Photo courtesy of Andrea Canter
Festival Diary

The hills and vineyards of Napa and Sonoma are well-known destinations for travelers seeking the unique ambience and moderate climate of northern California without—or in addition to—the urban hustle of San Francisco, about 2 hours south on Hwy 101. What is much less known is the little gem of jazz festivals that takes place every June in Healdsburg, Sonoma County’s “secret” home to art galleries, wineries, and Jessica Felix. Felix is artist and owner of Art and All That Jazz, a great little gallery on the town square that uniquely combines local art and craft creations with jazz portraits by the late Jerry Stoll, official photographer of the Monterey Jazz Festival in the 1950s-1960s. Putting together her head for business and love of jazz, Felix founded and has directed the annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival since its first production in 1999, and the event has grown to be one of the classiest in venue and line-up in the nation.

With its first NEA grant boosting resources and co-sponsor Steinway providing the piano, the 2004 festival lured a stellar line-up featuring Fred Hersch (in trio and solo formats), the Geri Allen Trio, Charles Lloyd and Zakir Hussein, the Frank Morgan Quartet with George Cables, the Roy Haynes Quartet with Kenny Garrett, and vocalists Kim Parker and Carmen Lundy, as well as performances by local musicians early in the week and in jam sessions nightly at the Hotel Healdsburg. In addition to the music, the festival featured a “gala” jazz and wine dinner, archival films, and a photo and video tribute to Billy Higgins, "Which Way Is East,” which accompanied the musical celebration by Lloyd and Hussein.

Highlights

The Friday and Saturday night shows were held at the Raven Theater, an old movie house that makes a nice setting for jazz—not as intimate as a typical club but much smaller than the usual concert hall.

The contemplative solos and intricate improvisations of Fred Hersch require some attention to fully appreciate, but attention is amply rewarded. Hersch emphasized ballads, perhaps too much given the range of his talent, yet there are no complaints about his renditions of “The Nearness of You” or “Lotus Blossom,” or his own very beautiful “Lots of Stars” and “Song Without Words.”

For the second set, the Geri Allen Trio (with bassist Bob Hurst and festival drummer-in-residence Billy Hart) provided a significant contrast in tempo and sonic zest, emphasizing richly textured original compositions as well as satisfying covers of the late Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron. Hurst and Hart had plenty of space but the sound system muddied the bass lines and the cymbals tended to overpower the mix—a problem that fortunately did not plague Hart (backing Frank Morgan) when festivities moved outside to the Rodney Strong Winery on Sunday afternoon. Geri Allen played with her usual power, speed, and passion, reinforcing her stature as one of the most eloquent voices of jazz piano, and one that we don’t hear often enough on recordings or in live performance.