Tanglewood Jazz Festival 2008 Generations
Marian McPartland, Dianne Reeves, Eddie Daniels, Nnenna Freelon, Spencer Day
By: Charles Giuliano - Sep 07, 2008
The opportunity and challenge of an event like the Tanglewood Jazz Festival over three days during the season ending Labor Day Weekend is to hear, absorb, and sort out a lot of music in a short period of time. Some of this is memorable and the performance of Terence Blanchard of his epic anthem to Katrina "A Tale of God's Will" with a 34 piece Tanglewood Jazz Orchestra will linger for a lifetime. We have the CD to play not just to recall a remarkable performance but to burn that rich and resonant music into heart and soul.
The intense process of taking in a lot of art in a short duration of time- a week of London theatre, massive events like Documenta, The Venice Biennale, The Whitney Biennal, mega art fairs, or a Jazz Festival creates its own pragmatic paradigms. The endurance it entails sharpens our critical assessments. It makes us receptive to great work at the highest level as well as evoking impatience and apathy toward less compelling performances. We are hardly down the aisle of a marginal evening before we have all but forgotten the experience.
This is the sweat equity of making a commitment to see or hear a large body of work. It is why, some time back, I dropped out of being a rock critic because I found myself increasingly bored by the music. During another phase I gained respect for movie critics when I found myself in small screening rooms with a dozen colleagues at 9 am. It didn't take long to conclude that most films are not worth seeing.
A side result of this occupational hazard is that critics often seem out of sync with more enthusiastic audiences. What nerve do we have to trash artists and performers who are admired by fans? There can be a considerable gap between a critic and the general public.
There is the phenomenon of "Festival Moments" those unanticipated encounter with a performance, play, or work of art that comes at us seemingly out of nowhere. This is often a first encounter. There are no expectations or preconceptions. It may be a new work tucked into a program, an emerging artist, or opening act. Perhaps, a riveting solo by a sideman in a group. Festival Moments occur when something grabs and lifts us up out of our seats. Smacks us in the face. During the Tanglewood Jazz Festival that phenomenon was evoked during a fabulous set by the clarinet and reed player, Eddie Daniels. Another such moment was the lush horn playing of Christian Scott in the otherwise enervating set by Donal Fox. The superb accompaniment of Romero Lumbabo on guitar during a set by Dianne Reeves was stunning. Or the loving interactions between the 90 year old Marian McPartland and her very young guests, singer, Nnena Freelon, and singer/ songwriter, Spencer Day
Tanglewood and the organizers of its Jazz Festival provided this three day event in the magnificent Ozawa Hall. All of the performers made a point of stating their awe and gratitude for appearing in one the world's great concert halls. Many of the fans came to be a part of the Tanglewood experience and ambiance. In a relatively short time, just a couple of years, the Jazz Festival has developed real synergy with Tanglewood.
This was particularly true of the series of concerts by emerging artists in a large dining tent, set up cabaret style, or the Jazz Café. On a gorgeous summer day, it was my pleasure to introduce Spencer Day and his combo. We had heard him perform a couple of amusing originals with Marian McPartland the previous afternoon. Engaging the audience I asked if they enjoyed the programming and would like to hear more of it during the regular season? The response was warmly affirmative. Apparently there are negotiations to make Jazz Café performances, and a possible related broadcast series, a regular Tanglewood feature. Just imagine the potential of such programming.
While we have previously noted that much of the star power of the booking was underwhelming there are ways to change that in the future. This season the 100 year old composer, Elliott Carter, was honored during a week of his music in Ozawa Hall. What if the Tanglewood Jazz Festival created an annual award in recognition of a major jazz artist? This would surely attract major artists to the annual event and would prove to be a magnet to draw other top performers.
On Saturday afternoon, at 2 pm, there was standing room only in Ozawa Hall, and a nice turn out on the lawn, for the 90th Birthday of Marian McPartland taping her NPR series "Piano Jazz." During a guest appearance, pianist, Mulgrew Miller introduced a riff on "Happy Birthday" during a solo. Before a break McPartland told the audience with hipster humor that she would go off to "smoke some pot."
The interaction between the elderly McPartland and her young guests was quite wonderful particularlywith Nnena Freelon. There was much warmth, love and mutual respect. The Cambridge based singer poured her heart out in a song dedicated to how much she loved Marian. Her self effacing comment was "Gosh I better not play any bum notes." Her languid, soft and melancholy playing wonderfully embraced Freelon's expressive rendering of ballads that extracted all of their emotional potential. Marian suggested a Stevie Wonder tune. Freelon was willing but called on the "Lyrics Gods" for help in jogging her memory. McPartland suggested "we can try something else." But they got it together in a memorable collaboration. It was one of those great "Festival Moments."
The appearance by Spencer Day with McPartland evoked a different mood. First she played as he sang a jazz standard. Then she moved back as he took over and performed two of his witty originals "Marie Antoinette" about a pretty lady who lost her head and an improbable "Love Song for New Jersey." The audience was amused by his clever lyrics. During the Jazz Café set we got to see more of this emerging artist with an excellent quartet including Rob Jost, bass, who also played French horn, Daniel Berger on drums, and the multi instrumentalist, Yair Evnine on cello, guitar and vocals.
The four time, Grammy Award winner, singer, Dianne Reeves was the featured Saturday night headliner. Reeves wafted on stage to a wave of applause in a flowing gown with a busy colorful pattern. For a large woman she moved with easy grace as she launched into a set of ballads and up-tempo tunes accented by passages of scat singing. The program notes state that "Dianne Reeves has often been compared to legendary jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan." It was an unfortunate comparison particularly in a song dedicated to and evoking "The Divine One" "Sassy" "Miss Sarah Vaughan." Not. Having heard Ella and Sarah on numerous occasions, sorry, but Reeves failed to pass the blindfold test. Perhaps she can get away with those comparisons before new and younger audiences but her efforts pale by comparison to her sources of inspiration. Her range, for example, is non existent. She has little or no upper register just where Ella was so hip and scorching. Sarah could never cut her in jumping up and down octaves with impunity and imagination. But Sarah was a great interpreter of lyrics. She had wonderful depth and feeling. That was Sarah's comfort zone. Again, by comparison, Reeves was flat and never really made us Feel the tunes.
Reeves charmed the appreciative audience with a sensual, diva like persona. She made much of her two and a half days of working with George Clooney on the set of "Good Night and Good Luck" for which she provided the Grammy winning sound track. She told us she would do Anything he asked, milking the implications with the sad remark that even so "He never calls. He never writes." This was followed by a tepid rendering of "In the Wee Small Hours" from the final scene in the film. To my mind Sinatra still owns the definitive rendering of that standard. Let the record note, however, that the audience loved her.
Another Festival Moment occurred during the scorching set of the hipster and entertainer Eddie Daniels. With a wailing gambit on the licorice stick it was straight up, no frills jazz at its best. Now and then Daniels would trade off between clarinet, his primary instrument, and tenor sax. Between songs he kept up a running commentary with the audience which told us a lot about his approach to music.
This included an anecdote about when, as a kid, he was touring with vibes player Red Norvo. He asked if we knew Norvo. Some of us nodded in the affirmative. It seemed that one night Coleman Hawkins was in the audience. Which, as Daniels informed us, was like having God in the house. Inspired by this he tossed off ever riff he knew in an effort to impress the legendary horn player. Apparently to no avail. From this he learned the wisdom of "Just playing the melody." To let the tune be itself. Which was the essence of a superb set. He can really sell a song straight up no chaser, The enormous respect he conveyed for the inherent beauty of the music he performed including a special tribute to "New Orleans" (on the eve of Hurricane Gustav) by the witty Hoagy Carmichael. Daniels also introduced us to his brilliant piano player, Tom Ranier, who was taking a break from his gig as Assistant Music Director of Dancing With the Stars. Ranier seemed to revel in the chance to perform with an outstanding jazz combo.
Following Daniels on stage during the Sunday afternoon concert was violinist Mark O'Connor with special guest, singer, Jane Monheit. After the charismatic energy of the set by Daniels there was a let down. O'Connor and his "Hot Swing" evoked the tradition of the French, gypsy guitarist, Django Reinhardt, and his partner, violinist Stephane Grappelli. They cofounded the Quintette du Hot Club de France in the 1930s. O'Connor, who is a superb musician, was accompanied by equally accomplished accompanists: Frank Vignola, guitar, Julian Lage, guitar, and Gary Mazzaroppi, Bass. They traded licks with both guitarists alternating between lead and rhythm. While superb the music was too sedate and retro for my taste. This was further exacerbated when Jane Monheit, who has stunning pipes, stayed within the lines on a too straight rendering of "Honeysuckle Rose."
And so the curtain has come down on yet another Tanglewood season. There are lessons to be learned by the overall success of the Jazz Festival, increased evenings of Pops, the two sold out performances by Broadway start, Barbara Cook, and an experiment with the rock band Wilco. There is much food for thought about where to go from here. More on that another time.