“Probably the best small jazz festival in the country, if not the world.”—San Francisco Chronicle
It’s no longer a well-kept secret that the northern California town of Healdsburg holds one of the finest small jazz festivals in the nation. Tucked into the picturesque vineyards of Dry Creek, Alexander Valley and Russian River in Sonoma County, Healdsburg welcomes a diverse array of internationally acclaimed and locally prominent musicians every summer, scattering performances around restaurants, hotel lobbies, small theaters and winery grounds, usually over the course of ten days. With two weekends of prime time performances and a week of engaging jazz related activities in-between, the 2012 festival gets underway June 1st, boasting three NEA Jazz Masters – Roy Haynes, Sheila Jordan and Kenny Burrell-- and two of the most inventive pianists in modern jazz – Vijay Iyer and Michele Rosewoman. Add in trombone master Julian Priester and legendary vocalist Freddie Cole, along with a host of other national and Bay Area artists, and it’s clear the 2012 festival will be another winner.
With help from the very prestigious $10,000 NEA Jazz Master's Live grant to present Roy Haynes and Sheila Jordan, the 2012 Healdsburg Jazz Festival will also present a “Roy-al Family” Panel Discussion with Haynes and his two sons, cornetist Graham and drummer Craig, and other participants, who will examine the legacy of the 87-year-old drum legend. Haynes has played with practically every significant figure in jazz history, from Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker to John Coltrane to Chick Corea. Another special event will be the Vocal Master Class led by Sheila Jordan, open to singers of all levels. Other sidelights of the festival include the late-night jams at the Healdsburg Hotel featuring the Lorca Hart Trio, a wine tasting at Seasons of the Vineyard backed by the Benny Barth Trio, and a night of “Jazz at the Movies,” courtesy of Mark Cantor and his extraordinary cache of rare jazz footage. Tickets for each concert are sold separately through the festival box office (see below).
The Festival Headliners
Long in the shadow of brother Nat, Freddy Cole has broken away, proving his vocal talents in his own right. A football hero in his Chicago high school days, injury pushed him to piano, and he soon was singing and playing in Chicago clubs. He went on to study at Julliard and later the New England Conservatory of Music, heavily influenced by John Lewis, Oscar Peterson and Teddy Wilson. Based in New York, Cole gradually grew his reputation as both pianist and vocalist, and over his career has performed with both giants and new stars of jazz-- Grover Washington, Jr., Jane Monheit, Cyrus Chestnut, Abbey Lincoln, Ann Hampton-Calloway, Little Jimmy Scott, George Mraz, Eric Alexander, Cedar Walton, and many others. Singer John Hendricks dubbed him a “real Prince of Song, upholding a noble tradition as only he can.” And critic Stanley Crouch notes, “Through his work, integrity assumes its artistic identity in terms of pace, character and heart.” His 2010 album Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B (Billy Eckstein) was nominated for a Grammy in the jazz vocal category, and on his latest, Talk to Me, is similarly sizzling. His long-standing quartet includes guitarist, Randy Napoleon, bassist Elias Bailey and drummer Curtis Boyd.
June 8, Michele Rosewoman Trio with Andy McKee & Billy Hart plus special guest Julian Priester at the Raven Theater, 8 pm (115 North Street; $50/$30/$25 student-senior).
June 9, Kenny Burrell, Solo & Trio at the Raven Theater, 8 pm (115 North Street, $65/$45/$35 student-senior). In the spotlight since he first recorded with Dizzy Gillespie in 1951, Kenny Burrell has been atop the jazz guitar scene. A few yeas later he toured with Oscar Peterson, and soon found himself in high demand among the greatest names in jazz, from John Coltrane and Jimmy Smith to Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. Ellington dubbed him his favorite guitarist. In addition to recording over 100 albums as leader, Burrell developed a passion for teaching, becoming the first director of Jazz Studies at UCLA where he still teaches enthnomusicology, jazz, and leads guitar workshops. At the Raven, Kenny will play two sets -- solo guitar, which will highlight the remarkable picking and finger-style technique he displays on his new solo album, Tenderly, and a trio set.
June 10, Jazz Roy-alty with the Roy-al Family & Friends: Vijay Iyer Trio with guest Graham Haynes; Sheila Jordan & Cameron Brown; Roy Haynes & Fountain of Youth Band with guest Craig Haynes, at the Rodney Strong Vineyards, 2 pm (gates open 1 pm, $45/$35 student-senior). The grand finale will be held in the ultra-Wine Country setting of the Rodney Strong Vineyards, a triple-header of multi-generational talents with the Haynes family bookending the day’s music:
Sheila Jordan and Cameron Brown. Now in her 80s, the innovative vocalist and NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan came out of Detroit in the 1940s embracing the music of Charlie Parker in a way that went far beyond her contemporaries, turning the experiments of horn soloists into a new vocal art form. For a while she was married to Parker’s pianist, Duke Jordan, and studied with Lennie Tristano and Charles Mingus during her early years in New York. Her breakthrough recording came on George Russell’s The Outer View in 1962, where her 10-minute solo on “You Are My Sunshine” signaled a whole new approach to vocal jazz. Over the years, she worked with pianist Steve Kuhn, Harvie Swartz (“S”), Carla Bley and Steve Swallow, and has taught extensively throughout the world. In the past decade she has performed in duo with fellow Detroit native, bassist Cameron Brown. Brown has worked with George Russell, Don Pullen, Dewey Redman, Joe Lovano, John Hicks, Betty Carter and more, and first worked with Jordan in the 1970s. Singing with bass is her preferred mode of performing, and since the 50s she’s worked particularly with Steve Swallow, Harvie S, and Brown. “I started the bass and voice,” she says. “I feel very free with bass. It's open – the silence, the space. I work off that.” At the Healdsburg finale, Jordan and Brown will perform the music of Charlie Parker, Fats Waller, Miles Davis, Lester Young, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington, among others—but don’t expect just melody and lyrics, as Sheila sings the instrumental solos, sometimes making up her own words on the spot.
Tickets, full schedule and further information about the Healdsburg Jazz Festival at www.healdsburgjazzfestival.org
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