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Story by Jean Timmons Trumpeter and bandleader Orbert Davis opened the festival at the DuSable Museum with a workshop for children. Afterward, he gave a concert with four other musicians, including saxophonist Ari Brown; pianist Ryan Cohan; drummer Ernie Adams; and bassist Stewart Miller. They opened the concert with “Softly, as (not in a MJQ) Sunrise” and had the audience in the palm of their hands on through an Ari Brown dominated “In a Sentimental Mood” that could make you weep to “Night in Tunisia,” which began with an intricate solo by Davis followed by a long and dynamic drum solo that stayed right on top of the arrangement. This music was magnificent, and Orbert played as if he could continue for hours. On the way out, I heard a couple people still murmuring about “Softly.” In another conversation, someone likened Davis to “Dizzy or Armstrong” and got the reply, “He could be anyone. He is great.” Let’s edit: “He’s just that great.” It was impossible to see every performance because they overlapped in time and took place in different locations. Also, some performances overflowed with people and this critic was among them, for awhile. For instance, the Robie House, a Frank Lloyd Wright campus landmark, was filled to capacity and people were queue outside a hour before the acoustic guitar and saxophone duo of Paulinho Garcia and Greg Fishman were scheduled to begin their “Two for Brazil”set. Another performance missed due to overflow was the “Jazz Fête” at the Hyde Park Art Center that featured Jimmy Ellis, Maggie Brown, Willie Pickens, and Corey Wilkes. In spite of such unfortunate happenings, there was much jazz not to miss. At the Quadrangle Club, the venerable place for alumni to meet, dine, and entertain (behind the building are clay tennis courts), Dee Alexander performed and you got a seat if you arrived thirty minutes before the appointed time. She was accompanied by harpist (Rashida Black), violinist (James Sanders), drummer (Ernie Adams), and celloist (Tomeka Reid). They performed music that seem written just for them. Yet Alexander seemed just as comfortable a week before at the Pritzker Pavilion, where she performed songs from the repertoires of Dinah Washington and Nina Simone and put her signature on that music instead of trying to mimic the singers. At the Quadrangle, Alexander pulled off a musical metamorphosis, with music way over on the other side of the musical spectrum. Her work with violinist Sanders was first rate; he was also with her on the Pritzker date. The music included one of her compositions about a songbird and featured an Alexander/Sanders duet. Most of the music featured the voice used as an instrument, but it was different from so-called vocalese; for in her naturalness, she revealed that the voice is an instrument. The words from one of the songs, “Rhythm is a pathway that life must flow,” hints at a crucial element of her music on that afternoon. Out on the terrace of the Smart Museum, Reginald McCants threw a party. In the street, the music beckoned as if the pied piper had come to Hyde Park. With him, McCants brought Wally Hustin on bass and Malcom Banks on drums, and he mustered much of his audience to join them. McCants is quite the entertaining keyboardist, and members of the audience soon caught the fire and were clapping and rocking with the music without being prompted. McCants has a degree in commercial music (whatever that means) and is musical director for HBO’s Midnight Mac, with the ubiquitous Bernie Mac. I left a little early to catch some of the ongoing music at the Midway Plaisance on 59th. When I arrived, Bill McFarland and the Chicago Horns were swinging, like really swinging. The Plaisance was a nice, outdoor setting with a bleachers and chairs arrangement, surrounded by gently rising mounds, where more people could be accommodated. I was upfront and comfortably seated. McFarland is a trombone player and his group featured saxophonist Hank Ford, drummer Charles Heath (about to tour with The Color Purple company), pianist Kirk Brown, bassist Kurt Schweitz, and trumpeter Shaun Johnson replacing Kenny Anderson. I entered on a medley that included “You Don’t Know What Love Is” and “Body Soul.” They also played something off their latest CD called “Mild Wind.” McFarland’s band is noted for its big band sound and we heard it to great effect on his original number “Harold the Great.” Of course, to some, that sound suggested Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers. After McFarland, Tony “Toca” Carpenter, another energetic entertainer, took the stage; while entertaining, his group was steeped in the jazz idiom. Here musicians who had played elsewhere appeared, e.g., saxophonist Ari Brown and drummer Malcom Banks. Carpenter works the bongos, and other featured musicians were bassist Frank Russell, guitarist Herb Walker, pianist Robert Irving, percussionist (djembe) Kevin Strong, percussionist (jun jun) Olu Shakoor, and a sweet trumpet player (a late addition). From this lineup, one can easily surmise that rhythm shook the Plaisance when this group held sway. They played a couple of Hancock compositions, “Maiden Voyage” and “Butterfly,” a medley that included “Day by Day” and “’Round Midnight.” The band soared on Miles’ “All Blue.” On “So What,” the drums were amazing. The percussive music throughout the set was fairly amazing. Great music for dancing toddlers and jazz aficionadas and aficionados alike. Next up was Chicago Sax in the City. A bunch of musicians bent on flexing their musical muscles. There were four sax players: Ray Silkman, Skinny Williams, Audley Reid, and James Perkins, joined by pianist Roger Weaver, drummer Ben Johnson, guitarist Alan Burroughs, and bassist Will Howard. They ventured into the audience. Time to break for dinner, only to head over to the Art Center later and get turned away, missing the rising young trumpeter Corey Wilkes. The all-day festival concluded with a jam session at the Checkerboard Lounge. The revitalization of the Checkerboard Lounge in the community is a Hyde Park Jazz Society project, in its second year. The society is part of the Hyde Park Cultural Alliance, sponsors of the festival. Drummer Derek Henderson sparked the magic at the Checkerboard into the early hours of the morning. And people were still happy. |
Check out other recent concerts reviews and photos Contact Brad Walseth and JazzChicago.net at bwalseth60@aol.com