UNDERWHELMING PERFORMANCE OF POP CLASSICS BY JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA AT ANNUAL UMS CONCERT

Wynton Marsalis

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra put on its annual jazz concert for the University Musical Society Wednesday evening at Hill Auditorium. Instead of performing the music of iconic jazz musicians and composers such as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie, the JLCO played pop oldies-but-goodies from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. 

The two-hour concert was billed as Jazz in the Key of Life, and trombonist Vincent Gardner was the concert’s music director. Gardner picked the nine pop songs the orchestra played, and various members of the orchestra wrote arrangements.

Presenting pop music was a stretch for the JLCO whose comfort zone is largely swing, bop, and post-bop. It was thoughtful for the orchestra to offer its Michigan fan base something different.

Suffice it to say, pop isn’t what the JLCO does best. Gardner prefaced each song by giving the audience bits of its origins. The trombonist never said why the JLCO decided to explore pop music.

The orchestra opened with the Crusaders “Street Life,” followed by a number from the rock group Creams’ songbook. Then the orchestra tackled Stevie Wonders classic “All in Love is Fair”.

The orchestra’s take on those songs was underwhelming. The JLCO is one of the top jazz orchestras of all time, and this annual concert has always been a treat for jazz fans wanting to experience two-hours of red-blooded American swing.

There’re some cool solos by bassist Carlos Henriquez and drummer Ali Jackson on Donny Hathaway’s “Sugar Lee”. The orchestra’s leader, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, nearly blew the musicians in the trombone section out their chairs soloing on Paul McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby”.

The orchestra seemed most comfortable with the Jackson’s “Blame it on the Boogie,” which Gardner arranged and played tuba on, and the audience was most pleased with. I’ve attended JLCO’s annual UMS concert for a decade. The Jazz in the Key of Life concert was the first time the orchestra seemed out of their league.  

JD ALLEN, CHARLIE HADEN LIBERATION MUSIC ORCHESTRA & BRIAN BLADE AMONG TOP 10 JAZZ CONCERTS OF 2015

Tenor saxophonist JD Allen

JD Allen Trio (Detroit Groove Society House Concert Series)

Tenor saxophonist and native Detroiter JD Allen closed the Detroit Groove Society concert series with two unforgettable sets of music. The concert took place in the series founder’s, Andrew Rothman’s, living room, and was produced by veteran jazz concert promoter Skip Norris, who could throw a memorable jazz concert in his sleep. Presently, Allen has ten albums on the market, and for the concert Allen, bassist Gregg August, and drummer Jonathan Barber – the concert’s MVP – burned through material from Allen’s albums “Grace,” “Victory!,” “Shine,” and “Graffiti”. The concert happened nearly a month ago, and I still wake up some nights in a cold sweat thinking about it.

Women In Jazz History Month (Kerry Town Concert House)

This concert was a celebration of Women In Jazz History Month; a poignant acknowledgement of women contributions to jazz. Pianist Ellen Rowe and bassist Marion Hayden co-led the female jazz ensemble that shifted Kerry Town Concert House off its foundation. The group delved into every happening branch of jazz such as bop, swing, modal jazz, and some blues for good measure. I left the concert wanting to organize a drive demanding this ensemble be featured at one of Detroit’s popular jazz venues regularly, and Women In Jazz Month be celebrated all year.

Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra (The 2015 Detroit Jazz Festival)

CHLMO was a set I wanted to hear more than any other at the 2015 Detroit Jazz Festival. The orchestra’s performance was shocking, but I wasn’t disappointed. I was braced for the music the orchestra presented to be on the militant side and way angrier. Pianist and composer Carla Bley captained the ship and wrote the arrangements. The music the orchestra played was meaningful, and the soloing was passionate. I never dreamt I’d be in tears after the set ended. 

Regina Carter and Kenny Barron Duo (Paradise Jazz Series)

The violinist and pianist made a Grammy-nominated album in 1991 titled “Freefall”. For this duo concert, Carter and Barron revisited the music from that album. The show was flawless. Carter and Barron displayed their virtuosity on every composition. Midway through the first set, I lost count of the ovations Carter and Barron received.

Marcus Belgrave (Home Going Celebration)

The universe lost one of its most revered jazz musicians, jazz educators, mentor's, and beacon's of excellence when jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave died on May 24th. Belgrave’s funeral was an event, a nearly three-hour jazz festival befitting an extraordinary musician and human being. There’re breathtaking performances by many of the jazz musicians Belgrave influenced both, directly and indirectly, Robert Hurst, James Carter, Karriem Riggins, and Geri Allen had inspired moments. The music was so moving and inspired. I felt Belgrave was going to wake up and start blowing.

Brian Blade

Chucho Valdes (Michigan Theatre)

This concert by the reigning king of Afro-Cuban jazz was billed as a reunion of Irakere, a universally renowned ensemble Valdes co-founded forty years ago. The two-hour concert was a showcase for the rising young guns of Afro-Cuban jazz known as the Afro-Cuban Messengers. Apparently, Valdes drew considerable inspiration from Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Valdes called many staples from Irakere’s repertoire, but the soloing by the young guns stuck to my ribs. The concert was a big block party. On the drive home, I wondered how many people would have to take a day off from work to recuperate from the show.

Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band (2015 Detroit Jazz Festival)

Jazz drummer Brian Blade for nearly two decades has been the heart of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, reputed as the tightest jazz band around. Blade is an animated and a quick-witted drummer who’s a joy to experience. For his Saturday afternoon set at the Detroit Jazz Festival Blade’s Fellowship Band pretty much played a more intensely hip version of the heady variety of swing unique to Shorter’s quartet. It took Blade a few tunes to get worked up. Surprisingly, the jazz fest security didn’t provide hart hats and safety goggles to be worn during Blade’s set. At one stretch, Blade was drumming so powerfully, I was sure his drum kit was going to blow up at any moment.

Michigan State University Jazz Orchestra, featuring Jimmy Cobb (Carr Center)

Honestly, I attended this concert to hear legendary jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb one of the remaining hard bop drummers who played on many landmark jazz albums most notably Miles Davis’s “Kind of Blue”. I doubted if the MSU Jazz Orchestra could hang with the veteran drummer. Two tunes into the concert the Bebop Spartans assuaged my doubt. The Spartans brought down the house, playing with such confidence it appeared Cobb had to prove he was worthy of sharing the stage with them. Cobb only played three tunes, and he was amazing on each, but the Spartans are who I bragged about when my friends wanted details about the concert.

Kenn Cox Tribute Concert (Carr Center)

In 2008, the jazz pianist Kenn Cox died of lung Cancer. The jazz hemisphere lost one of the most elegant bebop pianists. In his native Detroit Cox was regarded as a jazz intellectual, mentor, cultural warrior, and who people wanting the lowdown on anything concerning jazz flocked to. It’s a crying shame it took seven years to organize a tribute to Cox. The master of ceremony was one of Cox’s protégés jazz bassist Rodney Whitaker, and the two-plus hour tribute was befitting a jazz musician of Cox’s renown. Special guests were trumpeter Rayse Biggs, saxophonist Vincent Bowens, vocalists Shahida Nurullah, and Rockelle Fortin. The set list was a mix of Cox’s original compositions and staples he loved performing at his live concerts. The best part of the tribute was Whitaker’s Q& A with Cox’s wife, Barbara, about her life with the pianist.

The Oliver Lake Organ Quartet (2015 Jazz Festival)

I was familiar with alto saxophonist Oliver Lake’s reputation for having one foot in the avant-garde and the other one rooted in straight-ahead acoustic jazz, and I loved his playing as a key figure of the World Saxophone Quartet, but I never experienced Lake live. Man, did he put on a show. A blind person could see Lake designed this group around organist Jared Gold, who had his organ speaking in tongue, but the person who put some special sauce on the concert was trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, who solo after solo blew holes in the moon.

10 OUTSTANDING JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2015

Jose James

Yesterday I Had The Blues The Music of Billie Holiday (Blue Note Records)

Billie Holiday would have turned 100 April 17^th. In celebration of her centennial tributes concerts were thrown around the country, and some tribute albums were released. The one that I couldn’t stop playing was “Yesterday I Had The Blues” by vocalist Jose James, whose voice one day will be a national treasure. James performed such Holiday favorites as “Good Morning Hard Ache,” “Fine and Mellow,” and “God Bless The Child” so convincingly dare I speculate Holiday’s spirit was in the studio during the making of the album holding James’s hand on every song.

Perez, Patitucci, Blade

Children of The Light (Mack Avenue Records)

For almost two decades, pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade have backed the great saxophonist Wayne Shorter. The relationship has spawned four breathtaking albums, and this band is seen universally as one of the tightest breathing. “Children Of The Light” is the first time Perez, Patitucci, and Blade have recorded as a trio. The album of nine originals and one Shorter composition is largely a gesture of appreciation to Shorter for all he’s meant to his guys musically. The playing on this album is top notch, but that isn’t surprising. One can only picture the big smile Shorter must’ve had on his face after listening to “Children of The Light.”

Glenn Tucker

Determination (Detroit Music Factory)

I was smitten by pianist Glenn Tucker’s playing after experiencing the first two tracks on this debut. Tucker is among a contingent of millennial jazz musicians making their presence respected on Detroit’s jazz scene. Tucker pulled off this debut in part by hiring several of Detroit’s elite swingers and some of Detroit’s rising stars. Tucker wrote all the music on “Determination”. The compositions he performed solo caused the most OMG reactions.

Abbey Lincoln

Sophisticated Abbey Live at The Keystone Corner (High Note Records)

This live date Abbey Lincoln made back in 1980. Lincoln was of excellent voice. She was backed by her longstanding rhythm sections James Leary, Doug Sides and Phil Wright. Lincoln had a rare gift the ability to seduce the hell out of a song. For “Sophisticated Abbey,” she applied that gift on some of her originals such as “Painted Lady,” and “People In Me”. The material I dreamt about after listening to the album was the medleys she sang that included “Sophisticated Ladies,” “The Nearest of You,” and “For All We Know”.

Heads of State

Search for Peace (Smoke Sessions Records)

Gary Bartz, Larry Willis, Buster Williams, and Al Foster are the members of the newly formed all-star jazz band known as the Heads of State. “Search For Peace” is the band’s mission statement.  What this album offers to the world is some familiar compositions performed by four of the greatest minds in jazz. “Search For Peace” is the kind of album you can listen to daily for the next decade and never grow tired of.

Rudresh Mahanthappa

Bird Calls (Act Music)

This album is alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa’s open love letter to bebop icon Charlie Parker. “Bird Calls” isn’t a garden variety tribute album. Mahanthappa elected not to perform Parker’s greatest hits. Instead, Mahanthappa borrowed elements of Parker’s compositions say the melody from “Donna Lee” and the progressions from “Relaxin’ At The Camarillo” and incorporated those elements into his new original compositions. Then Mahanthappa gave his band Adam O’Farrill, Matt Mitchell, Francois Moutin, and Rudy Royston the leeway to stretch out on each composition.

Terell Stafford

BrotherLee Love Celebration Lee Morgan (Capri Records Ltd.)

“Hocus Pocus,” “Mr. Kenyatta,” “Candy,” “Petty Larceny,” and “Speedball” are five of trumpeter Lee Morgan’s hits that trumpeter Terell Stafford stripped down to their wood surface and applied new coatings of paint. Stafford a card carrying Lee Morgan disciple pulled off a flawless tribute album, and his blowing is so inspired I wondered if Morgan’s spirit blessed Stafford’s trumpeter minutes before he recorded “BrotherLee Love.”

Christian McBride Trio

Christian McBride Trio Live at the Village Vanguard (Mack Avenue Records)

Jazz bassist Christian McBride had a simple formula for this Grammy-nominated album select nine compositions with simple melodies and allowed pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens to pour their chops over the compositions. As a bandleader, McBride has his hands in a lot of pots. He runs his Grammy-winning big band and the ensemble Inside Straight, and he made albums with each group for Mack Avenue. This trio outing, however, is his best work to date for the company. Listening to this album, I couldn’t help wondering if McBride designed the trio around Christian Sands’ chops.  Sands swings 24/7 and listening to him go-for-broke solo on “The Lady In My Life” gave my soul goosebumps.

Jacky Terrasson

Take This (Impulse!)

Ultra-conservative jazz devotees might want to put pianist Jacky Terrasson before a firing squad because of how he reworked Bud Powell’s gem “Un Poco Loco,” and Paul Desmond’s timeless hit “Take Five”. Conversely, those jazz lovers who approached the music with an open mind and who want an inspired listening experience will praise Terrasson from being a habitual risk-taker. Terrasson does some of everything on “Take This” such as singing, beatboxing, and playing the shit out the piano.

Vincent Herring

Night and Day (Smoke Sessions Records)

Alto saxophonist Vincent Herring is no stranger to red-blooded American blowing sessions. The past decade Herring has been in some memorable ones with his running buddy tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. “Night and Day” qualify as a blowing sessions, but this time, around Herring is on the frontline with Jeremy Pelt, a trumpeter dropped from the heavens into the jazz world and has been a blessing to every band he’s played in. Pelt didn’t perform on every cut on “Night and Day”, but when Herring needed Pelt’s services he blew his ass off. Check out “The Adventures of Hyun Joo Lee” and “Smoking Paul’s Stash”.

A BEFITTING TRIBUTE TO JAZZ PIANIST & CULTURAL WARRIOR KENN COX

Kenn Cox

Inside the Knight Suite at the Carr Center Sunday evening, a long overdue tribute to the late jazz pianist Kenn Cox was held. Over four decades Cox, who died in 2008 of lung cancer, was respected around the universe as a top tier jazz pianist, composer, educator, deep thinker, and entrepreneur. Cox’s  musical accomplishments are too vast to list in a blog post. Around Detroit, he led some heavy jazz bands such as the Contemporary Jazz Quintet, the Guerilla Jam Band, and Kenn Cox and Drum.

The 90-minute tribute concert was well organized and hosted by one of Cox's protégés bassist Rodney Whitaker. Whitaker and Cox's relationship date back to the early 80’s, and during the first set, Whitaker prefaced each composition the ensemble performed with stories about his relationship with Cox.

For the first set Whitaker’s ensemble saxophonists Diego Rivera and Vincent Bowen, drummer Sean Dobbins, pianist Corey Kendrick and vocalist Rockelle Fortin performed compositions that were fixtures in Cox’s repertoire such as “Alone Together,” “You Go To My Head,” “Lamar” and “Cherokee”.  The first set was a hip dress rehearsal of sorts for the second, which featured Cox’s originals. Before the set began, Whitaker conducted a Q&A with Cox wife, Barbara.

She talked some about their marriage, revealing Cox was drawn to her early on because she was into Sun Ra, Thelonious Monk, and Archie Shepp. She also talked about the times they took one night trips to Chicago to hear Miles Davis and Jackie McLean. The Q& A closed with her reading excerpts from Cox’s journal. Then Whitaker's ensemble nearly burned up the bandstand with Cox’s original “Mandela’s Muse,” followed by “Cultural Warrior,”  “Love Dance,” "Buhanina,”  and “Beyond A Dream.”.  

Trumpeter Rayse Biggs and vocalist Shahida Nurullah were special guests. If Cox were in attendance, chances are he would’ve favorite how wonderfully Nurullah sang “Love Dance” and how angelically Rockelle Fortin sang “You Go To My Head”. 

There were many OMG moments during both sets. The tribute was befitting a jazz musician of Cox’s influence and genius. Honestly, it’s impossible to single out a standout solo or showstopper because each musician – including the four students from the Michigan State University Jazz Orchestra – showed up with their A-plus game.

MSU JAZZ ORCHESTRA WITH SPECIAL GUEST JIMMY COBB BOWLED OVER AUDIENCE AT THE CARR CENTER

Drummer Jimmy Cobb

Minutes before the Michigan State University Jazz Orchestra played the first piece of their Sunday evening concert at the Carr Center in downtown Detroit, the Director of Jazz Studies at the University, bassist Rodney Whitaker, told the audience to fasten their seatbelts. 

Two choruses into the opener “Things to Come,” it was apparent why Whitaker wanted the audience to hold on. The MSU Jazz Orchestra, nicknamed the Be-bop Spartans, took the audience on a two-hour joyride through the backstreets of some well-known jazz classics. Guaranteed no soul left the Carr Center unconvinced the Be-bop Spartans are an elite collegiate jazz orchestra.

The Be-bop Spartans put everything on the line for each song they performed. Three songs into the set the orchestra was playing with such force and self-assurance, I thought they were competing for the Big Ten championship. The orchestra was under a lot of pressure given their special guest was the legendary jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb whose career in music spans five decades.

Cobb’s work history includes tenures with Miles Davis, Ron Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sarah Vaughan. At 86, Cobb is still putting out outstanding jazz records. Last year, Smoke Sessions Records released one of Cobb’s finest recordings “The Original Mob”.  The Be-bop Spartans had performed four songs before Cobb joined them. The first showstopper was the orchestra’s interpretation of Frank Foster’s “Blues Backstage”.

The orchestra had the bandstand sufficiently heated by the time Cobb joined in to play “Two Bass Hit,” “Straight No Chaser,” and “Giant Steps”. Cobb soloed beautifully on each number, showing that at his advanced age, he hasn’t lost one ounce of the piss-and-vinegar he possessed as a key figure on landmark jazz albums such as “Kind of Blue” and “Giant Steps”.

Cobb was why most of the audience attended the concert. But, I daresay the Spartans stole the show. Everybody was banking on Cobb tearing-the-roof-off-the sucker. What was shocking was how the Be-bop Spartans flourished in the midst of such genius and greatness. Over the years, this reviewer has heard many of Whitaker’s recruiting classes. This class, however, is his most exciting and gifted.  

THE JD ALLEN TRIO ARGUABLY PUT ON THE BEST CONCERT OF DETROIT GROOVES SOCIETY'S HISTORY

JD Allen

A group of regulars at the Detroit Groove Society house concert series was asked how the JD Allen Trio concert Sunday afternoon stacked up to other big-name performers who have played the series. The consensus was Allen’s show was among the top if not the best in the DGS's eleven-year history. Billy Hart, George Cables, Geri Allen, and Danilo Perez are other marquee stars who have graced the series. 

One DSG regular was so taken by the Allen trio’s depth and energy, he likened the show to one of John Coltrane’s live sets. Another regular posted on facebook after the concert he felt he was levitating listening to Allen blow.

The trio played on songs from Allen's albums “Shine!,” “The Matador and the Bull,” "Grace," and “Victory!”. The second set was heavy with material from his current recording “Graffiti”. 

Allen’s trio, bassist Gregg August, and drummer Jonathan Barber, who subbed for Allen’s regular drummer Rudy Royston, plunged into the music and resurfaced for the intermission. The trio opened with an extended version of Allen’s “Sun House,” an uncharacteristic move given Allen likes to get in and out of compositions quickly.

Allen blew so mightily on "Son House" this reviewer was concerned Andy Rothman, the Detroit Groove Society’s founder and whose home the series is held, would have to hire Hanson’s to replace all the windows in the house. Allen is a dynamo on tenor who seems to have a direct line to the spirits of John Coltrane and Joe Henderson.

Allen cooled down the house with the ballad “If You Could See Me Now,” rendered so thoughtfully it could’ve made the meanest fuck weep. After buttering up the audience with the ballad, the trio moved into a litany of short compositions that clocked in around four minutes each. Every song the trio presented both sets were bonafide showstoppers.

Johnathan Barber’s drumming made the concert extra special. His busy style of drumming is akin to Elvin Jones and Ralph Peterson. Barber was the crowd favorite, and he went hard on every number as if hellbent on staying in the trio permanently.

REGINA CARTER & KENNY BARRON SHOWED DEPTHS OF THEIR VIRTUOSITY DURING PARADISE JAZZ SERIES CONCERT

Regina Carter and Kenny Barron

Duo concerts are a staple of the Paradise Jazz Series. Over the years, there have been some doozies by the likes of John and Gerald Clayton, Bill Charlap and Rene Rosnes, and Dave Holland and Kenny Barron. Friday evening at Orchestra Hall in Detroit violinist Regina Carter and pianist Kenny Barron put on the best  duo performance in recent memory. 

For two hours, Carter and Barron played the repertoire from their album “Freefall” released on Verve Records in 2001. As the story goes, collaborating was Barron’s idea. In the early 90’s he pitched the project to Carter. She believed Barron was pulling her leg,  

At the time, Carter was in the throes of building her solo career. She only had a self-titled album on the market. Barron, on the other hand, was a well-known jazz pianist with a legend’s resume, having had stints with Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Haynes, and Yusef Lateef. And Barron led the immensely popular group Sphere. Carter ended up playing in two of Barron’s bands before they in 2001 made “Freefall,” which was a hit and received a Grammy nomination, 

Friday night was the first time in years Carter and Barron revisited music from “Freefall”. Witnessing them perform flawlessly for two hours made it hard to believe they only team up occasionally. On each song, their musical psyches were in sync, and for two hours the audience experienced a guided tour of the depths of Carter's and Barron's virtuosity. 

It's worth noting that Barron has the ten most elegant fingers in jazz. His elegance was in full bloom soloing on his original compositions "A Flower” and “What If”. Barron is also a masterful accompanist. The entire concert he made sure Carter was the focal point. 

Carter's soloing on “Soft as in a Morning Sunrise,” and “Misterioso” is why a segment of the near capacity audience probably had to soak their sore hands in Epson salt at home because of incessant clapping. Every improvisational trick Carter pulled from her sleeve drove the audience nuts. Carter broke the bank soloing on “Hush Now Don’t Explain,” playing it so beautifully and tenderly it appeared her violin was crying.