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The 2007 edition of The Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, D.C.'s largest music festival, got off to a glowing start with last night's opening gala, held at the Inter-American Development Bank. The show was a bit delayed due to some technical difficulties with the piano, but the organizers wisely chose to hold the curtain in order to fix the problem because, as festival executive producer Charlie Fishman told the audience, "If the musicians be happy, then you be happy."
The musicians were definitely happy and used the opportunity to pay homage to the festival's namesake and to Dizzy Gillespie, whose legacy is the theme of this year's celebration. The invite-only audience of approximately 300 people, which was refreshingly diverse for an event of this nature, was treated to three hours of amazing music that reflected the many faces of jazz, and set the tone for what is sure to be a memorable week of music.
One of the festival's goals is to recognize the city's rich jazz tradition, and so there could be no better opener for the concert than D.C.'s own Davey Yarborough (pictured). Sporting his trademark dreadlocks, Yarborough, jazz director at the Duke Ellington High School for the Perfoming Arts, visited the land of Ellingtonia during his half hour set. With the help of a group of fine local musicians that included drummer Francis Thompson, pianist Jon Ozment, bassist Wes Biles, and trumpeter Chris Will, Yarborough charged through a set of traditional acoustic jazz that included impressive renditions of "Prelude to a Kiss" and a Latin-ized arrangement of "Cottontail." The standout of the group was pianist Ozment, whose playing truly sparkled.
Image of Yarborough by Sharon Farmer; taken from the Washington Jazz Arts Institute website
The highlight of the concert came in the form of Paquito D'Rivera's Chamber Jazz Ensemble. The group found the intersection of traditional Latin, classical, and jazz music and made that space its home. D'Rivera, the festival's artistic adviser, was a great friend of Gillespie and on this night, he followed in his mentor's footsteps by presenting two fabulous young musicians as part of his trio, in which he played clarinet and alto sax. Pianist Alex Brown, a mere 20-years old and D.C. native, shined as he navigated the twists and turns of the challenging compositions. Dana Leong, who played trombone and cello, drew myriad colors out of his instruments and effortlessly switched between the roles of cellist, horn player, and percussionist. The set opened with "Fiddle Dreams," a clarinet/piano duet that D'Rivera originally composed for violinist Regina Carter. The trio went on to play pieces by a variety of South American composers including Franzetti and Piazzolla, as well Dizzy's own "A Night in Tunisia."
The concert concluded with a performance by the lovely Nnenna Freelon (pictured left), whose crystalline voice complemented her classy and elegant stage presence. Her delivery worked in any dynamic range and her sense of phrasing was most impressive. Her band featured pianist Brandon McKeown, bassist Michael Bowie, and one of our favorite drummers, Nasar Abadey. Highlights of her set included a heart-wrenching interpretation of "Stella By Starlight," and a scat delivery of the Gillespie classic, "Birk's Works," which featured D'Rivera on clarinet. Closing with a lesser known Ellington piece, the beautiful "A Hundred Dreams From Now," Freelon reminded us that great musicians never die. "These giants are still with us," she said, "they're just on the other side of the veil."
Image of Nnenna Freelon from her website. Click here for some of our early picks for the festival.
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