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| On a clear day --most of the weekend at Mears Park |
© Andrea Canter
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| Festival Director Steve Heckler |
The totally
free "three-day" 2014 Twin Cities Jazz Festival really got its start
in early June with the first of three Jazz in the Library gigs. The Saint
Paul-centered event really expanded across the entire state as the
festival-sponsored Jazz Central All-Stars launched a 3-month, six-city tour in
late May. The festival's Lowertown/Downtown venues pushed beyond their usual
boundaries to follow the new LRT Green Line along University Avenue, with six new
"jazz stops" easily accessible via free rides on Light Rail. Names
like Marsalis, Reeves and Krown shared raves with the likes of Aldana, Lea and
Hagedorn. With four active outdoor
stages, more than two dozen additional club and concert venues, and more than
120 sets of music, an audience of over 20,000 enjoyed nearly three days of
fabulous summer weather and endured one evening of torrential rain, forcing the
final sets into alternative club spaces, with standing (or dripping) room only.
The shows, nearly every set, went on without missing a beat, contributing to
one of the most memorable jazz festivals in the event's sixteen-year history.
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| Crowds everywhere! |
If it was the
best of times, it was also the most frustrating with moments when at least
three outdoor stages and a dozen or more club/theater stages presenting music
simultaneously at any given moment. But this is the best sort of frustration--
having to choose among win-win-win options. And if there had been some
apprehension that the festival had expanded too much -- that the crowd would
spread out to the degree that many venues would be running on empty--a personal
survey suggests that audiences were strong, at least throughout Lowertown and
Downtown. Standing room only was the rule, from the park to the Depot to the Amsterdam, and small
points in between.
Given the
expanse of the festival, a single reviewer can barely cover the high notes and
some sidebars. This is not intended as a comprehensive overview - but selected
highlights from a selective --and at times frustrating--attempt to sample
Jazzfest.
Jazz in the Library
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| Joan Griffith and Sam Miltich at Central Library |
For the
fourth year, Legacy* funding supported three pre-festival gigs in Saint Paul community
libraries, bringing a broad taste of jazz to the neighborhoods in June. Kicking
off mid-afternoon on June 8th in the downtown Central Library, the virtuosic,
cross-generational guitar duo of Joan Griffith (Sambanova) and Sam
Miltich (Clearwater Hot Club) mixed hot club swing and Brazilian
folkloric music into a magic potion for an audience of 100+ in the elegant
Magazine Room. Much of the music came from Joan's Sambanova collection, but Sam's Django leanings put a very
different spin on samba and choro, and Joan seemed energized by the shift in
direction.
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| Bryan Nichols |
The other library performances included original compositions and
arrangements from pianist Bryan Nichols and quartet (Brandon
Wozniak, James Buckley and Cory Healey) at the St.
Anthony Park Library (June 18) and the Latin American rhythms of Doug Little's Trés
Mundos (Vivian Pintado and Mariano Flores) at the Arlington Heights
Library (June 25); both family-centered evening gigs were well attended
(50-60).
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| Swing Dancing at Rice Park |
Jazz Night Out/Music at Mears
(Thursday, June 26)
Traditionally
the festival has officially launched Thursday night with a "club
crawl" and Mears
Park sets cosponsored by
the weekly Music at Mears project. But "Jazz Night Out" became Jazz
All Day, with the new Green Line Jazz Stops opening at noon and the Mears Park
Main Stage opening at 4 pm; music from University Avenue to downtown Saint Paul (including a Swing Dance at Rice Park!) to West 7th Street
continued well past dark.
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| Cory Wong (Foreign Motion) |
Two of the
area's purveyors of original music played back to back at Mears Park, as Foreign
Motion with Cory Wong (with Kevin Gastonguay, Yohannes Tona and Petar
Janjic) tore apart the opening set -- Janjic is a wild man behind the trapset
and Wong burns a lot of energy twisting wit his guitar across the stage.
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| Atlantis Quartet at Mears Park |
Somewhat more restrained physically but also lighting fires musically, the Atlantis
Quartet (Zacc Harris, Brandon Wozniak, Chris Bates, Pete Hennig) capped
Music at Mears with a set of original compositions pulled from the quartet's
four albums as well as some new tune covering a range of harmonies and some
enduring melodies.
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| Davu Seru --New Works at Studio Z |
In spring
2014, Saint Paul's
long-running new music ensemble Zeitgeist commissioned (via
Kickstarter) four jazz artists to compose new works, to be premiered at the
festival with the Zeitgiest ensemble at its home base at Studio Z. The works
opened Studio Z's festival schedule both Thursday and Friday, presenting Zacc
Harris, Chris Bates, Davu Seru and Steve Kenny with the ensemble, the music
coming at that "muddy place" were jazz meets new music, noted
Zeitgeist manager and percussionist Heather Barringer.
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| Steve Kenny at Pat O'Keefe |
On Premiere I, Zacc
Harris led off with "Corridors," an intriguing interaction
among Zacc's guitar and the percussion (including vibes) and bass clarinet of
Zeitgeist. Chris Bates' piece soared like a symphony, while Davu
Seru emphasized the beauty of vibes and bass clarinet against the percussive
artillery of the ensemble and his trapset. Trumpeter Steve Kenny grandly
saluted three late composers with his "Ghost Suite" -- "Bob's Bounce" (Bob Samarotto);
"Stoked" (Eric Stokes); and (in Kenny's inimitable punster
style) "Crimea
River" (Yuri
Merzhevsky).
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| Steve Pikal |
Studio Z
also hosted three nights of jazz piano, with Rick Carlson and bassist Steve
Pikal, long-time partners in the Wolverines, launching the first
night's series with lot of Ellington and sweet swing. But perhaps it was Pikal,
rather than Carlson, who stole the set with his solo on Ellington's "Warm Valley." (So perhaps we might request
a Jazz Bass Stage next year?)
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| Dean Granros and Joel Shapira |
One of the
anchor venues in Lowertown (all year long), the Black Dog hosted set after
glorious set throughout the weekend, starting out on Thursday with the much
anticipated return of the Joel Shapira/Dean Granros guitar duo.
Coming together last winter with a couple return visits since, these veterans
fit together as if born to share the stage, with exquisite and powerful
arrangements of Sonny Rollins' "Oleo" and the Styne/Cahn chestnut,
"I Fall in Love Too Easily."
Later in the evening another duo, guitarist John Penny and drummer Jay
Epstein, put on a very different display at the Black Dog, bouncing
between Brazilian fare from the likes of Jobim to more intricate freestyle
conversations.
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| Pippi Ardennia |
New on East 4th Street
this summer is the second location of the Bedlam Theater, Bedlam Lowertown,
which took over one of the charming, brick-interior spaces across from Union
Depot and the new LRT station. The second set of the evening featured vocalist
and bandleader Pippi Ardennia and her PipJazz Band (Brian Christianson, Billy
Peterson, Glenn Swanson and young violinst/vocalist Zosha Warpeha). A frequent
festival performer in recent years, Chicago native Pippi has a big voice and a
bigger personality that can command attention even in a large space like
Bedlam, and the colorful lighting was easily matched by the music -- including
arrangements of jazz and pop hits ("Here's to Life,"
"Summertime," "On a Clear Day") and Pippi's original songs
("Love So Good").
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| Jana Nyberg |
The
Amsterdam Bar drew crowds all evening but is known for keeping the music going
past midnight. And what better way to finish than with the Jana Nyberg Group-- a bit
of pop, a bit of sass, some flute, some original songwriting, and all with a
jazz sensibility and one of the tightest small ensembles in town? With
trumpeting husband Adam Meckler close at hand, and Thomas Nordlund, Matt
Peterson and Andres Crovetti providing rhythm and pulse, Jana sang with voice
and flute; her back and forth with Adam is always a treat to see and hear.
Friday, June 27
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| Red Planet |
Green Line
Stops again started off midday, and early afternoon brought the first several
free, all-ages clinics, this one at McNally Smith College of Music with Friday
night headliner Branford Marsalis taking a casual Q & A approach to a full
auditorium of students, area musicians and jazz fans. Mears
Park music got underway
on the HealthPartners Main Stage with the always-popular trio, Red
Planet (Dean Magraw, Chris Bates and Jay Epstein) and their
intergalactic arrangements of Coltrane, Coleman and original works.
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| Babatunde Lea |
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| Mississippi on Sixth Street |
They set a
high standard for the rest of the evening, with the adjacent MyTalk107.1 Stage
(Sixth Street) boasting former Twin Cities resident, Peruvian guitarist Andres
Prado and his reconstituted quartet Mississippi (Pete Whitman, Jeffrey Bailey,
Kevin Washington) tackling 60s icons and Peruvian influences, followed by
former Bay Area talent and relatively new Twin Cities resident, percussionist Babatunde
Lea and his smoldering quartet (Zacc Harris, Jeffrey Bailey--again, and
part-time resident Richard Johnson). One-time cohort of Stan Getz, Leon Thomas
and Oscar Brown, Jr., Lea has developed what he calls the troponga -- a melding
of American trapset and African percussion, a set-up he demonstrated the next
morning for an open clinic at Studio Z. For Friday night, he led the band
through some favorite post bop tunes and original fare, highlighting the
talents of his cohorts, particularly the high-energy Johnson, who spends a good
part of his working days with Delfeayo Marsalis.
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| Chris Lomheim Trio |
Another
night of piano jazz at Studio Z included the seldom-performing Chris Lomheim
Trio (previewing a new studio recording) and the second of three sets with
"house pianist" Jon Weber, with a stellar solo set of mostly original
music in-between from Steven Hobert. His improvisations on
Indian ragas were oddly beautiful, but perhaps the highlight was his gorgeous
rendition of "Danny Boy." Watch for a fall release of Steven's new
recording.
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| Dave Hagedorn |
Back on the
Main Stage, the last-minute visa delay that pre-empted "Latin gypsy
swing" ace Lulo Reinhardt opened the door for a makeshift quartet of
veterans led by vibraphonist Dave Hagedorn (Jon Weber, Steve
Pikal, Phil Hey). Having never performed as an ensemble, the quartet proceeded
to knock it out of the park on a set of standards that left the audience
calling for more of this band in the future. Weber seems to come to town often
enough to make this happen!
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| Branford Marsalis Quartet at Mears Park |
Festival Finale, Saturday June 28
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| DFJE Youth Showcase |
Music was
spread farther and wider on the final day of the festival, reaching all the way
to Como Park (Larry McDonough) and boasting the
annual Youth Showcase on the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education Prince Street
Stage, wedged between the LRT Prince Street Station and the Black Dog.
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| Babatunde Lea's percussion clinic |
Things
got going early with Babatunde Lea's percussion clinic at
Studio Z in the morning, and about 30 "students" from young teens to
"older" adults enjoyed a hands-on lesson in African rhythms, chants,
and conga magic. Later in the afternoon, New
Orleans keyboardist Joe Krown held a clinic at McNally
Smith while young New York-based pianist Javier Santiago led a clinic following
his performance at the Rondo Library (Dale Street Station).
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| Vocomotion - Lucia Newell |
Outdoor
stages opened at Noon at the Union Depot
on the tpt Stage, with the first part of the afternoon filled with the
annual singer showcase, VocoMotion, with swinging
instrumental backing provided by the Wolverines Trio (Rick Carlson, Steve
Pikal and Jendeen Forberg) with special guest, Dean Magraw. In
successive sets, the "south end" crowd on the Depot lawn enjoyed
songs from Lucia Newell, Maud Hixson, Debbie Duncan and Prudence Johnson.
Meanwhile the Youth Showcase got underway at 1 pm, with seven youth bands
ranging from high school to college age performing at a level seldom seen among
such young ensembles.
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| Jordan Anderson and John Blanda (Walker West) |
More young talents, this time students at Walker
West Music Academy, convened the HealthPartners Stage at Mears Park,
with the usual quintet fare augmented by a fast-moving two-keyboard duet
featuring John Blanda and Jordan Anderson -- definitely two teens to
watch. Slightly older, the student
musicians who formed the McNally Smith edition of the X-Tet, directed by Pete
Whitman, were able to finish their high-energy set on Sixth Street before the
weather took a nasty turn.
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| Southside Aces |
With the
Adam Meckler Orchestra completing sound check on the HealthPartners Stage, with
the Southside Aces just getting underway at the Union Depot, and the Southside
Jazz Combo into their first tunes on Prince
Street, the rains came. And came hard. Although
there was a reprieve about 20 minutes later, the forecast, and rising mud at Mears Park,
did not bode well for resuming activity on the outdoor stages.
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| The Dakota Combo at the Black Dog |
Some quick
realignments and cooperative ensembles allowed the bulk of the festival's music
to continue. In the end, a few sets were cut short, and remaining MyTalk Stage
sets and Jazz Central Showcase were pre-empted by the would-be Mears Park
headliners who moved into the Amsterdam.
The Bill Brown Quartet and Joe Krown Trio moved from Union Depot to the old
Artists Quarter space in the Hamm
Building that had been
set up for After Hours Jams; the Black Dog graciously accommodated the last
sets of the Youth Showcase. This was perhaps the best display of improvisation
of the festival! The weather drove more
fans into the indoor clubs as neither the Amsterdam
nor Hamm Building space could accommodate the
anticipated crowds-- many were turned away and likely a few city crowd
ordinances were ignored! Still, it seemed at least 1,000 were on hand for the
finale at the Amsterdam -- not the anticipated 4,000+ that would have filled
Mears Park, but equally enthusiastic and wedged in even more tightly!
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| Eric Gravatt |
And what a
finale it was. Eric Gravatt's Source Code was able to fill its scheduled time
slot on the Amsterdam Stage, and drummer Gravatt with local heavies Dean
Magraw, Dave Graf, Solomon Parham and Ron Evaniuk took no prisoners and offered
no letdown as rain-soaked fans poured in, standing about 20 rows deep.
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| Melissa Aldana |
The much
anticipated Minnesota debut of 2013 Monk sax competition winner Melissa
Aldana and Crash Trio (Pablo Menares and Francisco Mela) was (very
arguably) the defining moment of the weekend, surpassing many already-high
expectations with its originality, accessibility and energy. Most of the music
came from the trio, although Aldana's arrangement of "Ask Me Now" was
(for this reviewer) one of the musical peaks of the festival (as it similarly
served her in the Monk Competition last fall). With so many young saxophonists
on the loose, Aldana nevertheless stands out --like a young Chris Potter ready
to take on the world. Menares and Mela offer more than supporting roles, and
you will not likely find a more handsome trio in jazz! (Check out the trio's
new Concord release, Melissa Aldana and Crash Trio, which includes much of the music
performed at the Amsterdam.)
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| Dianne Reeves |
For many,
the most eagerly awaited set was the last with Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne
Reeves and a veteran band of top musicians, including Eau Claire native Geoffrey Keezer, along with
Romero Lubambo, Reginald Veal and Terreon Gulley. Making the situation more
dramatic, Reeves and her band arrived without luggage or change of clothes
(save Keezer who had packed a carry-on). But did anyone care? Reeves looked
stunningly casual and seemed to take both the luggage hassle and last-minute
venue change (which included significant alterations in sound system and
lighting) in stride, with good humor, and without any artistic let-down. Much
of the music came from her new Concord recording (Beautiful Life), a challenging mix of jazz standards
("Summertime," "Stormy Weather" --how appropriate!), pop (Marvin
Gaye's "I Want You", Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain") and
original fare ("Tango"), every tune played as if a Grammy audition,
relaxed and powerful. Her duet with guitarist Lubambo (a Brazilian twist on
"Our Love Is Here to Stay") was particularly sublime. It was indeed a
Beautiful Life, on stage and in the
audience.
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| Kenny Horst, After Hours |
Over in the
lower level of the Hamm
Building, the Joe Krown
Trio thrilled its tightly packed audience, and the subsequent jam session
included none other than the AQ's retired owner Kenny Horst. Back in Lowertown
at the Black Dog, I caught the last few thrilling notes of the youthful titans,
Courageous Endeavors, and veteran Steve Kenny's band of young stars, Group 47
(Thomas Strommen, Will Kjeer, Adam Tucker and Alex Burgess) as they offered a
preview of their upcoming release, Straight
to Vinyl.
It was past
midnight and I could barely make it up a block of 4th Street to my parking lot, managing to
catch Phil Aaron and Phil Hey as they packed up from their piano jazz gig at
Studio Z. We looked up the street to see a late train pull into the LRT stop in
front of Union Depot. The rain had stopped and the wet puddles shined with the
red and green lights at the crossing. Soon the train pulled away, rolling past
us down Fourth Street
and into the Prince Street Station by the Black Dog. The 2014 jazz festival had
been one heckuva ride.
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| End of the Line, end of the festival |
The 2014 Twin Cities Jazz Festival,
directed by Steve Heckler and the nonprofit festival Board, was sponsored by
HealthPartners, Saint Paul STAR program, Minnesota State Arts Board,
Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, MyTalk 107.1, Dakota Foundation for Jazz
Education, tpt, Jefferson Lines, McNally Smith College of Music, Travelers, Oak
Grove Capital, Wells Pianos, MindSpark Creative, Jazz 88, Lowertown Future Fund
(Saint Paul Foundation), Bigelow, and Alden and Mimie Drew, with ongoing
support from the Saint Paul Mayor's office, including Mayor Chris Coleman and
Joe Spencer. Visit the festival website at www.hotsummerjazz.com for more about
the 2014 festival and information about donations and sponsorship. The official
festival photo gallery is available at http://andreacanterjazzink.zenfolio.com/p942903518
and additional photo collections are posted on the festival Facebook page. Many
thanks to the photo team of Andrea Canter, Don Olson, John Lombardi and Kelle
Green.
*Support for many aspects of the 2014 festival was provided by grants
from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to funding created by the voters of
Minnesota via a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage
Fund and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
