OMG we are at the midpoint of the Festival! Already! 

Yesterday we “only” went to 4 concert venues. We lined up early – 3:30 – to get wrist bands for Bria Skonberg in Kilbourn Hall at 6.  By 4 we were back on the street  relaxing in the sun listening to  a couple of local high school jazz bands. At some point we had had enough bad intonations – don’t get me wrong they are wonderful groups and the opportunity for them to perform in a major venue is priceless, BUT they are high school bands and we have lived through our own children and grandchildren, they do make mistakes – and we drifted away to get in line to get our favorite seats in Kilbourn. 

Bria and her quartet mesmerized us. She performs on trumpet and she sings. This does not say enough, she owns the trumpet and her voice must be heard live to appreciate it. Her dynamic range is as broad as any I can remember. Her soft notes essentially prevent the audience from breathing for fear of missing anything (more later) and she ranges well up into the loudest without ever being excessive. Her group were also wonderful, it was thrilling to watch her enjoy their performances when she stepped out of the center or hunkered down to get out of the line of sight of the bass player. Read Frank DeBlase in City for more. While there read his take on the Willows who we wrapped the evening with.

We ran out on to the Street to get in line for Adam Ben Ezra in Max, this show was starting in 45 minutes! Carol had food with her and I grabbed some street food (Louisiana style blackened chicken) to eat while in line. We ate as the line moved and tossed the remains into a trash barrel as we approached the entrance. Saying Ben Ezra is a Bass player places far to many limits on him. He is a musical force wrapped around a Double Bass. In some respects he might be considered a “one trick pony” but oh what a “trick.” He plays the bass strings, the body as percussion and works around it using a wide variety of electronics to layer sound upon sound, all the layers controlled by foot paddles to create massive walls of sound or single instrument sounds. At one point he set all of this in motion with several bass lines running and put down the bass to move to the piano which he played beautifully to complete the soundscape.  As he lifted his hands from the keys the entire structure went silent.  Ron Netsky has a review of this performance, scroll down on the link above to get his take.

We dropped in on Djabe in the Big Tent but did not feel the need to stick around, we have heard them before and while they were good the Tent was packed and we wanted to hear the Willows in Max so we got in line, again. They sing close harmony and they are wonderful to listen to for a while. Carol got antsy because they seemed a bit too precious (my word not hers). They are dancers as well, but their attempt to include dance in the repertoire was limited by lack of stage space and the choice of clothing preventing freedom of movement. We walked after about 30 minutes. DeBlase’s write up above is much more favorable, I see his point.

I went on to the Jam Session with limited expectations and found Bob Sneider back in control. As I entered the bar I noted Bria standing near with her trumpet case in hand, I got hopeful. I greeted her and thanked her for the marvelous performance which got me a smile. 30 or 40 minutes later Bob called her to the stage with her drummer and pianist. She took command of the audience first with Bye Bye Blackbird. The bar is a noisy place. She lowered her volume to a point of almost silent and the bar crowd stopped talking and listened hard. she brought it back up and the conversation level resumed. She played another number forgive me for not having the name – it was a standard – and called it a night, so did I.

Tonight’s plan: VickiKristinaBarcelona at Max at 5:30; Audrey Ochoa at Max either at 6:15 or 10 and Marc Cohn and the Blind Boys of Alabama at 8 in Eastman Theater. 

For those in attending “See you on the Street”