Greetings, Fellow Travelers. I’ve been a bad blogger. I’ve been racking up all of these wonderful LiveJazz experiences and not sharing them with you. From seeing Muhal Richard Abrams debut his new work for Warriors of the Wonderful Sound to flying round-trip in one day to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival to venturing out to South Jersey, and beyond – I’ve been seeing and photographing some fantastic artists at work. Have I shared any of this with you? Noooo…
Please forgive me and dive into this whirlwind post that doesn’t do justice to any of what I’ve seen, heard and photographed, but at least gets me back on track (almost). Thank you for your understanding…enjoy!
Muhal Richard Abrams with Warriors of the Wonderful Sound
Renowned pianist-composer Muhal Richard Abrams joined Bobby Zankel’s Warriors of the Wonderful Sound following the Center City Jazz Festival on April 28 to debut a work commissioned by the adventurous big band. In 1965, Abrams co-founded Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), the seminal collective that has nurtured the careers of such innovators as Amina Claudine Myers, Henry Threadgill, and members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. A Philadelphia resident since 1975, Zankel organized the Warriors in 2001 as a platform for kindred spirits seeking to stretch the compositional boundaries of jazz. The concert was presented in collaboration with Ars Nova Workshop and held a stone’s throw away from Philadelphia at Montgomery Community College in Blue Bell, PA, where the Director of Cultural Affairs, Helen Haynes welcomes a diverse range of stellar performers. Personnel on the Warriors date included Bobby Zankel, alto saxophone; Bryan Rogers, tenor saxophone; Elliott Levin, tenor/flute; Daniel Peterson, alto saxophone; Julian Pressley, baritone saxophone; Herb Robertson, trumpet; Bart Miltenberger, trumpet; Stan Slotter, trumpet; Adam Hershberger, trumpet; Fred Scott, trombone; Larry Toft, trombone; Dave Champion, trombone; Steve Swell, trombone; Tom Lawton, piano; Anthony Tidd, bass; Craig McIver, drums.
We sweat. We endure. We love.
Barely 12 hours after Muhal Richard Abrams conducted the last note with the Warriors, your LiveJazz journeyer was among the eager crowd streaming through the gates of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday, April 29. I almost missed my flight, Fellow Travelers; who knew there would be long lines at the airport at 5:00 in the morning, for goodness sakes! However, thanks to the kindness of a stranger, I jumped ahead of at least 30 folks as my flight was being announced and arrived at the gate just in the nick of time.
The Jazz & Heritage Festival sprawls across seven stages and various tents. If you’re into jazz, chances are you’ve been to New Orleans and know how warm and lovely the folks are down there. The temperature was soaring into the 80’s as I was getting my bearings on the festival grounds. I found myself walking toward a familiar looking stranger who wiped my brow while suggesting I needed a handkerchief. When I told him about the LiveJazz Journey, he offered the headline above. It pretty much summed up my experience of the Festival.
My must-see list for the day included Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Dianne Reeves and Debo Band Ethiopian Groove Collective. Don’t ask me why I thought that’s all I would see. Boy was I wrong…there was soooo much going on; I went from tent-to-tent and stage-to-stage, barely pausing to grab a bottle of cold water. I must have been quite a sight, because the gracious purveyor of assorted beverages also handed me a chunk of ice to cool off with. Dianne Reeves had been replaced by Ramsey Lewis, so I didn’t get to see my favorite vocalist on the planet, but the Debo Band was just phenomenal…talk about high energy! Wow! It was a great day and I was really grateful to get home later that night, safe and sound.
Two guys and two guitars.
Virtuosic guitarist Jef Lee Johnson took a moment off from touring with Esperanza Spaulding to join bassist Chico Huff for Jazz Bridge’s final neighborhood concert in Collingswood, NJ on May 3rd. The low-key, congenial gathering was really refreshing after the intensity of the two festivals and concert of the previous week. Johnson hails from the area and is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist of note. He’s performed with a wide range of R&B, jazz and pop artists. Jazz Bridge is a non-profit that was founded by musicians and fans to provide support to jazz and blues artists in crisis. They also organize a series of concerts in neighborhoods around Greater Philadelphia.
There’s more to report, but that’s all for now, Fellow Travelers. Go out and see some live jazz!
LiveJazz Journey 