Just in case you missed it, the Independent Ear is all about spotlighting enterprising musicians. One such artist is most assuredly drummer-bandleader Gerry Gibbs. From his Thrasher Dream Trio dreaming big with such masterful partners as NEA Jazz Masters pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Ron Carter, to his Thrasher Big Band, to his Electric Thrasher Orchestra Gerry Gibbs keeps himself busy. So we figured a few questions were in order, starting with seeking some insights into all that thrashing!

So what’s up with that Thrasher moniker you use for your productions and your various band configurations?
Gerry Gibbs : Lol, oh man this is really crazy. Back in 1986 The Don Pullen/ George Adams Quartet had come to LA. I had not moved to NY yet which happened about a year later. During that west coast tour of their band, I had made real good friends with Don. Almost every day we would meet to jam and at night Don would hang out with me and the girlfriend I was with at the time after the gigs to go eat, so we did a lot of hanging, playing and laughing that week. I had already been a huge fan. When their tour ended Don had told me that we would do something musically together once I moved to NY. One week after they left California, Don called to tell me the horrible news that their drummer Dannie Richmond had died and that they were going to keep a month tour they had coming up. He asked if I could go but I couldn’t because of conflicting commitment with my Father [the great vibraphonist-bandleader Terry Gibbs] and Buddy Defranco. Lewis Nash ended up being their second and last drummer and fit that band like a glove. When I got to NY , Don asked me if I could sub for Tony Williams and do 3 rehearsals with he and Gary Peacock for his debut Blue Note release “New Beginnings”. Don plays the piano very aggressively and much of the time with his knuckles and fists. During the first rehearsal Don had broken 2 black notes off the piano. I looked at Don and said, ” Oh man you are a “Thrasher”. The word “Thrasher” to me just sounded like a guy who just broke black keys off the piano. He laughed and thought it was funny to call him that.

Fast forward from 1988 to 1995. I signed my very first solo recording contract with Quincy Jones for Warner Bros to have him be the executive producer and former Crusaders drum legend Stix Hooper to produce it. I had a steady band at the time so we didn’t even need to rehearse for the record. I recorded a song I wrote for Don Pullen and called it “Pullen/The Thrasher”. Quincy said he really liked the tune but asked me if we could change the name of the song to just the “The Thrasher” and put a dedication next to the title for Don. I, of course said yes. Then they came back to me and asked if I was cool with them calling the album “The Thrasher”. Well once the CD came out we were set up to tour all over the world and of course they started calling my band at festivals “The Thrasher Band”.That CD got a lot of press and a few awards for that year and all the critics referred to me as Gerry Gibbs The Thrasher. It wasn’t something that I wanted but then back in NYC everyone started calling me that so it stayed and every project after became The Thrasher Something? Band. Even to this day guys like Randy Brecker don’t even call me Gerry. We played a week a few years ago with Patrice Rushen on piano and he kept introducing me on the mike as The Thrasher on Drums! So there it is. I gave the name to Don Pullen and then it ends up back on me as my nickname lol.

Given our 21st century independent artist recording scene, where the figurative record company pursuit is not the same as it once was, what’s been your ongoing production relationship with Whaling City Sound?
Well thats been a complete blessing for me. I have about 50 record concepts in my head that I want to do before I die. I had recorded 4 albums as a leader when I first met Neal Weiss the president of that label. From 1998 to about 2005 I had a girlfriend that lived in San Antonio and I was spending all my free time there. People have no idea that there is a huge scene with about 100 great musicians between there and Austin. I started doing music projects since I write so much music. One particular project was something I did at a jazz festival down there going on before Dr. John. I wrote music for a full big band, 16 gospel singers, 2 keyboard players, bass, drums, percussion, sitar, a rapper and a guy who did spoken word through a bull horn, and he recited everything with a real militant tone yelling through the bull horn accompanied by gospel singers singing really beautiful long voicings and the big band sounding like a 1970s Baretta TV show theme with the rapper also rapping with an electric tuba playing all the bass lines. People were really flipped out over this and Neal’s brother was in the audience and recorded some of it with his video camera to share with his brother. I got a call a week later with Neal asking me if I had recorded that because he was interested in putting it out on his label. I told him no but that I loved doing this live but it wasnt what I wanted to document on CD at the time. I told him I was just working on a live Big Band recording of the band I had that played a weekly gig in front of 100s of San Antonio music fans each week and if I put anything out I would want to have it be this because I had also written all the music or arrangements and really wanted it documented. He listened to it and bought the masters. Later I wanted to record a project I had been doing with a band in LA of all the Miles Davis Music from 1967 to 1975. That time we recorded a double CD with guys from LA, NY and San Antonio Texas. I later did gigs with that music inviting Nicholas Payton, Dave Liebman and others . I also got 8 of the original members of the Mile Davis Bitches Brew record to write the liner notes and Neal Weiss got Jo Gelbard who was Miles art teacher to do the artwork painting for the cd cover.

Neal always let me do what I wanted in the studio because I didn’t go into recording a CD just because it was time to do one, but because I had the whole CD planned out in my head. So he always gave me 100% freedom to produce my vision. Then he would take it and package it with his team so beautifully and in ways most independent record labels don’t. He makes big booklets and takes a lot of pride in making the package important to go with the music he puts out.

After that 2nd recording for The Whaling City Sound Label I wanted the CDs I was recording to do better radio wise and selling wise. I had been basically recording from a more vane approach, recording things that I wanted which was not selling CDs or getting radio play, and I actually knew this would be the outcome while I was recording them! So for the next bunch of recordings I decided to record differently. I had a meeting with Neal Weiss and told him I wanted to change gears and make some CDs for radio airplay without having to go commercial. I wanted to record the next few CDs where I wanted to have each song connect in a way harmonically, rhythmically, tempo wise, and subliminally where maybe I could create the same effect that certain albums that I started listening to 40 years ago had on me . There are certain recordings that when I would listen to them they would take me on a journey where I would listen to them over and over and over and still listen to them over and over 40 years later. I was given the green light to contact Ron Carter and Kenny Barron to start The Thrasher Dream Trio for this plus over a 3 recordings period have such guest as Cassandra Wilson, Roy Hargrove, Larry Goldings, Warren Wolf and Steve Wilson. In a 23-month period, Whaling City let me release 3 CDs with 3 totally different concepts. We were lucky and fortunate enough to go to #1 three times in a row on the Jazzweek International Jazz Radio Charts – for 15 weeks total – and stay in the top 10 for 38 weeks out of a 21 month period, as well as stay in the top 50 for 14 out of 21 months with the 3 CDs! That was really exciting for all of us. For the next 2 that will come out in 2017 I recorded a double CD. The 2 CDs for the first release in Feb 2017 have a thread from the beginning of CD 1 to the end of CD 2, but the 2 CDs also have 2 different purposes. I also produced a 2nd CD for Whaling City of a project dedicated to McCoy Tyner with Benito Gonzales and Essiet Essiet that I started a long time ago, but I decided to turn it into a co-op project because the 3 of us were equally involved in the evolution of how we were documenting the music, and I wasn’t really dictating where the music was going.

Your Thrasher projects have ranged from trio to larger ensemble to full-blown big band. What’s next?
A few new things. As I said before, I have 50 recordings in my head I want to complete before I die. I have 10 solo recordings out on various labels. I also have a few projects with my Thrasher All Star Big Band with many different guest who have performed with it over the years, such as James Moody, Clark Terry, Jon Hendricks, Tom Harrell, Nicholas Payton, Paquito D’Rivera and many others. I also have my Electric Thrasher Orchestra which does all the music of Miles Davis from 1967- 1975. I also have plans on doing a new trio recording, hopefully soon, with Stanley Clarke and Geri Allen which we have been talking about since last year, but have to get our schedules to all work at the same the time. Outside of what I did with the Thrasher Dream Trio with Ron Carter & Kenny Barron, I really wanted to start a new band where I could rehearse 2 or 3 times a week and have a band available to tour anytime. As you can imagine thats completely impossible with Ron and Kenny although we are I believe going to a gig again sometime in early 2017. I think management is trying to figure out a time and date. Wish I had some info on that now but nothing is confirmed yet.

So as I was saying, I really wanted to start a new project but of course trying to find the right guys for the very specific thing I wanted to do was really going to be the biggest challenge. I needed to find really great guys that I could sit down and explain what I was looking for conceptually and then see if I could get a commitment to rehearsing 2 or 3 times a week for 3 or 4 months to create the concept I was looking for and then head into the studio to record a double CD with 28 of my arrangements, and record them without having to read any music. After searching for about 6 months one night I met pianist Alex Collins. Alex is not well known but has worked with many of the best musicians around. The first get together was for us just to play duets for an hour and then go on a long car ride so I could play it back for him and tell him what I was looking for. I told him I wanted to record 12 arrangements I did of Weather Report Music and then played him old versions or electronic versions of 16 originals. The concept for the originals was that I wanted it to sound like 16 different bands on the cd.

When I was a kid I would make cassette tapes of different artist and imagine making a cd one day where it sounded like a compilation recording but it would be with the same band. I wanted him to practice playing acoustic Piano, Fender Rhodes and organ at the same time, playing on one with one hand and another instrument with the other. When I heard him sing, I also had him add his voice to a bunch of things, having him sing wordless lines either in unison or harmony while playing a solo. I also wanted to find an acoustic bassist who could also play electric bass, preferably with a pick, and play his electric bass through a guitar amp so that he could solo and sound like a guitar player. I have played with Hans Glawishnig for 25 years and knew he was the one and would commit to everything. I play drums, percussion, vocals, and all synthezisers as well as pre-recorded electronic sound scapes, harp, wood flutes and other things…

Thirty years ago I use to go into the studio and record all kinds of electronic sound scapes and pre-recorded voices, poems, etc, and then the band would have to record playing to the pre-recorded tracks.. Back then people thought it was too crazy. We didnt have computers that could do that back then so I would have 2 or 3 cassette tapes ready to activate during live shows and we played along to it. Now this concept has came back, but done a lot simpler due to having computers. People are not weirded it out by it so I am returning to using this technique on a few things during my original music part of this new double CD. The new band and double cd will come out in February on Whaling City Sound Records. The band is called Thrasher People and the new CD will be called “Weather or Not”.

PETER ERSKINE: “Joe Zawinul always had the utmost respect for maestros Kenny Barron and Ron Carter. I am certain that their Thrasher Trio-mate Gerry Gibbs’ name would have been added to that select list had Joe been able to hear Gerry’s realization of the music of Weather Report as played by his new trio that includes Alex Collins on piano, Fender Rhodes, organ & vocals, plus Hans Glavishnig on acoustic bass (whose playing on this CD bears an uncanny resemblance to maestro Carter’s). Here is a unique reading of Weather Report’s music that is totally fun to listen to. As an insider, I can say that this album sheds new light on the WR canon while spotlighting the intrinsic talent and sounds of Gerry’s new band. I feel the better for having heard this recording.

P.S. Jaco would have loved Hans’ playing on “A Remark You Made” … I know that I do.”

You must certainly have a fertile rolodex, given the calibre of players you’ve engaged for these projects. What’s your philosophy about the musicians you engage to produce these various projects?
Interesting question. Before I contact anyone for a project I know 99% what it will sound like before going in to record. Many musicians like to go in and see whats going to happen but for me I can already hear the cd completely in my head and use the people that will understand 100%, and will be able to pull it off without me ever telling them what to play, because they can completely understand the concept and direction for each CD. I have 10 solo CD’s out and a new double CD as well as a CD that I produced and am co-leader on. In every record I have ever done, as soon as I get the green light from the record company, budget, etc, I will sit down and map out on paper who is on it, pick all the selections and map out how I will write my arrangements, and do that all in about an hour and never deviate from that. I will then take a few days to arrange the music that I chose in that hour and thats it. The CD will sound 99.9% exactly how I envisioned it in that hour. dI have about 40 or so more ideas for projects to record and hope while I am still on earth I will get to record them all.

With Ron and Kenny, there isn’t anything they have not heard or done so its really easy because their resources encompass everything thats ever been done. I could have recorded a fusion cd, a completely free CD with no music, or even a country western CD with those guys.

I will go a little more into detail about the last 3 recordings being that your previous question and this one have a thread to them for me. For the first CD we did I had a compositional and harmonic concept that I wanted to thread together for a story from beginning to end. Where there was not any type of song concept in mind, there was a flow of the type of chord forms, rhythms, tempos, and concepts I wanted to do threading songs together from song 1 to the last song. Without having to go commercial with any of the recording this time I also wanted every song to be played on radio and really kept that in the front of my concept for this project. I wanted it to do well on radio, which the record label and I discussed at length. I thought of a way to try the best I could to keep a flow and try to keep the listener engaged by taking them on a certain ride based on thinking of each song like a musical sound track from beginning to end. I also explained this to Ron and Kenny. Ron really was so conscientious in the studio about the music flowing a certain way from song to song. He made a ton of incredible musical decisions not just thinking of each tune separately but making everything fit. We even recorded the CD in the order it was going to come out in which I try do when possible. That first CD in a few weeks went to #1 on the international radio charts for 6 weeks and got a best solo Grammy nomination.

For our next CD I wanted to record a whole CD of my R&B favorites from the 70s and a few from the 60s. I wanted to record all the most beautiful melodic ones that would have the listener, if they only heard one song from the CD, not be able to get that melody out of their head. These songs were already huge hits that millions loved so there would be no denying that people would love these songs, even if they didn’t like the way we played them. But with Ron and Kenny playing them how could you not. I also did not want to try and be too over the top in trying to be hip and show other musicians how much I could re-harmonize these tunes and even like a lot of people do make the song sound completely different. What I wanted to do was to make each song swing but also have the same recognizable melody and chord progressions. I, of course had to make up song chord changes for soloing since most of these songs didnt have a solo form built into them. I only used chords that were already in the songs and just made them make sense for soloing. I know radio, and jazz fans are huge fans of these songs. I also know radio DJs can not play the original versions on their shows because it didn’t fit their format so I set out to make these great R&B classics sound like standard jazz classic. I added Warren Wolf on vibes, Larry Goldings on Organ and Steve Wilson on saxes to bring some more colors to this CD. Within 3 weeks of release this CD went to #1 on the international radio charts for 7 weeks.

For the latest recording I had an idea that takes really special people to make happen. Ron Carter and Kenny Barron are no doubt to millions of fans and musicians some of the best “just sit down and play some jazz with no arrangements” kind of musicians,” so that was going to be just 1 of the elements for this latest cd. I had recorded some of my gig and rehearsals with Ron and Kenny in the past and we would sometimes just jam a little bit and I knew I wanted to do a cd with them that really had that loose element. I went to the label and to the guys and told them what I wanted to do and everyone thought I was a little crazy but indulged me. The first idea was that I have always been a huge fan of what they now call “Lounge Music” or music that I call “Elevator or Doctors Office Music “from when I was a little boy in the early 70s and would pick only songs that were so well known from then, yet people knew the melodies but not the names. The second idea was to add guests that never worked or recorded together before so that there would be surprises for us musically. So I first called Cassandra Wilson. She is not like most singers who desire to know ahead of time what songs will be chosen; she can just walk in and sing with no arrangements or preparation. If needed she can look the lyrics up on line just before. This is Cassandra’s strength to be able to do that and so she was choice #1.

Roy Hargrove and I have played at a million jam sessions for the last 30 years and not only does he take his own and other peoples projects serious but he even takes a jam session serious. He always takes the perfect length solo and treats whatever is going on even at a jam session seriously, so he was my first instrumental choice. To make this even more exciting I wanted it to be done with no rehearsals or discussion before we recorded. Just show up and I will tell you what we will do. The third element was to record this only in front of a live audience made up of only musicians and music industry people people. So The trio recorded 3 shows and Cassandra and Roy came in and recorded one show in front of a packed audience at Systems 2 Recording Studio. I would pass out the song, the audience would not be allowed to say a word and I would take 3 or 4 mins to discuss the form and solo order and then we would do just one take. All the songs were known, but not songs that guys usually get together and jam on, so everyone had to look at these lead sheets. In the end how could you not get brilliant performances with Ron Carter, Kenny Barron, Cassandra Wilson and Roy Hargrove! Everyone really took this idea so seriously and personally and it was a fun 2 days that I will always remember.

My latest new project, as I mentioned above, is called Thrasher People, which is made of 2 very young guys. Alex Collins on piano, Rhodes, and organ, as well as using his voice as an instrument, acoustic and electric bassist Hans Glavishnig. I also have a new release I released myself of a Solo Electronic Music project I call Reni Beats. Each song is electronic but I am not using any loops or samples. Whn you hear 20 or 30 voices thats my wife Kyeshie and I doing 30 overdubs.I also created videos that I shot using animation to go with the 20 songs we recorded. Its something I have been into for a long time. I had a lot of fun touring a few years ago with Flying Lotus, so it had been on my mind to do a project of my own. It can be heard on YouTube, but I actually am in the process of re-naming it back to my name and adding a few new things to the cd

I will also be trying out a new project in March 2017 for 3 nights at Dizzys Club Coca Cola. The people I handpicked for this are Tom Harrell, Steve Wilson, Robin Eubanks, Buster Williams and Alex Collins playing all of his instruments and voice. Not sure what will happen beyond these gigs but we will see.

Was your father’s career perhaps some incentive for your Thrasher Big Band project?

No, not at all. But everything I know about understanding a big band comes from him and his big band. Today you hear big bands made up of cliques of friends, and most of those bands dont play together, and play really sloppy and out of tune. Some musicians will make an excuse that this is more about vibe, but that isn’t what I want my band to sound like. Now dont get me wrong, there are a few big bands that I really loved for their vibe, like Sun Ra or the Globe Unity Orchestra. My all time favorite big bands that I borrowed from their sounds are many. Here is what comes to mind and not in any order. My Pops, Basie, Ellington, Buddy Rich, Fletcher Henderson, Woody Herman, Les Baxter, Esquivel, Jaco Pastorius, McCoy Tyner, Louie Bellson, The Tonight Show band from the Carson days, and there are many others.

I always love The Lincoln Center Jazz Band because Wynton knows how to make his big band sound like a band, not 16 guys just reading, phrasing and playing all individually. You can’t do that in a big band. When I was spending a lot of time in Texas (where I had a girl friend for many years) there were many great musicians that lived around San Antonio and Austin that had gone through the North Texas State program and each guy really knew about many different big bands and different concepts for big band. Anyone can play 2nd trumpet or 4th trumpet… anyone can!! And I mean read the parts! But not everyone, when playing in those chairs, really understands what they are supposed to do in those chairs. How to blend, how to follow the lead trumpet player, phrase etc. I hear big bands playing where everyone phrases how ever they feel. Thats not a big band, Thats just 16 guys all playing at the same time. There is a real art to that. When I picked the guys who made my big band recording I picked only the best they had in San Antonio and Austin. Some guys would say to me why dont you get this guy or that guy, and I would ask is he the best for that chair? Some guys would say no, but he is a great guy and I would pass. I only wanted people who were the best available for each chair. We played every week for 3 years while I was spending most of free time there. I wrote 12 originals and then augmented a bunch of my pops music. That band had some great guests… my Pops, James Moody, Clark Terry, Jon Hendricks.

In NY when I put my big band together to play live I chose guys that really know big bands and big band history. If you really want a vibe there is nothing better than veteran guys who, when playing in whatever chair really understand what they have to do to make every voicing blend, make the music groove no matter if it is swinging, funky, completely free, whatever. How to blend and phrase as I said before, etc. When you have people like Tom Harrell, Nicholas Payton, Marvin Stamm, Bijon Watson, Lew Soloff, Joe Magnarelli Paquito D’Rivera, Eric Alexander, Gary Smulyan, Robin Eubanks, Steve Davis, Vincent Herring, Mark Gross , Jerry Weldon and others all on the same stage… well these are guys that no matter what the music is have the utmost understanding of how to make a horn section work. These are not cliques of guys that I chose, but guys who know the history of every big band thats ever played and how to play as a band no matter what the music is.

I understand you grew up with Ravi Coltrane. Any chance of the two of you engaging in some new project or other?
Ravi played in my first Thrasher Band for many years. Those were great times and great bands…We did one CD, executive produced by Quincy Jones for his Qwest/Warner Bro. label. In that band Ravi was the only steady person for about 3 years. We did that one cd and toured alot for 3 years . In that band we had pianists Billy Childs, Brad Mehldau, Patrice Rushen, George Cables, Uri Caine, Aaron Goldberg, and Greg Kirsten. Violinists Mark Feldman and Rob Thomas; vibraphonists Joe Locke, and Stefon Harris,; and bassists, Darek Oles and Essiet Essiet. That band broke up around 1998. Since then I have done a few things with this band, and Ravi has done a few things in different bands of mine. We did do one reunion gig many years ago. I don’t really like to go back to what I have done because I have 40 other projects I want to document and tour with. Those were great times for all of us. Billy Childs, Brad Mehldau and Mark Feldman will from time to time bring up all the fun and laughs we had and I know for Ravi, because of his commitment to that band back then, that it was a great moment in time for him, but that was where we were all at 20 plus years ago, and now we are all in different places musically. I would like to remember what we did when it was in the moment and not try and re create it again. Sometimes I like to re- create old projects but for whatever reason, not that one. It was so much fun then and ide like to just remember it as that…..

Newly-minted NEA Jazz Master Dr. Lonnie Smith held Hammond B-3 court at the Nightclub at MJF ’16 (photo: Ron Scott)

MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL COLD NIGHTS HOT MUSIC
By Ron Scott

While waiting in the Los Angeles Airport (LAX) for my Monterey flight I noticed a familiar person sitting quietly to my left. It was the multi-talented Quincy Jones. I went right over and introduced myself. We had a nice chat about the festival and his being honored at the 59th annual Monterey Jazz Festival (September 16-18) “Celebrating Quincy Jones the A&M Years.” At that point it was apparent my first visit to the MJF was going to be one of those walking in space moments.

The following evening the MJF Board of Directors hosted their 10th annual Jazz Legends Gala fundraiser at The Inn at Spanish Bay (the only thing missing was the red carpet and paparazzi). The filmmaker, actor, and jazz man Clint Eastwood presented the Jazz Legends Award to Jones, the 27-time Grammy award winner. He stated, “Quincy’s music is God’s voice.” Jones humbly accepted noting, “Jazz ain’t going nowhere and at 83 I feel like I’m just getting started.” He also praised young talented musicians like Joey Alexander and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra “they assure us the music will move forward.”

Joey Alexander’s performance with his trio bassist Dan Chmielinski and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr., received a rousing standing ovation. His being only 13 years old was a factor but his playing of a Thelonious Monk tune and Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” was most impressive. He has grown since last year and now stands on occasion when the music gets good to him, like Monk. He stated, “Thanks for supporting this music which is not very easy to play.” Although he makes it seem effortlessly.

September 16 was the beginning of the mad jazz festival rush. My mission on the Monterey Fairgrounds was attempt to see over 115 performances in six venues that included a variety of music from tributes, big bands to piano trios, fusion, straight-ahead jazz, blues, world music, a string of conversations, films and exhibits. Seeing all those acts didn’t happen so here are some highlights. The Jimmy Lyons stage (the largest venue) was filled to capacity on that cold Friday evening with many folks wearing down jackets and others covered with blankets.

They were enthralled by the versatile vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant and Trio featuring pianist Aaron Diehl, bassist Paul Sikivie and drummer Lawrence Leathers. Salvant is a daring jazz vocalist, who can engage in a blues and shout song like “John Henry” and easily move into show tunes like “Wives & Lovers” and “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty.”

The international bassist Richard Bona took the stage with Mandekan Cubano. The vibes were hot and the horn section was steaming with Cuban reflections.

The evening concluded with the Tribute to Quincy Jones “The A&M Years” featuring the MJF Orchestra with guest musical director Christian McBride and conductor John Clayton. Their repertoire featured music from Quincy’s three legendary albums Walking in Space, Gula Matari and SmackWater Jack. They ignited on “Walkin in Space” with the trumpeter Sean Jones, crazy solos by the saxophonist James Carter, Lewis Nash on drums, pianist Dave Grusin, Paul Jackson, Jr. on guitar, and the amazing harmonica flow on “Brown Ballad” by Gregoire Maret, the outrageous flute of Hubert Laws and lead vocalist Valerie Simpson. Laws, Simpson, and Grusin contributed to these milestone albums and this time around they displayed that same explosive energy. When Quincy closed the show by conducting “Killer Joe” the audience was hysterical transcended to a higher power that swung their socks off. As I left the fairgrounds in my summer sweater it was the music that kept me warm. With a big smile it was evident I had just witnessed one of the best jazz performances ever.

The next day it was 85 degrees and everyone was baking as the dynamite Maceo Parker paid Tribute to Ray Charles” featuring the Ray Charles Orchestra and The Raelettes. The band was hittin’ hard and Maceo like Charles had that soul and blues thing down to a science. Folks didn’t seem to miss James Brown’s main saxophonist “take me to the bridge, Maceo” not playing sax, as he ran through favorites like “How Long Has This Been Going On,” “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” and “What’d I Say.”

The Garden stage featured the young organist and vocalist Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles. They are a roaring version of Sly & the Family Stone, George Clinton, and Jimmy Smith. His arrangement of “The Way You Make Me Feel” was highly explosive. His Hammond B-3 swings with deliberate gospel influences.

The vocalist Somi performed to a sro crowd in Dizzy’s Den offering a few originals like “My Lost Song,” and her version of “Four Women” her story of Four African Women. Standing ovations were in order for this Harlem resident.

Even the lawn was filled with listeners, who couldn’t get anywhere near the outdoor Garden stage for pianist/composer Joey Alexander. His repertoire ran from John Coltrane’s “Count Down” the title of his latest album (Motema), to Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.”

Teri Lyn Carrington’s Mosaic Project “Love & Soul” was an all-star configuration formed by the noted drummer/composer. The ensemble featured the pianist Helen Sung, vocalist Lizz Wright, who crafts a touching story similar to Roberta Flack. She later joined Valerie Simpson for the heartfelt spiritual “Walk With Me.” Elena Pinderhughes played flute, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, and Tia Fuller played alto saxophone.

Branford Marsalis the solid bandleader and tenor saxophonist went straight-ahead with some dips and turns along with his longtime quartet and special guest vocalist Kurt Elling, whose deep bass settled like thick honey.

The Manhattan School of Music senior Elena Pinderhughes is blossoming into her own as a flautist and vocalist as she demonstrated on the Garden stage with her quintet.

The saxophonist Donny McCaslin Quartet with keyboardist Jason Linder played on the outer edge of jazz reality to a packed room of afternoon believers.

Walking the fairgrounds was like being in a cozy town of jazz inhabitants where everyone was into the music and running into Quincy Jones and Clint Eastwood, who were just as enthusiastic as us mortals about checking out the various venues made it more special.
The conversation with Jones and Eastwood covered a ton of jazz and film history with inside tidbits only revealed among friends.

The seasoned pianist/composer Stanley Cowell played the Coffee House with his trio bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Billy Drummond. His daughter a full-time attorney also sang.

Wayne Shorter the festival’s “commissioned artist” and his fearless quartet with pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brain Blade were joined by the Moneterey Jazz Festival Wind Ensemble to premiere his commissioned work “The Unfolding.” It was another journey with Shorter that proved to a newfound experience in his ever-winding musical enclave.

The saxophonist Kamashi Washington, a native Californian was in his element as his blazing tenor seemed to smoke coming from the keys. He has that bold hearty tone similar to Pharoah Sanders. His large ensemble included the dancer/vocalist Patrice Quinn, trombonist Ryan Porter, keyboards, bassist Miles Mosley and two drummers steered from straight to the “West Coast Get Down”. Washington featured his father Sonny on flute and sax.

Gregory Porter the spirited preacher, blended spirituals with jazz and blues into originals like “No Love Dying Here” or “Poppa Was A Rolling Stone.”

While guitarist Pat Metheny was playing in Lyons Arena, Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio with guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and drummer Jonathan Blake were in prophet mode at the Night Club venue. It was the Reverend Dr. Smith preaching from his Hammond B3 organ from Monk’s “Well You Needn’t” to his soul version of “Wine and Roses.” The Dr. received two extended standing ovations and for an encore he played on his cane.

And just that fast the Monterey Jazz Festival came to an end. So intoxicating, it is a must for next year.
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The latest in a seemingly endless series of Miles Davis reissues/refreshers/previously-unreleased/newly-discovered/”Bootleg Series” releases is titled Freedom Jazz Dance (Columbia Legacy). The core origins of this new package document a particularly fertile period in Miles prolific recording career, respectively three classic sessions: Miles Smiles, Nefertiti, and Sorcerer (all from 1967, each of the latter two represented by one track each), Miles in the Sky (1968, one track), and the 1976 compilation release Water Babies. The title of this Volume 5 in the Bootleg Series stems from Miles’ bristling adaptation of the Eddie Harris classic contributed by what has come to be known as MD’s second great quintet: Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. Besides the hall-of-fame status eventually ascended to by those four Miles Davis hires, and the incredible syncronicity they achieved collectively, another factor that made this quintet a hallmark of Miles’ lustrous career was the fact that this was the first of Miles’ units comprised entirely of next gen musicians.

Besides their younger generation, this was also the first Miles Davis band compelled on record to perform almost entirely their own original compositions, save the rare departure of “Freedom Jazz Dance.” In performance, at least early on, the band continued to rely primarily on extended explorations of standards that had been part of Miles book for years (as detailed in such essential live documentations as “The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel” set on Legacy); but in the studio Miles sought a more original atmosphere, encouraging his productive young musicians to contribute to the book, most notably Wayne Shorter, a prolific writer.

These 3-CDs illustrate how fortunate we are that Miles Davis was so meticulous about his studio sessions, particularly with this quintet, a band full of eventual trailblazers. This package documents a particularly brilliant pathfinding period in the quintet’s development. With this release you get studio stops & starts, kibitzing between the principles and producer Teo Macero, and fascinating, architectural rehearsal takes – manna from heaven from for Miles Davis completists, particularly those devoted to what was the end point in his acoustic pursuits.

The intrepid listener will experience the actual blossoming of such milestone tracks as Shorter’s classic “Nefertiti,” where from the studio patter one hears how it was determined on the spot that the piece would feature a track long repetition of the theme, achieving the effect of a role reversal between the lead horns and the rhythm section. Hearing the stark simplicity/complexity of “Nefertiti”, which successfully balanced the horns repeated theme statement in concert with particularly one of Tony Williams greatest recorded drum performances and Ron Carter’s relaxed, nimble ownership of the bass violin, is quite intriguing. Pretty much each selection is represented here by what are labeled as “session reels” – essentially the studio rehearsal where the themes, sequencing and tempos are worked out – followed by the master take.

This release is not necessarily for the casual Miles Davis listener – unless that casual listener desires to take the leap to true devotee. So those late comers who jumped on the boat lured by late-80s “Human Nature” era Miles, and chose to investigate no further, need not apply. But for those intrigued by how this quintet operated in the studio, where so much of their path breaking was documented, this is an excellent document. This is also where Wayne Shorter’s writing becomes so essential to this band’s oeuvre.

The piece “Country Son,” which appeared on the Miles in the Sky release, is given a rhythm section rehearsal that testifies to how Carter, Hancock, and Williams worked in trio; a configuration they documented later with several recordings and tours. We also hear Miles sketching out a “Blues in D” at the piano while chatting up Shorter (“He Wayne, want a hamburger?”).

I think opportunities for audiences to meet and interact with jazz artists off the bandstand are very important keys to audience development, to increasing the audience for jazz. Such opportunities help to “demystify” this music we call jazz. For so many, how this music is made remains a bit of a mystery: How do they improvise? What’s on their minds when they improvise? Do they merely come up with notes and chords just out of thin air? How did they choose their particular instrument(s)? What made them decide to play jazz in the first place? How did they put together their band? When they’re playing, how do they make the choices they do? How do they compose? What is this thing called jazz? These and many more questions are the kinds of inquiries audiences often have of jazz musicians.

One of the cornerstones of our annual DC Jazz Festival is our Meet The Artist series. That’s a series of interviews for our audiences, either pre- or post-performance, where we not only interview our featured artists, we also provide opportunities for audience Q&As. For our 2016 DC Jazz Festival, “Meet The Artist” sessions were moderated by jazz historian Bill Brower with Steve Coleman, Kimberley Washington with Meghan Stablie and Igmar Thomas of Revive Music, Jim Byers with NEA Jazz Master Eddie Palmierif, and myself with Kamasi Washington, Cecile McLorin Salvant, and Orrin Evans.

Just to give you a taste of our Meet The Artist series, here’s a segment of our session with pianist-composer-bandleader Orrin Evans on the afternoon prior to his late night performance with his Captain Black Big Band as part of CapitalBop’s jazz loft series on our festival. Special thanks to the intrepid vocalese artist George V. Johnson, Jr. for capturing this from the audience.

Since my first experience there in the early 90s, attendance at the Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF) has been an essential part of my annual travel calendar. That is best exemplified by the fact that once the mid-September MJF date is announced, the calendar is immediately marked for travel and the mind set. Significantly that’s the case regardless of subsequent news of the festival lineup over the succeeding months. The true mark of a successful festival comes when that festival’s constituency cares less about questions of lineup and trusts in the everlasting high quality of the event.

Certainly the Monterey Jazz Festival’s idyllic physical setting is endlessly appealing. The great bassist Ray Drummond, who grew up in the area and is a frequent presence at MJF regardless of whether he’s performing, has used the old label “God’s country”, to sum up the geographic charms of the Monterey Peninsula. After nearly 20 years of practically uninterrupted attendance at MJF, who am I to quibble with Ray’s characterization?

The charms of MJF begin with the journey itself. Granted, what is essentially a long (Friday-Monday) weekend cross-country trip to California might be a bit daunting for some; don’t count this writer in that cadre, nor the legion of others who make the 5-8 hour drive up from the southern parts of the state to what is essentially North-central California, just north of the breathtakingly beautiful vistas of Big Sur.

From DC we generally choose a non-stop flight to either Oakland or San Francisco; yes, San Jose is closer but doesn’t offer the same non-stop flight access from the East as do the two Bay Area ports. From the Bay Area, the chosen routine is the 90-mile drive south to Monterey. A major nuance in that particular segment of the journey: depending upon how much time you’ve afforded yourself, you can make that trip most judiciously via the 101 freeway or take the legendary Pacific Coast Highway, Rt. 1, which has always been our preferred route. The seaside vistas along Rt. 1 are simply incredible, and if surfing is of interest, that stretch of the Pacific is nirvana.

After six hours on a plane, about the last thing I need is the potential driver stresses of the 101; the scenic route it is! Rt. 1 takes you down through tranquil Santa Cruz, home base of Tim Jackson, who I first encountered back in the old Lila Wallace-Readers Digest National Jazz Network days as director of Santa Cruz’s legendary Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Kuumbwa, where Jackson first made his bones as a jazz curator, has long specialized in presenting major touring jazz artists and bands, many of whom come down after stints in San Francisco, on Monday evenings.

Which brings me back to the primary reason why assiduously scanning the Monterey Jazz Festival artist lineup well in advance of the event – and MJF is prolific in its press notices and web updates – is for this writer a largely unnecessary exercise. In Tim Jackson we trust! Tim, who is only MJF’s second artistic director in its storied history, succeeded the legendary founder Jimmy Lyons in 1992. Tim is a man of impeccable jazz tastes, one who is quite savvy at assembling compelling Monterey lineups, so much so that one can always trip plan with complete confidence that the talent lineup will always be stellar. Tim Jackson’s programming acumen was recognized at this year’s 59th annual festival when Berklee College of Music bestowed its George Wein Impressario Award on him, an award presented by Berklee Provost, Dr. Larry Simpson, my old Cleveland homie who is part of our regular MJF crew (seen left, in black jacket, presenting the award to an all smiles Tim Jackson).

That whole aspect of crew, or family, is another of the MJF hallmarks. The festival always feels like a bit of a family reunion, with folks meeting up there annually after years of attendance. A full measure of the dedication many fans feel towards the Monterey experience came to me on my first trip out there. One evening Sonny Rollins was on the Jimmy Lyons stage and my seats in the big Arena (capacity: 5,000) were towards the rear of the facility. If you’ve ever experienced Sonny Rollins in concert you know there’s a distinct visual element to his performances, the way he stalks the stage to emote that big tenor from several sonic vantage points. Seeking a better viewpoint I wandered up close, hugging one of the walls that abut the grandstand area on either side of the Arena. Standing there amidst torrents of tenor madness, I quickly spied an empty aisle seat on one of the first few rows of metal chairs. Easing into that seat while blissfully riding Sonny’s cloud, a few minutes into my revery, an exceedingly polite usher tapped my shoulder to alert me that the woman whose seat I was occupying was walking down the aisle towards said seat, “…and she’s had that same seat for 40 years!” ‘Nuff said, that’s how it is at Monterey; folks just keep coming back and enjoying their annual alliances, friendships, and most of all the great music.

Also not lost on the keen observer, particularly those of us who’ve long decried what by all appearances has been a diminishing black audience for jazz over the last few decades, is the fact that MJF consistently attracts a robust African American constituency among its large audiences. The black audience factor at Monterey is so significant that after a few years attendance this observer finally broke down and asked Tim Jackson why MJF enjoys a seemingly larger African American audience than most ticketed jazz festivals (to anyone who foolishly suggests that black folks don’t turn out for jazz, dig the audience at any free-of-charge jazz performance in an urban area, particularly a free festival; economics – along with who’s onstage – often dictates the complexion of a jazz audience). Very simple, Tim explained, MJF founder Jimmy Lyons (not to be confused with the late alto player of the same name who toiled most auspiciously alongside Cecil Taylor) had a long career in jazz radio and was apparently hip enough to be quite a popular voice in the black community. When Lyons started MJF in 1958, it seems he was Pied Piper enough that his black constituents simply followed him to the festival.

Held on the Monterey County Fairgrounds (a very pleasant daily walk from the Hyatt Hotel, the festival’s host hotel where all the musicians stay, making for quite the scene each post-fest night), besides the main venue in the open-air Arena (on what is now the Jimmy Lyons Stage, same stage where Jimi Hendrix immolated his guitar at Monterey Pop), the festival also plays three indoor venues, including the intimate Coffeehouse Gallery, and the spacious Nightclub and Dizzy’s Den. The Garden Stage is the second largest capacity venue, and there’s a small Courtyard Stage suitable for solo pianists or trios, and the Northcoast Brewing Jazz Education Stage, which on Saturday and Sunday afternoons during the matinee sessions (which play all the other venues) hosts many exceptional student ensembles. MJF has a major stake in jazz education, including its Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. This kind of 3-ring circus set-up certainly encourages shrewd navigation of the MJF schedule grid, often leaving one scrambling to catch at least a good portion of every set of interest, along with shrugging the shoulders at the occasional missed opportunity.

The availability of such a variety of venues, particularly in the hands of a curator with the acumen of Tim Jackson, conjures endless artistic combinations. For example, tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman was the featured Showcase Artist. On Friday evening at Dizzy’s Den he was featured as part of the edgy and engaging Still Dreaming ensemble, featuring trumpeter Ron Miles, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Brian Blade in an updated echo of Old and New Dreams, the great 70s post-Ornette Coleman band featuring Joshua’s father Dewey Redman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell. On Saturday night at the Arena, Redman played his partnership with The Bad Plus, and on Sunday evening his quartet closed Dizzy’s Den. In a typical bit of Monterey programming, the glorious young vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant, opened the Friday night program in the Arena, and later that evening followed Still Dreaming for the closing set at Dizzy’s Den. Her two stints were much to the delight of a visible coterie of women Salvant followers who’ve begun to take up her stylish white frame glasses look as a bit of quirky cult following that is rare for 21st century jazz, yet delightful to see.

The versatile bass master Christian McBride was music director for one of the festival highlights, Friday night’s marvelous Tribute to Quincy Jones (who stayed for the hang all weekend) “The A&M Years”. McBride joined an all-star big band that included Hubert Laws, James Carter, Dave Grusin, Lewis Nash, and cameos by Richard Bona (whose own Afro-Cuban flavored band preceded the tribute) and Gregoire Maret, plus lead vocals by Valerie Simpson, directed by John Clayton. They beautifully reprised selections from Q’s “Walking in Space” era on A&M Records. Another festival high point came the following Saturday evening when McBride’s soulfully swinging trio played the last set at Dizzy’s, with the impressively facile young pianist Christian Sands and Cleveland’s own Jerome Jennings on drums.

CHRISTIAN SANDS DIGS INTO CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S SET AT DIZZY’S DEN

Not totally beholden to the firmly established, MJF also offers ample stage to the emerging artists in the music. One notable example, besides the ubiquitous wunderkind pianist Joey Alexander playing to a packed house on the Garden Stage Saturday night, perhaps the most promising young artist of this year’s MJF was the homegrown flutist-vocalist Elena Pinderhughes (mark that name down for future reference). The remarkably poised Ms. Pinderhughes, who matriculated in MJF’s student Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, showed up on the Arena stage Saturday night in the latest edition of drummer and this year’s Artist-in-Residence Terri Lyne Carrington‘s women-centric Mosaic Project, as part of TLC’s “Love and Soul” program, adroitly navigating her flute and voice, and delivering a penetrating poetic expression. Next day Elena led her own band at 6:15 on the Garden Stage. She was not by a longshot the only promising young artist to grace the 2016 MJF stages. Also notable was the Friday night opening set on the Nightclub stage delivered by drummer-vocalist Jamison Ross, whose engaging voice is poised to appeal directly to at least a segment of the same audience that Gregory Porter has captivated. The latter, who never fails to positively thrill the Monterey audience, was featured on the Sunday matinee in the Arena, opposite the rising tenor man of the day, Kamasi Washington.

JAMISON ROSS SKILLFULLY BALANCES HIS DRUM AND VOCAL EXPLOITS

Additional festival interconnections found Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson joining the great drummer Billy Hart‘s quartet for Hart’s 75th birthday celebration on the Nighclub stage Saturday night. The protean bassist John Patitucci led his Electric Guitar Quartet on the Nightclub Stage, the next night joining Wayne Shorter‘s impeccable quartet on the Arena Stage for the premier performance of Shorter’s latest opus, “The Unfolding,” with the Monterey Jazz Festival Wind Ensemble, as did Brian Blade who’d earlier drummed with Still Dreaming. No wonder Quincy Jones stuck around for the weekend, to his seeming endless delight. Besides the wonderful Friday evening reprise of his A&M recordings, two of his young proteges performed on festival stages, including the young Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez and the multi-instrumentalist YouTube sensation Jacob Collier.

One mediocre exception to the raft of rewarding performances was a rather tired performance billed as “The Ultimate Tribute to Ray Charles”, with the ghost band Ray Charles Orchestra and Maceo Parker. The latter quizzically (though fairly skillfully) reprised Charles vocals, yet largely failed to deliver on his own signature alto saxophone. That was the only bobble this observer experienced. There was much to be loved at this year’s MJF edition, including the delightful surprise of guitarist Bill Frisell playing Wes Montgomery’s classic “Bumpin'”! And besides the many exceptional performances, MJF’s humanities component delivered rewarding conversations with Terri Lyne Carrington & Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Quincy Jones & Clint Eastwood (a longtime MJF board member), each skillfully moderated by Ashley Kahn, journalist Dan Ouellette’s annual live DownBeat Blindfold Test (this year with McBride), and screenings of the film Brownie Speaks: The Life, Music & Legacy of Clifford Brown in yet another MJF venue, the Jazz Theater, where those seeking shelter from the evening nip can catch simulcasts of all Arena performances throughout the festival.

All black & white performance photos by Tyrone Kenney, aka The ArtOgrapher; lookout for his Neo Bop project…