye problems and is replaced by John Allred. They are joined by 12-year-old violinist Jonathan Russell of New York. Of course, the kid steals the show.

The kid plays along wonderfully well on the standard tunes and improvises like a 30-year pro. The audience is agog. He's the hit of the entire festival, sitting in with 13 bands, already a legend. He has a CD, and his mother is his agent.

DAY 4: It's Sunday. Igor and His Jazz Cowboys handle the gospel service in fine fashion in the Convention Center. I stay there to see and hear N'Awlins Gumbo Kings (actually they're from Texas); Buck Creek from the Washington, D.C., area; and After Midnight from Colorado with, yep, Jonathan Russell. Again, the kid is everybody's choice.

After a chili burger and Butterfinger shake at Johnny Rockets downtown, I'm off to the Riverfront Refuge tent in Old Sacramento for a second helping of Cornet Chop Suey and a full order of Blue Street from Fresno, Calif. George Probert, the 80-year-old soprano sax virtuoso, is a Blue Street guest musician.

DAY 5: It's almost over. I have a dinner date with friends. Time for two sets in the Delta King Theatre: Black Tuesday from Sacramento and Washboard Wizardz, a hilarious hillbilly band from Northern California.

I've seen 21 bands, several single musicians and singers, and, best, of all, 12-year-old Jonathan Russell. The all-events ticket cost $80 in advance. A bargain.

DAY 6: Another late departure. St. Louis arrival is about 9:30 p.m. Then I drive to Decatur. Home at 1:15 a.m.

Yes, I'll do it again in 2008.

Bob Fallstrom can be reached at bfallstrom@herald-review.com or 421-7981.