BENNY GREEN PUT THE KERRYTOWN CONCERT HOUSE PIANO THROUGH A VIGOROUS WORKOUT

Pianist Benny Green

When jazz pianist Benny Green plays New York jazz clubs word has it getting a ticket is nearly impossible. Those who caught Green’s concert Saturday evening at Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, MI experienced firsthand why he’s such a major draw. The concert was his first time performing at the venue. Green performed with his trio bassist Dave Wong and drummer Rodney Green, two jazz geniuses in the making. Before the trio played the set-list that included compositions by jazz royalty Horace Silver, Cedar Walton, and Kenny Barron, Green gave his sidemen one of the most touching introductions I’ve ever heard. To paraphrase Green, he was thrilled to reunite with them. He genuinely loves them. He thinks about them daily, and they inspired him to keep practicing and striving. Then Green turned his attention to the Kerrytown piano and put it through a workout surely it has never been subjected to before. The concert had many stunning moments. On “Pittsburgh Brethren,” “Clockwise, “and “St. Vitus Dance,” Green had the piano sweating and gasping for air during his solos. Green gave the piano a breather when the trio played the ballad “Theme for Ernie,” which Green infused with some blues licks. The only downside was Wong and Green only had a few solos.  After “Theme for Ernie,” Green called two tunes by Kenny Barron “Seascape,” and “Golden Lotus”. Green can play lines just as fast as bop immortal Bud Powell could during his heyday. Most of Saturday evening, Green was playing the piano so fast I believed his fingers were going to explode. 

SEAN DOBBINS MODERN JAZZ MESSENGER'S PLAYED HARD-BOP STAPLES & BALLADS AT THE DIRTY DOG JAZZ CAFE

Sean Dobbins

Drummer Sean Dobbins’s band, the Modern Jazz Messengers, have been a mainstay in Detroit’s jazz world nearing ten years. Like the band's inspiration Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Dobbins is big on rotating the members and keeping the band’s frontline youthful and hard swinging. 

The Modern Jazz Messengers songbook is heavy on hard-bop and post-bop staples, some of which the band performed Wednesday, the second night of a four-night residency at the Dirty Dog Jazz Café. The MJM – pianist Mike Jellick, bassist Marion Hayden, trumpeter Anthony Stanco, and saxophonist Johnathan Beshay – is Dobbins’s most tightly knit variation in the Messenger's ten-year history. 

Dobbins is an exciting performer, who in the past was known to hijack the spotlight at any given moment of a performance. He's grown into a beloved, equal opportunity bandleader. He divvied up the lion share of the spotlight Wednesday evening to Stanco and Beshay. Beshay tenor playing has old-school magnetism a la greats such as Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson. 

As a trumpeter, Stanco is at home in the upper register of the trumpet, which was obvious when the MJM roared through Wayne Shorter’s “Ping Pong,” Chick Corea’s “Humpty Dumpty “and Dobbins’s “Sweet Revenge”. 

Stanco showed what a terrific trumpeter he is when Dobbins deviated from the band’s game plan and called the ballad “Only You” and R& B vocalist Anita Baker’s 80’s gem “Sweet Love”. Dobbins dedicated the songs to a couple in attendance celebrating forty-seven years of marriage. Stanco soloing on each song induced goosebumps and some tears, too. 

Stanco was blowing so tenderly and warmly I believed his trumpet was going to float out his hands. Listening to the Modern Jazz Messengers perform the ballad, and the R&B slow jam proved the band isn't just hard-bop and post-bop hell-raisers.  

'BOOK OF INTUITION' IS THE KENNY BARRON TRIO'S DEBUT FOR IMPULSE RECORDS

“Book of Intuition” is jazz pianist Kenny Barron’s new album out March 4th on Impulse Records. The album is a trio outing that Barron made with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. Seven of the ten cuts on the album are from Barron’s songbook. There are two obscure Thelonious Monk compositions and one Charlie Haden jewel. In the jazz universe, Barron is seen as one of the most elegant and listenable jazz pianist alive. Listeners of this godsend of an album can pick any selection for proof of Barron’s gift to hook and dazzle listeners. Over the decades, Barron has led some fabulous jazz trios, which had members such as jazz saints bassist Ron Carter and drummer Roy Haynes. Barron has also led larger bands, the most beloved being the Thelonious Monk tribute band Sphere. But the trio is the best context to experience Barron. Nearing two decades now, Barron has been touring regularly with Kitagawa and Blake. And as “Book of Intuition” shows the musicians know each other’s musical psyche intimately. An often asked question is why so long for the trio to record. The cuts on “Book of Intuition” most likely to hit your spot are “Bud Like,” "In the Slow Lane,” and “Light Blue”. The former Barron called on the ghost of bebop icon Bud Powell. It was as if Powell’s ghost possessed Barron’s fingers given how Barron zoomed through the song’s changes. On Monk’s “Light Blue,” which Barron played solo, Barron took Monk’s spirit ground it to a fine powder and sprinkled it all over the studio piano. The long wait for Barron, Kitagawa, and Blake to record was worth the wait. 

BASSIST RON CARTER IS 2016 DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL'S ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

Bassist Ron Carter

Legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter will be the Artist-in-Residence at the 2016 Detroit Jazz Festival. The festival is North America’s largest free jazz festival and takes place in downtown Detroit during the Labor Day wekend. Nearing four decades, the DJF has showcased the musical gifts of many internationally accomplished jazz musicians. For the past decade, the Artist-in-Residence chair has gained prominence.

The Artist-in-Residence participates in jazz outreach educational programming, and is a central attraction during the festival, presenting hotly anticipated projects tailored specifically for the festival. Regina Carter, Christian McBride, Mulgrew Miller, Joshua Redman, Jeff “Tain”Watts, Danilo Perez, John Clayton, and Pat Metheny are some of the globally respected jazz musicians who have served as DJF’s Artist-in-Residence.

Carter,78, a native Detroiter, and a graduate of Cass Technical High School, is arguably the most legendary musician to be appointed. Known as the most recorded jazz musician on earth, Carter has reportedly performed on a whopping two thousand recordings. In his storied career,

Carterhas blessed bands with his priceless musical acumen led by famed jazz musicians such as Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, and Andrew Hill. As a bandleader, Carter has fertilized the planet with a bunch of remarkable albums such as “Where,” “All Blues,” ”Piccolo,” “The Bass and I,” “So What,” and“Dear Miles”.  

Last year, he buoyed up the spirit of his fan base with one of his more ambitious projects to date “My Personal Songbook Ron Carter and The WDR Big Band” Carter summed up his philosophy as a bassist in a quote on his website Roncarter.net:

“I think that the bassist is the quarterback in any group, and he must find a sound that he is willing to be responsible for”. The music Carter has in store for the Detroit Jazz Festival will be announced in April during the DJF’s annual press conference.

GEORGE 'SAX' BENSON TEAMED WITH PIANIST GLENN TUCKER FOR SPLENDID DUO RECORDING 'DREAMERS'

When saxophonist George ”Sax” Benson and pianist Glenn Tucker met to record their new album at Solid Sound Studio in Ann Arbor, MI., Tucker pitched recording standard compositions and one of his originals. Benson conversely showed up with a bunch of his originals some written way back in the 50’s and 60’s. After rehearsing a few of Benson’s originals, they shelved the standards Tucker had chosen and went to work on Benson’s music. “Dreamers,” a splendid duo date with 11 of Benson’s never before recorded compositions, is the result of that old lion meets young lion recording session. “Dreamers” has bop, ballads, and blues. Benson is 87, and on gems such as “Fuschia Moods,” “Love Is A Sometime Thing,” and “Blues in D,” he proves his chops are still in mint condition.  The blues cuts on "Dreamers" are its cornerstones. In Detroit’s jazz world, Benson is a revered and legendary figure. His work history dates back to the fabled Flame Show Bar. And during one leg of his six-decade-plus career, he was a go-to session musician for Motown Records. Stylistically, Benson is a bop driven swinger, a meticulous improviser, and he's intimately hip to every nook and facet of the blues.Those aspects of his musicianship are all over “Dreamers” like fingerprints at a crime scene. What the album shows more than anything is Benson is a gifted composer. Over the decades, praise has been heaped on his blowing. At this golden leg of Benson’s career, he’s found a kindred spirit in Tucker, 25, who on this date shows another part of his game that of a selfless accompanist. Tucker is a sought after commodity who plays as if he draws inspiration from his jazz ancestors. On “Dreamers,” Tucker and Benson are equal partners. However, Tucker gives Benson the lion share of the spotlight.

NEW ALBUMS BY DRUMMER HERLIN RILEY & VOCALIST NICOLAS BEARDE ARE MUST HAVES

“New Direction,” out recently on Mack Avenue Records, is a testament that jazz drummer Herlin Riley is a quintessential craftsman, a truth Riley proved during tenures with Jazz at Lincoln Center, and with pianist Ahmad Jamal. “New Direction” is Riley’s debut for Mack Avenue. The ten songs on the album Riley wrote. Trumpeter Bruce Harris, bassist Russell Hall, pianist Emmet Cohen, percussionist Pedrito Martinez, and saxophonist Godwin Louis are the young, highbrow swingers Riley hired to elevate his work. Guitarist Mark Whitfield guest starred on the title cut, and Whitfield was brilliant. If Riley committed one sin creating this terrific outing, it was not hustling up the resources to have Whitfield perform on each cut. “The Big Banana,” “Shake Off The Dust,” “Hiccup Smooth,” and “Tootie Ma” are sure to be crowd favorites.

Nicolas Bearde is a jazz vocalist. He lives in the Bay Area. Back in the day, he was a standout member of Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra ensemble. Bearde's voice seems custom built for love songs. Relaxed phrasing is his chief allure. Some of the songs on his new album “Invitation,” produced by Nat Adderley Jr. and with special guest saxophonist Vincent Herring, are not love songs per se, but by the time Bearde has finished working them, you’ll be convinced they are pure love songs. One of the best cuts on the album is Bearde's rendering of “Lush Life”. His version is so good it would’ve made Billy Strayhorn emotional. There are familiar standards on “Invitation” like “Nature Boy,” “I Want to Talk About You” and “Save Your Love for Me”. Bearde’s sweet-ass voice melts over them. 

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.