|
Brian emailed me to remind me of this thread, and he's very influential in these parts. (I expect to see him on the Gazebo stage at next year's fest). PICK UP his CD online,. You won't be disappointed. (He did NOT ask me to hype his record, btw. He's kind of almost-annoyingly modest and wll-adjusted)
Anyway, there seemed to be a minor theme on the Gazebo (and a little bit on the main stage): Piano trios with the bass and drums incorporating alot of modern rock/r&b influences, not to mention the fonk.
On the gazebo alone, we had 3 sometimes LOUD (all good) acoustic piano trios:
Hiromi
Bad Plus
EST
And since you're supposed to associate Orrin Evans with Ethan Iverson (of the BP) I have.
And speaking of modern rock/r&b influences, I gotsta mention Russell Gunn's Ethnomusicology. Russell's band was guitar, bass, turntable, trumpet (often driving a synth) and drums. Everyone in the band was a playuh.
Without trying to sound too gagawimpy, virtually every musician on the gazebo stage over the 2 days was a serious player.
Among the sidemen who impressed were the wonderful Bruce Barth, who played with guitarist Daniel Johnson.
Harvey S's Eye Contact was also chock full of fine players. I'll look up their names and edit this later.
In the plain old i(but incredibly played) hard bop department, Eric Alexander caused my jaw to drop. His band, of killer legend Harold Mabern on piano, John Webber on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums were on fire.
I was hanging backstage after their set and Farnsworth befriended me in return for a Miller Genuine Draft for him and another for Eric. He gave me the important info that one could befriend Cedar Walton with an MGD (Cedar's FAVE), so I clearly got the best of the deal. Later it was amusing to watch the band's members trying to make their way across the lawn from the Gazebo to the main arena. I got the impression that every friendly hello to Mabes seemed to result in a long conversation /story with Mabes surrounded by fans.
I'll maybe get back here and discuss the music in more depth.
But for now I wanna talk about but one of the things about the Saratoga Fest that makes it incredible. The beauty of the place on a nice day (in the MIDDLE of a gorgeous state park) and the vibe of the incredibly diverse and relaxed (and larger than ever) crowd make the musicians visibly and audibly excited about playing. And about just hanging out listening to and talking to other musicians.
For instance, Mehldau's entire trio checked out the Bad Plus's entire set, and vice versa. (They were on different stages at different times).
And star power. Here are people who played who I DIDN'T get the chance to check out as much as I might have wanted (or just didn't check out)
Chick Corea w/ 3 different groups, with players including Mike Brecker, Gary Burton, Dave Weckl (I'm guessing); Joe Zavinul (caught some), Shirly Horn, Christian McBride, Geoff Keezer, Dee Dee Bridgewater, David Sanborn.
To summarize: Tons of people wandering, partying, being real, real friendly to one and all, food being cooked and eaten everywhere. Mellow drinking. Blue skies, LUSH trees, warm sunshine. Music surrounding you. And not a single band at the gazebo that made you ask "what the fuck are they doing at a jazz festival?"
Last edited by steve(thelil); July-1st-2003 at 09:52 AM.
|
Linear Mode
