Yolande Bruce © Andrea Canter

Water from the falls was gathered in a ceremonial vase and blessed in tribute to the residents of New Orleans, birthplace of jazz, as they continue to rebuild following Hurricane Katrina. At the end of the festival, a procession carried the vase back to the Falls, where the water was returned to start its flow out to the Mississippi and down to the river’s delta. In between, all in the vicinity of the bandshell were blessed with incredible and uplifting music.

Award Presentation © Andrea Canter

Leonard King’s drum quartet was the first of several percussion ensembles on the Freedom Festival stage. The Detroit native and long-time resident, King has played with such luminaries as Donald Byrd, Al Greene, and Herb Ellis, and currently tours with James Carter. Introducing King, Festival President and also Detroit native Lamarr Scott recalled watching King play, “and I never dreamed I would on the same stage.” Now a Twin Citian, King led a group including former fellow Detroiters, Donald Washington on bari sax, son Kevin Washington on cajon and a second trapset, with Lamarr Scott adding the eerie sounds of the didigeroo. The band performed a twenty-minute group improvisation reminiscent of the collaborations of the American Academy for Creative Musicians (AACM); Donald Washington sent spirals, oscillations and honks into the air above the crowd, while two generations of virtuosos gave a master class in creative percussion. Who was having more fun—King and company or the audience?

Bruce Henry's Freedom Train © Andrea Canter

Lamarr Scott noted that vocalist Bruce Henry sings in the tradition of the great Andy Bey, and the popular baritone easily lived up to this description. Backed by a superb band of Keith McCutcheon on keyboards, James Wallace and Donald Washington on saxophones, Chris Smith on bass, Kevin Washington on drums, and Lamarr Scott on additional percussion, Henry sang through a set of diverse covers, including Charlie Parker’s “Through the Years,” Nina Simone’s “House of the Rising Sun,” and his signature tune, “Afro Blue” before bring his new project, the Freedom Choir, on stage for the final two tunes. Henry is unmatched in his interpretation of lyric, be it a straight-ahead standard like “Through the Years” or a bluesy turn as on “House of the Rising Sun.” On the latter, Donald Washington’s bari solo was appropriately dark and throaty, McCutcheon’s phrases as blue as the Delta. “Afro-Blue” is indeed Henry’s masterpiece, enhanced this set by Jimmy Wallace’s extra-terrestial sounds on tenor that conjured crickets on speed; Bruce turned around and mirrored Wallace’s sound with his voice, creating a yodel-like fluttering vibrato. His Freedom Choir is a new project organized to help celebrate the culture and struggle for freedom of the Black community, featuring some of the best known performers in town, including Debbie Duncan and T. Mychael Rambo. Their takes on two spirituals raised the roof off the bandshell.

Jimmy Wallace was merely warming up as part of Bruce Henry’s band. With a configuration seen here recently with the Joshua Redman Trio, Wallace teamed with bassist Ron Evaniuk and drummer Alden Ikeda for a Charlie Parker-informed blowing session. Debbie Duncan followed with a blowing session of her own, supported by (again) Chris Smith on bass, Kevin Washington on drums, and Kevin McCutcheon on piano. Her set included what she described as “one of the sexiest songs ever written, yet still leaving something for the imagination”—James Moody’s “Moody’s Mood for Love.” And with Debbie’s sultry delivery, Washington’s brushwork and young Smith’s hollow bass notes, it was indeed a seductive interlude.

Patrice © Andrea Canter

New to the festival, percussionist Batume led a sax/bass/keyboard/drum quartet through boppish original tunes, including a funky sax-centered “Three Finger Snap.” Following the percussion agenda, Patrice DeLemos and his African Drums provided many of us with the opportunity to see unfamiliar, fascinating instruments from his native Congo and other regions that are home to “African World” rhythms. The set started with a young drum student, followed by a percussionist using the “bellaphone” which looks somewhat like a marimba. Eliezar Frites Santos, local Brazilian percussionist, followed with another assortment of instruments. The ensemble was joined by Faye (flute), Donald (tenor) and Kevin (cajon) Washington, native Detroit musicians and educators who relocated to the Twin Cities where Kevin is involved in many projects, including Moveable Feast.

The very funky “Afro Jazz Funk” grooves of the Yohannes Tona Band followed the award ceremony. Led by Ethiopian immigrant and bassist Yohannes Tona, the band included Patrice on percussion, Brian Zieminiak on keys, and Peter Vricks on tenor sax. Original tunes included a Wayne Shorter-ish “Sand from the Desert” and Miles Davis’ “So What”, both with stunning solo passages from Brian Z who coaxed a Fender Rhodes sound from the keyboards on the Davis classic, played as Tona said, “with a little twist.”

Moore by Four’s Dennis Spears refocused the afternoon on vocals with the “house” rhythm section again on stage (Chris Smith switching to acoustic bass). McCutcheon got into a deep B-3 type groove on “Summertime” while Dennis’ vocalese recalled a steel pan drum with a growl. “Autumn Leaves” was taken at a faster clip than the usual ballad tempo and featured a popping drum solo from Kevin Washington. Dennis was at his best recalling Nat King Cole, particularly on “Route 66” which featured a melodic and twangy solo from 18-year-old Chris Smith, who will become the bassist for the famed Brubeck Institute sextet this fall. Another Moore by Four collaborator, Yolande Bruce was full of her usual brash and brilliance, generating a lot of audience applause with “I’ve Got Rhythm” (to which she added a few bars of “The Flintstones”), “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby,” a sassy “My Man,” and her signature tune, “This Little Light of Mine.” Of the latter, she noted that “everybody has a light to shine…” and turned her solo into a group participation event, creating a three-part harmony chorus.

Thomasina © Andrea Canter

Thomasina Petrus (with Smith back on the electric bass) offered a very different, funky version of “Summertime” and a Sarah Vaughn-ish “Nature Boy.” A soulful “Fever” bubbled over with seductive voice, bass and keys, along with truly sinister drumming from Kevin Washington. The “fever” was raging—you truly expected Thomasina to burst into flames. Sarah Vaughn’s arrangement of “Black Coffee” featured a dark bassline from Chris Smith and magnificent descending scales from Kevin McCutcheon’s keyboard, and (as she has done on stage), Thomasina channeled Billie Holiday on “Bless This Child,” although after a while it seemed that some Aretha Franklin joined in.

The McRae Park Jazz Workshop and Bill Crutcher’s Work in Progress bands closed out the program before the New Orleans jam and the ceremonial returning of the water to the Falls to start its journey to the home of jazz. Surely the 2006 Freedom Jazz Festival was a good omen, a promise of great music to return to its birthplace while ensuring that jazz will be “passed on” here at the upper end of the Mississippi.

The Freedom Jazz Festival is held every summer on the second Saturday of August at Minnehaha Falls Park. Primary sponsors of this year’s festival included Freedom Jazz Festival, Inc., the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and Carlson Companies; media sponsors included KFAI radio, The Jazz Police, JazzINK.com, and the Hookup Network.

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