Came back for the Saturday of jazz. A breezy sunny day was excellent for stage hopping.
Jonathan Blake’s Pentad: Caught the last bit of drummer Blake’s group. A young supergroup, the quintet had Immanuel Wilkins on alto, David Virelles on piano, Joel Ross on vibraphone, and Dezron Douglass on bass. These guys all have other jobs but we’re able to come together for a strong start to the Saturday.
Artemis: If the previous listing was a male supergroup, Artemis is the all female counterpart. Bandleader Renee Rosnes on piano, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, Nicole Glover on sax, Noriko Ueda on bass, and Allison Miller on drums. Good set on the main stage with the added bonus of a Wayne Shorter medley complete with Footprints, one of my favorite tunes.
Anat Cohen Quartetinho: Clarinet master fronts the Quartetinho (little quartet). With Tal Mashiach on bass, Vitor Goncalves on piano and accordion, and percussionist James Shipp. This set leaned on Latin numbers from Jobim and Gismonti. I love the sound of the jazz clarinet and Anat is usually the Downbeat poll winner for the year.
Terrace Martin: LA multi- instrumentalist and producer took over the Quad stage. This guy has worked with Snoop Dogg and Herbie Hancock and has multiple Grammys for his work with Kendrick Lamar. Martin told a hysterical story of being on house arrest in LA. He couldn’t travel more than a mile from his house which was tracked by ankle monitor. He decided to go hang out with an old guy who danced at the entrance to the freeway. When he happened upon the man, he offered him a twenty. “ I got plenty of twenty’s, I don’t need yours”. Martin taken aback, said “ I just assumed you are dancing for money”. Turns out the man was a retired exec who danced to make people feel happy, there’s a lesson in there somewhere.
Samara Joy: We saw Samara last year at this fest. At 24, with three Grammys for her debut record, she has graduated to the main stage. Commanding stage presence for such a young artist, Samara seems comfortable in her own skin.
Elvis Costello: Wait, why is he here? Just because his wife, Diana Krall, headlined the Saturday last year. Christian McBride knows how to assemble a lineup. Elvis is a musical chameleon who I have seen at hippie fests, folk fests, and now a jazz fest. I am a huge fan of his music and with a catalog of over 500 songs, some scrape the jazz vein. Elvis’ resume is too extensive to list. On this outing, Elvis has enlisted young jazz lion Donny McCaslin on sax. Donny worked with Bowie on his final Blackstar record. Unfortunately the sound man was snoozing during the opener Watching The Detectives. The dubbed out bass heavy version had a farting noise to accompany the tune. Elvis plodded forward with Almost Blue and some tunes from the excellent Wise Up Ghost record he did with the Roots. A story and a song from the Painted From Memory release he did with Burt Bacharach. He also performed his somewhat obscure Shipbuilding, a song that was famously covered by Robert Wyatt. I guess when I reread this paragraph, Elvis is a logical choice to perform here.
Stanley Clarke and 4 ever: Late start for Stanley’s group on the small Harbor stage. Somebody didn’t do the math on Stanley’s popularity as the small stage was overly packed for his set. With a crew of young band members in tow, the legendary bass player toggled from electric to acoustic for a delicious set of fusion and standards. Paying homage to the bass virtuoso Charles Mingus, Stanley did an excellent reading of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. The title cut from Clarke’s School Days record has arguably the best bass work of the 70s.
Thievery Corporation: The global dance electronic outfit helmed by Eric Hilton and Rob Garza got the crowd moving at the Quad stage. We saw this band in the spring and the fest-abbreviated set did not disappoint.The setup is the same, Garza on turntables and beats, Hilton on percussion, guitar, bass, and some brass were the backdrop to a rotating crew of singers. A sultry Brazilian woman shimmied in thigh high boots and what looked like a black table cloth fastened with one safety pin, a neo- soul young man who did vocals on my fave The Richest Man In Babylon, a young Jamaican sounding woman, and a young male rapper all circled through the vocal duties. This band is fascinating with socially conscious themes pulsing through most tunes. This band has a polished show and I recommend seeing them if they come near you.
Dinner Party: Another supergroup to end the day. Terrace Martin on sax vocals and keys, Kamasi Washington on sax, and Robert Glasper on keys, beats and samples. I am not familiar with this group, but the familiar theme of mining the junction of jazz rap and soul was on full display. Long day of music with excellent weather.
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