Saturday @ Litchfield Jazz Festival

[relyles]

I spent Saturday at the Litchfiled Jazz Festival in Goshen, CT along with Chaz Lounge and Valerie. Here are my impressions.

The day started with pianist David Berkman in a quartet that also featured saxophone player Dick Oats, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and the very musical drummer Bill Stewart. Solid set featuring interesting compositions by Berkman and very good contributions from all the musicians.

Next was Jane Bunnett & the Spirits of Havana. Prior to yesterday I had not heard any of Bunnett's music and this was a pleasant introduction. The group played an infectious brand of Afro-Cuban jazz that in the end made me wonder whether I had just participated in a Yoruba ceremony. It was also obvious that Bunnett has taken the time to investigate this music and create something of substance. For the most part I did not pay attention to the individual contributions of the musicians, but Bunnett did have a couple of interesting solos on soprano.

The third group was one of the highlights of the day for me - Mulgrew Miller & Wingspan. Joining Miller were Steve Nelson on vibes, trumpeter Duane Eubanks, Antonio Hart on alto and soprano saxophone and a bassist and drummer that were unfamiliar to me. The group featured pieces from Miller's latest recording on Maxjazz, The Sequel. Miller has the ability to write some gorgeous melodies that provide excellent backdrops for the soloists. On Saturday Hart and Nelson were the stars to me, but everyone played bery well. Hart continues to impress me in sideman appearances that I have heard him in and Nelson is simply a genius on the vibes. Great set!

Next came Vanessa Rubin with special guest James Spaulding. Rubin has a good voice and sang some interesting songs (although I am not sure how I feel about her rendition of the classic R&B tune "With You I'm Born Again"), but the energy level of her set skyrocketed when James Spaulding came on stage. He first played two tunes with Rubin's trio - Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream" and Joe Henderson's "Recorda Me" - and then played a couple of numbers backing up Rubin. He is a terrific musician and its a shame more people are not listening to him. After the set I spoke to him briefly and he was very gracious. When I told him that I went to college with his daughter and that I had purchased his self produced recent CD on his own Speetones label several months ago he was even just a tad bit more friendly to me.

After what I presumed to be the dinner break the evening performances started with the Heath Brothers - featuring all three Percy, Jimmy and Tootie along with Jeb Patton on piano. Very enjoyable set by three masters of the music. They have basically been playing the same songs for a long time ("A Sight For Sore Ears" and "Gingerbread Boy" to name a couple), but what made this performance special in addition to their superb musicianship was the joy they exhibited while playing. Every now and then it is a pleasure to witness someone who really enjoys what they are doing to draw you into the performance. And by the way, Jimmy has a potential career as a standup comic if he ever decides to put his horn down.

The final act of the day was the Wayne Shorter quartet with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. The one or two times I heard this group's Verve Release Footprints Live I honestly was not feeling them. Shorter did not seem to be playing much sax and I found it difficult to get into the overall sound. In person this group presents a completely different experience. In the beginning of their performance I had my concerns - there did not seem to be any easily recognizable form to the music and Shorter still did not seem to be playing much of his horn - but as I listened further I found myself mesmerized by their performance. This truly is a group. For the most part no one person was featured and I am not sure whether anyone ever really soloed. Instead they listened closely to each other and just played - feeding and reacting off one another in a nearly telephathic manner. At times it seemed that Perez played something on piano that altered the direction of the music, Shorter picked it up and commented, Patitucci would play a thumping bass vamp to compliment and then all of a sudden Blade would come crashing down on the drums with a thunder that shook the tent. By the way, I have heard Blade live a number of times with Joshua Redman and never took much notice. I realized last night that he is a demon on the drums. I am definately going to have to pay closer attention to him. Overall the level of interplay and creativity of Shorter's group was captivating. When they stopped playing the audience let out a roar releasing the tension that had been building while hypnotized by the intense performance. Wow!

A great day of live jazz!

[Valerie]

Gee, relyles, you really made it easy for me!! After your thorough review, I don't have much to add since I agree with almost every single thing you said!!

As much as I enjoyed Wayne, I probably have to admit that Mulgrew and his group would be in the number one slot! Their one-hour set went by so fast that, although I was exhilerated, I was very disappointed that it was over. And you are so correct: Steve Nelson is a genius!! And as I got to tell him, it was an added pleasure to see him physically front and center, as every time I've ever heard him he's been on the side of the stage in profile. He was grinning from ear to ear and said that he'll have to talk to Dave about that!!

The only thing I disagree with you about was Vanessa Rubin. Aside from her group and James Spaulding, whom I was absolutely thrilled to hear after all these years, I could have done without her performance. I must admit, though, that she was off-key less than usual but that constant "sliding" and rarely hitting notes head-on gets on my last nerve! One could say that she certainly is "stylized".

Meeting relyles and Chaz was a real pleasure. Everything was big fun except the heat and the miserable humidity. But, I sure was grateful that we had very little rain.

P.S. to Jazzy Mary: Several times throughout the day and evening, guess who sat right next to me?!? Your least favorite person who runs the festival!! LOL!! It's obvious that the festival is run mostly by "volunteers" and things suffer as a result of that, but basically it's a great event, IMHO.

[steve(thelil)]

I hate to pee on your parade, but the year I attended, I felt that the vibe at Litchfield was the most repressive, unfriendly and least-music oriented of any festival I've attended. And I've attended many.

The organizers/volunteers seemed so much more into the idea of "BEING IN CHARGE" than they were interested in making it a good time for attendees.

[Valerie]

Originally posted by steve(thelil)
I hate to pee on your parade, but the year I attended, I felt that the vibe at Litchfield was the most repressive, unfriendly and least-music oriented of any festival I've attended. And I've attended many.

The organizers/volunteers seemed so much more into the idea of "BEING IN CHARGE" than they were interested in making it a good time for attendees.

Well, maybe they got a better batch of volunteers this year as every one I dealt with (and there were a lot of them) was very friendly, cooperative and went out of their way to be helpful. I was given two front-row, center seats, free t-shirt, transportation all over the fairgrounds in the "go-cart," free food and drinks, and an all-access pass as a guest of one of the musicians. Believe me, I had NO complaints!!

And music-wise, you can see from the line-up, I think, that the music was absolutely top-notch and an incredible array of talent in 10 hours!

[steve(thelil)]

So I may be wrong and my opinion may be based on outdated information and limited personal knowledge and experience.


I stand by it anyway.

[relyles]

I have heard similar complaints about the organizers in the past. I did not have to intereact with them much so I can not comment. This is only my second time attentding Litchfield, the first being about six years ago. The only thing I really care about is that I heard some great music.