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Eldar and Elling at Monterey |
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Written by Pamela Espeland
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Sunday, 17 September 2006 |
 Kurt Elling and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra © John Whiting
Now in its 49th year, presented by Verizon, the three-day festival
boasts an impressive lineup of revered elders. Hank Jones, Oscar
Peterson, Dave Brubeck, McCoy Tyner, and Charles Lloyd are all
scheduled to appear starting on Saturday night. As we made our way down
the fairgrounds, peering into various venues—Dizzy’s Den, the Night
Club/Bill Berry Stage—we stopped at the open-air Garden Stage, where
Eldar was blazing through Oscar Peterson’s “Place St. Henri.”
Backed by Sicilian bassist Marco Panascia and Brooklyn-via-Texas
drummer Kendrick Scott, the 19-year-old prodigy from Kyrgyzstan
continued with an original composition, “Daily Living,” a blend of
thundering chords and lightning-fast runs. Eldar exudes strength; if
you ever shake his hand in greeting (as we did at the Dakota in
Minneapolis when he played there in November 2005), watch out. Yet he’s
also capable of sweet delicacy and restraint. We stayed through a
bluesy version of Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’,” whose center belonged to
bassist Panascia. At times, Eldar’s playing sounded like piano, twelve
hands.
 Eldar performs at the Garden Stage © John Whiting
The Garden Stage is an ideal place to start your Monterey experience.
Like the larger Arena, where the big guns play (Arena tickets sold out
months ago), it’s open-air. The combination of live, in-the-moment jazz
with salty California breezes and starry skies is intoxicating. People
bring in lawn chairs or sit on the benches or bleachers, often on foam
cushions they bought at a festival years ago and have carted around
ever since. It’s a diverse, relaxed, and enthusiastic crowd of all
ages, including snoozing babies in strollers and elegant ladies in
fancy hats. At a time when many jazz artists play to sparse houses, it
feels good to be surrounded by people who love the music.
From the Garden Stage, we went to the Arena to hear Kurt Elling with
the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Elling is the festival’s
Artist-in-Residence. He’s been visiting Monterey since April,
performing at concerts and participating in youth education programs.
The Festival completes his residency, and he’s omnipresent, headlining
performances and discussions for all three days. On Friday, following
an earlier performance with the Yellowjackets, Elling waited
backstage while the magnificent Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra warmed
up the crowd with rousing versions of “Silver Celebration” (a tribute
to Horace Silver) and Ray Brown’s arrangement of Johnny Hodges’
“Squatty Roo.”
Conductor and bassist John Clayton introduced the band (including
88-year-old trumpeter Snooky Young), explained that it has three
leaders (himself, his brother, saxophonist Jeff Clayton, and drummer
Jeff Hamilton) “to share the debt” and invited Elling back on stage.
Elling began by performing three of the many songs he’s known for:
“Close Your Eyes,” “My Foolish Heart,” and “Man in the Air,” co-written
by Elling and Hobgood for and about Wayne Shorter.
 Elling signs autographs after midnight © John Whiting
He thanked us for staying up late and for “bringing your fleece-lined
items.” By now, the night air was more than chilly, and the Arena’s
infamous metal folding chairs were icy cold. Elling encouraged us to
stuff our sleeves with sawdust (there’s plenty of it on the Arena’s
floor; it doubles as an equestrian stadium) and get to know our
neighbors. “As promised,” he said,” we have something new.” He and the
orchestra premiered a work in progress: “Red Man-Black Man,” which
explores connections between African-American and American Indian
music. Clayton was inspired to write it when he heard Elling perform at
Birdland last January; Elling contributed original lyrics and added
poems by Native American poet Maurice Kennedy and African-American poet
Gwendolyn Brooks.
The “work-in-progress” description fits; I’m not sure “Red Man-Black
Man” is entirely successful yet. It seems a little strange to hear
Elling sing about being one with the grass and wrestling with the
thunder, and at one point the percussion consisted of musicians
dropping chains on the stage. But it had some lovely moments and a big
finish. Most of the audience seemed to enjoy it and gave it a standing
ovation. As people began to leave, Elling and the orchestra treated the
rest of us to a lilting, affectionate “Lil’ Darlin’,”with Jon
Hendricks’ lyrics bookended by Elling’s own.
Earlier, when Elling told the crowd to expect “something new,” a fan
shouted “Winelight!” “Come to Dizzy’s Den,” he responded, giving us a
hint of what to expect on Saturday night at 8:30…except we’ll probably
be at the Arena celebrating the 40th Anniversary of “Forest Flower”
with Charles Lloyd and his quartet. Or at the Night Club for the Jeff
Hamilton Trio. Or at the Starbucks Coffee House Gallery for Hiromi.
It’s so hard to choose.
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 Saturday, 19 July 2008
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