Jazz Virtuosity
It can be stressful covering a music fest the size of the Detroit International Jazz Festival. There is so much wonderful music to experience and I find myself stressing over what acts to see and what...
View ArticleWayne’s World
Last year, I attended saxophonist Wayne Shorter‘s concert at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. It was a weird evening. Shorter, pianist Danilo Perez, drummer Brian Blade and bassist John Patitucci played...
View ArticleJazz Fest Wrap Up
During a video montage that was shown Friday night at the Detroit International Jazz Festival, trombonist Steve Turre commented that many festivals around the world call themselves “jazz festivals,”...
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31st Jazz Fest Lineup Announced
The downside of attending the annual Detroit International Jazz Festival press conference is you have to listen to handful of uninspired speeches from City Council members, and corporate sponsors,...
View ArticleGETTING THE PARTY STARTED: 31ST DETROIT INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
GOSPEL CUTTING CONTEST SUPER BAD During the Tower of Power set, the man seated to my immediate right tapped me on the shoulder. Then he whispered in my ear Tower of Power was not playing jazz but they...
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JAZZ FEST HIGHLIGHTS
THE FIRST LADY Tia Fuller, the first lady of Mack Avenue Records, is a bona fide jazz saxophonist. Her current album, Decisive Steps, is her best so far. Saturday afternoon at the Absopure Riverfront...
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DAY 3 OF DETROIT JAZZ FEST
THE BEST SO FAR The consensus among writers covering the Detroit jazz festival who caught the Maria Schneider Orchestra is that it was the best festival performance so far. That is a major complement...
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A LOOK BACK A THE 31ST DETROIT JAZZ FEST
This was the Detroit International Jazz Festival‘s most diverse year. People heard hard bop, avant garde, Latin jazz and smooth jazz. The festival had a few performances that were weak. Take 6 with the...
View ArticleDispatches from the Detroit Jazz Fest: Saturday
Always polished and always swinging It wasn’t surprising jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis put on one of the top sets at the Detroit Jazz Festival Saturday afternoon. Marsalis is an elder statesman of...
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Some thoughts on the Detroit Jazz Festival
Sean Jones and Tia Fuller – with Aaron Diehl projected above – in the Mack Avenue Super Band. (Photo by W. Kim Heron) I don’t envy the artistic director of the Detroit Jazz Festival Chris Collins one...
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