Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Newport Jazz Festival 8/2/24 Fort Adams Newport RI

 2024 marks the 70th anniversary of this storied event. Ever since “Jazz Night in America” host Christian McBride took the reins, the festival lineup has been varied, interesting, and ambitious. Let’s talk about the Friday:

Aneesa Strings: Young black woman on standup bass and vocals. Like a more grounded Esperanza Spalding, Aneesa sang and rapped to great effect. Good version of the Nina Simone chestnut My Baby Just Cares For Me.

Sun Ra Arkestra: The legendary, interplanetary troupe files on to the main stage. Sixteen strong, the band four saxes, three trumpets, two trombones, guitar, drummers, keys, and a female singer. To be accepted in this group, you must wear shiny, sequined, flowing costumes. The baritone sax player was dressed in full shiny King Tut headdress. While Sun Ra departed this astral plane years ago, the show must go on. I was hoping to get a glimpse of Sun Ra’s “veep”, Marshall Allen. Original member and saxman Allen turned 100 a few months back and still comes out to honk at the heavens. Another sax player and obvious bandleader stated that Marshall had “other business”. Dip in to the Sun Ra catalog and you are just as likely to get bossa nova as you are free jazz blowouts. The bandleader, also in his 70s, thought it would be a good idea to do multiple flips and breakdance during one tune. When he returned to his seat, I saw one elder sax player mouth “you crazy motherfucker” at him while he was laughing. Sun Ra’s indelible mark on jazz was a great start to this fest and a rousing rendition of Angels and Demons at Play put a big smile on my face.

Jaleel Shaw: Alto and soprano sax player Shaw has done time with the Roy Haynes Quartet. Shaw’s quartet featured some young lions; pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Dezron Douglas, and drummer Joe Dyson Jr. The tunes were all originals and tasty.

Bill Frisell Four: Bill on guitar, Greg Tardy on saxes and clarinets, Gerald Clayton on piano, and Jonathan Blake on drums. Frisell seems to be on the spectrum, the far reaches of the jazz spectrum that is. His stop start delivery must be difficult for band members to follow. Like Monk, I’m sure the music resides very much in Bill’s head and the trick is to take the band along for the ride. What better way to start than a cover of Monk’s WellYou Needn’t. Having played with the likes of Bill Laswell and Ginger Baker, Frisell’s low key chameleonic presence is a joy to watch.

Brandee Younger: Jazz harpist Younger must  get tired of the Alice Coltrane comparisons. Younger has contributed to such distinguished artists  as Common, Lauryn Hill, and Pharoah Sanders. During the pandemic, she streamed some excellent music from her living room with partner bassist Dezron Douglas.

Galactic w/ Irma Thomas: New Orleans jam staple Galactic has been grooving audiences since the early aughts. Helmed by sax man Ben Ellman and drummer Stanton Moore, this group is the house band for the NOLA jazz fest.  The group recently purchased the legendary music venue Tipitina’s to have a home base and collaboration hub. On this tour, Galactic shares the bus with NOLA vocal legend Thomas. Irma is responsible for the Stones hit Time Is On My Side.Today’s set had them reach way back to their first record Crazyhorse Mongoose.

Corey Wong: Guitarist Wong is a repeat performer at the fest. Speedy runs and big band flash were dizzying. Wong pulls Dave Matthews sax man Jeff Coffin on stage for some jammy workouts. Wong’s nerdy presence is outshined by his fret work virtuosity.

Aja Monet: Sultry poetess Monet spit socially conscious verse over a jazzy backdrop. A power to the people vibe was on full display. One fella played this odd instrument that looked like an elongated brass bass clarinet, seemed like a pantooker or a jing-tingler from Whoville.

PJ Morton:  Grammy winning r and b big band fronted by singer Morton. PJ explains they recently came off a tour of Africa from Capetown to Cairo. Morton is musical director for Beyoncé’s sister Solange. The set effortlessly swayed from soul to gospel.

Andre 3000: Dre came to fame as creator of Outkast. Whenever the song Hey Ya came out, you could not go anywhere without hearing it. Fast forward an Uber famous decade and Andre decided to take a detour. Legend has it that Andre was playing his wooden flute in a park when some random old guy told him to take the music on the road. OK. I’m sure that Andre doing the Wordle will attract a million views, so playing a new age flute set on the Newport Jazz stage seems like a good fit.

Kenny Barron: Philly piano legend Barron took his trio to the harbor stage. Playing with such jazz luminaries as Roy Haynes, Lee Morgan, and Dizzy Gillespie, the resume is unparalleled. Nice standard jazz set with the piano, bass, and drums.

Brittany Howard: Alabama Shakes vocalist does a decidedly neo-soul set. A commanding stage presence coupled with a tight band delivers an excellent set. Songs of love and loss are expertly delivered. While I never fully latched on to the Shakes sound, I will do some digging on Howard’s solo work.

Kamasi Washington: Kamasi is a young torch bearer of the world of jazz. Bridging the jazz rap soul plexus he effortlessly blows life into all three. Travels with an LA based troupe of musicians, a modern big band of sorts. The music is sprawling and ambitious. Each Kamasi release is pored over by the jazz elders. Ricky Washington, Kamasi’s sax wailing father comes out for a family skronkfest. Exhausting but fulfilling day.


No comments:

Post a Comment