Once again the end of the summer festival season is ably declared by the Chicago Jazz Festival with its breathtaking backdrops of Lake Michigan, Buckingham fountain, and the Chicago skyline, this year serving as a canvas for a B-minus lineup of performers from September 1 through 4.
Because of the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina, a New Orleans dreariness hung over the event as a dirge to the historic city of jazz. Musicians and listeners consulted each other on who did or didn't make it to the festival, and who survived or didn't survive, and who hadn't been heard from yet. From all performance stages announcers urged listeners to contribute to hurricane relief. Noted jazz critic Howard Reich aptly described the mood: "In effect, a sprawling festival transformed itself into a haven for Katrina survivors, a massive jazz fundraiser and clearinghouse for information on New Orleans musicians."
Sponsored by the Mayor's Office of Special Events, the Chicago Jazz Festival is one of the world's largest, well-run, and easy-to-navigate free festivals. It is a tribute to the city's belief in the importance of cultural events to the health of its citizens.
The festival opened on Thursday with a paid-admission concert at Symphony Center linked to the 70th birthday of Down Beat magazine, which was founded in Chicago. It opened with unaccompanied John Medeski, relying solely on an unamplified piano. Next, drummer Lewis Hayes led the Cannonball Adderley tribute band in a hard-driving repertoire of many of his ex-boss's compositions. Joe Zawinul, an Adderley alumnus better known for his work with Miles Davis' fusion period and with Weather Report, closed the show with the Zawinul Syndicate
Friday, the festival moved to Grant Park's Jackson Street Stage with the Tom Garling Sextet, reed man Hanah Jon Taylor, and the Larry Gray Trio. Quad Cities fans might remember bassist Gray's appearance three years ago at the Taste of the Quad Cities with the Ramsey Lewis Trio. The highlight of this stage was this year's jazz-festival artist in residence: Slide Hampton & His Trombone Choir, featuring five local trombonists. Hampton, a jazz-trombonist icon, performed with local musicians on all three stages.
The Jazz & Heritage Family stage combines history and information about the genre with the element of live music. It opened with a celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians with students from the organization. The group's mission is to create better conditions for the pursuit of adventurous music, with education as one of its chief concerns. This session was followed by "Art of the Solo" featuring Bradley Parker-Sparrow and George Freeman.
At 5 p.m., music lit up the night at the Petrillo Music Shell with the Denny Zeitlin Trio with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson in a set honoring Charlie Weeks, the late president of the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Then the Grammy-nominated 21-piece Angel Melendez & 911 Mambo Orchestra took the stage, moving people to dance with their salsa flair. Next, the earthy Gloria Lynne, who hasn't recorded for a while, won the crowd over with her blues-infected jazz style on her signature piece, "I Wish You Love". The evening ended with a tribute to living legend Roy Haynes (celebrating his 80th birthday) featuring the Roy Haynes Quartet - a youthful twenty-something band proving his influence on generations past and to come. At 80, Haynes is as dynamic and powerful as ever.
While giving Haynes a ride to his hotel, listening to a conversation between him and historian Donald Meade, I heard him say that he first came to Chicago with Lester Young's band. Imagine how long ago that must have been ... . It is said to be Lester Young who dubbed Billie Holiday "Lady Day."
Saturday the Jackson Street Stage featured two half-hour sets of solo piano, one blues and one jazz. Sumito Ariyoshi handled the blues portion, and Dan Trudell, best known for his Hammond B3 work, provided a funky jazz set. Von Freeman brought A New Apartment Jam, featuring his band with two young players, including a 16-year-old trumpeter. Reflecting their confidence in Freeman's tutelage, they chose "Body & Soul" when asked to select a song to display their talents.
Saturday, the Jazz & Heritage Stage featured Morikeba: Griot of Senegal, who brought his tale-spinning while accompanying himself on the kora, a harp-like instrument with a gourd resonator and a sweet spindly sound. After a percussion discussion with Michael Zerang, Slide Hampton performed with students from the Jazz Institute's Jazz Links program.
The 7 p.m. offering at the Petrillo Music Shell continued the 40th-anniversary celebration of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians by reconvening the Great Black Music Ensemble, a 35-piece group that grew out of the large-scale Experimental Band assembled in the 1960s. This performance expressed the emotional turbulence of the previous week and set out to demonstrate the spiritual healing powers of jazz. Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, and Larry Goldings closed the evening celebrating Tony Williams, late drummer in Miles Davis's great quintet.
Sunday's Jazz on Jackson was highlighted by two high-energy entries. The Wendell Harrison Quartet paired frontmen long on experience performing with extraordinary young players eager to emulate their creative longevity. The other group was Bobbi Wilsyn & She, an all-female jazz band that is definitely not a novelty act. Though the horn players and singer Wilsyn have the highest profiles, it was bassist Marlene Rosenberg whose bottom presence was relentless, especially on her own "Two Monk Keys."
The Jazz & Heritage Family Stage featured a Latin-jazz trio led by Ruben Alvarez, a gifted percussionist and educator. A personal history of bebop with Stu Katz provided a bird's eye view of the music and explained why it is still relevant. And everyone who attended the Chicago Park District Gallery 37 in the Park's Youth Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Northern Illinois University's Ron Carter, came away convinced that the future of this music is in good hands. This 21-piece orchestra made up of local high-school and college students performed big-band classics such as "Caravan," "Cherokee," and "Night Train," as well as more contemporary pieces. It is clear that Carter has made them understand that he has expectations of them, and they have responded with energetic but mature performances.
Petrillo Music Shell opened with a French group, Le Petit Jazzband, which paid homage to Louis Armstrong mentor King Oliver. Slide Hampton performed a program that included several of his own compositions with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. The festival closed with the Charles McPherson Quartet's "Jammin' for Bird," a Charlie Parker 85th-birthday event.
Part of the thrill of this festival is the fact that it spills out all over the city, and some of the best performances and the best musician mixes happen at the jam sessions. While there are many after-fest activities, most notable are the sets at the Jazz Showcase, the Velvet Lounge, and the Hot House. It is a real joy to have so many things going on that you are anxious about what you might miss at the session you didn't attend. But this is Chicago, so there is always next year!
Because of the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina, a New Orleans dreariness hung over the event as a dirge to the historic city of jazz. Musicians and listeners consulted each other on who did or didn't make it to the festival, and who survived or didn't survive, and who hadn't been heard from yet. From all performance stages announcers urged listeners to contribute to hurricane relief. Noted jazz critic Howard Reich aptly described the mood: "In effect, a sprawling festival transformed itself into a haven for Katrina survivors, a massive jazz fundraiser and clearinghouse for information on New Orleans musicians."
Sponsored by the Mayor's Office of Special Events, the Chicago Jazz Festival is one of the world's largest, well-run, and easy-to-navigate free festivals. It is a tribute to the city's belief in the importance of cultural events to the health of its citizens.
The festival opened on Thursday with a paid-admission concert at Symphony Center linked to the 70th birthday of Down Beat magazine, which was founded in Chicago. It opened with unaccompanied John Medeski, relying solely on an unamplified piano. Next, drummer Lewis Hayes led the Cannonball Adderley tribute band in a hard-driving repertoire of many of his ex-boss's compositions. Joe Zawinul, an Adderley alumnus better known for his work with Miles Davis' fusion period and with Weather Report, closed the show with the Zawinul Syndicate
Friday, the festival moved to Grant Park's Jackson Street Stage with the Tom Garling Sextet, reed man Hanah Jon Taylor, and the Larry Gray Trio. Quad Cities fans might remember bassist Gray's appearance three years ago at the Taste of the Quad Cities with the Ramsey Lewis Trio. The highlight of this stage was this year's jazz-festival artist in residence: Slide Hampton & His Trombone Choir, featuring five local trombonists. Hampton, a jazz-trombonist icon, performed with local musicians on all three stages.
The Jazz & Heritage Family stage combines history and information about the genre with the element of live music. It opened with a celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians with students from the organization. The group's mission is to create better conditions for the pursuit of adventurous music, with education as one of its chief concerns. This session was followed by "Art of the Solo" featuring Bradley Parker-Sparrow and George Freeman.
At 5 p.m., music lit up the night at the Petrillo Music Shell with the Denny Zeitlin Trio with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson in a set honoring Charlie Weeks, the late president of the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Then the Grammy-nominated 21-piece Angel Melendez & 911 Mambo Orchestra took the stage, moving people to dance with their salsa flair. Next, the earthy Gloria Lynne, who hasn't recorded for a while, won the crowd over with her blues-infected jazz style on her signature piece, "I Wish You Love". The evening ended with a tribute to living legend Roy Haynes (celebrating his 80th birthday) featuring the Roy Haynes Quartet - a youthful twenty-something band proving his influence on generations past and to come. At 80, Haynes is as dynamic and powerful as ever.
While giving Haynes a ride to his hotel, listening to a conversation between him and historian Donald Meade, I heard him say that he first came to Chicago with Lester Young's band. Imagine how long ago that must have been ... . It is said to be Lester Young who dubbed Billie Holiday "Lady Day."
Saturday the Jackson Street Stage featured two half-hour sets of solo piano, one blues and one jazz. Sumito Ariyoshi handled the blues portion, and Dan Trudell, best known for his Hammond B3 work, provided a funky jazz set. Von Freeman brought A New Apartment Jam, featuring his band with two young players, including a 16-year-old trumpeter. Reflecting their confidence in Freeman's tutelage, they chose "Body & Soul" when asked to select a song to display their talents.
Saturday, the Jazz & Heritage Stage featured Morikeba: Griot of Senegal, who brought his tale-spinning while accompanying himself on the kora, a harp-like instrument with a gourd resonator and a sweet spindly sound. After a percussion discussion with Michael Zerang, Slide Hampton performed with students from the Jazz Institute's Jazz Links program.
The 7 p.m. offering at the Petrillo Music Shell continued the 40th-anniversary celebration of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians by reconvening the Great Black Music Ensemble, a 35-piece group that grew out of the large-scale Experimental Band assembled in the 1960s. This performance expressed the emotional turbulence of the previous week and set out to demonstrate the spiritual healing powers of jazz. Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, and Larry Goldings closed the evening celebrating Tony Williams, late drummer in Miles Davis's great quintet.
Sunday's Jazz on Jackson was highlighted by two high-energy entries. The Wendell Harrison Quartet paired frontmen long on experience performing with extraordinary young players eager to emulate their creative longevity. The other group was Bobbi Wilsyn & She, an all-female jazz band that is definitely not a novelty act. Though the horn players and singer Wilsyn have the highest profiles, it was bassist Marlene Rosenberg whose bottom presence was relentless, especially on her own "Two Monk Keys."
The Jazz & Heritage Family Stage featured a Latin-jazz trio led by Ruben Alvarez, a gifted percussionist and educator. A personal history of bebop with Stu Katz provided a bird's eye view of the music and explained why it is still relevant. And everyone who attended the Chicago Park District Gallery 37 in the Park's Youth Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Northern Illinois University's Ron Carter, came away convinced that the future of this music is in good hands. This 21-piece orchestra made up of local high-school and college students performed big-band classics such as "Caravan," "Cherokee," and "Night Train," as well as more contemporary pieces. It is clear that Carter has made them understand that he has expectations of them, and they have responded with energetic but mature performances.
Petrillo Music Shell opened with a French group, Le Petit Jazzband, which paid homage to Louis Armstrong mentor King Oliver. Slide Hampton performed a program that included several of his own compositions with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. The festival closed with the Charles McPherson Quartet's "Jammin' for Bird," a Charlie Parker 85th-birthday event.
Part of the thrill of this festival is the fact that it spills out all over the city, and some of the best performances and the best musician mixes happen at the jam sessions. While there are many after-fest activities, most notable are the sets at the Jazz Showcase, the Velvet Lounge, and the Hot House. It is a real joy to have so many things going on that you are anxious about what you might miss at the session you didn't attend. But this is Chicago, so there is always next year!
