Chicago Jazz Festival

[Chuck Nessa]

I saw you at the Rollins show Mark. We were about 8 rows behind the photographers. Bridgewater drove me nuts. Front line of the Palmieri band was Conrad Herwig, Brian Lynch and Donald Harrison. Tight.

Just returned from the Velvet - Amina, Wadada, Thurman and Roscoe sat in for features. Outstanding.

[ejp626]

I enjoyed the Rollins show. He kept the calypso towards the end and did a bit more straight-ahead jazz and even some Ellington material than I've seen in the past. But hardly ground-breaking. This was probably the second best show of the four or five times I've seen him. (I've only ever been able to see him in the 1990s and beyond, so I've never seen him in his prime.) Clifton Anderson, the trombonist, was on his game today, and I haven't always been able to say that.

Anyway, I had to miss the Grant Park festivities Friday, but I did get to see Greg Osby's first two sets at the Green Mill. He's added vibes to his quartet (actually a new group). He really picked it up in the second set, though amusingly they had to bring out sheet music, since he was playing material from the brand new album. From my perspective, the alto and vibes were quite intertwined in a good way, while the piano had a prominent role but the piano solos did seem kind of disconnected from everything else. He said that the downloads are already available, but there had been a shipping problem with the CDs, so I couldn't buy one from him, which was too bad. I'll go off and see about ordering this now. While there is a lot of tradition gone, I was really glad not to smell like an ashtray at the end of the second set. The heavy smoking there was always one of my wife's pet peeves about the Green Mill. Maybe she'll go back now.

I'll be looking for folks Sat. at Grant Park, and it looks like I will join the crowd to go to the Velvet for the after Fest music.

[Mitchell Duval]

IMO, the Rollins concert last night was very boring, but based on recent recordings and accounts of other recent SR concerts, that's what I expected it to be. There were moments of, gestures toward, an interestingly complex, oblique-notey shagginess on Rollins' part, but these were just moments and gestures in the midst of pieces that, typically of SR of these times, more or less circled in place. And SR's sound, with that attached-to-the-bell mike, was (I'm sorry) virtually goat-like, though it might have sounded better if one were more close-up than I was. Gives me no pleasure to say the above; just my honest reaction.

I've started to use the expression "trading fours with a cross-eyed percussionist" as a phrase meaning "minor boredom tinged with a little embarrassment." On the other hand, the little guy playing congas with Eddie Palmieri was smokin'.

[sal]

I got back from Grant Park about 3 hours ago....would have posted sooner, but I've been in bed feeling quite unwell, which is why I left the Jazz Fest early (sorry Mark and everyone else there...was looking forward to meeting everyone at the velvet!

I did manage to see some great music today though. Brian Lynch was very good guesting with the Willie Pickens trio. And Vijay Iyer's quintet did a suite they composed for the festival. It was really excellent music...his electric guitar player left a strong impression on me. Don't recall his name, but he was originally from India, and it came out in his playing in a strong way. He would incorporate these phrases that sounded so similar to a sitar into his improvisations. It was really something. Never heard anything quite like that before.

If I can get away from the office tomorrow, I hope to catch a train in to see Ornette.

edit to correct an incomplete sentence...sorry, wasn't feeling well when I orignally posted this last night

Edited August 31, 2008 by sal

[ejp626]

I got back from Grant Park about 3 hours ago....would have posted sooner, but I've been in bed feeling quite unwell, which is why I left the Jazz Fest early (sorry Mark and everyone else there...was looking forward to meeting everyone at the velvet!

I did manage to see some great music today though. Brian Lynch was very good guesting with the Willie Pickens trio. And Vijay Iyer's quintet did a suite they composed for the festival. It was really excellent music...his electric guitar player left a strong impression on me. Don't recall his name, but he was originally from India, and it came out in his playing in a strong way. He would incorporate these phrases that sounded so simiar to his improvisations. It was really something. Never heard anything quite like that before.

If I can get away from the office tomorrow, I hope to catch a train in to see Ornette.

Sorry to hear that, Sal. I was pretty beat. I did stay through the entire Gerald Wilson set (ending at 10) but then was too tired and too hungry! to make it down to the Velvet. Maybe next year.

I agree. Vijay's set was great. Probably slightly the best, though pretty much all the Sat. shows on the Petrillo stage (after the very first one) were quite good. Dave Douglas did this all brass (and one drummer) tribute to Lester Bowie. His tuba player did some really unusual things and even had a hip-hop thing going with the drummer for a while. The Gerald Wilson set was fun as well, particularly when the violinist took her solos. And I thought Kenny Burrell was terrific.

Definitely an amazing night. I should be able to make Ornette tomorrow and perhaps the set before him.

[sheldonm]

...great night indeed. Just wheeling in from the Velvet Lounge; it's 2:40 a.m. here in Chicago. Great sets with Fred Anderson, Kidd Jordan, Harrison Bankhead, Isaah Spencer with special guest Henry Grimes on both violin and bass. Hung out with Jazzshrink, Blake and his wife and chatted with Chuck N for a few minutes as well....lots of fun!

m

[ejp626]

I got to Grant Park a little late yesterday, but still caught the set by 8 Bold Souls, which was quite good. I think I will search out some of their new recordings. The bassist is Harrison Bankhead, who I've seen in a few settings, and he is always quite interesting. For one piece, they had quite a bit of interaction between bass and cello. The trumpet player has a bit of a gimmick where he sometimes plays two trumpets at the same time, but it generally works. Dee Alexander joined them for two numbers.

Then Ornette Coleman came on. I always have this feeling that I should like him a lot more than I actually do (the creamed spinach of jazz perhaps). I really do like his early work, but I find that he is in a creative rut (not so different from Sonny) but he's ended at a place I find generally unappealing. There were three pieces where he starts on violin, then moves to trumpet for a bit (he really seems to be wasting his time on this instrument) and then ends with saxophone. It's so predictable. That said, I liked this much more than the show at Chicago Symphony Center back in 2003, not least of which because it was free. But seriously, I found aspects of roughly half of the pieces that I enjoyed. The third piece in had a kind of Middle Eastern groove that I liked and was the only time for me that Ornette's violin playing worked. Still didn't like the trumpet playing but it was only for a few bars.

Perhaps the single most interesting part of the show was when the acoustic bassist started playing Bach's Cello Suite #1 (alone of course) and then after a while the electric bass and drums joined. I liked this a lot, and honestly I kind of wish Ornette had completely sat out on this.

Anyway, fireworks started at 9:30 and as he wrapped up at 9:45 they reached their crescendo. That did seem fitting. All in all, I think it was a great Jazz Fest, and I can't wait to see what next year brings.

Edit on 8 Bold Souls. They certainly made it seem as though they had a new album, but the latest is from 2000 on Thrill Jockey (also on emusic so will grab it soon). They have new material they performed, so here's hoping they record this as well.

Edited September 1, 2008 by ejp626

[Jay]

Perhaps the single most interesting part of the show was when the acoustic bassist started playing Bach's Cello Suite #1 (alone of course) and then after a while the electric bass and drums joined. I liked this a lot, and honestly I kind of wish Ornette had completely sat out on this.

Funny - I was thinking about how great it would be if Denardo sat out on this cut, as he has all of the subtlety of an elephant.

[LWayne]

My wife and I just returned yesterday from our extended weekend in Chicago and enjoyed the Jazz Fest in Grant Park. It was great to spend some brief time with Chuck Nessa, Jazzy Paul and Mark Sheldon from the board. Highlights included Vijay Iyer Quintet playing a commissioned piece "Far From Over" on Saturday with fiery accompaniment by newcomers Prasanna on electric guitar and Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet. Dave Douglas followed with a stirring tribute to Lester Bowie with his Brass Ecstasy Group.

The evening ended with an upbeat, albeit repetitive, set by 90 year old Gerald Wilson Orchestra with Kenny Burrell. The powerhouse band was well-received as it unveiled yet another commission: "Chicago Is"

Highlights from Sunday included an eclectic set from ICP Orchestra, a down home funky fest by the 8 Bold Souls, and an unforgettable closer by Ornette Coleman. This closing set with Coleman contributing on alto sax, violin, and trumpet was certainly memorable. Overall, a great two days with Vijay Iyer and Ornette Coleman providing the highlights.

On Sunday night, we visited the new site of the Jazz Showcase and caught Sean Jones and his alto sax/ piano player Brian Hogans sit in with Ira Sullivan for an entertaining evening.

Also picked up a great CD: 8 Bold Souls "Last Option" on Thrill Jockey as this local group made quite an impression.

LWayne

[sheldonm]

My wife and I just returned yesterday from our extended weekend in Chicago and enjoyed the Jazz Fest in Grant Park. It was great to spend some brief time with Chuck Nessa, Jazzy Paul and Mark Sheldon from the board. Highlights included Vijay Iyer Quintet playing a commissioned piece "Far From Over" on Saturday with fiery accompaniment by newcomers Prasanna on electric guitar and Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet. Dave Douglas followed with a stirring tribute to Lester Bowie with his Brass Ecstasy Group.

The evening ended with an upbeat, albeit repetitive, set by 90 year old Gerald Wilson Orchestra with Kenny Burrell. The powerhouse band was well-received as it unveiled yet another commission: "Chicago Is"

Highlights from Sunday included an eclectic set from ICP Orchestra, a down home funky fest by the 8 Bold Souls, and an unforgettable closer by Ornette Coleman. This closing set with Coleman contributing on alto sax, violin, and trumpet was certainly memorable. Overall, a great two days with Vijay Iyer and Ornette Coleman providing the highlights.

On Sunday night, we visited the new site of the Jazz Showcase and caught Sean Jones and his alto sax/ piano player Brian Hogans sit in with Ira Sullivan for an entertaining evening.

Also picked up a great CD: 8 Bold Souls "Last Option" on Thrill Jockey as this local group made quite an impression.

LWayne

Hi Wayne; great to meet you at the festival!! I tried to find you at the Showcase on Sunday night but never did see you although it appears we were there at the same time. I was distracted by jazzshrink's constant flirting (he struck out ) with our waitress and probably just missed you! I'm glad you caught me Saturday night at the front of the stage in Grant Park for a few minutes.

The festival was great fun other than being under the weather for part of it.

I agree on all the above....though I liked Gerald Wilson probably more than you. He was difficult to photograph as he was running from one side of the stage to the other most of the time. I'll see him in LA next month; looking forward to seeing him again. I loved 8 Bold Souls and caught them last year at the Velvet....both shows were great to my ears!

I also caught Greg Osby at the Green Mill and a nice African Tribute to James Brown with Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley, Roy Hargrove and others on Tuesday night...with a nice opening set by Corey Wilkes and Black Slang.

Also ran into Chuck, ejp626 (Erik), Sal and Larry Kart at different times throughout the festival.

m~

[ejp626]

I also caught Greg Osby at the Green Mill and a nice African Tribute to James Brown with Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley, Roy Hargrove and others on Tuesday night...with a nice opening set by Corey Wilkes and Black Slang.

Also ran into Chuck, ejp626 (Erik), Sal and Larry Kart at different times throughout the festival.

m~

I didn't see people as much as I thought I might. The seating was a little more restricted than in the past, though that's good that attendance seemed up (to me anyway). But I really enjoy the Fest (guess I would say I thought Vijay was best by a very slender margin), as well as the two Osby sets I caught at the Green Mill.

[Uncle Skid]

I originally planned on getting there Saturday morning, but didn't make it until late Sunday afternoon. Very disappointed I missed Vijay -- I hoped that you guys would report that his show sucked ( ), but obviously, that wasn't the case.

I was also hoping to run into more board members, but I did hang out with Chuck (and family), Werf (Scott, another board member from West Michigan!), and also ran into Larry. Very glad I was able to meet and hang out with JazzyPaul at the WDCB radio booth -- picked up his trio's new CD, and had some great music for the ride home.

Arrived in time to catch "From the Netherlands: Instant Composers Pool". I had never seen Mengelberg or Bennink live before, so that was a treat. Enjoyed both Eight Bold Souls and Ornette.

Previous posts on Ornette's show seem largely accurate to me (somewhat predictable, lack of subtlety in the drum dept, etc), but I was just glad to be there. A true "living legend" playing music that really hits me deeply. Damn!

But, the high point for me was the afterfest show at the Velvet: Fred Anderson, Kidd Jordan, Harrison Bankhead, Isaiah Spencer with special guest Henry Grimes. Chuck told me that the previous evening (Sat) was much more intense than this show, but I really find that hard to believe. Unbelievably intense, captivating and beautiful music.

Edited September 6, 2008 by Uncle Skid

[ejp626]

A fair bit of the Jazz Fest is on YouTube. Vijay is actually linking to these two, so he must approve, but they may not last long after the folks in charge find out.

I like how about 3 seconds in, some guy introduces the band to a bystander.

[LWayne]

I have noticed some comments that people thought Ornette Coleman's set was "typical". Since I am not as familiar with his more recent recordings, save "Sound Grammar", can anyone identify some of the albums that he culled the songs from his set from as I would like to give them a listen?

Thanks,

LWayne

Edited September 10, 2008 by LWayne

[Uncle Skid]

I thought that most of the material played that evening was from "Sound Grammar", so I'm also interested in finding out what other recordings were represented.

As far as "typical", I'll say this: what I heard was not all that different from what I expected, and that should not be construed as a negative comment.

Thanks for the Vijay links, ejp.