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Detroit Jazz Fest 2008 Celebrates Philly
Artist in Residence this year is Philly-born 36-year old bassist Christian McBride, who will appear each day — including a tribute to Marvin Gaye he organized on opening night. He will also take part in a Detroit-Philly Summit and play with young musicians from the Brubeck Institute in California. Two Philly tenor saxophone veterans, Benny Golson and Jimmy Heath, will play in quartet and big band settings — Jimmy with his brother, drummer Al "Tootie" Heath, in today's version of the Heath Brothers Quartet. They will also be the main soloists with the Wayne State and Temple University big bands. Gillespie alumnus James Moody will round out the long line of veteran tenorists at this year's festival. If you like younger players, you must listen to the marvelous James Carter, who has become one the most exciting performers on the international jazz scene. For the first time he will bring a septet to his hometown audience. Prominent alto saxophonists this year are Kenny Garrett and Sonny Fortune. You cannot go wrong this year if you like pianists or guitarists of a certain vintage. How about Hank Jones, Kenny Barron, Barry Harris, or Geri Allen (in a tribute to Alice Coltrane with Ravi Coltrane) for piano ticklers, or Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell (with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra), Pat Martino, Stanley Jordan, or Mike Stern for guitar pickers? There will be plenty of groove-oriented groups this year including young tenorist Javon Jackson with Les McCann, Robin Eubanks EB3, and The Goodfathers of Groove. Those who like avant garde jazz will take pleasure in seeing the ICP Orchestra from Amsterdam, who under the leadership of Misha Mengelberg have developed their own unique and entertaining take on this tradition over the last 40 years. Other more edgy performers include groups led by drummers Gerald Cleaver and Matt Wilson. Particularly since the Donald Walden tribute at the Detroit Festival of the Arts was rained out, it is gratifying that the Jazz Festival will present another one with a number of musicians who played with the Detroit master. These include altoist Charles McPherson, who has made several memorable appearances at the festival over the years. SEMJA will support jazz education this year by contributing to scholarships for promising young soloists from various college and high school bands. The adjudication of these bands will be done by the Michigan Association for Jazz Education and the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association. SEMJA will also share a booth with radio station WEMU at this year's festival, so do come by and say hello. I N - T H I S - I S S U E : |
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etroit and Philadelphia have a lot in common, including trend-setting musical traditions. This year's Detroit International Jazz Festival celebrates the jazz artists of the two cities with more than a nod to blues and R & B artists of the present and past. For four days starting on Friday night of Labor Day weekend, downtown Detroit will be filled with uplifting sounds from Hart Plaza to Campus Martius. There is something for all tastes in jazz, but particularly for bebop fans — which is not surprising since Detroit and Philadelphia are the two cities that contributed more than others to New York's jazz scene in the fifties. 
