by Scott Yanow
The 67th annual Monterey Jazz Festival (counting the 2020 version which, due to COVID, was cancelled) took place the fourth weekend of September at the Monterey Fairgrounds. This was the first time that Darin Atwater was Monterey’s artistic director. He succeeded Jimmy Lyons (1958-91) and Tim Jackson (1992-2023), filling some pretty large shoes.
While there were many fewer major names at the festival than usual, and a few departures from jazz including four gospel-oriented sets, with five venues (four outside) operating simultaneously, one was never short of worthy creative jazz performances to choose from. Atwater’s background is mostly in classical and gospel music rather than jazz, but he did a fine job of continuing Monterey’s legacy as the most significant annual jazz festival.
Here are a few minor criticisms. While the Blind Boys Of Alabama (with Bobby Rush on blues harmonica) put on a rousing and fun set, otherwise the gospel groups were very much out of place. After all, how many jazz bands appear at gospel festivals? Mavis Staples at 85 was one of the headliners and, although her band and her background singers were excellent, she no longer has much of a voice, resorting to either yelling or talking the lyrics. The blues were largely absent from Monterey, there were several funk bands (and a rapper) that had little if any jazz content, and there was no New Orleans jazz, very little swing, no big bands, and surprisingly few groups based in Northern or Southern) California.
But by choosing wisely, one could create their own jazz festival from the five venues and there was plenty of great jazz to be experienced if one were in the right place at the right time.
First for the more well-known names. Quite a few major players have passed through the SFJazz Collective during the past 20 years. The current version of the group, with Chris Potter on tenor and soprano, tenor-saxophonist David Sanchez, trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Edward Simon, bassist Matt Brewer, and drummer Kendrick Scott, has one of its strongest lineups. Potter took several stormy solos at Monterey, Rodriguez was outstanding (sometimes hinting at Freddie Hubbard), and Wolf’s vibes, in addition to his creative solos, proved to be a consistently significant part of the group’s ensemble sound.
Chief Adjuah may have changed his name from Christian Scott and started his set playing an African harp, but when he returned to trumpet, he showed that he can still play over grooves with the best of them, hitting some impressive high notes. His group with flutist Elena Pinderhughes, on such originals as “Songs She Never Heard” and “Sunrise In Beijing,” played intriguing and unpredictable music that blended together sounds and ideas from different cultures.
Pianist Jason Moran was Monterey’s artist-in-residence this year. In addition to performing as a guest with the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and giving a talk on Duke Ellington, he was featured with two different groups. A trio with drummer Marcus Gilmore and Tyler Gilmore on tape loops was remarkably boring as they repeated the same phrase endlessly for 15 minutes. But much better was Moran’s playing with the current version of his Bandwagon. Joined by trumpeter Akili Bradley (whose brittle tone recalled Don Cherry), bassist
Tarus Mateen, and drummer Nasheet Waits, Moran did justice to several Thelonious Monk songs including “Monk’s Dream” and an uptempo “Think Of One.”. He paid homage to the themes and Monk’s conception while also taking the music outside in his own unpredictable way.
Samara Joy continues to grow and experiment as a jazz singer, not coasting at all. She utilized a seven-piece band with four horns during a colorful set filled with surprises. Although she jumps into her upper register a bit too often, her voice has grown in its beauty and range, and her youthful enthusiasm (and obvious amazement at her commercial success) remains infectious. She performed such numbers as Charles Mingus’ “Reincarnation Of A Love Bird” (which was outfitted with her lyrics), a Tadd Dameron ballad, “You Stepped Out Of A Dream,” “Sweet Pumpkin” (which had an inventive arrangement by trombonist Donavan Austin), her version of the Nancy Wilson hit “Guess Who I Saw Today,” “Dreams Come True,” and a medley of Thelonious Monk’s “San Francisco Holiday” and “Ugly Beauty.” Samara Joy is now at the top of her field along with Roberta Gambarini and just a handful of others.
Tenor-saxophonist Joshua Redman and singer Gabrielle Cavassa made for an ideal team during their memorable set. Imagine a Julie London-type singer (Ms. Cavassa’s lightly swinging and quietly sensuous vocals brought out the beauty in the melodies) teamed with a group that hinted at the Keith Jarrett Quartet of the 1970s (which featured Joshua’s father Dewey Redman) and Charles Mingus. Redman harmonized behind the singer on such tunes as “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” “Rhode Island Is Famous For You,” and the Eagles’ “Hotel California” and then took the music outside with his group (pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Philip Norris, and drummer Nazir Ebo). Redman was in exuberant form, taking some outstanding solos and displaying his impressive chops in bebop, swing, and freer explorations while Cornish had an outstanding feature as a solo pianist.
Guitarist Stephane Wrembel has gained some fame as a top-notch interpreter of Django Reinhardt songs and for his solos in the Gypsy Jazz genre. At Monterey he de-emphasized that in favor of romantic folk songs. Leading a sextet that featured pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, Wrembel played some slow atmospheric works, the Django ballad “Hindu Man, and a few swinging numbers but the set was less memorable than usual and contained few fireworks.
Altoist Miguel Zenon usually plays pretty adventurous music but, in his duets with pianist Luis Pedermo, he embraced rich melodies and boleros from South America. The music was consistently beautiful, Zenon (in his tone and double-time playing) sometimes sounded surprisingly close to Charlie Parker, and Pedermo proved to be a masterful accompanist and occasional soloist. I could have listened to this music for hours; fortunately they played a set apiece on two different nights.
The always-dazzling pianist Hiromi and her Sonicwonder (consisting of trumpeter Adam O’Farrill, bassist Hadrien Feraud, and drummer Gene Coye) performed a typically high-powered set. Hiromi really does not need any other musicians and can be heard at her very best playing solo acoustic piano but this was an entertaining and impressive outing. Doubling on synthesizer, Hiromi performed some funky music with her musicians, featured the often-outstanding playing of O’Farrill, and took a virtuosic piano cadenza that deservedly received a big ovation from the audience.
Bassist Stanley Clarke led the sextet N-4EVER. While its title may lead one to believe that Clarke would be performing songs from his Return To Forever days with Chick Corea, much of the music was newer and the group had its own identity. There was outstanding playing from saxophonist Emilio Modeste (particularly on tenor), violinist Evan Garr (a real crowd pleaser), keyboardist Beka Gochiashvili (who avoided sounding like Corea), guitarist Colin Cook, and drummer Shariq Taylor in addition to Clarke. The best song performed by the core group was “Song For John” (which at first had Clarke bowing his bass). On an exciting version of the closer, “No Mystery,” Hiromi sat in on piano and stole the show.
This year’s festival was also noteworthy for the many discoveries of lesser-known talents who we will certainly hear much more from. Here are six artists (only one of whom appeared on the main stage) who I was lucky enough to see.
Drummer Leon Joyce Jr. led a straight ahead jazz quartet that featured tenor-saxophonist James Mahone, organist Wayne De La Cruz, and vibraphonist Tommy Kesecker. While each of the musicians were excellent as they showed on “Groove Merchant,” “Moose The Mooche,” and “Jeannine,” Kesecker’s inventive and fluent solos marked him as a vibist to go out of one’s way to look for.
Drummer Ulysses Owens has long championed up-and-coming talents. The other members of his Generation Y quintet (trumpeter Anthony Hervey, altoist Erena Terakubo, pianist Tyler Bullock, and bassist Thomas Milovac), a group playing in the tradition of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, are all in the early parts of their career and show a lot of potential. Hervey in particular took blazing solos (particularly on Donald Brown’s “New York”) and it seems obvious that he will develop into a significant great in the years to come.
Recently, pianist Sean Mason recorded an excellent duet album with singer Catherine Russell. At Monterey he led a quartet that also featured tenor-saxophonist Chris Lewis. Mason is a versatile player who showed that he could swing hard, really digging into a hard bop original and a lengthy medium-tempo blues. On the latter, he built up the tension with a bit of repetition and then released it, generating some heat despite the chilly temperature.
Veteran guitarist Mimi Fox led a trio with organist Brian Ho and drummer Lorca Hart. Ho, influenced (as are nearly all organists) by Jimmy Smith, displayed plenty of original ideas while swinging on a minor blues (during which Fox sounded a bit like Wes Montgomery), “Moanin’,” and “4 On 6” which is really an uptempo “Summertime.” Fox is one of the unsung greats while Ho may very well help fill the gap caused by the passing of Joey DeFrancesco and Dr. Lonnie Smith.
Bassist Kyle Eastwood paid tribute to the music from his father’s movies, performing Eastwood Symphonic with his quintet and members of the Monterey Symphony conducted by Gast Waltzing. Actor Morgan Freeman gave a humorous speech and Clint Eastwood, who was sitting in the audience, acknowledged the applause. While the music was mostly not all that exciting (after all, it is soundtrack music meant as background for films), Quentin Collins on trumpet and flugelhorn took one outstanding solo after another. Tenor-saxophonist Brandon Allen and pianist Andrew McCormack were fine, but Collins was the solo star throughout with the music from “A Fistful Of Dollars” being the highpoint.
Tenor-saxophonist James Brandon Lewis led a notable quintet that also included cornetist Kirk Knuffke, cellist Janel Leppin, bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Chad Taylor. They performed some gospel songs including a few that were associated with Mahalia Jackson but in a manner closer to Albert Ayler than to a conservative congregation. Late on Sunday night, it was cold outside but those in the know were in the audience. Whether it was “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “His Eyes Is On The Sparrow,” “Let My People Go,” or “Precious Moment,” the melodies were played with passion and respect before the spirituals were attacked with religious fervor, traveling to unexpected places. Lewis stretched the music while mostly staying melodic, and Knuffke took some purposeful solos but it was Janel Leppin who really demanded one’s attention with furious cello solos that helped make these interpretations quine unique. Charles Mingus would certainly have enjoyed the performance.
For the future, remember these names: Tommy Kesecker, Anthony Hervey, Sean Mason, Brian Ho, Quentin Collins, and Janel Leppin.
And there was much more including sets by David Binney, Tim Green, Somi, Joel Ross, Endea Owens, Jamison Ross, Harriet Tubman, Robert Glasper, Keyon Harrold, Yuko Mabuchi, Gerald Clayton, Pedrito Martinez, Shayna Steele, Orrin Evans with Tarbaby, and others. So much to see!
No jazz fan should go their whole life without attending Monterey at least a few times. On the evidence of the 2024 version, the future of the Monterey Jazz Festival looks quite bright.
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I have a new book that is available from amazon.com. Life Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist. It is subtitled My Jazz Memoirs and is my 12th book and first in a few years. I discuss in an often-humorous fashion my early days and discovery of jazz, my period as the jazz editor of Record Review, the story behind my involvement with the All Music Guide, and I reminisce about some of my adventures as an amateur musician. Included are vintage interviews with Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, and Maynard Ferguson, encounters with Clint Eastwood, summaries of the Monterey and Playboy Jazz Festivals (including a full-length review of the 1985 Playboy Festival), memories of other events (such as the IAJE Conventions), and brief snapshots of many memorable club and concert performances. There is also background information about my other books, evaluations of the jazz critics who inspired me early on, and my thoughts on jazz criticism which includes advice to up-and-coming jazz journalists. Rounding out the book is a chapter on how the jazz writing business has changed over the past 50 years, and appendixes that include the jazz greats of the past, 86 jazz giants of today, 21 young performers to look for in the future, jazz books and DVDs that everyone should own, and a dozen enjoyable Hollywood jazz films.
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