Has Winter Jazzfest peaked? When I was out exploring the annual weekend marathon (105 performances spread across 11 venues), it felt significantly less manic and crowded than it had in previous years. The only room I couldn’t get into was Zinc Bar, which was much too small for the crowd drawn by the performers they had booked. The shows at the renovated Webster Hall were busy, but you hardly felt like you needed to squeeze inside; I was sequestered in an upstairs balcony with plenty of room to sit on a couch or walk around. Other shows I attended -- at SOBs, Subculture, and the Zürcher Gallery -- were full but not oppressively so. Maybe it was a question of the lineup this year; when I looked over the list and made my plans, there weren’t that many shows about which I thought, Fuck, I’ve gotta see that. In fact, there was only one of those, and I got in with no problems.