Here’s my recap of some of the best live music that I reviewed in 2012, originally posted in International Review of Music:
Los Angeles, CA. Looking back over the year’s worth of live performances I covered, mostly in jazz, is a bittersweet experience. There are surely enough terrific moments to fill a column, but in a city with L.A.’s diversity of talent, you can’t help wishing for more. Our club scene is struggling, with only Catalina Bar & Grill consistently booking major touring acts for extended stays. In the Valley, Vitello’s has done a nice job of showcasing the best of our local talent and the occasional national stars, and downtown the Blue Whale has presented an intriguing mix of fresh talent and local mainstays. As for the Westside, the best news was that the light rail Metro Line finally made it to Culver City.
Now, if I could only get to Culver City.
On the concert side, the Hollywood Bowl brought lots of talent to its band shell on summer Wednesday evenings, mostly in combinations for retro theme nights, but its directors don’t seem to trust anyone on the current scene to headline a show. UCLA Live (newly renamed the Center For The Art of Performance) presented an eclectic program that included the Mingus Dynasty septet, Bill Frisell and Hugh Masekela.
How anybody finds out about this music is another problem. (Unless, of course, you visit iRoM). Our local newspaper covers only a scant sampling of the jazz spectrum, while our jazz radio station has narrowed its daily programming range to the Old, the Dead and the Smooth.
But enough grumbling. Here’s a few of the superb performances that still resonated in my mind, months after the last note had died out.
Los Angeles, CA. Looking back over the year’s worth of live performances I covered, mostly in jazz, is a bittersweet experience. There are surely enough terrific moments to fill a column, but in a city with L.A.’s diversity of talent, you can’t help wishing for more. Our club scene is struggling, with only Catalina Bar & Grill consistently booking major touring acts for extended stays. In the Valley, Vitello’s has done a nice job of showcasing the best of our local talent and the occasional national stars, and downtown the Blue Whale has presented an intriguing mix of fresh talent and local mainstays. As for the Westside, the best news was that the light rail Metro Line finally made it to Culver City.
Now, if I could only get to Culver City.
On the concert side, the Hollywood Bowl brought lots of talent to its band shell on summer Wednesday evenings, mostly in combinations for retro theme nights, but its directors don’t seem to trust anyone on the current scene to headline a show. UCLA Live (newly renamed the Center For The Art of Performance) presented an eclectic program that included the Mingus Dynasty septet, Bill Frisell and Hugh Masekela.
How anybody finds out about this music is another problem. (Unless, of course, you visit iRoM). Our local newspaper covers only a scant sampling of the jazz spectrum, while our jazz radio station has narrowed its daily programming range to the Old, the Dead and the Smooth.
But enough grumbling. Here’s a few of the superb performances that still resonated in my mind, months after the last note had died out.
Dee Dee Bridgewater
I never saw a full set of Dee Dee Bridgewater, but when she stepped onto the stage of the Hollywood Bowl during the Ray Charles tribute last summer, she simply took over. She began with “Hallelujah I Love Him So,” backed up by the great Houston Person and finished with “I Got News For You,” her ringing, soulful vocals augmented by Terence Blanchard and George Duke. A few months later I caught her in the closing set of the Monterey Jazz Festival with an all-star group that featured Christian McBride, Benny Green, Ambrose Akinmusire, Lewis Nash and Chris Potter . She opened the set in a nimble duet with McBride on “Do What You Want To Do” and brought the crowd to pin drop silence with “Don’t Explain.” This group will be at the Valley Performing Art Center on January 23, so don’t miss them.
Arturo Sandoval
I saw a number of outstanding big bands this year, but the most memorable was led by Arturo Sandoval, in support of Dear Diz, his Grammy nominated CD and my favorite disc of the year. I caught them at The Federal, which hopefully will expand its presentation of jazz in 2013. Sandoval is clearly one of the world’s elite trumpet players, his tones piercing and his leadership swinging and joyful. His collection of mostly Dizzy Gillespie tunes featured sharp new arrangements, including a wonderful take on “Bee Bop” by Gordon Goodwin and a rollicking “Night In Tunisia.”
John Pisano
LA is the home of some of the world’s great guitarists, and I was lucky enough to catch a few of them live. At the top of the list is John Pisano’s Guitar Night. He keeps moving it farther away from my digs on the Westside, but I did manage to catch one of his last shows at Vitello’s with Anthony Wilson. Watching the two of them riff through two sets, testing their imaginations and dancing around familiar standards reminded me that Guitar Night remains one of LA’s great treats. I hereby resolve to make it out to Lucy’s 51 in Toluca Lake to see Pisano and friends in 2013.
Dori Caymmi
Meanwhile, there were other great guitarists, including Dori Caymmi presenting a night of Brazilian music at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, in what we hope is a prequel to the new Jazz Bakery, still in the planning stages next door. For jazz deprived Westsiders, it cannot come soon enough. Pat Metheny played two sets at the Monterey Jazz Festival, my favorite being a trio performance with bassist McBride and percussionist Jack DeJohnette. And then there was Mimi Fox, who we don’t hear nearly enough of, doing a lovely Saturday matinee duet at MJF with flutist Ali Ryerson.
Mads Tolling
As usual there were some unheralded performers that caught my attention. Here’s to a couple of fiddlers: Sara Watkins and Mads Tolling. Watkins, late of Nickel Creek, shone during an LA performance of Prairie Home Companion, dueting with host Garrison Keillor on “Let It Be Me” as they strolled through the crowd, and later burning it up in a fiddle showdown with Richard Kriehn. Tolling, a veteran of the Turtle Island Quartet, fronted his own group on Sunday afternoon at the Garden Stage at MJF. Whether plucking in tandem with his guitarist or racing through a tribute to Jean Luc Ponty, Tolling was a revelation. His live CD, A Celebration of Jean Luc Ponty, was another of my favorite discs.
Monterey, as usual, had lots of highlights for me, including some wonderful trio work by pianist Mulgrew Miller, a rousing vocal performance by Gregory Porter and a Cal Tjader tribute led by pianist Michael Wolff, featuring Warren Wolf on vibes.
Luciana Souza
And finally, there was Luciana Souza, opening the season at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, singing warm renditions from her two CDs that would later be nominated for Grammys, Duos 3 and The Book of Chet.
So what are my resolutions for 2013? For one, I resolve to catch Gustavo Dudamel leading the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl. For another, I resolve to brave the traffic (and the absence of chairs) at the Blue Whale and see what is happening downtown. And finally, it is long past time for me to get to New York and check out the great jazz scene there. Perhaps if we can avoid the fiscal cliff, I can get some federal funding for a trip East. Sort of a reverse Lewis and Clark Expedition culminating in a week or so in the Big Apple. I plan to get it tacked on to an appropriations bill. I’m sure no one will notice.
Happy New Year to all.
And please don’t forget, our film Remembering Phil is now listed on Netflix.
Arturo Sandoval and John Pisano photos by Bob Barry.
From International Review of Music:
Live Jazz: Monterey Jazz Festival Notebook; Day #2
September 23, 2012
By Michael Katz
Saturday at the Monterey Jazz Festival is an Olympian feast, with just about everything you can imagine, from the blasting steel pedal of Robert Randolph to the nuanced guitar of Mimi Fox, the cult-like dominance of Trombone Shorty to the indomitable Tony Bennett. Not to mention the ear-splitting Thunderbirds flyover, courtesy of the nearby Salinas Air Show.
Robert Randolph
There was a chill in the air Saturday morning – you would think after so many years at this festival I wouldn’t be fooled, though it should have served as a reminder that the evenings can get downright cold. Once into the Arena, the sun was searing as usual – and so were Robert Randolph and his Family Band. The blues, for years the staple of the Saturday afternoon shows, has taken a back seat lately to the Treme-inspired New Orleans gumbo/funk, but Randolph played with a fury, cutting through the afternoon heat on his steel pedal guitar. He occasionally eased into a soulful funk of his own, but mainly he was sending stratospheric riffs into the autumn air. This is a treat if that’s your kind of blues, but after about a half hour I sought some refuge, as well as the typical Saturday afternoon fun at the Garden Stage.
The Blues Broads
There are few things that beat the ambience of standing under the shade of California live oaks, feeling a breeze float through the air as the crowd occupies every nook and cranny of the Garden Stage’s small amphitheatre.The Blues Broads, who are everything that the name implies, were belting out Texas blues with panache. Tracy Nelson, Angela Strehli, Dorothy Morrison and Annie Sampson supplied the vocals from the Austin-based group, and the band was pushed by a two-keyboard combination of Mike Emerson and Deanna Bogart, who doubled on tenor sax. Under normal circumstances I might have been content to stretch out in the shade and take in the remainder of their ninety-minute show, but I was drawn to the Night Club venue for an event I’d been looking forward to since the schedule came out.
Ali Ryerson and Mimi Fox
It may seem counter-intuitive to be seeking quietude on the one afternoon that the MJF is bursting with fervor; I suppose Tim Jackson could have scheduled the duo of flutist Ali Ryersonand guitarist Mimi Fox at some other time. Perhaps the crowd might have been a little larger – by the end it probably was around 60% of capacity at a festival where crowded venues were the norm – but those who were there couldn’t have been more appreciative. Mimi Fox is a splendid player – she has an air of confidence, like a tennis player striking one well-placed rally after another, never a false step or a wasted note. She isn’t recorded nearly enough – her Perpetually Hip double CD of 2006 is the latest. And she found a perfect duet partner in Ryerson, who has worked in many formats, alternating between the standard flute and the alto. Fox set a bluesy tone in the opening, her composition “Blues For Two,” and from there Ryerson picked up the alto for a sparkling “Summertime.” Their interweaving on “Alone Together” brought memories of the famous Jim Hall/Ron Carter duo. Fox alluded to some personal challenges in her composition “This Bird Still Flies,” and you could only hope they had waned – certainly her playing still shines. Ryerson took the lead on a stunning “My One And Only Love,” punctuated by the Thunderbirds F-16 flyover. Most of the crowd knew this was coming, but by the sixth one, it took the consummate grace of Ryerson and Fox to rescue the intimacy of the moment. They closed with Jobim’s “Triste,” with Fox artfully tapping chordal backdrops to Ryerson’s melodic riffs.
Trombone Shorty
So I missed the first half of Trombone Shorty’s triumphant return to the Arena, where he had laid waste to the entire festival two years ago, starting a campaign that ended at the Garden Stage far into the afternoon. He was feted with Caesarian affection by the packed arena. When I walked in he was in the midst of an extended visit to “St. James Infirmary,” leading his band, featuring guitarist Pete Murano and bassist Mike Ballard. Combined with the horns of Mike McFatter and Dan Ostreicher, it is an awe-inspiring combination of funk and showmanship. Shorty, aka Troy Andrews, played a piercing trumpet solo as he segued into Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman,” which had some great tenor work by McFatter. But mostly it was supreme showmanship, with Shorty out front and drummer Joey Peebles maintaining the groove. If the Monterey Jazz Festival was a small country, Trombone Shorty could be Emperor without much trouble. (We should keep him away from Kurt Vonnegut novels).
Judi Roberts
A short interlude before the evening performances brought me to the tiny Courtyard Stage, where pianist/vocalist Judy Roberts and tenor/flutist Greg Fishman held forth for a series of half-hour performances. If you are a Chicagoan wondering where your fellow country-people have been, stop by because they all show up for Judy. I am admittedly biased here, but listening to her and Greg’s spirited version of “Centerpiece,” or her wonderful interpretation of “Night Moves,” brings back memories of the Backroom, and the non-Chicagoans shared in the delight.
Michael Wolff
The evening brought three much anticipated performances, and apologies to Bill Frisell, whose commissioned piece I missed. But I have been a huge Cal Tjader fan from the first time I heard his rich vibes tone incorporating the Afro-Cuban and Latin rhythms of Dizzy Gillespie and Mongo Santamaria. When Tjader died suddenly in 1982, the music seemed to go with him, despite a nice legacy album from conguero Poncho Sanchez. So when superb pianist Michael Wolff, who played with Tjader at the age of 19 in the early 70’s, got the go ahead to put together a Cal Tjader Tribute Band, I knew it would be something special. The band was superb, with a rhythm section of John Santos and Pete Escovedo on congas and timbales, Vince Lateano on percussion and Robb Fisher on bass. Warren Wolf took the Tjader chair on vibes and did a terrific job. No one can really imitate Cal Tjader – if it was that easy, someone would have done it by now. Wolf’s style is slightly more percussive, but he has the zest and passion for the music that comes out with every stroke of the mallets. The group began with Ray Bryant’s “Cuban Fantasy,” with Wolff and Escovedo trading solos in back of Warren Wolf’s bright melodic line. So much of this material is treasured by Tjader fans that you simply sit back and listen to this group take off and fly with it. Warren Wolf shone on Mongo’s “Afro-Blue,” and Michael Wolff took the lead on his own combination “Sad Eyes,” from the Tambu album with Charlie Byrd. Wolf’s vibes are clearly the dominant force in a Tjaderized setting, but Michael Wolff’s piano was bubbling throughout. Everything shone in this set – the classic “A Night In Tunisia” featured a blazing crescendo by Warren Wolf. At about this time I realized time was fleeting, and the group wouldn’t get through the entire agenda. They closed with Tjader’s classic “Soul Sauce,” Michael Wolff slipping over to the Fender Rhodes for a Joe Zawinul-inspired solo before handing the baton back to Warren Wolff for the familiar vibes roll that became Cal’s signature. It was clearly an unforgettable set.
Jac DeJohnette
I moved back to the Arena for the last two sets of the evening, which were both triumphant in their own way. Jack DeJohnette led (if that’s the word) a trio with Pat Metheny and Christian McBride. The three of them explored rhythms and melodies – no titles were announced — and by this time my mind overloaded as I tried to sort out familiar lines. It was improvisational jazz at its best, kind of an acoustic avant-garde, wandering off here and there but never inaccessible. DeJohnette has a crisp style that keeps your attention, and Metheny has a unique presentation. Even when he is not playing any of his well-known pieces, his presence is clearly felt. McBride, of course, is the perfect foil, pulsating from behind, and then moving in front when the mood strikes. The one tune I could put a label on was Miles Davis’ “Solar,” which they wove into an expressive piece that Miles would surely have appreciated (though that is always assuming a lot).
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett closed the show and all I can say is, Google “sublime” and you ought to get his name for the first ten pages. At 86 he makes few concessions to age – he speaks a few lyrics that he used to croon, that’s about it – but his interpretive powers and rich tone haven’t diminished. The standards seem fresh as the Monterey breeze (albeit there was a distinct chill in the air). You can reel them off as he did: “They All Laughed,” “The Best Is Yet To Come,” “The Shadow Of Your Smile,” just to name a few. Lee Musiker is a terrific pianist and Musical Director, the great Harold Jones was on drums, Marshall Wood on bass and Gary Sargent on guitar was wonderful as the featured soloist. Bennett kept the songs mostly short with the occasional bow to his sidemen. The audience was adoring, and when he closed the set with Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” and “Fly Me To The Moon,” he had accomplished much the same as Trombone Shorty, and if it wasn’t the exact same crowd, there was plenty in common.
Photos courtesy of the Monterey Jazz Festival.
To read more iRoM reviews and posts by Michael Katz, click HERE.
To visit Michael Katz’s personal blog, “Katz of the Day,” click HERE.
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Katz of the Day, Live – Jazz | Tagged: Ali Ryerson, Cal Tjader, Greg Fishman, Jack DeJohnette, Judy Roberts, Michael Katz, Michael Wolff, Mimi Fox,Ralph Randolph, the Blules Broads, Tony Bennett, Trombone shorty
From International Review of Music:
Live Jazz: Mike Katz’s Monterey Jazz Festival Top Ten
By Mike Katz
Every year the Monterey Jazz Festival program features a Top Ten list from Artistic Director Tim Jackson, and I always think that’s interesting, but what does he tell everybody else? And how can he not mention (your favorite here). So I figured I’d take a stab at my own Top Ten, but with a slightly different angle, for this year’s Festival, which begins Fri. Sept. 21. Here in LA we get to see a good deal of the major touring names (Trombone Shorty, Esperanza Spalding, Eddie Palmieri) as well as others who live or have lived here (Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, Tierney Sutton, Gerald Clayton, among others.)
I always look forward to new configurations of talent, and introductions to new players, as well as a few familiar names that we don’t see too often on the Left Coast. So here’s my list, in order of appearance, with a special effort to highlight most of the festival’s venues.
1. Mulgrew Miller, Coffee House. 8, 9:30, 11, Friday night. Every year I promise myself I will get to see at least one set in the cozy Coffee House, which features small groups playing before appreciatively quiet audiences. What better way to start off the festival than with Mulgrew Miller, whose bright, swinging touch belies his impressively large physique.
Jack DeJohnette
2. Jack DeJohnette, Dizzy’s Den. 8:30 Friday night; Arena w/ Pat Metheny and Christian McBride, 9:20 Sat. night; Dizzy’s Den, Sunday night, 7:30 with Bill Frisell. The Festival’s Showcase artist, DeJohnette’s multi-faceted talents are reflected in these three different settings. I don’t know yet who the personnel will be in the Friday night group but it is bound to be interesting; the Metheny trio can’t help but be great and I hope to catch at least part of the duet with guitarist Frisell on Sunday.
3. Gregoire Maret Quartet, Night Club, 9:30 Friday night. When you think about the harmonica in jazz, Toots Thielemans comes to mind, and then there is a long pause. Maret, from Geneva, Switzerland, has been getting some attention as Toots’ heir apparent, so here’s a chance to check him out.
4. Ali Ryerson-Mimi Fox Duo, Night Club, 2:30 Saturday Afternoon. Take a break from the raucous atmosphere at the Arena and check out flutist Ali Ryerson and guitarist Mimi Fox, both of them notable for exquisite phrasing. You’ll still have time to get back for most of Trombone Shorty’s set.
5. Tribute To Cal Tjader, Dizzy’s Den, 8 Saturday night. Pianist Michael Wolff, who played with Tjader in the ‘70s, has assembled an all-star group that features Warren Wolf on vibes, along with Pete Escovedo, John Santos, Robb Fisher and Vince Lateano.
Bill Frisell
6. Bill Frisell Big Sur Quintet, Arena, 8 Saturday night. Night Club, 10:30 p.m. I know, you can’t be two places at once. Frisell’s commissioned piece promises to be a highlight. Visit the special Cloning Tent right next to the funnel cake stand.
Pat Metheny
7. Pat Metheny, Arena, 9:20 Saturday night (See above) and 7 Sunday night. Unity Band with Chris Potter, Antonio Sanchez, Ben Williams. Two arena appearances for Metheny. The trio appeals to me the most, but you can’t lose with either one.
8. Tony Bennett, Arena, 10:50 Saturday night. Need we say more?
9. Next Generation Band, Arena, 1:10 Sunday Afternoon. Yes, you have tickets for Esperanza Spalding. Don’t think it’s cool to skip the opening student groups. Last year’s NGB knocked everybody out. Artist-in-Residence trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire sits in.
10. Mads Tolling Quartet. Garden Stage, 4 Sunday afternoon. The mid-afternoon sets at the Garden Stage are always great fun. Turtle Island Quartet violinist Tolling fronts his own group.
Dee Dee Bridgewater
11. MJF ALL-STARS w/ Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chris Potter. Bennie Green, Christian McBride, Ambrose Akinmusire, Lewis Nash, Arena, 9 Sunday night and Dizzy’s Den, 11 Saturday Night. This super group closes out the festival at the Arena, but you might have just as much fun seeing them Saturday night at Dizzy’s Den.
Okay, that’s 11. And I didn’t even mention Judy Roberts and Greg Fishman at the Courtyard Stage throughout the Festival.
But…but…what about…Melody Gardot, Christian Scott, Robert Randolph?….excuse me, I’ve got to run. See ya next week.
The 55th Monterey Jazz Festival announced its complete schedule today, adding Tony Bennett and Michael Wolff’s Cal Tjader tribute band to a program already rich with stars that include Pat Metheny, Showcase Artist Jack DeJohnette, Esperanza Spalding, Trombone Shorty, Bill Frisell and Artist-in-residence Ambrose Akinmusire.
More on all that later. If you really want to know how loaded this festival is, set your watch for 9:30 Saturday night, September 22. Here’s what you can hear: Metheny, DeJohnette and Christian McBride in a trio performance on the Lyons Stage; Wolff and his Tjader band with Warren Wolf on vibes along with Pete Escovedo, John Santos, Vince Lateano and Robb Fisher at Dizzy’s Den; The Tierney Sutton Band at the Night Club; Gerald Clayton at the Coffee House. Yikes. Fortunately, Sutton gets a head start at 9 and Metheny plays another set with his Unity Band featuring Chris Potter, Antonio Sanchez and Ben Williams on Sunday night. Still, if that cloning research gets perfected by September, you know where to find me.
Michael Wolff
Here’s a few of the other highlights. The Friday night Arena show opens with Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band making its MJF debut, and we LA folk know they will get the festival off to a rollicking start. I confess to having heard little of Melody Gardot, who follows, other than sampling the bluesy jazz offerings on her website, but that’s the beauty of MJF. There’s always some fresh faces, including harmonica player Gregoire Maret at the Night Club and vocalist Gregory Porter, who has been creating a big ripple lately, with the Night Club’s late set. DeJohnette and Akinmusire perform at Dizzy’s Den and the Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra caps off the Arena Show. Finally, pianist Mulgrew Miller, who I would rate along with Michael Wolff among the finest of his (and my) generation, will lead his trio in three performances at the Coffee House.
Ali Ryerson
Saturday is blues/roots/funk day in the afternoon. Robert Randolph and the Family Band open the show at the Arena and end the afternoon at the Garden Stage, always a great place to hang out. As mentioned, Trombone Shorty headlines at the Arena and his performance, on the heels of his 2010 tour de force, will be one of the most anticipated of the festival. If you are looking for something a little quieter, two of my favorite musicians, flutist Ali Ryerson and guitarist Mimi Fox will be performing a matinee duet at the Night Club.
Saturday night, in addition to the aforementioned logjam at 9:30, begins at the Arena with guitarist Bill Frisell’s Beautiful Dreamers band performing the commissioned piece and ends with Tony Bennett. Whether the moon will show up on cue during the opening notes of “Fly Me To The Moon,” as it did in Bennett’s memorable 2005 concert has yet to be determined, but don’t bet against it.
Sunday afternoon features the award-winning high school and college groups, highlighted by the all-star Next Generation Band at the Arena, with alumnus Ambrose Akinmusire sitting in. The NGB was one of the highlights of the festival last year, so don’t wander in late. Esperanza Spalding, with a hot new album and lots of national exposure, anchors the afternoon show. The late afternoon Sunday shows at the Garden Stage often provide some of the most relaxed and enjoyable moments of the weekend. This year vocalist Jose James gets the 4pm slot and Kyle Eastwood’s band is sure to be a crowd pleaser at 5:30.
Sunday night at the Arena begins with Pat Metheny’s band and finishes up with the MJF 55th Anniversary All Star group, featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, trumpeter Akinmusire, Christian McBride, Benny Green, Chris Potter and drummer Lewis Nash. (They also perform Saturday night at Dizzy’s Den.) There’s plenty happening on the grounds, including vibist Stefon Harris’ Cuban themed Ninety Miles Band with David Sanchez on sax and Nicholas Payton filling the trumpet chair; DeJohnette and Frisell in duets; and the annual Hammond B3 organ blowout featuring John Abercrombie, Larry Goldings and Chester Thompson. Tiger Hamasyan takes the piano spot at the Coffee House.
The 55th Annual MJF runs September 21-23. Details at: www.montereyjazzfestival.org/2012/
