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Esperanza Spalding with her instrument |
Madison (Wisconsin/USA) music fans were treated to several groovy events during last
weekend's Isthmus Jazz Fest on the Terrace. Here
are my quick takes on the four most memorable events & gigs
that I attended.
ONE
The
Girls in the Band: finally, a documentary film about some key women in jazz
history
Ever
heard of saxophonist Roz Cron? Trumpeter
Clora Bryant? Jazz pianist Toshiko
Akiyoshi? Regretfully, neither had I. This 2011 documentary film, produced & directed by Judy Chaikin, schooled me in a long neglected subject,
namely women players (as opposed to singers) who
made a mark in the history of jazz. It covers the topic
comprehensively, from the big band-based Swing era to today.
The
audience at the Friday evening (June 19th) screening in the UW
Memorial Union's Frederic March Play Circle was - to put it
kindly - select. Serious fans of American music must see this
engaging blend of interviews & live performances. Moving from
the grainy, black & white 1930s into the digital-color 21st
century, these ladies could swing hard. And many of those
profiled, including Diana Krall & Esperanza
Spalding, still do.
With
the new Nina Simone documentary, What Happened,
Miss Simone? by filmmaker Liz Garbus,
hitting theaters this weekend, the subject (female innovators &
civil-rights heroines in jazz & soul music) remains timely.
TWO
Pop
& Jazz - When Worlds Collide, a performance talk by Dave
Stoler & friends
Yet
another substantial treat for a non-musician music-writer like me,
this lecture by professorial pianist Dave Stoler was both
enlightening & fun. Joined by sax-playing singer Al
Falaschi, bassist Jon Christensen & drummer Jamie Ryan, Stoler
offered six songs as exemplars of the happy collision of the usually
divergent pop & jazz genres:
1.
"I Got Rhythm" - this 1930 show tune by George
Gershwin soon transcended Broadway with its lurching rhythms
& catchy chord changes.
2.
"Caldonia" - a jump blues (proto-rock 'n' roll)
sensation for Louis Jordan & the Tympany
Five in 1945.
3.
"Nature Boy" - a breakthrough hit for Nat King Cole
in 1948 (written by Eden Ahbez).
4.
"Yesterday": The Beatles'
1965 smash hit that Stoler said shows Paul McCartney's
jazz influence.
5.
"Moondance" - Van
Morrison's 1970 album chestnut, with a modal sound derived
from Miles Davis's "So What?"
6.
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" - Stevie
Wonder's 1973 chart-topper features jazz-based harmonies by
one of the coolest cats on record.
Stoler
holds a Masters degree in jazz-piano performance & he plays with
several jazz outfits, including his own trio as well as the Tony
Castañeda Latin Jazz Band
& Madison's Donald Fagen tribute band
Steely Dane.
THREE
Meet
Freddy Cole, Gentleman Jazzman - Stories & Jokes in the
Play Circle
Nat
King Cole's younger brother isn't too hip to admit that he digs
"toe-tappin' tunes." In other words, he prefers dance
music, as jazz primarily used to be. Cole
became an international star by virtue of the baritone
singing & piano playing on display in his funky Freddy
Cole Sings orchestral album (UK, 1976). The
80-something gentle, elegant Grammy nominee entertained
a small audience in the Play Circle with his stories & jokes
for nearly an hour.
Looking
sharp in a dark blue pinstriped suit, Cole chided musicians
who disrespect their audiences by not dressing well for the
occasion. Cole was interviewed by the musically gifted &
genuinely curious host Chris Wagoner, president
of the Madison Music Collective. A jazzman who
understands the value of measured pleasures, Cole released his
first album in 1952 (a 78-rpm record).
"My
first big break was being born," Cole said. "I made
it because I earned the respect of my peers." A resident
of Atlanta since 1972, Cole was raised in Chicago, where his
mother sang gospel & his father preached. After the talk
I thanked him & shook his hand. It was an intimate
conclusion to a heartwarming event. I only wish
I could've attended his Saturday evening concert.
FOUR
Tony
Castañeda Latin Jazz Band: a perfect finale on the UW's
Memorial Union Terrace
Tony
Castañeda is a serious
conga-player & bandleader, but he loves to joke around with his
audiences. He was in fine fun-loving form on Saturday evening (June
20th) at the Terrace.
"Were
ya gettin' tired?" he asks a couple who'd just enjoyed a long
salsa dance number. "Sorry," Castañeda
explains, "but all our songs are nine minutes long.
That's because it's jazz, man."
The
rotating lineup that evening featured guest trombone player &
former TCLJB regular Darren Sterud (The Jimmys), longtime saxophonist Anders
Svanoe, Roberto Rengel (also in Grupo Candela) on timbales,
Henry Boehm on bass & the inimitable Dave Stoler on keyboards.
On
a Saturday when storms threatened to put a damper on the
outdoor gigs, the skies cleared & the sunset cast a
magic glow over Picnic Point & the Lake Mendota horizon. An
appreciative crowd of several hundred listeners joined Tony in
embracing that line by gonzo writer Hunter S.
Thompson:
"Good people drink good beer."
Meanwhile, pianist/singer Freddy Cole was playing Shannon Hall
(formerly the Memorial Union Theater) with the UW Jazz
Orchestra. Generous as ever, Castañeda
plugged Cole's competing gig, noting that tickets were still
available.
Maybe next year the organizers will let Tony
Castañeda's band close
the Isthmus Jazz Fest. This
year that honor went instead to the impressive Stan
Kenton-inspired
Sixties-style Neophonic Jazz Orchestra,
a tightly arranged outfit of local jazz veterans.
[©
2015 by J.C. Mrázek]
LINKS:
Tony
Castaneda Latin Jazz Band
(May 2014 performance - Cardinal
Bar, Madison):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rIeFcBd1k4
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