Jazz Currents

Fans arriving at the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival, presented by Verizon, were greeted by colder than normal temperatures rain. The rain would stay thoughout the evening, but the temperature got a little hotter when Dave Holland & Friends took the stage as the opening act in the main arena. Holland is most often seen backing some of the most well known artists in the music. What gets lost is he is also a very accomplished composer. On this night, as he is doing more frequently these days, he led an extraordinary group of young musicians. His regular quintet saxophonist, Chris Potter, was joined by Gonzalo Rubalcaba on piano and the incredible Eric Harland on drums. Holland's last appearance here was with his big band, performing a commissioned work. This time he did what he is most often seen doing, delivering some hard driving, straight-ahead jazz with intricate compositions and innovative musicians. As usual with Holland, he stays subtly in the background. Chris Potter was in

The third weekend in September is always a special time on the Monterey Peninsula. Jazz fans from around the world descend on the County Fairgrounds for the Monterey Jazz Festival, presented by Verizon. This year was particularly special as the festival celebrated the 50 th edition of the longest, continuously running jazz festival in the world. Festival General Manager Tim Jackson and the entire festival organization are keeping founder Jimmy Lyons dream alive for fans and musicians. Make no mistake, it's just as special to the musicians to be invited to play this event. Each one that plays here manages to bring a little something extra to their performance. The most memorable of these performances are forever remembered as " Monterey Moments". The festival also continues Lyon's primary objective of the festival; to support jazz education in schools, and begin to develop the next generation of great jazz musicians. This year, the festival's Next Generation Ja

The mailing list posting on from the Jazz Programmer’s Network on August 5th couldn’t have been more ominous. It simply said Joe Zawinul had been hospitalized in Vienna with an undisclosed illness. It was the “undisclosed illness” part that was the most troubling. That phrase is not meant to instill hope; it’s meant to tell you to prepare for the worst. Personally, I wasn’t prepared for the worst. I first saw Zawinul’s name on the liner notes for Cannonball Adderley’s album with Nancy Wilson in the late 60’s. He really got my attention with the hit he penned for Adderley, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”. I shared the same question with many jazz fans. Who was this strange little man from Austria whose self-admitted dream as a teenager was “to come to America and music with Black musicians”? Zawinul realized that dream in 1958, went on to become one of the greatest keyboard players in the history of the music. Maynard Ferguson hired Zawinul right out of the Berklee School of Music in Boston. He w

With the possible exception of Wayne Shorter, every musician who came through the many incarnations of the Weather Report, or the Zawinul Syndicate held his mastery of the music in the highest regard. To them, he was "Pops". To us, he was Joe Zawinul. He was born July 7, 1932, Earth time. He was born again on September 11, 2007, Eternal time. There aren't enough words to express the magnitude of this loss. Next time, an attempt to put together words to celebrate the time he shared with us on this earth.

The news sources available on the internet are and incredible resource. The speed and coverage breadth of the World Wide Web has all but eliminated delays in reporting news events happening just about anywhere on the planet. Everyone has access to stories they may never had heard about ten years ago. Of course, not all of it is news you really want to hear. August 7th's home page for Google News displayed a headline that not only stopped my entire multi-tasking train of thought, it set an unusually contemplative tone for the whole day. It was a small piece, with no small significance. The headline read: "Joe Zawinul hospitalized in Vienna". The article itself offered little but ominous information. Hospital officials declined to confirm reports that Zawinul was seriously ill, saying the musician had requested that his rights as a patient and a private person be respected. This and every other related news piece referenced an 'undisclosed illness'. There's bee

Open sessions of pure jazz improvisation were common back in the day. By “back in the day”, I mean the mid-seventies. You could catch these on Sunday afternoons at a number of clubs on either side of the bay. Frequently, top artists headlining at the marquee clubs would stop by, and you’d witness something truly special. The Christian McBride Situation represents an updated version of those sessions. At the 2005 Monterey Jazz Festival, McBride was without two of his usual band members due to scheduling conflicts. McBride brought Ron Blake and D J Logic to the festival, to be joined by Patrice Rushen, who was appearing with Lee Ritenour. Backstage following her set with Ritenour, Rushen asked “What are we going to do?” referring to the set list. Christian replied: “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out”. That, along with another pre-performance conversation that included Blake and D J Logic, was the rehearsal. What happened on the stage will go down as another of those legendary Mo

This is my internet soapbox to pontificate about all things jazz, and a little bit beyond. Who am I? If you found your way here, I’m going to make the leap assumption that I’m just like you, a lifetime fan of the music. I also happen to be a jazz photojournalist, covering the scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am a staff writer for CityFlight, a Bay Area eZine, and provide reviews of C D s, D V D s, and concerts here in the area. In those capacities, there are necessary and understandable filters in place. There are also space constraints, so a lot of what I’d like to put out there, I can’t. Here, I get to rant or rave about whatever I think might be interesting. A sounding board, so to speak, and a forum that I hope will bring things to light you are likely to otherwise miss. Whether you know it or not, whether you choose to accept it or not, we in this country are losing this music we call jazz. I personally am not willing to say that jazz is dying. There are many place