Monday, September 26, 2022

AT ARETHA'S JAZZ CAFÉ THE NEA JAZZ MASTER DRUMMER LOUIS HAYES SWUNG WITH THE VERVE OF MUSICIANS HALF HIS AGE

Louis Hayes

At Louis Hayes's concert Sunday night, I wondered if other attendees were blown away by how athletic his playing still is at 85. Hayes, the 2022 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship—the highest honor bestowed on a jazz musician—returned to Detroit for a weekend at Aretha's Jazz Café. Off the bat, Hayes set the tone for the high-grade swing the audience would be lavished with for 90-minutes. Silver Serenade and Arab Arab were the two scorchers Hayes opened the concert with. Witnessing him burn rubber through both numbers showed his dexterity as a masterful jazz drummer hasn't withered with age. His cymbal work was crisp, and his rimshots embodied a youthful muscularity. All night long, he was equally dynamic as when he held down the drum chair in pianist Horace Silver's and alto saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderly's bands many decades ago. Then, after submerging the audience with the two opening tunes, Hayes let them come up for air on Tadd Dameron's ballad If You Could See Me Now. Hayes had a well-condition band—pianist Rick Germanson, saxophonist Abraham Burton, vibist Steve Nelson, and bassist Gerald Cannon—that punched even harder in the later rounds of the set. The members were so evenly yoked that neither overshadowed the other. Germanson and Cannon were the band's linchpins, Burton blew the paint off the walls, and Nelson's solos had an athletic quality. Hayes isn't one of those old-timers who spend a chunk of a set reminiscing about the old days. But, for what it's worth, I've always enjoyed it when jazz musicians of Hayes's era include a jazz history lesson in their concerts. Anyway, he performed for 90-minutes with no commercial interruptions and with the verve and stamina of a musician half his age. 

 

Monday, September 5, 2022

FOUR MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES SUNDAY AT THE 2022 DETROIT JAZZ FEST

Jose James

 Jose James (JP Morgan Chase Main Stage)

The jazz vocalist Jose James released Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday in 2015. He revisited the project at his Detroit Jazz Festival set Sunday afternoon. James is a vocalist with stagecraft and an enormous voice. Unfortunately, it was rainy and windy during his concert. However, James joked that such conditions are an opportune time to listen to Holiday's music. James added new herbs and spices to God Bless the Child, Strange Fruit, and Body and Soul. I'm not sure how many attendees who braved the rain will consider this performance a favorite. However, hearing James remake Holiday's classics was worth getting drenched.

 

Nubya Garcia

Nubya Garcia (Absopure Waterfront Stage)

The British tenor saxophonist's improvisational savviness has been likened to the great Sonny Rollins. Any doubt about the accuracy of their likeness was immediately dispelled during Garcia's soloing on the opening number of her set. Garcia's band—pianist Greg Spero, drummer Sam James, and bassist Lawrence Shaw—performed mostly music from Garcia's highly-touted first album, Source. The band modernized acoustic swing was refreshing to hear. Garcia was the marquee attraction, for sure. However, listening to Spero back her and solo with such raw enthusiasm, I wondered if Garcia's quartet would still swing hard if Spero was absent from the mix. His style reminded me of pianists Craig Taborn and Jacky Terrasson.

 

Cecile McLorin Salvant

Cecile McLorin Salvant (JP Morgan Chase Main Stage)

A litany of show tunes, gems from the American songbook, and obscure songs that are an acquired taste are expected from a Cecile McLorin Salvant performance. Honestly, I've been bored to death at some of her shows; at others, her angelic voice melted my soul. However, her Sunday night set was the best I've experienced since she became a regular headliner at the Detroit Jazz fest. I was intoxicated by every song I heard, and she's been blessed with a soulmate in pianist Sullivan Fortner.

Chucho Valdes

Duets: Dianne Reeves, Chucho Valdes & Joe Lovano (Carhartt Amphitheater Stage)

Given Reeves', Valdes's, and Lovano's different musical makeup, I wondered if the pairing would work. But merging their uniqueness turned out well. Valdes played solo piano to start the set and had the piano airborne. After that, saxophonist Lovano joined him for a duet. Lovano was blowing so aggressively that he nearly blew a hole in the moon. This duet replaces Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan as my all-time favorite pianist and tenor sax duet. The duet was enough to send the audience home gratified. Valdes's duet with Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves was a bonus. Reeves was at her best, scatting up a storm. When nestled into a slow-tempo song, her voice had a puppy-love innocence. This set was hands down my favorite experience Sunday.