2024 Detroit Jazz Festival

[JSngry]

Going again, both to visit our daughter and to check out the festival. It's FREE and if last year is any indication, it runs super smoothy. Worth a trip for sure!

https://www.detroitjazzfest.org/main-festival/detroit-jazz-festival-2024-program-schedule/

https://www.detroitjazzfest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DetroitJazzFest2024-schedule.pdf

Three stages!

OPENING NIGHT:

FRIDAY

6:00 pm           Dr. Valade’s Brass Band featuring Shannon Powell

7:00 pm           TRANSLINEAR LIGHT The Music of Alice Coltrane featuring Ravi Coltrane with Special Guest Brandee Younger, and the Detroit Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra

9:00 pm           2024 Artist-In-Residence BRIAN BLADE & THE FELLOWSHIP BAND

SATURDAY
JPMORGAN CHASE MAIN STAGE – Cadillac Square	CARHARTT AMPHITHEATER STAGE – Hart Plaza	ABSOPURE WATERFRONT STAGE – Hart Plaza
1:15–2:15 p.m. Wendell Harrison and Tribe	12:00–1:00 p.m. Wayne State University Jazz Big Band	11:00 a.m. –12:30 p.m. MSBOA Showcase – High School Jazz Ensembles
3:00–4:15 p.m. Walter White Big Band	1:30–2:30 p.m. The Ron English Crew	1:15–2:15 p.m. Detroit-Tottori Young Lions Jam Session
5:00–6:15 p.m. The Bad Plus	3:15–4:30 p.m. Charlie Sepulveda & The Turnaround Plus Special Guest	3:00–4:15 p.m. Harmolodics
7:00–8:15 p.m. Nate Smith	5:15–6:30 p.m. Monty Alexander D-Day	5:20–6:05 p.m. J Rowe/Jordan Schug Sextet
9:00–10:15 p.m. Cameron Graves	7:15–8:30 p.m. Melanie Charles	6:35–7:35 p.m. Isaiah J. Thompson Quartet
	9:15–10:30 p.m. Christian McBride & Inside Straight	8:05–9:10 p.m. Mimi Fox Organ Trio
		9:40–10:40 p.m. Sean Dobbins Ensemble Presents The World We Know
SUNDAY
JPMORGAN CHASE MAIN STAGE – Cadillac Square	CARHARTT AMPHITHEATER STAGE – Hart Plaza	ABSOPURE WATERFRONT STAGE – Hart Plaza
12:15–1:15 p.m. Michigan State University Jazz Orchestra	12:00–1:00 p.m. Downbeat Blindfold	10:45 a.m. MSBOA – Northview High School Jazz Band
2:00–3:15 p.m. Collegiate Combo Competition Winner	1:30–2:30 p.m. HAKi!	11:45 a.m. University of Detroit Jesuit High School Jazz Orchestra
4:00–5:15 p.m. The Vibraphone Summit:	3:15–4:30 p.m. James “Blood” Ulmer Music Revelation Ensemble	1:00–2:00 p.m. Tottori Jazz Mission: The Bop’s
6:00–7:15 p.m. THREE VISITORS feat Edward Simon, Scott Colley, Brian Blade	5:15–6:30 p.m. Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott)	2:45–3:45 p.m. Vince Abbracciante Nocturno – Solo Accordion
9:00–10:15 p.m. Kyle Eastwood – Eastwood Symphonic;	7:15–8:30 p.m. Joshua Redman Group ft. Gabrielle Cavassa	4:15–5:30 p.m. JK6; Takatsuki, Japan Jazz Street’s Exchange Band
	9:15–10:30 p.m. Ghost-Note	6:15–7:15 p.m. Russ Macklem Detroit Quintet
		8:00–9:15 p.m. Carmen Lundy
MONDAY
JPMORGAN CHASE MAIN STAGE – Cadillac Square	CARHARTT AMPHITHEATER STAGE – Hart Plaza	ABSOPURE WATERFRONT STAGE – Hart Plaza
12:00–1:15 p.m. University of Michigan Jazz	12:15–1:15 p.m. J.C. Heard JazzWeek@Wayne All-Stars	11:45 a.m.–1:15 p.m. Detroit Public Schools Showcase
2:00–3:00 p.m. Anthony Stanco Quintet	2:00–3:15 p.m. Kasan Belgrave Sextet	2:15–3:15 p.m. Joe De Gregorio Trio
3:45–5:00 p.m. Zig Zag Power Trio: Vernon Reid – Melvin Gibbs – Will Calhoun	4:00–5:15 p.m. Marquis Hill: Composers Collective	4:00–5:15 p.m. OOPAPADA/Dr. Prof. Leonard King
5:45–7:00 p.m. Pablo Ziegler Quintet Featuring Roberta Gambarini	6:15–7:30 p.m. Billy Childs Quartet, Special Guest Sean Jones	6:15–7:15 p.m. Monika Herzig’s Sheroes
7:45–9:00 p.m. 2023 Artist-In-Residence Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band

[JSngry]

Maybe this fits better...

Friday, August 30

CARHARTT AMPHITHEATER STAGE – Hart Plaza

6:40 p.m. Dr. Valade’s Brass Band featuring Herlin Riley

7:00 – 8:15 p.m. TRANSLINEAR LIGHT  – The Music of Alice Coltrane featuring Ravi Coltrane with special guests Brandee Younger, Reggie Workman, and the Detroit Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra

9:15 – 10:30 p.m. 2024 Artist-In-Residence Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band

MIDTOWN AFTER HOURS SPECIAL  – Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. Flash Point Quintet, Srisley,  The Birdman Sextet, The Jauron Perry Quintet

 

Saturday, August 31

JPMORGAN CHASE MAIN STAGE – Cadillac Square

1:15–2:15 p.m. Wendell Harrison and Tribe

3:00–4:15 p.m. Walter White Big Band

5:00–6:15 p.m. The Bad Plus

7:00–8:15 p.m. Nate Smith

9:00–10:15 p.m. Cameron Graves

CARHARTT AMPHITHEATER STAGE – Hart Plaza

12:00–1:00 p.m. Wayne State University Jazz Big Band under the direction of Professor Vincent Chandler

1:30–2:30 p.m. The Ron English Crew

3:15–4:30 p.m. Charlie Sepulveda & The Turnaround Plus Special Guest

5:15–6:30 p.m. Monty Alexander D-Day

7:15–8:30 p.m. Melanie Charles

9:15–10:30 p.m. Christian McBride & Inside Straight

ABSOPURE WATERFRONT STAGE – Hart Plaza

11:00 a.m. –12:30 p.m. MSBOA Showcase – Northville High School Jazz Ensemble, Ludington High School Jazz Ensemble, Meridian High School Jazz Ensemble

1:15–2:15 p.m. Detroit-Tottori Young Lions Jam Session

3:00–4:15 p.m. Harmolodics

5:20–6:05 p.m. J Rowe/Jordan Schug Sextet

6:35–7:35 p.m. Isaiah J. Thompson Quartet

8:05–9:10 p.m. Mimi Fox Organ Trio

9:40–10:40 p.m. Sean Dobbins Ensemble Presents The World We Know

MIDTOWN AFTER HOURS SPECIAL – Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center

10:30–11:30 p.m. Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio

 

Sunday, September 1

JPMORGAN CHASE MAIN STAGE – Cadillac Square

12:15–1:15 p.m. Michigan State University Jazz Orchestra 1 – “The Bebop Spartans” under the direction of Professor Rodney Whitaker

2:00–3:15 p.m. Collegiate Combo Competition Winner presented by Central Michigan University

4:00–5:15 p.m. The Vibraphone Summit: Warren Wolf – Joe Locke – Jason Marsalis & Chien Chien Lu

6:00–7:15 p.m. THREE VISITORS featuring Edward Simon, Scott Colley, Brian Blade and special guest Becca Stevens and The Detroit Jazz Festival String Octet

9:00–10:15 p.m. Kyle Eastwood – Eastwood Symphonic; Detroit Jazz Festival Symphony Orchestra

CARHARTT AMPHITHEATER STAGE – Hart Plaza

12:00–1:00 p.m. Downbeat Blindfold

1:30–2:30 p.m. HAKi!

3:15–4:30 p.m. James “Blood” Ulmer Music Revelation Ensemble

5:15–6:30 p.m. Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott)

7:15–8:30 p.m. Joshua Redman Group ft. Gabrielle Cavassa ‘where are we’ tour

9:15–10:30 p.m. Ghost-Note

ABSOPURE WATERFRONT STAGE – Hart Plaza

10:45 a.m. MSBOA – Northview High School Jazz Band 11:15 a.m. MSBOA – Rockford High School Jazz Band

11:45 a.m. University of Detroit Jesuit High School Jazz Orchestra

1:00–2:00 p.m. Tottori Jazz Mission: The Bop’s

2:45–3:45 p.m. Vince Abbracciante Nocturno – in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago – Solo Accordion

4:15–5:30 p.m. JK6; Takatsuki, Japan Jazz Street’s Exchange Band

6:15–7:15 p.m. Russ Macklem Detroit Quintet

8:00–9:15 p.m. Carmen Lundy

MIDTOWN AFTER HOURS SPECIAL – Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center

10:30–11:30 p.m. Jon Cowherd Solo Piano

 

Monday, September 2

JPMORGAN CHASE MAIN STAGE – Cadillac Square

12:00–1:15 p.m. University of Michigan Jazz Showcase under the direction of Professor Ellen Rowe

2:00–3:00 p.m. Anthony Stanco Quintet

3:45–5:00 p.m. Zig Zag Power Trio: Vernon Reid – Melvin Gibbs – Will Calhoun

5:45–7:00 p.m. Pablo Ziegler Quintet Featuring Roberta Gambarini

7:45–9:00 p.m. 2023 Artist-In-Residence Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band with the Detroit Jazz Festival Jazz Orchestra arranged and conducted by Jim McNeely

CARHARTT AMPHITHEATER STAGE – Hart Plaza

12:00–1:15 p.m. J.C. Heard JazzWeek@Wayne All-Stars under the direction of Professor Chuck Newsome / Youth Jazz Vocal Competition Winner presented by Bingham Legal

2:00–3:15 p.m. Kasan Belgrave Sextet

4:00–5:15 p.m. Marquis Hill: Composers Collective

6:15–7:30 p.m. Billy Childs Quartet, Special Guest Sean Jones

ABSOPURE WATERFRONT STAGE – Hart Plaza

11:45 a.m.–1:15 p.m. Detroit Public Schools Showcase – Henry Ford High School Renaissance High School Detroit School of Arts Cass Technical High School

2:15–3:15 p.m. Joe De Gregorio Trio

4:00–5:15 p.m. OOPAPADA/Dr. Prof. Leonard King

6:15–7:15 p.m. Monika Herzig’s Sheroes

[kh1958]

I've never been to Detroit but this festival sure looks like it is worth attending.

[JSngry]

Detroit is a very interesting city and the festival is free for all three stages.

So, yeah! 🤠

[mjazzg]

James 'Blood' Ulmer's Music Revelation Ensemble! Reason enough to go I'd say. Wonder who's in it these days

[bertrand]

Is there a livestream this year?

[JSngry]

Don't know. 

[Mark Stryker]

6 hours ago, bertrand said:

Is there a livestream this year?

Should be here:

 

https://www.detroitjazzfest.org/live/

[kh1958]

Any highlights to report?

[JSngry]

When we get back...but right now, the total gasses in terms of just being a non-critical jazz listener and just hanging out in the city to hear some jams were Chief Adjuah and, believe it or not. Ghost-Note. But most shows we heard were very strong or better. That shit was solid and hit hard on all points. Aimed at different points, sure. But hitting hard in both cases.

The one real disappointment was Joshua Redman, whose presentation would have been wonderful if he had just laid out, or at least lost the top octave of his horn. Or at least find other ways of getting to it. Imaginative arrangements sabotaged by tenor playing that always started fine and then flipped to autopilot. If I had paid money, I would have been pissed.

That sounds harsh, but hey.

More to come in a few days, but as it was last year, a totally groovy time, and well run to boot. Definitely worth a trip, either physically or virtually. And it's all free!!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[JSngry]

Lest I forget - we had the delightful opportunity to engage in a lunchilicious afternoon with Mark Stryker and his delightful wife Candace. Great hang, culminating in a preview of Mark's documentary about Detroit, Jazz, and Detroit Jazz.

It's a very moving tale and is told with all the gravitas it is due. A major plus - virtually all the talking heads are Detroiters, speaking to and about the meaningful interactions between the music and the community, and not glibly either.

This is a righteous piece of work 

 

[JSngry]

Back home, (mostly) unpacked, and here's what we saw/heard:

FRIDAY NIGHT

There was a severe thunderstorm watch in the area, and there had in fact been severe storms over the last nights, so out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made to cancel the outdoor performances and move them indoors to the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center at Wayne State University, which houses a main hall designed specifically for jazz performance and a club-style venue.created by an endowment by the late Gretchen C. Valade of both Carhartt (I am a loyal customer of their suspenders) and Mack Avenue Records (I have bought some of their CDs). This new facility can accommodate livestreaming technology, and that is what Opening Night ended up being - a livestream. There was a delay getting started but once up, it ran quite well. Two sets:

• TRANSLINEAR LIGHT  – The Music of Alice Coltrane featuring Ravi Coltrane with special guests Brandee Younger, Reggie Workman, and the Detroit Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra  A very nice show, very effective arrangements by Ravi, Brandy Younger was for real, and oh my, Reggie Workman, a realty blessing that he's still out there doing it full strength. He walks with a cane, but he plays full strength standing. Apparently this is going to be a touring presentation, so if it comes your way, carpe diem.

• 2024 Artist-In-Residence Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band  I was a little disappointed in this, only because literally every piece sounded the same, down to certain harmonic movements. But otherwise, it was an excellent band, and it a pleasure to pick up again on altoist Myron Walden, who I liked from the beginning but was one of many players I just lost track of. He played beautifully, both technically, emotionally, and creatively. Same for Brain Blade. Too bad the material was so....redundant. Excellent, but redundant. But oh well....

And btw, there were no storms at all. But that's ok.

SATURDAY

• Wendell Harrison and Tribe  "Tribe" is what he calls his bands these days, so if this group doesn't resemble the now-classic records of last century, BFS. Wendell Harrison in now 81 and is still playing and presenting strong community music with a strong local band. Stuff like this is to be treasured. The repertoire was varied, something for every taste, but all of it played with power and positivity, and a guitar/bass/drum/percussion trio that drove it all in a way that remind be of the Cranshaw/Lee/Mtume trio that baked Sonny back then. We left full of good vibes and went to buy festival merch. A possible connection? LOL!!!

• Harmolodics This was a local trio of electronic trumpet, electric bass, and drumms. The were excellent, individually and collectively, but didn't have one damn thing to do with Harmolodics. More like a trip version of Eddie Henderson's Capricorn sides, maybe? Not at all what I was expecting, but not at all bad on its own terms. But I'm kinda like, if you put a ketchup label on a bottle of mustard. that don't make it yellow ketchup. Right? Especially if you got good mustard.

• The Bad Plus  Now (since 2021, actually) with Chris Speed and Ben Monder and without Ethan Iverson. A damn good band, if a bit on the emo side (I don't think Monder looked up once during or between songs!!!) Speed plays the fweedle-deedle-altissimo style tenor that is all the rage these last few decades, but it fits the material and it fits the music. Monder was physically moribund but musically burning. This guy can play (DUH!). Not the type of thing I would pay big concert dollars to see (necessarily) but a free 75-minute festival set? Hell Yeah, no question!
• Isaiah J. Thompson Quartet  Perhaps the biggest surprise of the festival. this and the next one we went to as "becuaswe they're there" type placeholders in the day, but - Thompson played VERY energetically and percussivley,. Very little of the glibness I had feared, and a LOT of left hand that was equal parts Horace Silver and McCoy Tyner. The originals were Silver-like without being imitative, and the few covers boyj were ballads and kept short. Tenor Player Julian Lee had never impressed me before, but here, he was looking through a Joe Henderson lens, not so much in terms of imitating, but moreso in terms of speaking straight, direct, and to the point. Know what you have come to say and then say it, no fweedle-deedle-altissimo, just say your piece and leave nothing to guesswork. I really enjoyed this set!

• Mimi Fox Organ Trio  So ok, I'm not tuned-in to the current way of life for pretty much anything and I had never heard of Mimi Fox. Apparently she's been around a long time and is pretty well known. Her set was very professional in every regard and made for pleasant ambient bebop as the sun went down. I enjoyed that.

• Christian McBride & Inside Straight  Planned on catching this in person, but last minute surprises mandated a return home. Fortunately the livestream was all the way on and we checked it out all the way home on the phone (audio and video). The name of the group says it all - inside and straight. The band didn't use that as an excuse for cliche though, and dug in in an inside and straight pocket, nop coasting, no bullshit. Stellar was Warren Wolf, somebody I lese I knew about a while back but then lost interest in. He's continued to deepen is his chosen idiom, and he was the star sooist here, although Jaleel Shaw & Carl Allen both kept it up and kept it real. Another excellent festival-type set.

SUNDAY

• James “Blood” Ulmer Music Revelation Ensemble  Calvin Weston & Amin Ali, with Blood mostly singing blues and playing Harmolodic guitar, you know what to expect and you got it, but good lord....pretty much everything else here this weekend you could do by just working hard or harder or hardest, but the only way to get to Blood Ulmer is by being Blood Ulmer. Stuff like this is becoming increasing rare as our collective mind becomes increasingly digital, so savor it while it's here. I know I sure did, and to my great surprise, my wife dug it. "Blues is my favorite" she always says, and she said it here. So hey hey hey!

• Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott)  Killer band, killer set and killer between songs patter by Chief. He's totally upfornt about his need to "reevaluate" pretty much everything about his music, and the music was uncompromisingly Afrocentric, electric, and most importanly, grooving like a motherfucker. This was another band that had a guitar/bass/drums/percussion core that was the epitome of "rock solid". Inspite of the "reevaluated" concept, the repertoire was varied in tempo, groove, and texture. Interesting enough, the only variant was a surprise(?) sitting in by Chief's old drummer of 11 years, for which the call was "The Eye Of The Hurricane" and almost immediately the whole vibe transferred back to WyntonEraYoungLionsing - the energy dropped and respectfully sitting there became the order of the day. And then it was over and we were back to today (or this version of it). My daughter dug the set so much that she is streaming it on Spotify and is buying the CD her next payday. I say that Chief is doing all kind of things right, and if the occasional EWI(?) solos took on an aura of 70s fusion synth, I'll also say that at some point, that will be reevaluated as well. This dude ain't going back!

• Joshua Redman Group ft. Gabrielle Cavassa ‘where are we’ tour  I had oped to do a quick-change between venues to catch THREE VISITORS featuring Edward Simon, Scott Colley, Brian Blade and special guest Becca Stevens and The Detroit Jazz Festival String Octet but my knees/legs were acting gimpy and crowds were pretty busy, so we decided to stay put in the one venue all night, figuring that, ok, Joshua Redman's a good player and I like singers, so it should be ok. Well, see above....I will say that Gabrielle Cavassa is certainly an intiguing vocalist of very high skill. I would like for Ran Blake to get hold of her (musically) and see what happens there. She sounds like  a high-potential talent, but to "the industry", that won't likely mean what I think it does. Despite my misgivings, it was a good (enough) set, but by it's end I was cursing the accomodation to my mobility that I thought I needed to make. Fortunately, redemtion was soon to come...

• Ghost-Note - Ok, this will not be for everybody's taste, but I spent more than a few years (and had more than a few life-shaping experiences) playing this type of music, so I felt a deep personal resonance with the whole thing. The band has a slight pedigree from Snarky Puppy (who I dislike with fervor) but the opening musical premise seems to be Prince's Sign O' The Times concert (one of the baddest concert films ever, imo) and then do the whole "deconstruct/reconstruct thing - all the while keeping i funky like a motherfucker. This shit was both smart and real, for the mind, the feet, and that most important midway point, the ass. I mean, for real, there was this old black man sitting in front of who was repeatedly moved to get up out of his wheelchair to dance as hard as he could as long as he could before having to sit back down - but he kept doing it. That is the power of The Funk as I have known it. This was very a very"smart" show, but dammit, you can't fake the funk, and this was in no way fake, not even a little. Plus, genius move - an all-Eb horn section - alto and bari. and when you put that bari in there as a power horn (this goes all the way back to Ellington, c'mon) , you better bring it for real. It got brought. Whatever these guys put out there at any goven moment, it got brought. If they come to your town and if like the real funk, go see them, don't think twice.

MONDAY

Family logistics necessitated doing an all-livestream final day, but that ended up working out really well. Multiple businesses got tended to and everybody was happy.

• Zig Zag Power Trio: Vernon Reid – Melvin Gibbs – Will Calhoun  Yep, those guys doing that thing, and doing it excellently. Too loud? Not on the livestream!!!!!

• Billy Childs Quartet, Special Guest Sean Jones  Yep, those guys doing that thing, and doing it excellently, albeith with a lot less energy than the power trio. Why? You'd have to ask them.

• 2023 Artist-In-Residence Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band with the Detroit Jazz Festival Jazz Orchestra arranged by Jim McNeely and conducted by Dennis Mackrell  Maybe I was preparing to be underwhelmed after the opening night set, but...orchestration can change everything, and in this case it did. The repertoire was still very similar, but McNeely's charts added shifting colors and densities and pushed everything along the was that a good big band does. Brian Blade is a beautiful drummer. This was a beautiful set, and again, Myron Walden was a delight. But the whole thing was. A perfect way to end a really wonderful festival.

And wonderful it really was. The programming definitely skews "bebop-ish", but it takes in enough of the outer limits (on either side) of bebop to where if you want an all "inside straight" festival, you can get it, but if you don't, you don't have to. If you want other modern music that is not jazz, look elsewhere. This is definitely a "jzz" festival, and this is Detroit. Detroit don't pretend to be something it's not, and neither does their jazz festival.

It's free, it's fun, it's 3 days and four nights of quality music, and I got family here so I don't need a hotel or an Uber. Look for me next year, god willing.

WHEW!!!!!

[kh1958]

Sounds great.

Mimi Fox by the way has played multiple times at the Guitar Sanctuary in McKinney. I like her best playing solo.

Christian Scott is fantastic in my opinion. This live performance is a favorite: https://www.munck-music.com/collections/2016-new-orleans-jazz-heritage-festival/products/christian-scott-live-at-2016-new-orleans-jazz-heritage-festival