Jazz Police - “Imported From Detroit” – Huge Festival, Huge Heart

“Imported From Detroit” – Huge Festival, Huge Heart

Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor

Monday, 10 September 2012

"This is the best jazz festival in the world." – Steve Wilson

“People were crammed in every nook and cranny between the bleachers, at times seating two per rickety folding chair and spilling toward the back of the stage, where fans hung on every note with no hope of a view.” –Meegan Holland, M Live

These two seemingly contradictory statements aptly sum the 2012 Detroit International Jazz Festival—an amazing 3 ½ days of jazz. And a challenging 3 ½ days navigating a tightly packed, conflict-laden schedule and over-crowded venues. Both outcomes are the result of ambitious programming of a totally free, tradition-steeped event in a relatively small space over a weekend of near-perfect festival weather. In other words, it was the jazz equivalent of a perfect storm. But this is a storm I would never want to miss.

Festival Overview

One of the nation’s most distressed urban centers, Detroit somehow comes alive with civic pride every Labor Day Weekend, boastful of a long tradition of American music including bebop and beyond and a multi-cultural, cross-generational, economics-be-damned celebration that draws musicians and fans from well beyond the Midwest. This year, the draw seemed bigger than ever, both in terms of the cachet of the artists and the size of the crowd that descended upon downtown’s Hart Plaza and Camp Maritius like a human tidal wave. (Official attendance has not been announced, but each day set a festival record….suggesting the final count might approach one million.)

Sonny RollinsandKobie Watkins©Andrea Canter

The DJF is the world’s largest free festival –no tickets, no reservations, no charge. Even downtown parking is relatively cheap ($10/day). Contributing to larger crowds this year, the weather was as perfect as it gets in late summer. And the line-up was as fantastic and frustrating as it gets at a jazz festival, with headliners like Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea & Gary Burton, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas, Kenny Garrett, Kevin Eubanks, Lew Tabackin & Randy Brecker, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band all pulling at our ears, often concurrently. And take away the those “big names” and the list of seasoned, under-appreciated veterans would have sufficed – Fred Hersch, Curtis Fuller, Louis Hayes, Marcus Belgrave, Tom Harrell, Charles McPherson, and Judi Silvano…. Or rising stars like Tia Fuller, Gregoire Maret, Gerald Cleaver, Sean Jones and Donny McCaslin… Or “sidemen” of the caliber of John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Craig Taborn, Rudy Royston, Francisco Mela, Joey Baron, and Ray Drummond … and veteran Detroiters like singer Ursula Walker and saxman George “Sax” Benson who should be well known coast to coast; and young upstarts like Monk Competition winning-vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and pianists Alfredo Rodriquez and Lawrence Fields.

Opening night provided the sort of experience that could easily satisfy jazz fans if the festival ended right there—2012 Artist in Residence Terence Blanchard followed by working legend Sonny Rollins. But that was just opening night, with full schedules over the following there days. As expected, the crowds were overflowing for Pat Metheny’s Unity Band, Chick Corea and Gary Burton, Wynton Marsalis. Yet even the “smaller” acts of up-and-comers drew strong crowds; I never hit a sparsely attended set. It seemed like the entire world was in Detroit, that jazz was the only music.

The schedule was more tightly packed this year as the festival downsized from five to four stages, giving up the small student stage on Woodward while at the same time booking more acts—bigger acts—than ever, and still maintaining a strong schedule of student ensembles. It was the first festival under the leadership of Artistic Director Chris Collins, and the success of his bookings was accompanied by inevitable challenges—insufficient seating or standing room space, particularly for the evening acts on the large stages; delayed start times which were cumulative on the larger stages; sound bleeding particularly between Carhartt Amphitheater and the Mack Avenue Waterfront Stage-- if you were sitting or standing on the edges of either venue, there were times when your right ear strained to hear a piano trio while your left ear failed to block out sizzling trombones and trumpets.

Festivals like Detroit should be reviewed by teams of writers and photographers – I was there from start to finish, but with only two ears and two feet, I had to limit my scope to far less than half of the sets. This year I didn’t make it to any of the interviews and panel discussions in the Talk Tent – and hopefully some of those sessions will be archived for future listening. I reluctantly skipped Pat Metheny, knowing I would see the Unity Band in Minneapolis a few days later, opting for a chance to hear the Fred Hersch Trio a few blocks away in the same time slot. By the end of the festival, my feet were just too tired to negotiate one more mass of humanity at the closing tribute to Art Blakey. But I can’t complain about the music I did hear, often the first or second half of a given set as I tried to cram in as much as possible. And it was not a choice of quality versus quantity—but the quantity of high quality. More sane jazz fans might opt for fewer and more complete sets.

Top Brass

Terrence Blanchard Quartet©Andrea Canter

Although not specified as a festival theme, saxophones ruled, with trumpets not too far behind. Opening night at Camp Maritus (Chase/Morgan Stage)--with only one venue scheduled and consequently the crowds at their highest density--put brass on the festival pedestal. Artist in Residence trumpeter Terence Blanchard started the evening’s fire with his high-flying quintet, joined by under-rated saxman Brice Winston, young pianist Fabian Almazon, even younger (20) bassist Justin Crumbly, and highly regarded drummer Kendrick Scott. They opened with “Autumn Leaves,” not the familiar ballad but a hard bopping Detroit welcome with Blanchard dancing all over the stage. The remainder of the set featured works by Aaron Parks and members of the band, including an amalgam of electronic and acoustic antics penned by Almazan that evolved to symphonic proportions, featuring fiery trumpeting and intricately energetic passages from the pianist.

There was little time for the stage to cool down before Sonny Rollins arrived with his touring cohorts—Clifton Anderson on trombone, Saul Rubin on guitar, Bob Crenshaw on bass, Kobie Watkins on drums, Sammy Figuerova on percussion. Rollins, a few days shy of 82, seemed a bit tentative walking out on stage. Yet it took only a few notes to forget his age, and soon Rollins was swaying and strutting with as much energy as Blanchard, igniting the audience with his trademark “St. Thomas” before shifting into more hard bop fireworks with that slight growl in his attack, tossing in licks of nursery rhymes, engaging Watkins in some blistering exchanges or trading soaring solos with Anderson. “Just to be in Detroit makes me feel good,” he announced, then blew puffs of sonic smoke with one hand on the horn. “Saxophone Colossus,” indeed.

Tom Harrell©Andrea Canter

On Saturday, crowds packed the Chase/Morgan stage earlier in the day for the Wynton Marsalis Sextet, the master of Lincoln Center surrounded by his long-standing cohorts, including saxophonists Walter Blanding and Wessell Anderson, pianist Dan Nimmer, bassist Carlos Henriquez, and drummer Ali Jackson. For those who had not had the opportunity to hear the Marsalis ensemble, it was a classic performance, tight arrangements of mainstream fare expertly delivered with urban energy and Delta force. For those of us who have significant Marsalis experience, it was an expert but predictable swing through familiar territory.

More exciting was the pairing of less celebrated brass giants, Detroit native saxophonist Charles McPherson and one of New York’s trumpet titans, Tom Harrell, backed by pianist Jeb Patton, veteran bassist Ray Drummond, and rising start drummer Johnathan Blake. It was a formidable front line, Harrell particularly effective coaxing lush notes from his flugelhorn, Blake soloing on the opening “The Journey” with deft authority. McPherson has a glorious tenor sound, familiar to Detroit audiences and under-appreciated more generally. Another unexpected (by me) pleasure was the Ellery Eskelin Trio on the Waterfront stage. Tenor saxophonist Eskelin, forming an inventive trio with organist Gary Versace and drummer Gerald Cleaver, has a smooth and dusky tone that he applies to a surprisingly soulful avant garde repertoire, although at one point Versace launched into a swinging jaunt as if a 21st century interpretation of mid-20th century mainstream.

Wayne Shorter©Andrea Canter

I had little familiarity with saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who appeared in several contexts over the weekend. On Saturday, he joined pianist Geoffrey Keezer on the Waterfront Stage as the first airing of their new duo project, starting out with “Limelight” (Rush) and later tackling “Body and Soul” and one of Keezer’s compositions, “Daley Avenue,” a rather baroque blues that evolved into a squawky saxophone commentary. McCaslin turned up on the more intimate Pyramid Stage on Monday with his quartet—Jason Lindner on keys, Tim Lefebvre on bass, and Mark Guiliana on drums, playing some of the music from their new release, Casting for Gravity. Despite the concurrent performance of Kenny Garrett on the Carthartt stage, the Pyramid was close to capacity, with good reason. McCaslin is a powerhouse on tenor, climbing and descending with acrobatic arpeggios, conversational and prayerful in his storytelling.

Saxophone magic seemed to be the guiding light throughout the weekend, in part due to the direct and indirect influence of Wayne Shorter. “Soundprints” is a new project rethinking Shorter’s music from trumpeter Dave Douglas in collaboration with saxman Joe Lovano, on their inaugural tour this summer with the able support of young pianist Lawrence Fields, young bassist Linda Oh, and veteran drummer Joey Baron. Dave and Joe traded long horn solos, Lovano on tenor and soprano; Baron is a ferocious timekeeper, and Fields and Oh quickly proved they were worthy of such stellar company. The Detroit Jazz Orchestra presented a formal tribute to Shorter on the Carhartt stage, commissioning new works inspired by the sax legend, with assorted sax masters from McCaslin to Lew Tabackin, followed by Shorter himself, closing out Sunday evening with his long-standing quartet—Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. Noted Mark Stryker in the Detroit Free Press, “It's time to stop talking about the Wayne Shorter Quartet as one of the great bands of today and start talking about the 12-year marriage of Shorter, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade as one of the great bands in jazz history.” As they did on the same stage two years ago, the WSQ simply levitated above Hart Plaza, taking the overflowing crowd with them. Telepathy is a real phenomenon.

Tia Fuller (with Fred Fuller)©Andrea Canter

Following Shorter the next day could have been anti-climatic for Tia Fuller and Kenny Garrett. There’s a good deal of similarity between the two altoists, the veteran Garrett as soulful and playful as ever with his steady cohorts—pianist Benito Gonzales, bassist Corcoran Holt, drummer McClenty Hunter, percussionist Rudy Bird—and filling Carhartt with the material that drives his calls to the spirits on his brand new release, Seeds From the Underground; Fuller surrounding herself as always with longtime pals and family—sister Shamie Royston on keys, Mimi Jones on bass, brother-in-law Rudy Royston on drums, along with guest electric bassist James Genus-- and igniting the Waterfront Stage audience with high energy music from her forthcoming Angelic Warrior (U.S. release date September 25th). Garrett danced around the stage like a youthful Rollins and was not above quoting St. Thomas on his opening tune “Boogety Boogety,” paid homage to his hometown with “Detroit,” and closed out with his theme song, “Happy People.” But it was Fuller who proved to be the saxophonic storm trooper of the final afternoon with such soaring original compositions as “Angelic Warrior,” “Descend to Barbados,” and “Tailor-Made,” and providing a sweet interlude, inviting her father, bassist Fred Fuller, to join her in a duet rendition of “Body and Soul.” Bass and sax make for a cool pairing, as do father and daughter.

Ensemble Magic

Craig Taborn©Andrea Canter

Celebrating their 40 years of collaboration, Chick Corea and Gary Burton are reinterpreting some favorites from the jazz canon as they tour in support of their new release, Hot House. At Carhatt Saturday night, they filled not only the far corners of the plaza with fans but surely reached above the stratosphere with their ethereal harmonies, nodding to such muses as Bud Powell and Jobim and adding the youthful talents of the Harlem String Quartet during the latter part of the set. Their magical arrangement of “Round Midnight” hung in the air long after the lights went out, making the annual festival fireworks display a bit anti-climactic.

More hoopla should have surrounded native Detroit drummer Gerald Cleaver’s Uncle June Sunday afternoon, playing before a solid but not-as-packed-as-it-should-be crowd at the Chase/Morgan Main Stage. On the other hand, how often does such an innovative, genre-defying ensemble play to any large assemblage in American venues? Named for his drummer father (“Junior”), Cleaver’s large collective brings together some of the most creative musical minds on the planet, including keyboardist Craig Taborn, reedmen Tony Malaby and Andrew Bishop, bassist Drew Gress, violist Mat Maneri, and additional voices, human and six-string. The start was marred by an odd, 20-minute delay as the stage crew apparently missed an order for Taborn’s electronic keyboard, but once Craig gave a “thumbs up,” there was no end to the flow of ideas, acoustic and electronic (“a fresh marriage of thoughtfully plotted written material and freedom-minded improvisation, all tied to a compelling narrative of family and the African-American experience”, noted Mark Stryker in the Detroit Free Press). Uncle June provided the most intriguing instrumentation of the weekend, and the musicality to avoid any semblance of a novelty act.

Fred Hersch©Andrea Canter

Having made the tough decision to attend the Fred Hersch Trio set in lieu of Pat Metheny’s Unity Band on Sunday, I lived happily with my choice. Fred himself has suggested that this current trio—with bassist John Hebert and drummer Eric McPherson—is his best yet, and their new Alive at the Village Vanguard leaves no argument to the contrary. Nor did their set on the Waterfront stage. From their opening, epic-like “Havana” to what Hersch described as a “sandwich” with Coleman’s “Lonely Woman” enveloping Davis’ “Nardis” to a couple segments of his My Coma Dreams suite, the trio reinforced its standing as one of the most empathetic collaborations in modern jazz. Particularly stunning was an older composition from Hersch’s Leaves of Grass suite, “At the End of the Day,” with Hebert’s dark and haunting basslines, McPherson’s subtle yet active timekeeping, Hersch’s crystalline, harp-like harmonies. The only downside here was the setting itself—for the most part, this is not “outdoor” music; the blaring horns from the adjacent Carhartt stage, the occasional plane passing over head or foghorn off the river disrupted the reflective lyricism and nuanced interactions of the trio. Still, it was the most focused, listening audience I observed during the festival.

If Hersch painted his music with watercolor brushstrokes, young Alfredo Rodriquez sprayed his colors with paint guns. The surprise delight of the 2009 DJF, the Cuban immigrant and protégé of Quincy Jones has settled in Los Angeles and is making his way toward the top of his generation of pianists. His spring release on Mack Avenue (Sounds of Space) emphasized his fiery roots in Cuban traditions, but on the Pyramid Stage (Sunday) with a very sympathetic trio (bassist Linda Oh and drummer Francisco Mela), he also displayed his compositional and performing skills on more modal, exploratory works as well. When he lights the fire, the band explodes. But when he reaches into darker, more cerebral corners, he takes equally satisfying journeys. Oh and Mela are kindred spirits, be it through smoke or flames.

Songbirds

It seemed that there was less emphasis on vocal jazz this year, but two singers captured considerable attention in very different contexts. Joining husband Joe Lovano and the Wayne State Big Band at Carthart on Monday, Judi Silvano gave “Daydream” her singular interpretation, as if starting a new partnership with Billy Strayhorn; “You Are a Classic” (or perhaps that is not the title?) was as much fun as it was musical, and much of the fun was seeing Judi and Joe jamming together with the young talents from Wayne State. And my personal winner of the “sleeper of the festival” award? Ever hear of Ursula Walker? If you are not from the Detroit area, the answer is likely “no.” Which is a crime. She’s been on the Detroit scene for about 50 years, starting as a pre-teen on radio and television, and ever since in clubs and concert venues with pianist/husband Buddy Budson. Her Sunday set on the Pyramid Stage (with fans jammed in from the top tier to bottom—she’s clearly a local favorite) introduced me to a singer who melds Ella, Sarah, Carmen, even Shirley Horne into a soulful voice, a comfortable risk-taker and talented lyricist. We heard her original lyrics to “Footprints,” Buddy’s humorous words for Monk’s “Bye-a,” carefree scatting on “Joy Spring,” and a lovely “I’ll Never Stop Loving You.” When I return to Detroit, I hope to catch up with Ursula Walker again.

The Jazz Capital of the World

I heard more, from big bands (Michigan State University, Mack Avenue All Stars) to quartets (Lew Tabackin and Randy Brecker) to local ensembles (George “Sax” Benson). And I heard about more, particularly the Monday “Night in Treme” with Preservation Hall and the multi-ensemble presentation of the Sacred Music of Duke Ellington. So much music, such big crowds, so much overlap in scheduling.

But despite the logistical challenges, there is something almost sacred about the Detroit Jazz Festival—the determination of its leaders to keep it free and family-friendly; the commitment to reinforcing the jazz traditions of the city; the support of student musicians through presentation of college bands on the big stages with headliner guest artists as well as young artist competitions; the definition of jazz from trad to rad, including a nod to Motown (this is Detroit!) and gospel, but maintaining the focus on “jazz”; the support of new works through commissions. Perhaps a free urban festival with such high standards for the art guarantees logistical hassles. It also guarantees exposing thousands of children, student musicians, educators, and fans at all levels of interest to a music that otherwise struggles for an audience; it brings revenue and positive attention to a city that badly needs both. For one weekend, Detroit is the jazz capital of the world and the only place I want to be. Even if I have to decide between Pat Metheny and Fred Hersch. Or between dinner and music.

“The gist…seems to be that the jazz festival is too good. Not a bad problem to have. This is the best time in the world.” –Comment, M Live

Portions of this article are adapted from Andrea’s blog (September 4, 2012). Thanks to DFJ Artistic Director Chris Collins, the sponsors, and the hundreds of volunteers who keep DFJ free, safe, and inspiring year after year.

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