We got an early start, 3:30 for the line at Wilson Hall, GEVA to hear VickiKristinaBarcelona. We were enthralled by their performance of Tom Wait’s repertoire as they envisioned  it. From instrumentation to attire down to their stage presence they presented a carefully put together performance that kept us pinned for the entire hour. Read Jeff Spevak’s review at this link (it takes you to all the City Jazz Blog posts).  Once again we enjoyed the use of GEVA for  a venue even if it is a bit away from the center of activity (15 minute walk to Jazz Street Stage).

Following the performance we took that walk and paused for some truck side food on Main St (Marty’s Brisket) before entering Eastman Theater for Marc Cohn with The Alabama Blind Boys. We had seats in the center of the loge in the second row, right behind an annoying family of three with a bored restless child and a mother who could not stay put for more than 30 seconds. [rant on]I do not understand why parents spend so much money for tickets to bring children into a performance of this nature without preparing them for appropriate behavior. I also want to remind people that a concert venue is not your living room. There are others who paid the same ticket price who are afflicted by your behavior. [rant off] . The interaction between the Blind Boys and Marc was wonderful with Marc joining in their gospel and with them supporting Marc’s own numbers. When they wrapped the set after almost an hour and 45 minutes we were surprised at how much time had passed.  Please read Frank DeBlase at the link above for a more detailed review.

Down the stairs and across the street to Max to hear Audrey Ochoa on trombone with bass and drums making up her trio. I really enjoyed her trombone work once she settled into the performance. Initially her playing felt stiff to me and made me uncomfortable. Her stage presence contributed to a sense of unease. However her playing smoothed out and I was enjoying the performance without a lot of excitement when Carol decided she had had enough and it was time to move down the street to the Jam. So we did. 

We arrived as John Nugent took the stage for a couple of numbers with Bob Sneider. This was followed by Bob’s son on trombone and then by more students. It was approaching midnight and there did not appear to be any Festival performers in line to play so we headed home.

The Plan:  Lionel Loueke &Raul Midn in Kilbourn; Harold Mabern Trio at Max; KIandace Springs Temple Building (haven’t been there yet);Thomas Backman at Lutheran Church. The order is definitely subject to change and as always the word on the street will lead to changes.  

Will look for you on The Street

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”

Another sun filled warm day for jazz Fest had us on the street at 3:30 to pick up wrist bands for Stefon Harris Blackout in Kilbourn Hall. Although it is Harris’ band it really was an equal partnership among Piano, Bass, Sax and Drums. Harris on Vibes and Marimba often at the same time set the tone.  Frank DeBlase says it better than I can. We drifted out of Kilbourn to pick up dinner at Java before venturing on to Lutheran Church for what may have been the surprise of the night Jostien Guldbransen on stage played an hour of straight ahead Jazz in a venue noted for the experimental avant gard and often difficult to follow music. It worked and we loved it. 

We left heading toward Christ Church where the organ was to be heard for the first time at the Jazz Fest, but we got sidetracked by the sounds of Klezmer wafting from the Big Tent. After looking at the food options outside the tent we were drawn in and found ourselves sitting with friends for the hour of delightful Klezmer by MIchael Winograd and the Honorable Mentshn .  Unfortunately we got to talking and did not pay close attentshn.

We moved on out to get in line at Max for Scot Robinson Quartet. We scored seats at the front and center table with new Jazz Street friends. Robinson looks like a comic character in is music vest and hat made of worn out sax reeds. He seemed not quite in focus until he picked up the sax and with no preamble laid us back in our seats with the opening from a Beatles song. Sax wailing solo. From there it  just kept getting better. Keyboard player Helen Sung was extraordinary  on piano and then she powered up the Hammond organ which was wonderful.  
The drum and bass were also fine pairing with Robinson. They started their last number after the 11 PM closing and most of the audience stayed on.  We elected to skip the Jam session  at Hyatt and went straight to the apartment.

The Plan (is fuzzier than usual):  Kilbourn Hall at 6 for Bria Skonberg;  7 the Temple Building for the Yellowjackets (not related to the U of R); 7:45 Hatch for Adam Ben Ezra; and 10 Max for The Willows. Somehow we also want to hear Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio and Djabe. Watch for the actual tomorrow.

Last night went from the sublime to the awful back to the sublime. We got in line early to await the performance of Tommy Smith and Peter Johnstone in Hatch Hall. We met old friends, mostly Jazz Fest line friends and had an enjoyable hour wait in the sun on Main Street. The performers are two members of Scottish National jazz Orchestra (SNJO) which had performed the night before and part of which were performing at the same time – more about that later. Here is Ron Netsky’s review of that performance. I totally agree, both Carol and I were entranced by the entire performance. I remember a similar use of the piano with saxophone from 2 years ago when we took our grandson Avi to a sax workshop during the festival, and later saw the effect used in concert at the Lyric.

We floated out of the hall to get dinner while waiting for Patti LaBelle in Eastman Theater main stage. There was lots of excitement and most of the crowd were clearly not Club Pass holders. I looked at the stage and started to worry about what was to come. It was full of more “stuff” than necessary to back up a fine singer. My fears were justified as LaBelle took the stage. She can barely move anymore and whoever setup the sound seemed intent on masking anything other than her impossibly wonderful high notes in loud muddy bass. I like strong bass that makes me rattle, but in this case it was just mud. I tried turning my hearing aids off, I tried linking into the theater’s excellent hearing loop, I looked at Carol and the next time the audience got to its feet in response to even louder bass and shrieks from Patti we clambered over the people between us and the aisle leaving our excellent seats and too much money for the street. See DeBlase  for his take. Carol says that was not the Patti LaBelle she remembers from the ’80s.

We skipped the crowd in front of the Jazz Street Stage (Bonerama – again) by taking the alley through to Swan to get to Christ Church to hear Empirical, Sax, Vibraphone, Bass and Drums. For a change this group worked well with the sound in the cavernous stone chamber of the church. We enjoyed the balance of their set and got to chatting with Jazz Street friends, the lady of the couple is our former dental hygienist, and we were forced to take the back door out of the church which put us on Lawn Street just across from Montage without having to fight the crowds by the Chestnut Street Stage.

Here was a sextet from the SNJO minus one. The pianist was busy playing at Hatch, so they found a local sit in – Bill Dobbins! It seemed a reasonable substitution 🙂 When we got there it was SRO so we stood. The show was listed as an Art Blakey tribute and it was great to hear an hour of straight jazz standards well played and clearly enjoyed both by the performers and the audience. 

I walked Carol home and I went on to the jam session. Sat with Jacob again and had most of a beer while listening to more straight jazz standards. The highlight was the sax player from LaBelle’s group who really let loose. Clearly there were fine musicians in the group, I just get angry watching choreographed up, down, side to side march around the stage shit. Can you tell I really disliked that performance?

Today’s Plan: Stefon Harris & Blackout at Kilbourn; Jostien Gulbrandsen at Lutheran Church; Scott Robinson Quartet at Max. There are others on the list for tonight but as always it depends on how we feel about the venue we are in and the word from others we talk to.

Look to see you on “The Street” or in your responses to the post.