Another DC Jazz Festival came to a close last night with an expectedly groovin’ and tight performance by Snarky Puppy at The Hamilton. There were literally hundreds of shows that took place over the past ten days, making it impossible see all of them. Yours truly attended many, and there were simply no weak links. A review of each concert would be a bit much, but here are some of the overall impressions from this year’s festival.
DCist previewed CapitalBop‘s Jazz Loft series last week and the team assembled an impressive string of shows. There was, however, a standout and it was Thundercat’s performance on Friday night. A ludicrously talented vocalist and bassist, his trio went all in, hopscotching between the energy and technique of early fusion, the purest soul of R&B, and P-Funk-esque grooves. Justin Brown is a drummer’s drummer whose profile is deservedly on the rise. His thundering fills and Dennis Hamm’s sinewy keyboard tones created a sonic amalgam that felt familiar, yet still innovative.
The space CapitalBop chose played as large a role as the music in terms of the overall experience. Using simple artwork and lighting, a drab warehouse was transformed into a room that could give 9:30 Club a run for its money, and it was perfect for Thundercat’s performance. Not only was this concert the most memorable of this year’s festival, it is one of the best of any DC Jazz Festival, perhaps second only to Bobby McFerrin‘s show at the Warner Theater in 2011.
There was a lot of buzz surrounding Esperanza Spalding‘s new project, Emily’s D+ Evolution, in which she has taken on a new and more colorful persona. Gone are the trademark afro and upright bass, as they’ve been replaced with long braids and an electric. Her show on Saturday afternoon at The Yards Park was probably the wrong context for this new presentation, as it was more energetic than the languid atmosphere of an outdoor show where much of the audience was seated in lawn chairs. Mixing spoken word, movement motifs, and bass lines that could be on any Prince recording, an indoor space would have matched the theatricality of Spalding’s band. Dare we say that Emily’s D+ Evolution would have been perfect for CapitalBop’s space?
Other marquis performers delivered the goods, just maybe without the surprises. John Scofield‘s Uberjam Band opened the concert series at The Hamilton, and delivered the extended funk explorations that one would expect from a quartet with that name. The Bad Plus Joshua Redman offered the quirky free-form explorations for which The Bad Plus is known, but with a welcome melodic voice from Redman’s sonorous tenor saxophone.
The DC Jazz Festival also makes it a point to showcase local talent alongside internationally renowned artists, and as a result the past week offered further proof that the DMV’s best artists can hold their own with anybody. Braxton Cook, the young area native who is now based in New York, performed at Bohemian Caverns with the Richmond group, Butcher Brown, and this is a collaboration to watch. Bassist Kris Funn opened the Jazz Lofts with his trio, Corner Store, comprised of Funn, drummer John Lamkin, and tone-slinging guitarist John Lee. The interaction between the three was seamless, as was the playing between vibraphonist Warren Wolf and his group as they paid tribute to Thelonious Monk. Trumpeter Thad Wilson and vocalist Akua Allrich were part of a big band that celebrated the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians‘ 50th anniversary. The ensemble played former AACM president Ernest Khabeer Dawkins’ musical tribute to Nelson Mandela. Brad Linde plays in a number of groups around town. His free jazz ensemble, Underwater Ghost, which includes guitarist Anthony Pirog, played a stirring set, opening for The Bad Plus Joshua Redman. He and co-leader Joe Herrera also ceded leadership of the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra to the great saxophonist, Oliver Lake, and the result was fantastic.
There were other concerts that we were sad to have missed. Rapper Common isn’t the first person who comes to mind for a jazz festival, but it was an intriguing idea. Jack DeJohnette is a master drummer and his trio’s performance had many people talking. Unfortunate as it was to have missed these shows, the fact that there was too much of a good thing demonstrates that the DC Jazz Festival is on the right path to becoming a world class event.
