Photo by Andrea Canter

Iowa City is typical of Midwest college towns—of the 60,000 residents, more than half have close ties to the University of Iowa, as students, professors, and administrative personnel. Unlike many college campuses, however, the university sprawls all over, sitting on both sides of the Iowa River with the “Old Capitol” (early Iowa statehouse) standing like a throne in the middle of the Pentacrest—five marble and limestone buildings that house classrooms and offices. It’s from the east side of Old Capitol, where shade is available to the early arrivals, that the main stage is erected each summer; it is from this crossroads of the Pentacrest that thousands of jazz fans converge to hear the best in local, regional, and national jazz, from straight-ahead bop to Latin and avant garde.

Since its first one-day event in 1991, the Iowa City Jazz Festival has grown from single stage, regional-only line-ups with a few thousand attending to become a three night/two day affair with several side stages, late night jams, multi-cultural concessions, and an average festival attendance of 25,000 who enjoy both local and national talent. Over the years, Festival Director (and hot guitarist) Steve Grismore has booked no less than John Scofield, Paquito D’Rivera, Roy Haynes, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, Jimmy McGriff, John Pizzarelli, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Geri Allen, Stefon Harris, and the Yellowjackets, with national acts becoming a greater part of the main stage line-up. And despite some financial setbacks following a rainy 2004 Festival, the 15^th Iowa City Jazz Festival was a big success, not only in the quality of music presented but in attracting a large enthusiastic audience that peaked at about 5,000 for Kenny Garrett on Saturday night. How enthusiastic? Well, they sold out the 2005 t-shirts by Sunday morning…. Did I mention that this is a free festival?

I grew up in Iowa City so coming to the festival each year is indeed “going home.” But it’s only five hours from the Twin Cities and, home or not, this is a great tradition for the July 4^th weekend. Maybe if this festival had been underway in the 60s, I would have come to appreciate jazz a lot earlier. The following provides an overview—not an in-depth critique—of the music and the festival for 2005. We didn’t hear every act on the main stage—we arrived too late on Saturday and avoided the one downpour on Sunday, thus missing opening sets each day. And often the music at the side stages competed with the lines at the food booths, but we did get a sampling of nearly every band—sometimes from two stages at once!

The Festival, July 1 -3

Zooid photo by Andrea Canter

The 2005 Festival was the second to be held on the Pentacrest, and clearly the festival crew had developed a more efficient routine, tweaked the sound, and enjoyed far less threatening weather that further helped to keep the bands on schedule and, for the most part, sounding great from all points on the campus green and out into the downtown streets. Unlike the extreme heat of 2003 and the intermittent and often relentless downpours of 2004, the weather for 2005 was near-perfect. The only passing cloud came Sunday during the opening set, and by the start of the 2 pm set, the rain had blown off and pleasant sunshine returned. And with the biggest crowd of the weekend jamming the lawn and adjacent sidewalks on a perfect Saturday night, it was only during the latter half of Kenny Garrett’s set that the sound system seemed out of control: From two blocks away (where we made a hasty retreat), the sound was within normal human hearing, but on the lawn in front of Old Capitol, what should have been a beautiful and melodic soprano sax was over-amped into a distorted cacophony—maybe what the under 30-something generation expected, but a painful gaff to the baby boomers and their elders. Intentional or not, this aural assault did not recur on Sunday. Maybe one of those babyboomers was sitting in the sound booth after all.

The festival launched on Friday night with live radio broadcasts from downtown stages featuring the student United Jazz Ensemble and local R&B/soul band FunkDaddies, complete with dancing in the streets. And throughout the festival, as at four previous events, NPR’s “Jazz Set” recorded the music, as well as a number of conversations with performing artists hosted by DJs Mark Ruffin and Neil Tesser for their national show, “Listen Here.”

Throughout the weekend, and in-between sets on the main stage, three side stages (all within a block of the Pentacrest) kept the music going non-stop: The Local Stage brought attention to area stars, from the New Orleans’ sounds of Krewe Osgood and Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, guitarist Billyee Janey, to the Island sounds of Public Property, fusion vibes of EMC, and the “subversive funk” of Central Iowa’s Insurgency. There was always a large crowd standing in front of the Local Stage; sometimes the best way to catch this music was while standing in line for a gelato or falafel plate.

I always enjoy the many opportunities afforded student and faculty musicians at the ICJF. On the College Stage this year, college bands from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI (Lawrence University Trio), Augustana College in Rock Island, IL (New Soul Quartet), and the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls (The Them-Cats), along with a hybrid UNI and UI student/faculty group tagged Standard Air, kept the beat going between main stage sets and gave a good demonstration of the benefits of jazz education.

Photo by Andrea Canter

In addition to the main and side stages, three of the headliners (Kim Richmond, Clay Jenkins, and Reggie Thomas) held a public workshop on Saturday morning, and festival headquarters hotel The Sheraton in downtown Iowa City was the scene of late night jams, Friday and Saturday. Iowa City’s primary jazz venues, the Siren and the Sanctuary, provided additional live jazz on Friday and Saturday nights. Indeed, the music was nonstop this weekend.

Main Stage Music

While we missed the Latin rhythms of Ashanti on Saturday and the eclectic Susie Migét Group on Sunday, we otherwise managed to catch the rest of the Main Stage line-up. Highlights (from my perspective!):

JUISE Big Band. Jazz at the University of Iowa Summer Ensemble (JUISE), formerly known as the Summer Festival Jazz Ensemble, is a collaboration of local musicians under the leadership of University of Iowa Jazz Studies director John Rapson, and among the musicians is festival director Steve Grismore (guitar). Featuring original compositions (many by Rapson), the band presented some of the most “on the edge” music of the festival, a nice change from the usual big band charts that can be in overabundance at summer jazz festivals.

Kim Richmond & Clay Jenkins Ensemble. Blending a big band sound with some exciting small ensemble interplay, multi-reedist Kim Richmond joined forces with trumpet master Clay Jenkins and special guest, pianist Reggie Thomas. There was only a sextet on stage but at times it seemed that a full orchestra had been turned loose. Jazz classics such as Coltrane’s “You Don’t Know What Love Is” and Jimmy Rowles’ “The Peacocks” traded off with original tunes such as Jenkins’ “Fine Line” and Richmond’s “Trouble Shooter.” Jenkins was particularly impressive with his crisp tone; Thomas was often magnificent with his Tyneresque vamps, and I wish I had gotten the name of that hot trombonist!

Photo by Andrea Canter

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. Three guys from Tulsa have been setting the modern jazz world on its ear lately. With Brian Haas on piano, Reed Mathis on electric bass, and Jason Smart on drums, the JFJO blends a European aesthetic with American bravura, as if E.S.T flew off on psychodelics. Haas is a monster pianist, an extra-terrestial Jarrett; Mathis twists and turns the bass inside out; Smart squeezes some Dave King-like sounds from a more traditional trapset. This is not the Bad Plus—although less percussive, JFJO has a harder edge. Their repertoire this weekend largely featured original works from the trio, including such tongue-in-cheek titles as “Halliburton Breakdown” and “Slow Breath/Silent Mind.” Some of the most enjoyably wild rides occurred on a couple totally dismantled standards—“Alone Together” and “I Mean You,” as well as Lennon & McCartney’s “Happiness is a Warm Gun.” Despite a decade of touring and recording, these innovative improvisors are still young enough to be ever-evolving, and it will be exciting to see where they go from here.

Photo by Andrea Canter

The X-Tet. Another large ensemble with an edgy, modern approach to standards and original material, the 12-piece X-Tet (which seems like two too many?) is led by saxophonist/composer Chris Merz, head of jazz studies at the University of Northern Iowa. Other musicians include UNI and U I faculty and students. The set was punctuated with strong solos (note especially Rick Stone on alto and Brent Sandy on trumpet), on such tunes as “Get Happy” and the Merz original, “Thesis and Catharsis.”

Henry Threadgill’s Zooid. While not my favorite group of the weekend, I found Zooid to be one of the most interesting, particularly in the unusual instrumentation of reeds (flute and alto), oud, acoustic guitar, cello, tuba (or trombone), and drums. Threadgill is renowned as an innovator, and rightfully so, even when creating music that at times resembled a freight train bound for Pluto. It was fun to be on board.

Photo by Andrea Canter

Eric Alexander Quintet. Rising star tenorman Eric Alexander brings a lot of energy and imagination to modern straight-ahead jazz. Featured at last year’s Twin Cities Hot Summer Jazz Festival, New York-based Alexander has performed in both Minneapolis and St. Paul in the past year, each time with an impressive supporting cast. With Bob Devoe filling in for Peter Bernstein on guitar, the rest of the team included Jim Rotondi on trumpet, Joe Farnsworth on drums, and Mike LeDonne on Hammond B-3---all frequent collaborators of Alexander on stage and in the recording studio. The quintet came out swinging before a much-too-small early evening audience for this level of talent. Covering standards and originals (largely from LeDonne), from ballad to blues, Alexander and company offered proof that jazz can be “modern” while focusing on melody and harmony.

Conrad Herwig & Brian Lynch. For me, the best surprise of the weekend came in the last set with the collaboration of trombonist Conrad Herwig and trumpeter Brian Lynch with their Latin Side of Miles project. Like the Kim Richmond ensemble, this is a (usually) septet with a Big Band heart, dedicated to putting a Latin spin on the works of Coltrane and Davis. With Robby Ameen on drums, Ruben Rodriguez on stick bass, Pedro Martinez on congas, and Luis Perdomo on piano, the band soared through such classic Coltrane and Davis fare as “Solar,” “Flamenco Sketches,” “Miles’ Mode,” and “Freddie the Freeloader” before Eric Alexander joined in the frey, filling in for the usual saxman, Mario Rivera, on “Seven Steps to Heaven,” “So What,” and “All Blues”. Herwig, Lynch and Alexander make a formidable front line team, horns blending and harmonizing with an edge worthy of Miles. Perdomo is one of the most exciting of a new generation of pianists (currently touring with Ravi Coltrane), and the rest of the rhythm section was superb in providing the heartbeat.

photo by Andra Canter

The festival closed out on Sunday evening, allowing visitors time to return home for 4^th of July picnics and fireworks. But the pyrotechnic peak of the holiday was in Iowa City, from quick bursts of melody to high flying dramas of supersonic displays. And where else can you enjoy the Latin side of Miles and Coltrane with a plate of African smoked fish curry?

The Iowa City Jazz Festival is held annually over the 4^th of July weekend. For information about current and past festivals, visit www.iowacityjazzfestival.com. The ICJF is funded by sponsoring organizations and concessions, and all events are free. This year’s primary sponsors included the Cedar Rapids Gazette, KCRG TV9, and the city of Iowa City; funding was also provided through a grant from the Iowa Community Cultural Grant program administered by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. See the festival website for a full list of sponsors.