THE NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL 2015: INSPIRATION ACROSS BORDERS AND TIME<\/h1>\n
BY NELSON BRILL \u00a0 \u00a0 JULY\u00a05, 2015<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\nIn the fall of 1972, the visionary founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, George Wein, (he now 90 years young!), had the idea of trying to convince the great pianist Dave Brubeck to re-unite his legendary quartet (Paul Desmond on alto sax; Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax; Jack Six on bass and Boston\u2019s own Alan Dawson on drums) to take their act on the road one more time.<\/p>\n
It had been five years since Brubeck had performed with his quartet. During that absence, the always inventive Brubeck (along with his wife and musical companion, Iola) had composed and performed a number of original and daring compositions. (One of these was a \u201cclassical\u201d cantata which was scored for piano, a rock band, a classical chorus and symphony orchestra- an amazing new sound for that time). Wein had the notion that the world was ready to hear Brubeck in his jazz element once again, and approached him with the idea of taking his quartet on an international tour under the flag of the Newport Jazz Festival. \u00a0Brubeck agreed, and as a result we now have the audiophile gem of a live recording from this whirlwind 1972 tour:\u00a0We\u2019re All Together Again For The First Time\u00a0<\/em>[Atlantic Records].<\/p>\n Here is a masterful\u00a0live recording, especially when heard on its original vinyl pressing. The recording captures the incredible energy and excitement of these\u00a0live performances that took place in spacious halls from\u00a0Berlin, Paris and Rotterdam. The recording has a \u201cyou are there\u201d presence, allowing the listener to peer into the hall spaces and hear the dynamic envelopes of air and space surrounding the musicians on these stages. \u00a0(When dialed-in carefully, a quality subwoofer [from subwoofer manufacturers such as Fathom or REL] is a key component in\u00a0a home audio system that allows the listener to capture\u00a0the very last decibels of energy and acoustic space and air on such great live recordings as this one. With a subwoofer properly configured,\u00a0We\u2019re All Together Again<\/em>\u00a0comes alive with its deep recesses of acoustic space and layered soundstage).<\/p>\n The opening cut to this delectable\u00a0recording, Brubeck\u2019s \u201cTruth,\u201d is an intense improvisational workout between Mulligan on baritone sax and Desmond on alto, each coiled and stealthy in their solos. Desmond is exuberant and light in his unfolding lines while Mulligan is muscular in his twisting flights and growls on his bleating baritone. Brubeck adds his own punchy piano solo which is filled with keyboard stomps and quick breaks (with bluesy chords thrown hither and yonder in his signature ambitious reach).<\/p>\n \u201cUnfinished Woman\u201d finds Mulligan moving breezy and free on his own composition, his baritone sounding fleshy and big- yet also light as a feather. Dawson, (whose passing at a young age was a blow to the entire jazz world-he was caught regularly lighting up the now-defunct Willow Jazz Club in Somerville, MA.), is a marvel throughout this outing.<\/p>\n On \u201cUnfinished Woman\u201d Dawson\u00a0propels all of the action with his heady snare and cymbals (with the backbone of Six\u2019s bass) and then, towards the end on Side Two\u2019s extended and frolicking version of \u201cTake Five\u201d, he\u00a0unleashes a dazzling drum solo that is a clinic in pure locomotion: powerful and fierce\u00a0in every rapid drum roll and monumental spray of his cymbals. Dawson shows his tender side as well, on Brubeck\u2019s meditative \u201cKoto Song,\u201d where he employs the lightest touch on his cymbals so that Desmond can take flight in his meditative alto solo (upon this cushion of rhythmic\u00a0serenity).\u00a0We\u2019re All Together\u00a0<\/em>is a great portrait of these four consummate musicians working together as one great vehicle of musical invention and joy. We have Newport Jazz\u2019s George Wein to thank for bringing this group together once again (\u201cfor the first time\u201d).<\/p>\n In the footsteps of the Brubeck Quartet\u2019s Paul Desmond (and in light of our recent tribute to the passing of another monumental\u00a0alto saxophonist and composer, Ornette Coleman), its a nice segue from\u00a0We\u2019re All Together\u00a0<\/em>to report on\u00a0a recent live performance\u00a0by another dynamic\u00a0alto player, Miguel Zenon (who has also graced the stages of the Newport Jazz Festival). \u00a0On June 22nd, Zenon took to\u00a0the stage at Jordan Hall at The New England Conservatory of Music (\u201cNEC\u201d) to perform as part of NEC\u2019s Jazz Lab Week. [Jazz Lab, (www.necmusic.edu\/jazz-lab<\/a>), is a program that brings high school students to NEC for a week of intensive trainings, seminars and improvisation sessions with faculty and guest artists]. \u00a0At this concert, Zenon was joined by bassist Rick McLaughlin and drummer extraordinaire Joe Hunt. Besides being a drummer for the likes of Stan Getz and Bill Evans, Hunt also worked with Ornette Coleman \u2013 another nice historic link to the recently passed alto giant. The crowd on this evening at Jordan Hall was packed in with high school students and it made for a raucous and energetic atmosphere.<\/p>\n Zenon continued his spirited journey into his Puerto Rican musical heritage by\u00a0focusing at this concert on a celebration of Puerto Rican composers. Two famous compositions written by Juan Tizol, (trombonist in the Duke Ellington Orchestra), were performed:\u00a0Caravan\u00a0<\/em>(1936) and\u00a0Perdido\u00a0<\/em>(1941). On\u00a0Caravan,<\/em>Zenon started fastidiously-slow and steady- drifting and building his elongated sax lines into a whirl of notes and trills. McLaughlin and Hunt rode alongside Zenon, offering their own redoubtable grooves. McLaughlin loved taking fragments of the melody and carved them up into big slides and holds on his bass. Hunt pounced on the essence of\u00a0Caravan\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>toe-tapping rhythm and used big hits on his bass drum for added bravado.\u00a0With a grin on his face, Hunt always anticipated the next danceable moment with his swinging punctuations.<\/p>\n At his appearance at the\u00a0Newport Jazz Festival last year, Zenon took his musical explorations of Puerto Rican vibrancy\u00a0to another dimension. At Newport, he performed\u00a0with his large \u201cIdentities Band\u201d and delivered an eclectic and buoyant performance rooted in his 2014 recording, \u00a0Identities Are Changeable<\/em>\u00a0[Miel Music;\u00a0www.miguelzenon.com<\/a>].<\/p>\n Like Brubeck in his own ambitious works,\u00a0Identities\u00a0<\/em>Are Changeable<\/em>\u00a0is a recording that stretches musical borders. It \u00a0delivers a challenging multi-media project that combines voice-overs (in which individual Puerto Ricans discuss their own stories of immigration and what\u00a0it means to call a place \u201chome\u201d), with\u00a0Zenon\u2019s imaginative and\u00a0enveloping music. For instance, on the title cut of the recording, individual young Puerto Ricans in New York City discuss how what they\u00a0feel about their living in dual cultural heritages with one foot in Puerto Rico and another here. These poignant observations are spoken over simple rolling bass and drum lines until the music gradually takes over into a grand sweep of big band sounds and colors. The\u00a0music surges and leaps captured beautifully in the wide dynamics and muscular\u00a0feel of this recording. The individual soloing throughout\u00a0Identities<\/em>\u00a0is superb with bristling sax and brass sparkle, surging collective blasts\u00a0and a feeling of optimism in its message of youthful exuberance in the face of big social and political questions raised by its narrators.<\/p>\n You can pick out Zenon\u2019s alto from the surrounding groove, with his style of building intricate strings of sweet and pungent sounds on his alto sax. Zenon\u2019s alto style brings to mind the process of making rock candy: taking an empty string and then passing it through a sugary base and watching how, over time, crystals of rock candy are formed in long intricate and sweet lines. His alto lines start on a blank slate and build similar long, languid lines and phrases (entwining in unpredictable ways with short bursts). The beauty of his playing is not only this combination of sweet and languid, but how Zenon never losing sight of the established rhythmic groove of his rich Puerto Rican heritage (like those rock candy crystals remaining tethered to their string).<\/p>\n And, speaking of sweet sounds, this year\u2019s edition of\u00a0the Newport Jazz Festival, (www.newportjazzfestival.org<\/a>)\u00a0is coming to Newport, Rhode Island on Friday-Sunday, July 31st-August 2nd. \u00a0The Friday session is always a great opportunity to hear new and exciting talent, like when Miguel Zenon performed last year with his Identities Big Band. This year, a big band under the direction of drummer John Hollenbeck is performing, with many young upstart musicians in its ranks. On Friday, there are also intriguing small ensembles put together by bassist Christian McBride, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and \u2013 one of my favorite young drummers \u2013 Johnathan Blake. Friday will also offer a chance to hear the\u00a0legendary\u00a0drummer\u00a0Herlin Riley and his\u00a0Quintet. The rest of the Newport weekend promises many more\u00a0sonic feasts, including appearances by the\u00a0Maria Schneider Orchestra (who performed one of the great performances of recent memory at Tanglewood last summer and has a new album just out,\u00a0The Thompson Fields\u00a0<\/em>[on ArtistShare;\u00a0www.artistshare.com<\/a>]) and Cecile McLorin Salvant,\u00a0the singer who brought down the house last year at Newport. (Salvant\u2019s wondrous album,\u00a0Woman Child<\/em>\u00a0[Mack Avenue] remains in heavy rotation here at bostonconcertreviews).<\/p>\n Several other artists (whose concerts we have reviewed in the past year): Arturo Sandoval; Aaron Diehl; Frank Kimbrough- will also all\u00a0make appearances\u00a0at Newport this year. Cassandra Wilson will also be bringing her \u201cTribute to Billie Holliday\u201d to Newport and from all reports, her recent concert at The Berklee Performance Center with this same lineup was astonishing.<\/p>\n From Brubeck to Jon Batiste, Newport Jazz\u2019s founder George Wein continues to weave his magic in bringing folks together under Newport\u2019s big tent for the love and joy of the music.<\/p>\n For the full Newport Jazz Festival lineup, see\u00a0www.newportjazzfestival.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you would like to read more reviews like this one, visit Nelson\u2019s blog at\u00a0www.bostonconcertreviews.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"allthatjazz.com\"](\"http:\/\/bostonconcertreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/images.jpeg\")
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