PIANIST SULLIVAN FORTNER & TRUMPETER AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE SORT OF RECREATE THE LANDMARK WEATHER BIRD AT THE UMS CONCERT SERIES

Pianist Sullivan Fortner & Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire

Sitting in Rackham Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Friday evening, listening to pianist Sullivan Fortner and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire perform their "Weather Bird" project, I could not help wishing the musicians discuss the making of the landmark record released in 1928 by Louis Armstrong and Earl "Fatha" Hines. If you wanted to know about the historical collaboration, there were a few remarks about the collaboration by Seton Hawkins in the program notes. The University Musical Society billed the concert as a re-creation of "Weather Bird." However, the 90-minute concert came off as two contemporary A-league swingers showing off their considerable chops, and the audience was ecstatic. Both musicians are accomplished. Fortner won the Cole Porter Fellowship from the American Pianists Association in 2015 and is currently the pianist for Grammy-winning vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant. In 2007, Akinmusire won the coveted Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and has well-received albums on Blue Note Records. They never discussed why Armstrong and Hines collaborated and its historical relevance. Chances are they did not know what inspired the collaboration. There were four songs in their set before they addressed the audience, sharing that they had just performed music by Fats Waller, Hines, and three originals. Then Fortner talked about the breadth of Akinmusire's musicianship and poked fun at him before they resumed playing. Aside from the musicians not letting on about why they decided to do this project or putting the original "Weather Bird" into any historical context, the music that Fortner and Akinmusire performed was exceptionally pleasing. The audience witnessed two of jazz's leading players showing what complete virtuosos they are, particularly Akinmusire, who dazzled with every note he played. Fortner came off as Akinmusire's accompanist, which Fortner seemed comfortable with. He had a goosebump-inducing moment near the concert's end when Akinmusire stepped aside, and Fortner stretched out on Hines's "Rosetta," Fortner's fingers danced and dashed along the piano keys as if possessed. Overall, the concert was packed with good music and memorable soloing. However, it is still worth noting that it could have been more pleasing had Fortner and Akinmusire put the landmark offering "Weather Bird" into some tangible context or what pushed them to try to recreate it.

 

THE MARION HAYDEN LEGACY SEXTET CELEBRATES THE MUSIC OF ROY BROOKS AT THE BLUE LLAMA

Drummer Roy Brooks

The jazz trombonist Vincent Chandler and bassist Marion Hayden have striking similarities. Both are two of the finest jazz musicians Detroit has produced, and both have dedicated significant chunks of their careers to continuing the legacy of Detroit jazz greats such as Harold McKinney, Kenn Cox, Roy Brooks, and Donald Walden. Chandler is doing so with his terrific monthly Detroit Jazz Preservation Concert Series, and Hayden has been preserving the legacy of Detroit jazz greats for years through her group, the Marion Hayden Legacy Sextet, which always features a cross-generational helping of Detroit jazz musicians. Last night at the Blue Llama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Hayden's sextet honored the late jazz drummer Roy Brooks, which she announced midway through the set was just a taste of a grander celebration in the works for the drummer. For 90 minutes, the sextet performed Brooks's compositions. Brooks made a name for himself internationally in the sixties as a key member of bands led by Horace Silver, Woody Shaw, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach. As a leader, Brooks put out classic jazz recordings such as "Beat," "The Free Slave,"" The Understanding," and "Duet in Detroit." His ensemble, The Artistic Truth, achieved national acclaim. Hayden opened the 90-minute set with Brooks's original "Uncrowned King," then they plunged headfirst without lifejackets into Brook's multi-tempo number "Forever Mingus." The sextet pianist Brendon Davis, trumpeter Tim Blackmon, saxophonist Vincent Bowen, and vocalist Robert McCarther were sharp throughout the set. Davis guided the sextet. His pianoing and soloing embodied a veteran marksman's precision and refinement. Three tunes in, McCarther joined the band. Male vocalists like McCarther are rare nowadays. His carriage is a throwback to Joe William and Johnny Hartman, and McCarther's voice melts over you softly like snow over cotton. Hayden has led many outstanding bands but has never hogged the spotlight. Last night, she soloed more than I have ever known her to in all the years I have attended her performances. Her soloing stuck to your ribs like a satisfying full-course meal. Blackmon and Bowen were a competent frontline gobbling up the changes to Kenn Cox's "Spellbound" and Geri Allen's "Unconditional Love," like baked goods. But the star of the set was the young drummer Tariq Gardner, who, like Brooks, has a rare combination of taste and dynamism. Gardner is still developing, but at a young age, he understands the mechanics of powering and pushing a band. The concert was a fitting tribute to Brooks's legacy in an intimate setting. Jazz musicians like Vincent Chandler and Hayden, who have dedicated time to perpetuating the legacies of Detroit jazz luminaries, deserve acknowledgment.