Here is a list of MOJA’s nominees from 2011 releases in jazz-related categories for the 54th Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences: I post this specific winners list because they come from the varied world of MOdern JAzz that I call MOJA and are gleaned from the various categories that fall under the MOJA umbrella. It does not reflect the entirety of jazz categories.

Certainly the Grammy awards are less than perfect as it can oftentimes seem to be a situation where the most familiar names are the winners and many deserving artists and releases are constantly overlooked.  But sometimes they get it right.  Sometimes never-before recognized artists and releases DO break through. So, instead of being negative, let’s instead celebrate the winners and here they are for 2012. CONGRATS TO ALL! 

Russ Davis/MOJA Radio

Two 2012 Grammy's for Corea, Clarke & White's FOREVER!

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

(What a 70th birthday party for Chick Corea was the year 2011. Corea, Clarke & White beat out Sonny Rollins, Joe Lovano & The Yellowjackets for this award and RTF IV was a worldwide touring success. I guess we got it right on this one too as FOREVER was # 1 for the year on the MIGHTY MOJA COUNTDOWN for the year here on MOJA Radio!) 

Forever

Corea, Clarke & White

[Concord Records]

What a year for Chick & the guys (MOJA's Russ Davis seen here backstage in Austin, TX with Corea, Lenny White & Stanley Clarke!)

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

(Chick wins out over Sonny Rollins and Randy Brecker on this one!)

500 Miles High

Chick Corea, soloist

Track from: Forever (Corea, Clarke & White)

[Concord Records]

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Dee Dee Bridgewater & Geri Allen (seen here with MOJA's Russ Davis) just two of the great ladies who helped Terri Lyne Carrigton's "The Mosaic Project" win a Grammy!

(Terri Lyne and a host of all-female artists including vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Esperanza Spalding, Gretchen Parlato, Dianne Reeves and Cassandra Wilson pull off a big one here as not only did they beat vocalists like Kurt Elling, Roseanna Vitro, Karrin Allyson and Tierney Sutton but the album is full of instrumentals as well!  GO LADIES!!!)

The Mosaic Project

Terri Lyne Carrington & Various Artists

[Concord Jazz]

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Christian McBride (one of the REALLY good guys in jazz, seen here with MOJA's Russ Davis) finally wins a Grammy as a leader!

(This is Christian McBride’s first Grammy as a leader and with all the small group work he’s done it’s interesting that it comes with a big band. He won over Randy Brecker’s great release with the Danish Radio Big Band, which got three well-deserved nominations by the way, as well as NEA Jazz Master Gerald Wilson. Good goin’ Chris!)

The Good Feeling

Christian McBride Big Band

[Mack Avenue Records]

Best Instrumental Composition

(The Grammys just love Bela Fleck & The Flecktones and give them this award over some superior compositions by John Hollenbeck, Randy Brecker and Russell Ferrante of The Yellowjackets. Pretty tough competition in this one for sure!)

Life In Eleven

Béla Fleck & Howard Levy, composers (Béla Fleck & The Flecktones)

Track from: Rocket Science

[eOne Music]

Best New Age Album 

Pat Metheny wins a "new age" Grammy? Yeah, we'll go with that.

(Pat’s second solo, baritone guitar album wouldn’t fit in a “jazz” category so this is a fine place to put it and it think it’s time for him to build another room in his house to fit all the awards!)

What’s It All About

Pat Metheny

[Nonesuch]

Best Pop Instrumental Album

(Good ‘ol funky groove wins out again.  You hear lots of it on “The World’s Modern Jazz Radio Channel,” MOJA Radio!)

The Road From Memphis

Booker T. Jones

[Anti Records]

Best Blues Album

(Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and the crew hold the banner high for the “Jazzy Jambands!”)

Revelator

Tedeschi Trucks Band

(Masterwordks)

Best Regional Roots Music Album

(You know you got to give the great musicians of New Orleans the biggest props for carrying on no matter what! You can’t keep NOLA down…yeah, you know you rite…and we’re all over NOLA music on MOJA Radio!)

Rebirth of New Orleans

Rebirth Brass Band

[Basin Street Records]

Recently I attended an event staged by The New York Policy Forum, an organization that usually addresses topics of a political nature such as Hydrofracking and Money in Politics. The organizers decided to do something “light and fun” for the holiday season so the topic was “Jazz And Democracy.” I’ll let you ponder the possibilities of levity and humor related to that discussion but I did find it most enjoyable and enlightening. Included in the panel of musicians, broadcasters and educators were T.S. Monk, the famous drummer, composer and educator son of Thelonious, and pianist Helen Sung. You can find out more about it and the NYPF on their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Policy-Forum/211265275561625.

Helen was asked how she got into jazz and she mentioned that she was originally a classical pianist but was captured by the idea of improvisation and the undeniable power of swing. Immediately something profound that another pianist, NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron, had said to me once during an interview came to mind.  He had just released an album of Brazilian jazz recorded with Trio Da Paz and I asked if he felt that some of his contemporaries might give him trouble since he wasn’t “swinging” on this new record.  His answer pops in my head quite often since then as it did at the “Jazz And Democracy” forum.  He said, “Every kind of music has its own kind of swing!”

I certainly had this in mind as I made my way to the now famous spot in Greenwich Village, Le Poisson Rouge, where all the hipsters meet for, as the club announces, “Art and Alcohol.” It’s at one of the most famous addresses on earth, the corner of Bleecker and Thompson Streets, and is the former home of The Village Gate. The club books everything imaginable including new jazz.  I’ve seen Nils Petter Molvaer and Jaga Jazzist there, among others, and on Sunday, December 11^th I was there to witness my first live performance by one of the most inventive and ever-changing bands in all of new jazz (I call it MOJA) Club d’Elf, led by bassist Mike Rivard. I had heard most of the band’s live recordings as well as their brilliant, first studio album Now I Understand from 2006. But their 2011 project, the 2-CD set titled Electric Moroccoland/So Below, had put me over the top. One disc is more world-music & jazz in nature and the other jazzier with guitars and horns in a more familiar groove-oriented style. The songs are great, the playing superb, the variety obvious but the main thing is that the spirit of the music is so strong and unique.  There is simply not another Club d’Elf on the planet.

I’d been trying to find a time and place to have a conversation with Mr. Rivard for years but as he’s based in the Boston area and is always on the go it hadn’t been easy until the evening of the performance on this Sunday night. Mike has the appearance of your next-door neighbor that you’ve always known. He has an unassuming, friendly, pleasant air about him that belies the fact that he’s one of the most erudite, intelligent, worldly and deeply creative individuals you’re ever likely to come across.  We got right down to business and in two minutes he’d given me a very complete story of how he’d come from Minnesota to Boston to attend The Berklee College of Music and never left the Northeast. He’s made the acquaintance of many important fellow musicians who have led him to investigate various forms of world music, rock, jazz, funk, electronica and other styles. All of this has contributed to the variety in his activities in general and specifically in the music of his most important personal project, the brilliant aggregation that is Club d’Elf.

Club d’Elf, by Mike Rivard’s admission, really is a “club” of inventive musicians, not a set lineup of players per se, and over the years there have been about 100 people who have at one time or another been a “member” of the club. The project began in 1998 when Mike and an ever-changing cast of characters started a regular, weekly stint at the Cambridge, MA club The Lizard Lounge. The original idea was to play nights of mostly improvised “Trance” music with world music, rock and jazz overtones blending with the often times ethereal pulse that sprang from the Drum & Bass-Dub craze of the day. Soon artists from the jazzier side of the jamband movement started to stop by to play including John Medeski & Billy Martin of Medeski, Martin & Wood, DJ Logic, Marc Ribot, Skerik, David Fiuczynski and Marco Benevento. The music was released in a number of live recordings on the Kufala label capturing some of the shows from The Lizard Lounge as well as in Athens, GA, and New York’s now defunct Tonic club. But the groove began to change a bit with the deep influence of North African music, specifically Moroccan Trance and Gnawa music, that Mike Rivard was touched by during his musical studies and travels with bands he’s been a part of.  One of the most important members of the Club d’Elf universe of players is oud master Brahim Fribgane who hails from Casablanca (now try to match that for an exotic place from which to be) and has inspired Mike to continue his journey to the heart of Moroccan music. Brahim turned Mike on to the three-stringed bass instrument the sintir that is now part of Mike’s arsenal of instruments. Blend these exotic instruments with various electronic beat-producing devices and believe me, you will hear some serious swinging once the trance begins.  THAT is what I was seeking at Le Poission Rouge on this December night.

The band included Mr. Rivard on acoustic and electric basses as well as the sintir, John Medeski on various keyboards, Brahim Fribgane on oud and percussion, long time Club members Mister Rourke on turntables and Dean Johnston on drums along with Matt Kilmer on various beat-producing items. This band began the night, as many Club d’Elf shows do, with a groove that starts slowly and builds into a trance with more intensity. The piece went on for probably ¾ of an hour, one loses track of time when in a trance you know, and as things progressed Mike would cue a change with a nod or a wink. I had asked him how influenced he was by the Miles Davis grooves of the late ‘60s and early ‘70’s and the answer was, yes, very much so.  The proof came in this first set of the night. The percussionists kept the groove alive while John Medeski alternated between some of the finest acoustic improvisation I’ve heard him perform and his growling organ and electric keyboard statements. He and Mike Rivard have known one another since the 1990’s when they were both members of the ground-breaking, 11-piece Either/Orchestra led by Russ Gershon.  They played like the good friends and long-time associates they are, with ease and confidence. In between them was the electric presence of Brahim Fribgane who took the ancient instrument the oud to a place its creators I’m sure never imagined. With his fluid and frenetic lines blazing in sync with Rivard, Medeski and the percussionists, the trance took on an other worldly nature from time to time. Yes, transcendent might be the appropriate word, but there was always a little funk, some hip hop, lots of jazz and, yes, a unique kind of powerful swing at all times.

For variation Mike Rivard welcomed to the stage a trio that included sintir player and vocalist Hassan Hakmoun, and fellow vocalists and percussionists Said Damir and Chikaao Iwahori. I knew I was getting a taste of the blending of North Africa and America before, but now it was the next course in the meal and I prepared myself for the hottest spice of the night. The combination of the full band with the trio’s offering of voice and sizzling groove produced by some large, metal Moroccan percussion instruments sent the energy level even higher. The band departed to let the trio take the stage alone for three songs, then returned to end the night on their own. Mike Rivard mentioned that they’d thought of playing a second set but wondered if the audience would mind if they just played on in one, long set of music? There were no naysayers inside Le Poission Rouge and Club d’Elf played another of their legendary 2-hour-plus shows. As Kenny Barron so wisely said…”Every kind of music has its own kind of swing.” The music of Club d’Elf on this night in New York was swinging from the first note to the last in time signatures from another world.

Steven Bernstein backstage with MOJA Radio's Russ Davis

I was not lucky enough to be based in New York City in the heyday of the famed “Downtown Scene.” Somehow, though, I feel connected whenever I hear music made by the great trumpeter, composer, leader and musical force that is Steven Bernstein. That connection was exactly what I sought out, along with the desire for a funky, good time, when I made my way to the 92^nd Street Y-Tribeca on Friday, October 14^th to hear Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra perform music from his latest project MTO Plays SLY, a jazzy celebration of the music of pop sensation Sylvester Stewart and his band Sly & The Family Stone. I came early for sound-check so that I could catch Steven for a quick interview for my Voice of America and MOJA Radio projects.  I found the band ready to roll and Steven as full of energy and creativity as I’ve ever known him to be. 

Firstly, about the “Downtown Scene,” I mentioned to Steven that he was a big part of it in modern days and since we were literally downtown inside the confines of the 92^nd Street Y-Tribeca, he was still making musical history in this famous part of the musical world. He sarcastically mentioned that there wasn’t much left of it and that he’d had a celebratory concert to mark his 50^th birthday recently (October 8^th) not in a famous, funky downtown club but instead in a venue in Hudson, New York, almost 2 hours north of the city in Columbia County. He’s right, of course, as the downtown venues where alternative, avante garde jazz a la John Zorn or Steve Coleman & the M-Base Collective can be seen and heard are not as plentiful as before. Legendary places like Tonic, Sweet Basil and The Knitting Factory, where Steven Bernstein’s Sex Mob were born and raised, are no more.  Granted there are others like Smalls, Le Poisson Rouge and The Stone that have hung in there but many clubs are not jazz-only and the most famous ones are pretty high-ticket spots where the old days of nursing a beer for the night and hearing a couple of sets is a thing of the past. Still, if you want to find the downtown scene today you can certainly seek it out and enjoy yourself.  I was lucky to find a bit on this rainy Friday in Tribeca with Steven and the crew. 

I asked Steven the simple question “Why Sly?” to which he answered it was music that he’d heard casually at a young age and had returned to in earnest in later years to find all the things he loves and appreciates about great music and visionary musicians. Sly was “multi-culti” before anyone even knew the phrase, Steven said.  He went on to talk about how Sly broke the rules and then made his own, much like Mr. Bernstein himself has over the years, making music that was pop and accessible but a blending of all aspects of American music: blues, gospel, rock, jazz, country and soul. Sly and Steven Bernstein are each one a master of truly American music. Steven was born in Washington, DC but came of age in Berkley, California and if you know his music and think about it you hear a lot of that “Back Bay Funk,” perfect for a salute to Sly & The Family Stone. Combine that element with the ever present Duke Ellington influence in Bernstein’s music and you have that unique combination that just can’t be found anywhere else. 

The original impetus for this project came when the organizers of the annual New York concert series The River To River Festival were presenting a series of shows to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Woodstock and invited Steven to contribute.  His first thought was a tribute to Sly and after the performance, which was a rousing success, a devoted fan of Steven’s contacted him with an offer to bankroll his next project. Striking while the iron was hot, Bernstein took 11 musicians, including his usual cast of talented characters, a pack of great vocalists and two legends of soul, organist Bernie Worrell and Living Colour’s Vernon Reid and fellow “Downtown Scene” legend Bill Laswell into a Brooklyn recording studio for two days and MTO Plays SLY was born. The songs are true to Sly’s vision though not their original form, as one would expect from a master interpreter of other people’s music as Steven Bernstein has become, most famously with Sex Mob. A great example is the classic “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” which becomes “Thank You For Talkin’ To Me Africa.” Each song is a unique work of tribute unto itself and the spirit of the entire project is pure fun and high art. 

The performance at 92^nd Street Y-Tribeca was a funky celebration of the highest order. With Steven directing every move, he mentioned to me later that being the leader is his natural role but he sure enjoys just being a sideman from time to time as he has been for over 7 years with Levon Helms’s Horns, he put this unique assemblage of players and vocalists through an uplifting set of non-stop party-art music. The horns were as superb as they always have been with Steven at the helm. Bernie Worrell was regal in his presence bringing a palpable connection to the original source to the stage. The combination of electric guitar and occasional banjo mixed with another fabulous stringed instrument, a soaring electric violin with an astoundingly human quality, separated this from anything Sly might have produced himself but clearly put the Steven Bernstein stamp all over the night’s music. Another unique element was the fact that young bass stalwart Ben Allison was thumping not on an electric bass a la Larry Graham, but instead on his usual double bass and not a funky beat was missed. 

Bassist, Composer, Bandleader Ben Allison backstage at the MTO Plays SLY show. See Ben performing at Zankel Hall @ Carnegie Hall on February 3rd, 2012!

I had the chance to catch up with Ben Allison later for some quick conversation and he talked of how thrilled he was to be part of this fun project, just another in a long line of great gigs he’s been part of since arriving in New York over 20 years ago. He was a charter member of Millennial Territory Orchestra and possesses as adventurous and free a musical spirit as Steven Bernstein does.  Like Steven, he’s released his own albums that have included his unique take on pop classics as well as his own compositions, as he has on his recent releases Think Free and Action-Refraction.  As the founder of The Jazz Composers Collective, the non-profit organization that supports and encourages creative projects in the New York music community, Ben has helped keep that free spirit of “The Downtown Scene” alive in his own way. He told me about how he is looking forward to his first performance of his own music with his own band at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall on February 3^rd, 2012. “The Downtown Scene” moves uptown on this evening 

The “Downtown Scene” may have moved uptown and up the Hudson River from time to time and some of the old haunts are now expensive condo buildings or chic clothing stores, but when Steven Bernstein is on stage leading a band, any band, it’s still alive and well and still cooking as it was on this night in Tribeca! 

The great Randy Brecker backstage with Russ Davis

***Special Note…read on and learn all about The Brecker Brothers Band Reunion and at the end you’ll see a special note from Randy Brecker himself with some updated information explaining how all the players (with the exception of Ada Rovatti and special guest Oli Rockberger) actually WERE Brecker Brothers Band members.  Thanks for the update Randy!

Back in 2010 I ran into Randy Brecker at the Detroit Jazz Festival. He was part of a panel celebrating one of his first bosses in jazz, the legendary Horace Silver, with whom Randy worked some four decades ago. Nowadays Randy is the boss and a living legend himself. He’s worked that magic trick that few can master, that being the ability to live in many jazz worlds and thrive in any setting from funk to fusion to swing to groove. He’s played in lots of small groups, numerous big bands, as a leader and as a sideman playing with everyone from Duke Pearson to Frank Zappa.  When I caught up with Randy after the panel and stuck a recorder in his face for some quick comments I asked him the standard question “What are you working on for the future?” Randy mentioned that he had been involved in his usual busy list of quest appearances on other artist’s projects and lots of big band work but that he was putting together a new, electric, funky project that he couldn’t tell me any more about at the time but details would be revealed in the future.  Fast forward to the present and we now know what he was cooking up. The project is called The Brecker Brothers Band Reunion. 

When I saw the lineup for the Blue Note in New York for the month of September I saw that Randy was booked, with the billing “The Brecker Brothers Band Reunion with Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Dave Weckl and More.” Needless to say I was intrigued and booked a ticket for Friday night of the week-long run. I was thrilled to discover that not only would Stern and Weckl be joining Randy on stage but so would his talented saxophone-playing wife and solo artist in her own right, Ada Rovatti, as well as keyboardist George Whitty and bassist Will Lee, the only one on stage that actually was a former Brecker Brothers Band member. “What’s not to like?” I asked myself and settled in for the late set of the night. 

The Blue Note is one of those odd rooms that makes you wonder what it might have been in its first incarnation…a shoe store, a pet shop, a grocery? It’s a long, narrow room with few really good seats.  Even the best seat can leave you with a strained neck at set’s end but I can’t even count the times I’ve been there to hear some of the greatest musicians jazz has ever produced. There I was again, sitting on the right side of the stage looking up at Mike Stern and Will Lee and thinking “how do they get all those players and their gear on such a small platform?” The Blue Note is not a logistical picnic for the musicians either and you have to think that it helps if the players are best of friends! These folks really played like best of friends, that’s for sure, and the show began with a rousing groove that brought the room to life. Will Lee has boundless energy and jumps up and down endlessly (there was no room to move side to side) as he plays.  Mike Stern looks like a teenage rocker and never stops grooving as he creates that unique sound that is absolutely his own voice. Ada Rovatti was having a blast, looking cool and comfortable among the boys, and more than held her own. Randy is Randy, just one of the best to ever do what he does and led the band with superb playing and that special spark that only few have.  Dave Weckl is a master modern drummer and perfect for this band.  Keyboardist George Whitty sounded great but I have no idea if he was having fun as I couldn’t see him from where I sat. 

To show how fresh this project is, Randy addressed the audience at the end of the first song with the information that the title was “First Tune Of The Set.” The Brecker Brothers Band Reunion is, after all, a work in progress. After another dose of electric groove titled “Slag” came the first hint that this was a
“Family Affair.” It arrived in the next song titled “Stellina,” written for the daughter of Randy and Ada Rovatti, the 2 year old Stella. The next song marked the arrival of special guest vocalist/rapper Randroid (Mr. Brecker in disguise) who led the band with his trumpet and vocalizing on the song “Really In For It.” 

Ada Rovatti, super-saxophonist & super-mom, backstage at The Blue Note with Russ Davis

The question hanging in the air was, and is, of course is this an actual “reunion” of the Brecker Brothers, a tribute to the great band, a combination of both or none of the above? The answer came with the next song in the set as Randy introduced it with the following…”We couldn’t do a Brecker Brothers Band Reunion without doing a Brecker Brothers classic, so here’s ‘Straphangin’.” I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through Ada Rovatti’s mind as she played the lines that the late Michael Brecker played.  I’d ask her about that later. In early Brecker Brothers tradition they included another funky vocal.  This one was titled “Merry Go Town,” and it featured young 20-something vocalist Oli Rockberger.  He and Ada Rovatti had written the song together and it left me wondering if he’d be a regular edition to the lineup or just another in a very long line of guests with The Brecker Brothers.  The set ended with a rollicking tune titled “The Dipshit,” and after sets end I made my way upstairs to the dressing rooms to bother the band with my usual “sideline reporter” routine.

As I let the band relax for a minute behind closed doors I thought about what I’d just seen and heard.  Was this truly a Brecker Brothers Band performance or was it something else?  To me the answer to both questions was yes. There WAS after all a Brecker Brother present and one alumni member of the band, Will Lee. Granted there was no David Sanborn, Don Grolnick, Steve Gadd, Steve Khan, Hiram Bullock or any of the other great New York jazz hotshots who filled the roster of the band over the years, but this WAS a band of New York jazz hotshots making cool, grooving jazz with that great trumpet-sax combination. The music was uplifting, fun, up and funky with a little vocal element and the playing was superb.  You’d expect nothing less from such an esteemed group of players.  That sounds like a familiar formula to Brecker Brothers fans doesn’t it? There was indeed something new in addition to the lineup of new players and that was the horn sound. Randy and Michael had always experimented with technology and now, Randy and Ada did the same, playing through various devices to alter the original sound of trumpet and sax to create unique, sometimes very human, sometimes other-worldly tones that helped them devise a new language. 

In my short conversations with Randy and Ada I discovered a relaxed attitude about the whole affair. Was Ada overwhelmed when Randy initially approached her to play the part his brother had played in The Brecker Brothers? Not really, she told me. She was just excited about working with him and this great band.  She was neither overwhelmed nor overly excited to be surrounded by such talent, she just wanted to do the best she could and hold her own. Can you say casual?  Ada Rovatti was certainly more than holding her own on stage, her album The Green Factor was one of my personal top ten of that year and with more work on that level she’ll be considered one of the great, innovative saxophonists and composers around. 

As for Randy’s attitude, he was equally cool and calm about the whole thing.  He simply stated that he had been doing lots of Big Band work in the past few years, including 2009’s Nostalgic Journey: Tykocin Jazz Suite and his latest, The Jazz Ballad Song Book, and that he hadn’t done a truly electric, funky record since the 2003 Grammy-winning 34^th & Lex. He simply said that it was just time to do something like this. No matter how much I might try to draw some emotional meaning behind all of this, it all seemed to boil down to Randy Brecker’s desire to get back to doing something funky. It was also about wanting to put together a band in the tradition of the one he had with his brother that was filled with the best hotshot players around and that his wife Ada Rovatti was a great saxophonist and she could play the part with ease. He assured me that this was a serious venture and that there would be more performing and that they were headed to the studio to record this band too. 

The Brecker Brothers Band Reunion is still a family affair, it’s still fun, funky music, the players and the vibe are still the same and only the faces have slightly changed.  Good enough for Randy.  Good enough for me.  More to come and that’s fine with me too.

FOLKS…please read on and you’ll see the update on how ALL the players on stage (besides Ada Rovatti and not just Will Lee) were actually former Brecker Brothers Band members at one time or another…Here’s Randy’s addition to this blog…

“hey russ,

great article (!) and as usual thanks for all the support and being a big time fan!

just so you know though everyone on-stage (except ada and oli of course) played with various brecker bros. bands (mostly in the ’90s not only will lee, who of course was an original member…

1.george whitty produced and played on ‘return of the brecker bros’ and ‘out of the loop’+ produced my solo records and mike’s solo records and played in the band all through the 90s…he came in from LA to do the gig and produce everything

2.mike stern played on ‘return’ and was a featured special guest in the band for 3 years ’92-’95

3.weckl did several well documented (on you-tube) tours with the band after dennis chambers went out with john mclaughlin’s ‘free spirits band’…

the idea was not a reunion of the original band there are too many of our brothers no longer with us (mike, grolnick, hiram, mark grey) but a reunion of members throughout the years…also on the studio CD other guitarists who played with the band make appearances..dean brown,adam rogers, and mitch stein, also rodney holmes on drums who probably played the longest of any drummer in the band and and on acoustic bass chris minh doky. Plus  the original 3rd horn- Dave Sanborn is going to guest on a couple of tunes along with mike stern…so this really is going to be a big reunion CD…in conjunction with the live DVD-they are releasing the two as a bundle….it all sounds great!

hopefully we’ll do some more gigs – the blue note was a blast!

maybe you can work this into the article?

thanks!

randy”

The members of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey with Russ Davis at the 2011 Montreal Jazz Festival

JACOB FRED JAZZ ODYSSEY: Race Riot Suite-Unique Music from a One Of A Kind Band!

I’ve known for a long time now that there really is no other band like Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey.  It doesn’t matter that the lineup has changed over the years, the music has always been totally unique with a spirit of creativity and inventiveness that has set this unit apart and helped them carve out their own place in the world of modern music, jazz or otherwise. The latest incarnation featuring founding father, pianist Brian Haas, lap steel player Chris Combs, drummer Josh Raymer and bassist Jeff Harshbarger, has just released one of the bravest and most ambitious projects in their 15-year history, a brilliant musical expose on the terrible events that occurred in Tulsa in 1921 when an affluent, predominately African-American part of the city known as Greenwood was burned to the ground by a racist mob that also killed hundreds of innocent people.  The project is titled Race Riot Suite. When I saw that JFJO was on the lineup for the Montreal Jazz Fest I immediately made sure I would have the time to get together with the four lads for a roundtable conversation about this new project with the unusual inspiration.

Before I reveal the details of that interview I must recall some of my earlier encounters with Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, beginning with a late-night session at New York City’s Blue Note, where one of the earlier incarnations of the group played a very energetic set with guest artists like saxophonist Skerik and pianist Marco Benevento who joined with the band to really bring the heat.  I thought to myself, “this is another entry in the jazzy jamband movement!” The band certainly played music from the rock repertoire and there were extended jams but this was something different.  There was a unique style to this spirited performance that set them apart from piano-led combos like E.S.T., The Bad Plus and others that were dominating the modern jazz scene in the beginning of the 21^st century.  After I enjoyed a conversation with the guys in the studio that week I discovered more about what makes JFJO one of a kind, their unique musical vision and collective spirit.

With great pianists in jazz that I’ve met like Michel Camilo, Amina Figarova, Chucho Valdes and others, it’s the combination of their own musical influences that make them uniquely what they are.  Each combines their own personal mixture of classical, rock, traditional and modern jazz and/or other elements with the folk music of their region to make a unique musical statement. And so it is with Brian Haas and his compatriots from the middle of America. As for JFJO, these guys travel the world constantly and have a legion of fans worldwide. They could have easily set up shop in most any of the major musical centers of the USA or elsewhere but they’ve decided to make their original home, Tulsa, their permanent base of operations.  And therein lies a big reason, it seems to me, why they are the unique band they are today. The don’t play a certain style by design, they ARE a style, and I dare say only a band of musicians who love Duke Ellington as much as they do that famous Okie Leon Russell could make music that sounds like this.  They’ve even given their style a name…”Red Dirt Jazz.” What a perfect moniker.  And that leads to the reason why Race Riot Suite is such a logical extension of all the work they’ve done before.  At last, a piece that not only reflects where they come from but gives the area a thoughtful, artistic gift that honors and challenges everyone who has ever called Tulsa their home. This is taking art to a totally different level beyond simple entertainment.  Race Riot Suite is a work that reaches for enlightenment.

I heard JFJO on a hot summer night in New York’s Joe’s Pub a couple of years ago and witnessed what “Red Dirt Jazz” was all about for the first time. In concert JFJO can really stretch, and really let it rip too! As Brian Haas explained after the set, he had to tell the staff at Joe’s Pub to nail down the piano because he has a tendency to “go all Jerry Lee Lewis” sometimes. I think you may know what that means and I know I certainly do as I sat right next to the stage for the set and I’m still finding splinters in the clothes I wore that night! The set was filled with tunes from their then current release One Day In Brooklyn. It features their own unique compositions with everything from the Middle Eastern influence in the song “Imam,” to a piece that is a classical music-hip hop fusion on “Dretoven,” an homage to two of Haas’ favorite composers, Beethoven and Dr. Dre! Then there is a stylistic jump from to the Beatles, to Monk’s “Four In One.” With Jacob Fred you never know what’s next but you won’t get their “greatest hits,” even though after a decade plus of recording they have plenty of established music to draw from, you’ll get their current work and they’re always moving forward.

Besides the power of the music in the live set on that night in New York,  I was struck by the unique voice that is the lap steel. It was again revealed to me in my post-concert interview with Mr. Haas that when Chris Combs entered the JFJO lineup he’d finally found the perfect ingredient that would complete the picture and truly push the sound of the band into the stylistic space he calls “Red Dirt Jazz.” The lap steel as played by Mr. Combs is not the traditional country style, instead it is his own voice coming through with a moaning, plaintive sound that is at the same time prominent and integrated into the band’s overall palate. It’s unique and a joy to behold. There’s that word again, unique.

Jumping forward to now and to The Race Riot Suite, I had the chance to talk to the guys at the Montreal Jazz Festival before I’d heard the music. They were obviously excited for everyone to hear it, on recording and live, but couldn’t recreate it in their show later that night because they were appearing as the quartet only, and this new work features the stellar horn section of Steven Bernstein, Peter Apfelbaum, Jeff Coffin, Matt Leland and Mark Southerland. I’d heard about the project in some advance press material and had only vaguely heard of the event that inspired the music, the 1921 tragedy fueled by racism, pure hatred, jealousy and any number of other base emotions that mark the worst of what a human being can be. The fact that the accounts of the event have been hidden from the public record and history books was part of the reason why Chris Combs, the composer of the music, was inspired to bring light to this very dark period of Tulsa and American history.

As I talked to the members of JFJO I saw in their faces and heard in their voices how deadly serious they are about this project. I consider them brave artists for taking on such a task when simply presenting more lighthearted fare would certainly not open them up for any of the possible backlash from the segment of our society that would prefer that things like this not be dredged up again. JFJO was not going to take the easy route here, or at any time really as their history proves, and boldly moved on to complete this work, recorded in a studio in Tulsa not a mile from where the tragedy took place. The guys are well versed in the actual events of the burning of the Greenwood section of Tulsa in 1921, the murder of hundreds of people and the subsequent cover-up by local civic officials and press all in league with the KKK.  They had been working on a project titled Ludwig, their interpretation of Beethoven’s 3^rd and 6^th symphonies, in conjunction with the OK Mozart Festival in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and were in the “classical suite” mode when the creation of Race Riot Suite began. So there you have the classical influence as the work progresses in movements marking the chronological events of the race riot from prelude to final prayer. But then there is the jazz.

A friend of mine who is a dancer and actress, once said to me that she felt something was only truly art if while taking it in one is transported, even for just a short time. Well, with respect to Race Riot Suite, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey transports the listener back to the year 1921 in a most effective manner. Brian Haas said in our Montreal conversation that he felt this was the most “straight ahead jazz” recording in JFJO’s history. I won’t disagree, as the music takes us back to that glorious musical time called “The Jazz Age!” It was a time when the music was hot, everyone was dancing and the rules were all being broken. The girls were bobbing off their hair and wearing short skirts, the boys were drinking and dancing with unbridled abandon, all in a display of the fact that times had changed and the young were breaking away from a past dictated by previous generations. And in the Greenwood Section of Tulsa the African American community was obviously breaking some unwritten rules as well, those rules being that they were not to be allowed to achieve, enjoy and maintain a level of success above the white community. I’ll leave it to you to read up on the accounts of the riot itself but suggest you have the music of JFJO’s Race Riot Suite playing while you read.  You’ll be taken on a trip through the sweet celebration of success and enjoyment of life that Greenwood experienced followed by the destruction of their businesses, homes and lives. There is shock in the aftermath followed by reflection and hope for understanding and some resolution that might lead to a better future.  All along the way the music reflects the dynamics of the situation with that familiar JFJO sound and spirit enhanced by the incredible horn section that truly puts the finishing touches on creating the authentic style of jazz from 1921.  As the JFJO guys said, ”Who better than Steven Bernstein and crew to make that happen?”

The Race Riot Suite by Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is compelling music in every way, joyous and disturbing, filled with light and darkness, modern and classic and not to be missed or dismissed. They will be touring the music, complete with horns, in the Autumn all over the USA. Seek it out and prepare to be deeply touched.

Ready For Takeoff! RTF IV backstage with Russ Davis just before taking the stage in Austin, Texas @ The Moody Theatre.

Russ Davis catches up with RTF IV on tour in Austin, Texas.

Before Tuesday, the 13^th of September 2011 I’d never set foot inside Austin in my life.  I’d always heard what a progressive, music-loving and music-making town it was. The South By Southwest Festival and Austin City Limits program bring the focus of the musical world to the state capital of the nation’s largest state and the local scene is by all accounts red hot. Bill Rooney, Chick Corea’s manager and organizer for what has to be THE biggest tour of the year in jazz, contacted me to ask if I’d like to come to Austin to conduct interviews with the members of RTF IV to be included in an upcoming DVD which will chronicle this momentous tour around the world featuring Chick, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Gambale. I took all of 2 seconds to say yes as I was eager to make the trip to see Austin for the first time and to see this incredible super-group of Modern Jazz for the third time.

The first thing I noticed was that there’s more than the music scene that’s blazing these days in Austin.  As I gazed through the airplane window before landing I thought to myself that this part of the world looked a lot like what I figured Saudi Arabia might look…a completely parched desert! The locals told me the temperature was to reach 107 degrees on the mid-September day and though I would gladly spend most of the day in the air conditioned comfort of Austin interiors I did take a mid-day stroll down the famous 6^th Street, home of clubs, bars and shops that make up one of the centers for the Austin music scene.  There wasn’t much happening at noon, especially on a 107 degree day, and I imagined it hopping and filled with revelers and lots of music and frivolity as Austin’s beautiful people wet their collective whistle and take in some tunes.  The nighttime is the right time around here especially this time of year.  Back inside I was ready to do business with RTF IV.

Sitting in on sound check is always fun and it gave me more insight into why this band is so fresh each time you hear them, even though they are oftentimes playing songs that could have been committed, even cemented, to memory decades ago.  They were still refining the smallest points of timing and playing. The operation of the tour is as professionally executed as you are ever likely to see and on this evening there was the extra element of incorporating the film crew into the mix.  Cameras would be sliding in front of the stage in addition to the two cameramen who would be walking on stage sticking lenses into the players’ faces from time to time.  These professionals never flinched.  RTF IV is a machine at this point. Mr. Rooney had given me that coveted “All Access Pass” which I wore around my neck, giving me a chance to go anywhere and talk to anyone I wished to in preparation for the video interview to come just before the live performance.

Bill Rooney is a man behind the scenes with this major operation that is the RTF IV machine I’ve mentioned here, as he was for the celebrated “Return To Forever Returns” tour of 2008. He has the appearance of your kindly brother with a friendly and charming style. Occasionally he has to make quick decisions and he always seems to make these bold moves with speed and confidence.  There are seemingly dozens of moving parts all around him and he’s in control of it all with a gentle grace. There’s lots going on inside that head and he’s working with one of his personal heroes in Chick Corea, which I know makes all this very demanding work a labor of love. I mention Bill Rooney to give some completely justified credit for his contributions to two highly successful RTF worldwide tours. As an example of his decision-making I offer the fact that he specifically chose Austin’s Moody Theatre, the home of the popular “Austin City Limits” TV series, to shoot footage because it’s a great performance space suited for just this kind of situation. Mr. Rooney also had a hand in bringing on Dweezil Zappa, the son of Frank Zappa, and his band Zappa Plays Zappa as the lead-on act for the tour. It is a stroke of genius as Dweezil is a fine guitarist with great stage presence and he has put together a fantastic band that is talented and entertaining to interpret the music of his legendary father. The music is a combination of rock, jazz, classical and comedy and ZPZ draws not only the younger fans of the jazzy jambands but also the original Zappa too. The room on the night of every concert, and I’ve seen three now, is dotted with almost as many Zappa shirts as RTF merchandise. Combining ZPZ and RTF IV was a good call by the members of RTF and Bill Rooney, who by the way was disguised as Frank Zappa in his high school yearbook. I have not found a copy of that but I am not giving up on the search.  More on ZPZ later.

I’ve had a great relationship with all the guys in RTF, as well as Jean-Luc Ponty, for decades now and after a couple of interview sessions and some fun hangs with Frank Gambale I feel like I’ve known this talented Aussie for years as well.  During the hours of the soundcheck, the pre-concert meal, and other moments in the dressing room before and after the performance I found myself wishing I had the cameras rolling at all times to capture the rare, sometimes enlightening, sometimes hilarious moments of conversation.  There was Lenny White telling the stories of how Miles Davis, during the recording of Bitches Brew, placed the musicians in a circle in the studio, started a groove and then motioned in his unique way like a conductor when he wanted someone to start or stop. Stanley Clarke, who donned a Philadelphia Eagles cap most of the day, talked about his beloved Philly teams like a kid on the street rather than a world-famous musician who’s made Los Angeles his home for decades. Chick Corea, who is always quick with a laugh and smile but doesn’t engage in small talk very much, shared some deep and personal thoughts with me, continuing a conversation that we basically started in the early 1980’s when we sat down for our first interview. He mentioned how much he misses living in New York as the last time he had a week to spend in the city, when he was in town to record his upcoming work The Continents, his second piano concerto, he and his wonderful wife Gayle Moran hit the jazz clubs every night hearing lots of friends playing and I’m sure bringing back a ton of memories. Frank Gambale shared some thoughts about his incredible custom-made guitar that sounds like a tiger in his hands, as well as the fact that Australia was originally settled by the Dutch before the English. You learn something every day if you just listen you know? Jean-Luc was mostly business on this day and not around for the group “hang.”  He was probably wisely getting some rest as the grind of traveling every day and setting up shop in a new place to pour your heart out on stage for and hour and a half can be pretty taxing.

Before taking the stage the guys sat in front of the cameras to submit themselves to some questioning that will become the extra features that are scheduled to accompany live footage on the forthcoming DVD. Bill Rooney had helped compile a list of brilliant questions that covered not only the current incarnation of RTF but also some very juicy elements of Jazz Fusion history. He gave me leeway to craft the questions as I wanted. As we got underway, beginning with Chick, Stanley and Lenny in one grouping, I could see that, again, I was working with true professionals who know just what we were all here for.  They delivered as professionals do with spirited and complete answers. There was a playfulness that you’d expect from a group of 20-somethings. That’s the spirit of this trio that has been the heart and soul of projects under the name Return To Forever since the 1970’s. You’ll have to get the DVD to hear it all but some of the choice moments included learning how Stanley wrote his brilliant Jazz-Rock anthem “School Days” in mere minutes while watching TV as Chick received a Grammy Award. We found out that Lenny’s brilliant composition “The Shadow Of Lo” was misprinted on the album cover and couldn’t be recalled.  The real title is “The Shadow Of Io” named for one of the moons of Jupiter. Look it up! We learned how Chick’s famous composition “Spain” was inspired by Chick’s love of Miles Davis’s “Sketches Of Spain.”

When Frank Gambale and Jean-Luc Ponty sat in front of the cameras we got lot’s of choice thoughts and stories from the two men who make this new incarnation of RTF so lively and unique. Jean-Luc was kind enough to give us some perspective on Fusion history as the only man who has been a member of two of the “Big Three” groups of the era. He never played in Weather Report but he was part of Mahavishnu Orchestra and now RTF, the “Beatles and The Stones” of jazz as he phrased it. Frank talked about the thrill of starting the tour in his home nation at the legendary Sydney Opera House and how a crowd in Eastern Europe stood in a cold and constant downpour for the entire show and gave them one of the biggest responses of the tour. After the interview was done the guys were off to prepare for the stage. Mr. Rooney told me that I was “off the clock” and with my All Access Pass around my neck I was off to hear the performances, beginning with Zappa Plays Zappa.

I claimed a spot on the second level of this beautiful, new three-level hall that is the Moody Theatre. ZPZ was into their second tune by the time I got settled and they were blazing through their set to the delight of the crowd. The highlights for me were the jazzy side of Zappa, great songs like ”Big Swifty” and an instrumental version of “Fifty Fifty.” But the peak was when Chick was invited on stage to join the band for the great Zappa jazz-rock classic “King Kong.” Just as when Jean-Luc, who played with Zappa back in the day and mentioned on stage that Dweezil was only about 4 years old at the time, jammed with the band in New York, the audience went absolutely mad. The set ended with local guitar hero Eric Johnson joining in to jam on the last song and all in all ZPZ was a resounding success on this night in Austin, and the perfect warm up for RTF IV!

From the first notes of “Medieval Overture” to the last notes of the encore “School Days,” the audience was treated to a set of music of a style that one simply doesn’t hear anywhere else except when these incredible musicians are playing from this set-list, and what a collection of classic songs!  Stanley’s “After The Cosmic Rain” was blazing with Frank Gambale in just one of his fine moments of the set.  In a town that obviously appreciates great guitarists they were hearing one on this night! Just as it has for each show I’ve seen, Jean-Luc Ponty’s beautiful “Renaissance” was a priceless acoustic moment of the show. Stanley had pushed to make this a part of the repertoire of the band and proudly introduced it as “Jean-Luc’s soulful song.” Lenny’s great masterpiece “Sorceress” was spectacular as it has morphed into a new piece with a funky passage or two to give the song dynamics it never had before and was a showcase for his writing, arranging and playing skills. Chick was simply Chick…possibly the greatest keyboardist-composer-bandleader combination that modern jazz has ever produced. No one can top his writing skills, his playing ability, his versatility and mastery of acoustic and electric keyboards and his spirit.

Each time I’ve seen this incarnation of RTF IV perform all members have had their own great impact, but on each night a different artist seemed to touch the audience most deeply. On this night in Texas it seemed to be Stanley Clarke and his virtuoso playing on both acoustic and electric bass that solicited the greatest response. On some of his leads he seemed almost ready to leap into the audience for he was truly soaring all night long. It was absolutely appropriate that “School Days” ended the show and the crowd didn’t want to leave until everyone had a chance to shake hands with the band. I had my ears tuned to hear the comments of the folks as they filed out.  There were lots of Texas-style hoops and hollers and lot’s of folks simply shaking their heads and saying “WOW!” All night long in the second level balcony where I stood I noticed lovely young ladies who just had to get up to dance to the music, songs their parents could have first moved to.  This is a good sign of course that speaks to the point that this music is timeless. I heard a man with his finest Texas drawl saying to his friends, “Jean-Luc shoulda been with ‘em all along…he’s a Wildman too!” All through the night I caught sight of members of the audience giving the holy “Hook ‘Em Horns” sign to salute the band at the end of a song. If you know anything about Austin, the home of the University of Texas Longhorns, then you know that that meant Austin sho’ ‘nuff did like ‘em some RTF IV on this night!

Christian McBride leads the Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra in the final performance of the 2011 Festival!

DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL DAY FOUR: A Labor Day Bash Closes Out The Festival!

My fourth day at the 32^nd Detroit Jazz Festival began with a combination of work and pleasure, if you want to call being asked to serve as emcee for one of the performances at the festival actual work. I was asked to introduce the show by The Anthony Wilson trio at the waterfront stage under the trees next to the Detroit River on this cool and overcast afternoon and as soon as the music began the pleasure portion of my mission began.

What I knew about Anthony Wilson was that he was the son of the legendary NEA Jazz Master, composer, arranger and conductor Gerald Wilson and that he was an accomplished guitarist and composer with a fine collection of solo releases. I was thrilled to know that in his trio on this day would be the great Larry Goldings on organ and Detroit’s own Karrim Riggins on drums.  Though his father is famous for being a Detroiter, Anthony was born, raised and still lives in Los Angeles and Larry Goldings, a born and raised Easterner, has lived and worked out of L.A. for over 7 years now himself.  Mr. Riggins had also relocated to L.A. for a while, which is where these three gentlemen first got together, but returned to his hometown not long ago.  Karrim was enjoying a triumphant day as he would perform on three stages before the day was done including a show on the main stage downtown with his own ensemble and rapper Common.

The Anthony Wilson Trio set began with a cool groove titled “Mezcal” co-written by Wilson & Goldings from the album Jack Of Hearts. From the very beginning you knew this was a different kind of guitar-organ trio that would be investigating the subtleties of the instruments.  Instead of bringing the heat they brought on the cool, with a series of tunes that allowed Mr. Wilson to show off his clean, clear tone and Mr. Goldings his command of the more emotional side of the organ as opposed to the powerful side.  No “Back At The Chicken Shack” on this day! The mood was easy going throughout the show and the communication among the players was just as smooth with plenty of room for each one to have his say as if a quiet conversation was occurring and the crowd was listening in.  I had a chance to chat with Larry after the performance and for an enjoyable hour at the airport on the day after as we waited to board the same plane back to New York.  Larry was on his way to do a session with Steve Gadd and Edie Brickell then back to L.A. to be with his family that includes two little ones, a daughter who’s 11 and a son who’s 8.  Life is good and easy for Larry these days, just like the set he played with his old buddies Anthony Wilson and Karrim Riggins on this day in Detroit.

Instead of taking in another music set I decided to attend a live interview conducted by the knowledgeable Detroit-area broadcaster, writer and musician Michael G. Nastos with the great Gary Burton under the Jazz Talk Tent.  Now, I’ve interviewed Gary a number of times but he’s so intelligent, accomplished, open and generous with his thoughts and stories I couldn’t resist.  It was a great hour of listening to Gary expound on everything from how he first started playing vibes at 6, and how he developed the 4-mallet technique because he was playing solo all the time and needed to keep himself interested by playing interesting chords and the only way to do that was to use more sticks! He explained how his duo playing with Chick Corea began as a bit of serendipity when a festival promoter in Europe asked the musicians to do an after hours jam session and the only ones who would volunteer were Gary & Chick. Their work as a duo now extends into their fourth decade beginning with their next tours in 2011-2012. He explained how he became a professional by playing with country music artists in Nashville before becoming the jazz icon he is today. There was a long passage of conversation about the guitarists in his life and how important each one has been to his music, including how Larry Coryell helped him make the move to Jazz Fusion in 1967 by bringing his rock approach to improvised music, helping Gary become one of the first jazzers to embrace what was then called “Jazz-Rock.” He spoke of how the vibes is not as popular an instrument as it could be because it’s so large, expensive to buy and not seen on television like other more popular instruments even though it’s the easiest to play.  He spoke of how anyone can make music with it because it’s always in tune, does not require any special tuning or fingering and always sounds great even if you only strike one note.  Gary’s a purist when it comes to his instrument as he’s never been attracted to the electric side of vibes and related mechanisms.  If the original is good enough for him then it’s OK with me, as well as lots of his other fans around the world.  This was one fun hour with one of the greats of all time!

I immediately made my way over to the largest venue on Hart Plaza, the enormous Carhartt Amphitheatre, to claim my spot for the rest of the festival.  I’d spent most of my time elsewhere only checking in from time to time on the various performances at the Carhartt, most featuring big bands as this stage is huge enough to hold a couple of orchestras and still have room for more. The last two performances of the festival would feature The Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra with some very special guests preceded by guitarist Kevin Eubanks.  I was most interested to hear what Mr. Eubanks had to say musically as I’d certainly found his latest release, Zen Food on Detroit’s Mack Avenue Records, his return to recording after a long stint as the bandleader for NBC’s The Tonight Show, to be most interesting and rather unique.  His performance with a great quintet was more than satisfying as he breezed through a set of electric blues, groove and swing that featured his own fine lines and plenty of room for his band mates to shine, most especially saxophonist Bill Pierce.

Quite often in jazz you’ll hear an artist simply adhere to one style that they feel suits them best, and we all go to our “comfort zone” in the things we do, but with Kevin Eubanks it appears that most any style is comfortable to him.  I found out in a 20- minute interview after the show why that might be true.  Firstly, he loves straight ahead jazz, having studied at Berklee in Boston and worked with the likes of McCoy Tyner, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes and Ron Carter.  Secondly, his time at The Tonight Show was much more valuable to him than just a money gig, though a very lucrative job it was for sure.  He found himself working with any number of artists from every musical world imaginable and acquired an understanding of what makes a great artist great though they may be a country crooner or a rapper. He took those lessons to heart, combined them with his jazz knowledge and now that he can spend his time making his own music exclusively, that is when he isn’t working with the Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz. Kevin Eubanks is off and running with a great new day in his solo career. I asked him if he’d ever record with his brothers, trombonist Robin and trumpeter Duane and he replied that it was funny that I’d asked.  It just so happened that he’d just been working on his Mack Avenue follow up to Zen Food and it featured all three Eubanks brothers with some results that surprised even Kevin himself. He’d gone into the project with one basic idea and as they work began it took on a life of its own and turned out very different.  He would not go into detail but suffice it to say he had my interest peaked.  Let’s all stay tuned on that one!

I was now set for the last performance of the 2011 Detroit Jazz Festival and once again the last show would carry on a tradition that probably could continue forever with no dissention from the crowd, that being a literal “show-stopping” performance by the all-star Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra directed by Dennis Wilson that features star players, many from Detroit of course, including Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Karrim Riggins, Rodney Whitaker, Gary Smulyan, Etienne Charles and a host of special guests. This time the band would break down the show into various segments. They played the big band charts of Christian McBride with Chris on bass of course fronting the band. He’s set to release his first project as a big band leader in late September on Mack Avenue. It’s titled The Good Feeling and it features his take on classics like “A Taste Of Honey” and “When I Fall In Love,” as well as his own compositions like “Brother Mister,” which has become something of a new standard.

The DJFO was rocking with Chris at the helm and he just couldn’t stop smiling.  When his segment ended and the technical changes were being made for the next segment I caught up with the smiling Mr. McBride to do my “sideline reporting” that I love to do.  Christian calls me “The Howard Cosell Of Jazz” and always goes into his best Muhammad Ali impersonation when he sees me with recorder in hand. I asked him if he’d finally found his real place to be…fronting a big band and he said “Yes…for now.” I asked how he’d take a big band out on the road and he promised that he’d find a way. I also asked him if he was planning on becoming a Detroit resident since I saw him there more than anywhere else and he laughed simply saying “Don’t tell anyone in Philly!” If there’s a more jovial, talented and positive figure in jazz today than Christian McBride I want to meet him!

The next segment of the finale continued with the Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra and Dennis Wilson ripping up with special guest vocalist Ernie Andrews swingin’ and preachin’ the blues for the congregation. The soulful Mr. Andrews thrilled the crowd with his flawless singing, never missing a note at the age of 83, and his wit was equal to his music. He did what every performer should do…leave them wanting more. He was replaced on stage by two super talented women who had led their own bands earlier in the festival, Detroit native violinist Regina Carter, and Israeli-born Anat Cohen with her clarinet in hand. The ladies took turns on leads to the cheers of the crowd and were then joined by Christian McBride again who engaged in a faceoff on bass with Rodney Whitaker. The crowd loved it, and as the set drew to a close the DJFO was joined by the University of Michigan Trombone Ensemble. They surprised everyone by playing from their perch above and behind the audience at the top of the amphitheatre in a call and response with the band on stage.  They made their way to the front of the stage and with a rousing and dramatic ending the 32^nd Detroit Jazz Festival was over.

The festival has certainly achieved what the organizers had sought to do…bring the world to Detroit. Next year the theme is “From The Delta To Detroit.” I wonder if I can reserve my space now?

My third day at the 32^nd Detroit Jazz Festival began with a fiery conversation and ended with an awesome fireworks display.  In the middle I heard as much music as a man can, and as a jazz fan and advocate felt about as satisfied as possible. The theme of the festival this year is “We Bring You The World” and this was most certainly true as in the course of a few hours I was able to hear a European-based pianist, an American who took us to Africa, the blending of New York, Miami & Puerto Rico, the marriage of American jazz with Middle Eastern overtones, and some good, old American funk & fusion.  And I didn’t even get to hear 2/3 of the music available to festival-goers on this day!

I began the day with a spirited conversation with the great percussionist Sammy Figueroa who’s played with a list of artists in every genre imaginable, from David Bowie to Miles Davis, Mariah Cary to Sonny Rollins.  After years as a sideman he’s now taken on the title of bandleader, and reluctantly at that by his own admission.  This talented percussionist with the winning smile and effervescent spirit is a natural leader no matter what he says and he’s gathered a great band from all over the globe to realize his musical vision of putting the Jazz in the forefront of Latin Jazz.  He was born in the cultural melting pot that is The Bronx, New York, raised part of his life in Puerto Rico in a section of the country that was equal parts African and Latin, now lives in Miami and has loved jazz from the beginning though he’s open to any and every kind of music.  It certainly shows in the music he’s made which has been described as “Latinized Jazz Messengers.” In our conversation I learned how all those elements come together in his life and music and how he cared for Miles Davis in a very personal way after being part of his band that marked his return after hiatus for The Man With A Horn in 1981. Besides laying down the grooves that Miles needed to create this important project that got him back on his feet, Sammy gave Miles some personal support that was most important at a time when Miles was physically and probably spiritually weaker than he’d been in some time.  So we can thank him for that as well as his musical efforts.  The performance by Sammy & his Latin Explosion at sunset on the largest of the festival’s stages among the downtown Detroit buildings was an explosion indeed marked by virtuoso playing by the entire sextet with Sammy out front, entertaining the crowd with his wit and pounding of the congas.  The fact that dozens of fans felt compelled to salsa dance in front of the stage says it all!

Before hearing Sammy Figueroa & The Latin Explosion I had taken a quick trip literally around the Hart Plaza and figuratively around the world musically with as many performances as I could take in. I caught Amina Figarova, the brilliant pianist & composer from Azerbaijan via Rotterdam whose deep and thoughtful compositions are as rich as her playing is superb. With her great band of many years now, featuring a wonderful sax/trumpet/flute front line including her musical and life partner, husband Bart Platteau, the music soared and thrilled as I have always known it to when I’ve seen Amina perform.  After the performance I had a chance to catch up with both Bart and Amina for a quick hello.  I mentioned that the 10^th anniversary of the events of 9/11 were upon us and she recalled again how she had been inspired to create the music of her brilliant 2005 release September Suite after having experienced the events firsthand while staying in a friends apartment in Brooklyn.  She grew emotional all over again as she recounted the events of that momentous day and mentioned that she has not been able to perform the suite as it’s an hour and 40 minutes long and most of her performances are more varied in style.  But she wanted to tell me that this year, and specifically on the 10^th and 11^th of September, she will be performing the September Suite in it entirety in Teaneck, New Jersey’s beautiful Puffin Center on Friday the 10^th and in New York City at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Room on Saturday the 11^th.  Anyone lucky enough to be in the area to hear those performances on those days will surely hear a treat and be deeply moved.

I hung around the Waterfront Stage where Amina had performed to catch the complete set by Detroit’s own Regina Carter, arguably the greatest of jazz violinists at this point in history, performing what must be one of her greatest projects, the marriage of African folk songs and jazz known as Reverse Thread.  Though I’d seen this show twice before, in New York’s Dizzy’s Club with African kora master Yacouba Sissoko, and again in Montreal with a long time friend and musical associate playing the harp to fill in the spaces usually occupied by the Kora, I just couldn’t resist.  When one comes this close to the source of all things musical you’d be fool to not listen.  I may be crazy but not a fool, and I was treated to another magical performance of this inspiring, spiritual, uplifting music.  Mr. Sissoko was once again in place and every plucking of the strings of the Kora blending with Regina’s masterful violin work and the spirited accordion playing of Will Holshouser sending the crowd that sat under the trees by the Detroit River into an even more beautiful place.

The rest of my day was spent hopping from place to place to catch segments of as many other performances as I could.  Israeli saxophonist/clarinetist Anat Cohen is a delight on stage and she blended American jazz with her own twist of Israeli blues if you will to make a tasty brew enjoyed by all.  She obviously was having a blast as he glided across the stage, sharing spotlight with a fine band filled with solo artists, among them the great pianist Jason Lindner.

Then it was back the Waterfront Stage to catch one of the rising stars of jazz piano, 2011 winner of the American Pianists Association Cole Porter Fellowship, Aaron Diehl.  Only in his twenties, Aaron is already a veteran of many high level performances with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Hank Jones, Benny Golson and more. His band included fellow Marsalis alumnus Wessel “Warmdaddy” Anderson who takes lots of spotlight when we blows saxophone but was there only to complement Mr. Diehl’s efforts.  Aaron is a charismatic and talented performer with great stage presence that belies his few years on the earth and the scene but there’s wisdom in his words and his playing.  This is a hard swinging young man who also has control of dynamics as well.  He’s confidently in control in general and showed that as across the plaza was a very high volume big band blazing away in the distance.  Never missing a beat, Aaron played on with a delicate, expressive solo piano piece.  Remember the name…Aaron Diehl.

A name you may already know is Vijay Iyer, as he’s one of the most acclaimed pianists and composers in jazz today.  He’s won more awards than he can store in a small museum at this point, including Musician of the Year 2010 by the Jazz Journalists Association.  If you’re looking for the unique in jazz then Vijay is your man.  No one really sounds like him and what you get when he plays is his real spirit, not anything completely derived from any other source. It’s easy to say that he’s blending the music of his Indian heritage with American Jazz but that’s too simple a statement.  It’s Vijay Iyer music you get from him and to me that’s the mark of a true artist.  I didn’t get to hear enough of his show as I was off to my last stop of the day to get a shot of electric jazz to top off the night.

I had been asked by the festival to introduce Richie Goods and his band Nuclear Fusion on the stage of the concrete amphitheatre that is my favorite venue at the festival, the Pyramid Stage.  It’s a bit hidden from view and you get a feeling that you’re in a special place where special things happen.  Richie is an aggressive, young bassist with great credentials, from Pittsburgh to Berklee to New York City.  He’s studied with Ron Carter and Ray Brown and loves all forms of jazz but as he told me, “Nobody’s playing this music too much!” The music he was talking about is electric funk and fusion for the 21^st century.  He wasn’t going to get any argument from me as I love this stuff as much as, if not more than, any form of jazz that has ever existed. To help him get to where he wanted to be musically on this night he made a great choice in drummers, the legendary Mike Clark of Headhunters fame as well as his own many projects as a sideman and leader.  Xavier Davis manned an electric piano-synth combo and Tom Guarna cranked out some chunky, funky, fiery guitar lines to complement Mr. Goods’ thunderous bass.  At times I felt like I was hearing what Jimi Hendrix might be doing were he alive today.  Other times I felt I was hearing what Return To Forever in their classic quartet configuration might sound like if Stanley Clarke were the leader.  The crowd, and I, loved it and it took us to the 11 PM hour, the end of the days musical activities and the brilliant fireworks display that had been rained out the night before.  Fireworks indeed to top off a great day!

I was asked by the folks who run the Detroit Jazz Festival to get a little more involved with the various features of the festival this year including being part of the streaming television feature JAZZ PLANET.tv, interviewing artists under the JAZZ TALK TENT, and introducing artists as emcee of some of the live shows.  I was honored to have been asked and thrilled to contribute.  There is one trade off involved in this though, and that is that I spent most of Saturday, day two of the 32^nd’ Detroit Jazz Festival, working on these projects kept me from seeing some of the performances on this blazing hot sunny afternoon.

The charming Brazilian duo of Romero Lubambo & Luciana Souza thrilled the crowd at the 2011 Detroit Jazz Fest!

I missed the Brazilian duo of vocalist Luciana Souza and guitarist Romero Lubambo (luckily I’d seen them in Montreal and they are incredibly charming and supremely musical), up and coming young vibes master Warren Wolf and his back WOLFPAC, trumpeter Sean Jones and Detroiters Geri Allen & Robert Hurst with the University of Michigan Jazz Ensemble. I was willing to give up these performances to be part of the other efforts as I most certainly am willing to give back to a festival that has given me so much joy in the past and offers so much more for the present and future. After all, I was all set to introduce the performance by Jason Moran and his band Bandwagon as well as taking in shows by Sun Ra Arkestra, world-jazz pioneers Mandrill and the great Dave Holland and his Octet to top off the evening.  That’s until a certain power that is, Mother Nature, stepped in to remind us all that She’s still in charge of things!  A massive storm swept through the area with 60 MPG winds, hail, thunder, lightening and incredible rain that washed out the evening’s shows.

Not to be discouraged, Dave Holland decided to take his set to the indoors at the lobby bar of the home base hotel for the festival, the enormous Marriott at Renaissance Center.  It was an impromptu event that was only witnessed by those who happened to be walking through the lobby at 10:30 PM.  Unfortunately I was not one of them and was not alerted but by all accounts the show was inspired.

As Mike Stratton, the great writer and radio presenter from the area wrote…“We didn’t want to leave Detroit until we’d played some music for you,” said Holland after the band’s first tune, which started around 10:30 p.m. The Octet is made up of some of the best voices in jazz on their respective instruments: Steve Nelson on vibes (one of several stellar vibraphonists to grace the DJF this year), Nate Smith on drums, Gary Smulyan on baritone sax, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Alex “Sasha” Sipiagin on trumpet, Chris Potter on tenor and soprano sax, Antonio Hart on alto sax and Dave Holland himself on bass. The band opened with Pathway, the title track from their album, and they went on to perform several tracks from that album. Working superbly with form and structure, the unit both grooves and swings, the horns engaging in call and response, the rhythmic tension and release that is nearly carnal in its dynamics. Each player got ample solo space, though Antonio Hart’s snaky recitation built to a thunderous crescendo that gained a huge ovation from a well-lubricated audience. Nate Smith’s start/stop funky solo, playing with time, also got the audience’s approval. And Chris Potter brought down the house with his powerful musicianship.

It’s true that you can’t have it all, and though I missed this show I can report that the artists I spoke with during the day were excited to be in Detroit and were in high spirits. During my stint on the JAZZ PLANET I had the chance to speak with the aforementioned Warren Wolf, whose debut release on Detroit-based label Mack Avenue is getting great revues.  He’s one of those bright , young voices in jazz who is smart and talented and full of new ideas.  So is young pianist Aaron Diehl, the winner of the American Pianists Association Cole Porter Fellowship competition that I had the honor of emceeing this past Spring in Indianapolis.  He stopped by the JAZZ PLANET and also has a debut coming soon on Mack Avenue that is sure to please.

Christian McBride was co-anchor of the “Red Carpet” segment of JAZZ PLANET with festival director Terri Pontremoli and it was great to catch up with him again.  He’s of course under the assumption that his Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles will win it all again!  Time will tell on that one, but there is not doubt that his new Big Bad release on Mack Avenue will be an instant sensation.  He’s performing that music at the festival on Labor Day! I had the thrill of meeting the members of two great bands, New Orleans’ Soul Rebels Brass Band and the great world-jazz pioneers from Brooklyn, Africa as they phrased it, Mandrill.  All in all my time on JAZZ PLANET was fantastic.

I spent the 5 PM hour under the Jazz Talk Tent as guest interviewer for a session with Dave Holland and Jason Moran.  I’ve spoken to these two gentlemen in the past and the conversation was a breeze, as these two are the perfect example of the best kind of “interview.” They’re both so smart, funny and knowledgeable and with great stories to tell and wisdom to impart. The hour passed far too quickly as we delved into the essence of how they feel about their lives, their history, their craft, their associates and how it all comes together to create a rich life in the arts that we all get to share in when we hear their music.  I tried to tee it up and let them go and it seemed to flow naturally and easily.  The session ended with questions from the audience and Dave giving us some great selections from the book he should write titled “My Miles Davis Stories.” I’ll buy the first copy.

Not long after my Jazz Talk Tent session ended the storm hit and the outdoor music was all but over.  When it passed I had a chance to catch the all acoustic Sun Ra Archestra (no one was going to chance stepping on a wet stage with anything plugged in at this point) as they plowed on with their delightful mix of free jazz with a funky groove.  The remaining crowd, some of the hardiest jazz lovers in the world, were thrilled to get the music. All in all the day was a great joy albeit cut short. I’m looking forward to a great Sunday and though I haven’t been able to get through to Mother Nature yet, I hear she’s a jazz fan.  She wouldn’t dare to shut us down two days in a row now would she?

Dianne Reeves, Angelique Kidjo & LIzz Wright heat up an already blazing night in Detroit!

When I got my first sense of Friday’s weather in Detroit I felt like I had just landed in Jamaica instead of Michigan.  The day may have been hot, hazy and humid, the temperatures were closer to 100 than 90, but I just forgot all that as my focus was on hitting the ground running to get the most out of my fourth straight visit to “The World’s Biggest Free Jazz Festival.” After visiting a bit with a number of my old friends from the jazz media and record company community at the annual opening night gathering hosted by the festival’s executive director, Terri Pontremoli, I was off to hear the two, major opening night performances.

This year’s artist in residence is the master drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts who was chosen as this year’s featured artist to complement the theme of the 2011 festival “We Bring You The World.” The theme investigates the integration of the music of various parts of the world with jazz and vice versa, and there are dozens of artists from all over the world performing.  It also makes the statement that music began with the drum, so “Citizen Tain” is the man in the middle of it all for the weekend and his performance with what he called his “Drum Club” was the appropriate way to kick things off!

With the sun still blazing, the humidity high and the temperatures still in the 90’s the crowd was a bit sluggish in responding to the non-stop groove theat Jeff and this all-star crew created. Eventually they were compelled to respond and respond they did. With Joe Locke on vibes, bouncing around in an all white outfit with four mallets flying, he was threatening to steal the show from the beginning as he referenced “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” during the first jam of the set, a piece “Tain” introduced as “Motor,” for the Motor City of course. There was an army of percussionists including Susie Ibarra on various, indefinable things to beat on, legendary percussionist Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, and Pedro Martinez. Detroit natives Robert Hurst and Raphael “Ricky” Statin completed the band on bass and saxophone respectively. But to top things off, and it was obviously a great honor and the peak of the night for Mr. Watts, the band was joined in mid-set by the great Nigerian drummer Tony Allen.  Mr. Allen’s regal presence behind the drum kit brought that special rhythm to the stage that tied everything together musically, rhythmically and spiritually.  He was introduced as “The Father of Afrobeat,” and the fact that his beat, combined with Fela Kuti’s voice, sax, words and spirit, did in fact create an exciting music that left an indelible impression that reverberates decades later and even today is certainly true. You can hear it today in the music of bands like Antibalas, Chicago Afrobeat Orchestra, Budos Band, and Mandrill, one of the bands that will grace the same stage later in the festival. After an hour plus of this great groove that came from a decidedly African source the stage was set for the final performance of day one of the 32 Detroit Jazz Fest.

Between sets, the spirit of Detroit greats of the past was conjured with the playing of the soundtrack of Trouble Man, from the 1972 film of the same name, that featured arrangements by J.J. Johnson and some fine saxophone leads by the unsung hero Trevor Lawrence. Sprit was the operative word here as that friendly Detroit hospitality filled the air on the hot, steamy night.  The weather seemed to be the common bond and a main topic of conversation and a unifying factor for the night.  That, and love of the music of course.  I have had a number of people ask me if coming to Detroit was a scary thing as they thought of it as a dangerous place.  All I can say is that each time I’ve attended the festival I’ve felt like I was at one, big family reunion with strangers acting like long, lost cousins, chatting about the day, the weather, the music, and Detroit in general.

Once the set began with three of the most dynamic women vocalists you are ever likely to see on one stage, in front of a blazing band, all other topics were rejected and the music was the one and only focus for the next hour and a half.  There were 8 musicians on the stage and 5 of them were strong women.  I have been thinking recently of how the troubling direction that the world has taken lately could be altered if the “Mother Spirit” of the universe would just take over and dominate things.  Well, on this night, in this place, that is exactly what occurred as Dianne Reeves, Angelique Kidjo and Lizz Wright sang from their souls, and shared their messages of positivity that delivered a sense of peace to the proceedings that lingers with me still. With them were two more masters of jazz who happen to be world-famous women and accomplished musicians. Detroit’s own Geri Allen alternated between acoustic and electric piano, while Terri Lyne Carrington drove the band from behind the drum kit.  They were joined by Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo, who exhibited tremendous versatility on both electric and acoustic guitars playing everything from pure jazz to funk, African, Latin and everything between and beyond. Bassist James Genus, known primarily for double bass, plugged in for this evening’s work and he needed to be electric as the big sound coming from the stage would have probably overwhelmed him otherwise. Completing the band was renowned percussionist Munyungo Jackson.

Each of these ladies could easily be the featured artist alone but to have all three as a single unit was simply astounding.  Though they are so very different their message was so much the same…that women of the world are to be respected, revered and listened to! Dianne Reeves has a powerful, majestic voice that explodes like a cannon and shakes the walls of your soul. Angelique Kidjo brings her African heritage to the stage, she’s originally from Benin, and sings in her native language as well as English with and energy and emotion that is matched only by her great dancing ability. At one point she danced among the crowd and had everyone joining in singing and moving with her.  Young Lizz Wright has a sultry elegance to her deep and expressive voice that owes much to gospel and soul artists who came before her. 

The night was billed as Sing The Truth! The message was a plea for understanding and positivity in a crazy world. Message received on this night by this audience! The show as also a salute to the great women who have come before including Abbey Lincoln, Miriam Makeba, Odetta, Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson and other contemporaries like Joni Mitchell and Tracey Chapman. When the night was done and the message received the audience, not to mention the performers, were absolutely spent on this hot night in Detroit. But the exhaustion was from having involved themselves in an artistic exercise in peace.  There was not a single negative vibe in the air. Every face wore a smile. People had nothing but kind words to say to one another. The ladies came to Sing The Truth, and the message was peace.  Mission accomplished!  They’ve performed this same show around the world.  Would that they could take it to every single corner of the planet!