Jazz Currents

  After all these years, walking through the gates of the Monterey Fairgrounds still gives me chills. There’s something about the mix of salty coastal air, the smell of food stands, the low hum of people tuning up instruments, and the memories of the many "Monterey Moments" of legendary performances. The 68th Monterey Jazz Festival (Sept. 26–28, 2025) brought all the familiar magic — great music, good vibes, and that sense that you’re part of something much bigger than just a weekend of concerts. Friday: The Return of Dizzy’s Den and a Night of Legends Friday kicked off with a beautiful bit of symmetry — a father-and-son duo , John and Gerald Clayton , reopening Dizzy’s Den , which had been closed since the pandemic. That room has always been one of Monterey’s most intimate spaces. The Claytons filled it with warmth and soul. It felt like a reunion — not just for the music, but for everyone who’s missed those small-room moments that make Monterey special. Later that even...

The 67th Monterey Jazz Festival presented a dynamic musical celebration of jazz which respected traditional music while embracing modern creative approaches. The 2024 festival at the Monterey County Fairgrounds presented Herbie Hancock and Dianne Reeves alongside Samara Joy and Immanuel Wilkins and DOMi & JD Beck in outstanding performances. The festival maintained its inclusive programming and intimate setting which allowed jazz fans from different generations to unite through music. The festival paid tribute to Wayne Shorter through a tribute performance while Terri Lyne Carrington led a jam session between different generations of musicians and the Garden Stage hosted late-night performances that kept audiences dancing until the sun went down. Image Gallery from the 67TH Monterey Jazz Festival The 68th Monterey Jazz Festival scheduled for September 26–28, 2025 will uphold its tradition by presenting a combination of exceptional artistic performances and innovative musical approa...

Festivals offer the opportunity to see a variety of artists, within a short period of time, and frequently at the same venue. The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of that presents a well crafted mix ranging from established legends of the music to local fan favorites. Each year I especially look forward to hearing emerging artists that have either been part of groups or recordings from headliners and legends, composing and producing for other artists, part of a collective of artists involved with a variety of collaborations, or, stepping out on their own as a leader. The artist list for the 66th Monterey Jazz Festival is filled with artists I'm very familiar with and plan to hear their latest work. It also contains quite a few I've either heard on other artist's recordings, read about a number of times, heard their current recordings, or are just plain curious about. I know the pattern well. These artists that are less familiar to the festival audience at large frequently find...

Closing Out The Summer, and Festival Season Opening Friday, September 22nd, the Monterey Jazz Festival continues its run Herbie Hancock as the longest continuously-running jazz festival in the world. After two years of adjustments coming out of the pandemic, the three-day festival has hit its stride without having to make many major adjustments. The richness of the performance schedule and variety of artist is unchanged, and unparalleled. The tradition of presenting the established and recognized legends, the up and coming rising stars, and the stars to be, remains a key focus.   As to be expected, over the lifespan of a legacy as great as Monterey, evolution is inevitable and necessary to remain viable.  Festival organizers world wide have had to make adjustments in this post-pandemic era. The Monterey Jazz Festival organizers are no exception. Safety concerns for the attendees following the reopening of live venues made it necessary to close down the Night Club and Dizzy’s ...

Jazz Currents returns 8/21/2023   We stepped away, unintentionally, 5 years ago. We're coming back, quite intentionally, on August 21st. Watch this space. 

Hello again. First, I must apologize for being away for so long. I wish I had more of an excuse to give you, but the fact is, sometimes life just gets in the way. In any case, I’m back just in time for the heart of the festival season. Next up for me is the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. We have our tickets in hand, and can’t wait for this, the 61st edition, of the longest continuously running jazz festival in the world. In the meantime, if you’ve followed my Instagram feed in the past, you may have noticed quite a bit more activity than normal. I usually post images live from the festival, and hope to be doing that again this year. In addition, I’ve started a series I’m referring to as Jazz 500 (#jazz500). My Jazz Photojournalism adventure began in 1995. A year later, I covered my first Monterey Jazz Festival. Since then, I’ve covered it every year except 1997 and 1998. As you can imagine, after 20 years of photographing some of the greatest legends of the musi...

Charnett Moffett has had a connection to the elite artists in jazz for a very long time. His father, Charles, was a drummer for Ornette Coleman in the 1960s, so he's more than accustomed to being around the legends of jazz. This year, Saturday evening's performances on the Garden Stage featured the artists of the  Moté ma  Records label. Moffett's fourth CD on Moté ma , Spirit of Sound, was released on July 9th. Together with label founder Jana Herzen, Moffett hosted a showcase of  Moté ma artists, and anchored many of the ensembles on bass.

You don't have to have a ticket for the shows in the Arena to have a great time at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Of course you have the many artisan vendors and the great food booths. There are also seven other performance venues. Six of them feature live performances from a large variety of artists. The seventh, the Jazz Theater, shows simulcasts from the main Arena performances.  Several of the artists make an encore performance in one of the grounds venues. Both the festival's artist-in-residence and showcase artists perform in multiple ensemble formats, most of which are in the grounds venues. Big Sam's Funky Nation on the Garden Stage

Essential tracks highlights tracks that arguably should be found somewhere in any serious jazz collector's library. This segment is also meant to inspire readers to seek out foundational tracks from the various sub-genres of this great music. "Phase Dance", ECM Records release "Pat Metheny Group", 1978 This track quietly catapulted Pat Metheny from a relative unknown to a profound presence on the jazz scene. Forget about "rising star"; he pretty much bypassed that whole period. At the time of a lot of emerging rock-flavored jazz releases, Metheny's new band split right between straight-ahead and fusion. This was a completely new and distinctive sound. First of all, it's a seven minute track. It starts out gently, quickly comes to a simmer, and before you know it, they're cooking at a rapid boil pace. I remember first hearing it in a Berkeley, CA record (yes, record) store. It crept up on me and a dozen other people in the store at th...

The Relatives were formed in 1970 by veteran Dallas gospel singer Rev. Gean West and his brother Tommie. Their sound bridges the gap between traditional gospel, soul, and psychedelia. They've always been known for their powerful original songs and searing stage show, and released three singles to limited success. They also recorded a session that was never released.  The group disbanded in 1980, but that was not to be the end. In 2009 an anthology comprised of the three singles and the previously unreleased session was released under the title "Don’t Let Me Fall". The release of the anthology brought The Relatives back together as a band, planting the seeds for their 2013 Yep Roc release, The Electric Word, which was recorded and produced by Jim Eno of Spoon.

Even serious Jazz fans find themselves forgetting about big bands. That is, until they hear a good one. The is much more than that; this is a great big band. In 1985, drummer Jeff Hamilton joined bassist John Clayton and saxophonist Jeff Clayton to form the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. It's comprised of a group of Los Angeles based veteran musicians who bring a big, big sound. Make no mistake, these guys swing; hard. The orchestra performed a special suite of music, commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival. In keeping with the festival theme, the commission piece was titled "Sweet Suite: The Brubeck Files".

Essential tracks highlights tracks that arguably should be found somewhere in any serious jazz collector's library. This segment is also meant to inspire readers to seek out foundational tracks from the various sub-genres of this great music. "Earth Tones", Kudu Records release "Mister Magic", 1974 The title track of this 1974 release, Grover Washington Jr.'s fourth on Kudu records, is easily the most memorable of his career. The vast majority of the tracks on Washington's releases to date had been covers of popular songs and movie themes. They all had the distinctive style, edge, and funk that differentiated Kudu Records from Creed Taylor's prime label CTI records. The arrangements weren't as tight, controlled, and elegant on Kudu, making them very radio friendly to the stations that were bridging the gap between straight R&B and the more hard core jazz stations. The latter were fighting the ideological wars between straight ahead j...

Each year, the Monterey Jazz Festival's Artist-in-Residence is featured in a number of ensembles. One of those is typically a group of all-stars from the Berklee College  of Music. The 2013 Artist-in-Residence, Joe Lovano, helped open Friday night on the Garden Stage with a group from Berklee dubbed the Global Jazz Ambassadors. The Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI) is a performance program designed to foster creativity and musicianship through various musical disciplines, with pianist and composer Danilo Pérez as its artistic director. The BGJI provides a comprehensive contemporary music environment where students are given opportunities to explore their creativity to the highest level possible, advance the power of music as a tool for the betterment of society, and connect musical creative thinking with the natural environment.

Granted, Carmen Lundy is not a name that surfaces early in the discussion of jazz vocalists. That especially interesting when you consider her career spans several decades, and she is a noted singer, composer, and actor. In addition to jazz, Carmen has always been open to the influences of R&B, pop, and folk music. Lundy made her debut appearance at Monterey this year in the Night Club before a packed audience. Many were already familiar with her work, as she has had a rather prolific recording career which started in 1985. Her debut release was on Justin Time Records, entitled "Good Morning Kiss". Working with a very tight trio consisting of Kenny Davis on bass, Jamison Ross on drums, and the incomparable Patrice Rushen, Lundy delivered a scintillating set demonstrating both her seasoned vocal skills, and very broad repertoire. #montereyjazz

It's been a number of years since George Benson last appeared on the Main Stage at Monterey. He was one of the headliners in the Saturday Afternoon set in the Arena. He also appeared on the Sunday afternoon panel discussion featuring recent NEA Jazz Masters honorees. Benson's 90 minute set was had plenty for the fans of George Benson the singer, and George Benson the critically acclaimed bebop guitarist. He opened the set with two burning instrumentals before launching into crowd favorites and several songs from his latest release, "Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole". His closing with "On Broadway" brought f ans from both sides of his career to their feet. All in all, a great way to cap off Saturday Afternoon.

There's nothing like the Monterey Jazz Festival. To begin with, it's truly a Jazz Festival. A few years ago, Branford Marsalis told the festival audience just how luck they were. As Marsalis put it, "...there is more jazz, than non-jazz, than any other festival in the world". Here, the legends of the music oar honored, the rising stars are recognized, and the emerging new artists are introduced to the jazz world at large. Over the next couple weeks,the "Faces of Jazz" pieces will highlight the images from this year's festival, along with mini reviews of the performances. Gregory Porter in his second appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival, first time on the main stage.   Jeff Clayton - Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra Carmen Lundy - Monterey Jazz Festival debut   Patrice Rushen w/Carmen Lunday

Essential tracks highlights tracks that arguably should be found somewhere in any serious jazz collector's library. This segment is also meant to inspire readers to seek out foundational tracks from the various sub-genres of this great music. "My Favorite Things", from the brand new Mack Avenue Records release "Out Here" True, this segment normally features jewels from the treasure chest of Jazz. However, this track need not wait for the passage of time. I'll save the rest for the review of the CD, but, it's suffice to say you have to hear this track! Okay, a teaser. For the first 30 seconds or so of the track (I wasn't watching the titles), I was set for another interesting version of "Take Five". When the first melody verse was the signature opening of "My Favorite Things", everything stopped to listen to where this was going. That's enough. Go find this track and listen to it.

Essential tracks highlights tracks that arguably should be found somewhere in any serious jazz collector's library. This segment is also meant to inspire readers to seek out foundational tracks from the various sub-genres of this great music. "Young Rabbits", originally from the 1962 Pacific Jazz release, "Lookin' Ahead", most recently available on "Way Back Home" This is easily one of the best known tracks from the early days of the Jazz Crusaders. At the time, the group consisted of Wayne Henderson on trombone, Stix Hooper on drums, Joe Sample on piano, Wilton Felder on sax, and Buster Williams on bass. It was also one of the most challenging compositions of it's time. Every jazz band in High School in the late 60's and early 70's was on a mission to master this tune. It was fast moving, intricate harmonies, and very tight melody and chorus lines. You really had to be on top of your game to play it. If you could master Young ...