I'm back from this year's Newport Jazz Festival, as usualy a hugely fun hang. Initially, I was only going to post a mini review on Facebook, but then I realized I had a blog post (or 3). So here goes- lightly edited from the FB version. If an act that performed isn't reviewed, it's because I couldn't be in three places at once.
Newport Day 1- this was the hottest (in terms of the thermometer) of the three days, which may have affected my ears. It was well attended, but not mobbed. To the acts:
Dan Wilson- Pittsburgh for the win!
Mingus Big Band- This band can be a little hit or miss, but they really brought it today. Alex Pope Norris and Helen Sung especially shined, and the band was really tight. I was surprised how slow they took "Fables of Faubus"
Theon Cross- tuba plus drum machine plus loops, with a kind of New Orleans vibe. Again, I wanted more, especially more melody.
Nate Smith and Kinfolk- the highlight of the day. A tight band playing nerd jazz (back to back tunes in 17 and 15) with enough groove and ear worms to hook the crowd. Everyone in the band sounded great, as did guests Joel Ross and Vernon Reid.
Carlos Henriquez Nonet: The Bronx Story- great charts, really well played, traversing the many styles at play in Carlos' home neighborhood, the Boogie Down Bronx. The rhythm section was phenomenal, and the second trumpeter, really, really likes Wynton.
Nick Payton trio- Everyone played their asses off, especially Billy Stewart, who may now be underrated. But for someone who likes to talk big in terms of concepts ("Black American Music"), I wanted, well, a little more from the concept and the writing.
Paladino/Mills/Gendel/???- really interesting, really well executed set on the more organized side of the jam band world. Pino is a treasure.
BadBadNotGood- I didn't get it when they went viral. I still don't get it. And the horns were out of tune.
The Baylor Project- gospel tunes done from a modern jazz perspective. Really well executed, and the crowd ate it up.
McBride's Newport Jawn- Christian's annual jam session, this one featuring Chris Potter, Vijay Iyer, Mike Stern, Brandee Younger and Makaya McCraven. Best one of these I've heard- everyone shined, the choice of material was great, and no one stepped on anyone.
Shabaka Hutchings- a solo woodwind set, first wood flute, then clarinet. At first I wasn't into it, but the clarinet stuff was bad-assed, and the choice to make his Newport debut this way was pretty bold.
Bummed to miss Terence Blanchard re-interpreting some of his opera stuff. Very excited for tomorrow!
Day 2. Too much great music happening at the same time, so I can't report on some things I really wanted to see, but what I did see:
Jazzmeia Horn- much more better set than when I saw her five years ago- still a great instrument, but a much better performer. She did a lot of banter with the audience that probably would've worked in a club, but got lost outdoors with thousands of people.
Eric Wurzelbacher- incredibly tight sax/bass/drums trio. These guys have been playing together almost exclusively for six years, and it shows. That said, the material felt really Brecker-ish to me.
Makaya McCraven- brilliant set, combining his tunes with his Blue Note deconstructions. Top- notch band featuring Greg Ward, Marquis Hill, and guest Joel Ross. He is the real deal. (see closer tomorrow)
Antonio Sanchez and Bad Hombre, and Thana Alexa's "Ona" (Friday)- I put these together because of overlapping personnel and themes. Dense, complicated really well performed music (Bad Hombre kind of felt like Pat Metheny Group 2.0, and I say that as a compliment) with heavy political themes- with Ona women's rights, with Bad Hombre issues of immigration. For me, the lyrics got really clunky and heavy-handed, and made the music less effective. (and I'm on their side on these issues, I just think it's so hard to get "issue music" right)
Sons of Kemet- an Afro/British quartet of tenor sax and woodwinds, tuba, and two drummers, playing music that has its roots in Afropop, Carribean music, English dancehall, and Archie Shepp. Sound weird? It was. Sound amazing and cool? It was.
Sullivan Fortnier trio- saving for tomorrow.
Cory Wong- Wong might be the best living rhythm guitarist I've seen not named Wah-Wah Watson. He's that good. BUT, the music felt like North Texas formulated fusion, better than Snarky Puppy, but with some of the same defects (for me at least). That was less good. I didn't care for it, a bunch of my friends at the festival did.
Samara Joy- this girl (she's 21, 22?) is the real deal in terms of her voice, technique, styling, choice of material, etc. She's best known as the winner of the 2019 Sarah Vaughn competition, and she's leaning really heavily on the Sarah vibes in what she's doing right now. I hope, like Jazzminea above and Cecile below, she can start to move towards something that is in her own voice, because as good as this was, this wasn't it.
Maria Schneider Orchestra- a triumphant return, including old favorites, multiple pieces for her amazing last album "Data Lords", and a premiere based on a really weird bird. Great ensemble, great solos, Jonathan Blake drumming his ass off.... aaah.
Joe Lovano Trio Tapestry- I only got to see five minutes! Damn you Newport bookers for putting all of my favorite stuff on at the same time! (this will also be a huge issue tomorrow)
Cecile McLorin Salvant- this is the "Ghost Song" band from her recent album. I saw them in February in Boston, they were great. Today, they were better. Like Makaya and Maria and Nate Smith yesterday, Cecile is the profile of a mature artist, combining disparate influences and a connection to the history of the music to something that sounds completely personal and in the now. Go buy "Ghost Song", and see her if she comes within 200 miles of you...
Laufey- every year there is at least one act that leaves veterans of the festival, critics and fans alike, saying "wait, whey did they get booked?" She wins this year- a lovely young Scandanavian woman with a sort of ingenue vibe and a deep alto voice. She seems like the kind of singer who Burt Bacharach would've written for in the early 60s, if Bacharach was into Bjork (I know that's cheap, but the influence was clear). The songs had that vibe, of young love and innocence, with either bossa or ballad feels. Not bad, but not memorable either. In the last five years of my career I've come across at least three singer/songwriters who are probably on her level, which makes me think there are many many more out there, and probably more than a few better. And, she had background SIMPTE tracks cued with canned backing voices- the first instance of karaoke at Newport ever? Again, how did she get the gig?
Tuba Skinny- I think it's to Christian McBride's credit that he's kept George Wein's tradition (or insistence, I'm not sure) that every year Newport books a trad New Orleans or 20s swing band for the festival. This was this year's, a young group who plays on the streets of New Orleans. Great washboard.
The Ron Carter Quartet- celebrating his 85th birthday this year, Carter has lost a step, but makes up for it in elegance, musicianship, and a great band featuring pianist Renee Rosnes. It was fun to watch them play a full step without stopping, slipping from one tune to the next the way his old boss Miles did in the 60s.
Emmet Cohen and Sullivan Fortnier (Saturday)- these are two studies of what it is to be a piano trio in the 21st century. Both pianists are clearly adept students of the music, able to summon stride or clusters at will. Fortnier's band took a more impressionistic approach, in the Bill Evans/Fred Hersch vein, Cohen summoned the hard bop trios of the late 50s, with arrangements inside the tune and lots of gestures that have clearly been honed in the zillion livestreams they did. (plus, a healthy dose of stride) Both sets were very successful. Cohen also had the largest crowd of the weekend at his stage, a clear sign of his breakout internet stardom, and was available to the public than anyone else I saw around this weekend.
The Nth Power- a secular praise band. And if they were playing at a megachurch within fifty miles of me, I'd go. Made up of high level session players who met in New Orleans, they play really polished "good vibes" music. I'm hoping they can cut into some of Michael Franti's audience- similar vibe, less obvious pot culture, better music.
The Soul Rebels- a modern New Orleans brass band. High energy, very tight, a party on the stage.
Takuya Kuroda- if GRP were still making records, this would have fit right in. A mix of lite fusion and post-bop with melodies that seemed to reflect Kuroda's Japanese heratige. It wasn't bad, but I wasn't interested.
Jazz is Dead Presents- this started late, so I only saw about the first ten minutes, and I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm told Gary Bartz came on later in the set and was fantastic.
Jason Moran and the Bandwagon- were on fire. If the other piano trios honored the tradition by playing tunes, the Bandwagon put all of the tasty tradition fruits in a Vitamix and made the best smoothie imaginable- the first set blended Geri Allen, Fats Waller, Monk and something I'm missing into this wash of brilliance. The last third of the set was dedicated to the music of James Reece Europe, Moran's continuing passion project and next recording. It feels like the band is still wrapping itself around this music, but if today is and early sip I think the album will be amazing. (Moran brings it to Boston this winter)
Melissa Aldana- her set featured the music from her Blue Note debut "12 Stars." This was the most "modern jazz" set of the weekend- twisty tunes, virtuosic improvisation, great band interaction. She sounds great.
Digable Planets- nostalgia act- three rappers plus live band doing mostly stuff from 1993's "Reachin'" (If you don't remember them, they were one of the the rap groups that sampled a lot of Blue Note tracks, with their biggest hit being "Cool Like Dat". Cool.
(1993 is now nostalgia. I feel old...)
Sampa the Great- dancehall hip-hop from Zambia. It may have been cool, but I wasn't feeling it.
Mononeon- the singer/bassist wins the wildest outfit award (see my instagram, and my friend Bryan @boneydiego for the pro shots). He's a fantastic bass player, but the music felt Thundercat lite.
Waiting for the next act I bumped into Anat Cohen, who was playing later on the George Wein tribute. I had seen her at UMass in April, and we had a lovely chat. This is one of the reasons Newport is so cool...
Nubya Garcia- one of the acts I was most curious about- another of the London sensations. Rather than describe her music, I'd encourage you to listen to it. It was a (mostly) acoustic jazz quartet, mixing swing and backbeat feels, and a lot of grooves and repeated melodies. Garcia is a commanding player, but not because she is playing virtuosically the way Melissa Aldana or
Chris Potter is. It's a very different approach than what this jazz nerd is used to, but very effective.
Vijay Iyer Trio- with Linda May Han Oh and Jeremy Dunston filling in for the covid-ailing Tyshawn Sorey (get better! We need you!). Iyer's current trio music has a rolling, sweeping quality, like you're riding their wave for longer than you thought a wave could go. Halfway through the set they punctuated these grooves with an angular take on Monk's "Work". Everyone was good, Linda was exceptional.
Two final notes:
In years' past there has been at least one band, and usually more than one, that represents what used to be called "the avant garde", or the noisier, less accessible side of the music. In the iconic film "Jazz on a Summer's Day", the filmmakers hone in on Chico Hamilton's group, which was pretty weird for the time. In my festival going career I've heard Mary Halverson solo, Peter Evans, Eric Revis' "out" project, Kris Davis solo, a Vernon Reid solo set, a John Zorn day(!). The closest to that was Shabaka Hutchings' set, but he took the main stage with Sons of Kmet the next day, which had the people grooving. Christian, if you read this, please make it a little weirder next year- bring in Jamie Branch's Ride or Die, or Jon Iragabon, or Taylor Ho Bynum, or, or. Keep jazz weird!
As the reviews of Newport trickle out over the next few days, I think (fear?) we'll see a tendency for critics to write a "what does this say about jazz?" piece. I'm tempted to, but then I remember every think piece I've read after a big festival, and how, well, not wrong the piece was, but how ultimately irrelevant the piece looks five years out. This was the festival that Christian McBride and his team booked, based on their tastes, what they thought would fill the park, and all kinds of reasons that I don't have a lot of insight into. If another major booker had booked the festival, it would've looked different- maybe better, likely worse, but different. And no doubt, there is music percolating in little venues in Brooklyn and Chicago and LA and London and God knows where that will have more impact on the future of music than half the acts I saw this weekend. And that's as it should be.
That said, most of the acts I heard that are at least a generation younger than me- Nubya Garcia, Sons of Kemet, Nate Smith, Mononeon, Takuya Kuroda, etc.- the ones I loved, the ones I didn't, have put the backbeat front and center, whether it's the backbeat from the club, the backbeat from a Dilla record, the backbeat suggested by African music, or the backbeat you think the crowd wants to hear, it's there. Even Ron Carter's set had hints of beats light years from his days with Miles. Not everyone dealt with it (Cecile, E Cohen, Melissa), but most did. And I think that will be a theme in the music moving forward.
