Gorgeous weather was a fitting backdrop for my annual trek to the Fort. Jazz Night in America host Christian McBride is the current talent wrangler of this storied fest. He tries to drive a wide swath of artists sometimes to a disjointed affair. After an arduous security gauntlet, we make it to the field. First up on the main stage:
Nubya Garcia: British sax wailer Garcia is part of the new young lions. With cohorts like Shabaka Hutchings and Theon Cross, the UK contingent wows crowds with their skills while incorporating a wide variety of styles. Elements of dub and classical are seamlessly added to her jazz chops.
Knower: Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi are LA based multi-instrumentalists who create electronic dance and funk. A crowded Quad stage made viewing difficult, and the music seemed better suited for sweaty club happenings.
Dianne Reeves: Hailed as the jazz vocal successor to Betty Carter or Carmen McCrae, Reeves is an accomplished scat vocalist who interprets the world songbook with ease. Anchoring the main stage, she kept the old jazzbos engaged.
Fleck, Castaneda, Sanchez Trio: An unusual but excellent smash, the Quad stage had banjo artist Bela Fleck, Edmar Castaneda on harp, and Antonio Sanchez on drums. Banjo and harp exchanged fluid runs that were mesmerizing. Not since Alice Coltrane have I seen such expert use of jazz harp. Watching Edmar on the big screen gave you a feel for just how difficult the instrument is to play, he rocked back and forth as if he was tangoing with the thing. Bela has wowed me on multiple occasions, while older and grayer, he still moves the banjo from the Appalachian porch to all corners of the world. His excellent documentary of him travelling through Africa playing impromptu jams with villagers is great. Fleck’s cover of Help On The Way from the Day of The Dead tribute with The Wood Brothers and Zakir Hussein remains one of my favorite cover/tribute tunes.
Flying Lotus: I was unclear how Steven Ellison’s Flying Lotus project would translate live. The recordings are expansive afrofuturist blowouts with the likes of Thom Yorke, Kamasi Washington, and Kendrick Lamar doing stints. He did a DJ set with trippy visuals which got the young kids bumping and most older patrons running for the other stages. Ellison is the grand nephew of John and Alice Coltrane which boosts his jazz pedigree.
Janelle Monae: Closing out the Saturday at the fest was actress, model, musician, spokesperson, and all around overachiever Monae. Her costumes and stage presence were intimidating. While on the podium, she had a roadie open a large cape for her to change looks without leaving the stage. A large band with horns, keys, drums, guitar, bass, and two gogo dancers were in stark contrast to Flying Lotus’ solo perch. Her setlist was posted:Float, Champagne Shit, Django Jane, QUEEN, Electric Lady, Lipstick Lover, Pynk, I Like That, and did a sizable encore Make Me Feel, Cold War, Tightrope, and Come Alive ( the last tune I’m told is the theme to the cheesy reality show Love Island.Monae is a chameleonic presence that had the crowd bobbing back to their cars.
No comments:
Post a Comment