2015 DETROIT JAZZ
FESTIVAL
DAY 2, EVENING SET,
J.P. MORGAN CHASE MAIN STAGE
The evening set at the 2015 Detroit Jazz Festival, from the
J.P. Morgan Chase Main Stage, is the reason my wife and I drove 12 hours from
Atlanta to Detroit. A night of what I
consider “classic jazz”. The set began with The Brian Blade Fellowship Band. Blade,
whom I last, saw at the 2012 DJF with the Wayne Shorter Quartet, and his
cohorts were definitely up to the challenge of wowing the crowd. Drummer Blade,
accompanied by Melvin Butler on tenor & alto sax, Myron Walden, soprano sax
& bass clarinet, pianist John Cowherd and bassist Chris Thomas offered an
inspired set. Blade, Waldon and Butler were the standouts. Yet, they turned out
to be only a very tasty appetizer for the two “homecoming” acts to follow.
In the first “homecoming” set, native Detroiter saxophonist
and flautist James Carter was a special guest, joining the Steve Turre/Rahsaan
Roland Kirk Birthday Celebration Band. Trombonist Turre, who played with Kirk
in the 1070’s played an evening of music composed by Kirk and tunes from his
repertoire. Turre’s band included Vincent Herring on alto & soprano saxes,
pianist Xavier Davis with Gerald Cannon on bass, drummer Dion Parson and
special guest Carter. Turre began his set with Kirk’s “Three For The Festival”.
Turre and Herring had heated solos, but Carter was scalding on tenor. On the
original Turre composition, “Trayvon’s Blues”, written in honor of slain teen
Trayvon Martin, Turre was solemn, but bluesy. Turre also played the shells on
this tune. Turre was fiery on “Dorthon’s Walk”, another Kirk composition,
written in honor of his wife Dorthon, who was in attendance. Turre and Herring
on alto, trade 16’s, 8’s, 4’s and went back and forth, while Xavier Davis’
Sonny Clark style comping helped them along. James Carter then began to take
over the show. Carter ripped into this tune on tenor and showed his tenor and
the hometown crowd who was in charge. You could hear and feel Coltrane, Rollins
and McLean in Carter’s spirited solo. On
Kirk’s, “The Inflated Tear”, Turre added spoken word and vocals. Turre again
played the shells and Herring and Davis were eloquent in their solos, but again
Carter took over. Dramatically aggressive, Carter truly let everyone know he
was home. And the crowd responded in kind. But on the Turre penned “Blue Rol
(as in Roland) Carter performed a feat of circular breathing that was
absolutely astonishing. Aided by a muted Turre and Herring’s alto, During his
solo, Carter held single note for three minutes. His face or body never showed
a sign of stress, fatigue or discomfort. And after holding the note, he didn’t
stop, but soloed for another 45 seconds and was dancing to the groove the whole
time. It was amazing.
The final “homecoming” set was the band led by Detroit
native, alto and soprano man Kenny Garrett. On their first tune, Garret’s band,
pianist Vernell Brown, Corcoran Holt on bass, drummer Marcus Baylor set the
stage and crowd on fire. In a mode reminiscent of the “classic’ Coltrane
quartet, Garret and friend evoked memories of a golden age of jazz that is
sorely missed. Whether up tempo or in a “spiritual” mode, this group swang. Percussionist Rudy Bird joined for the rest of
the set. Garrett was in rare for evoking Clifford Jordan from his “spiritual”
days and quoting Sonny Rollins numerous, with Holt slapping his bass like
Stanley Clarke and drummer Baylor was nothing short of a revelation. Never
overwhelming, Baylor always seemed to be upfront just like Garret and pianist
Brown.
This was indeed an incredible evening of music and it was
truly worth the drive.
l-r, James Carter, Steve Turre,Gerald Cannon, Vincent Herring
Kenny Garrett Quartet
