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32nd Cape May Jazz Festival: Tribute to the Count
Cape May, New Jersey
November 6-9, 2009
There may have been two male performers headlining the 32nd Cape May Jazz Festival, but in truth it was the women and children who stole the show.
The big draw, as advertised in the festival's subtitle, was anticipated to be the tribute to Count Basie by the present-day Count Basie Band, the nearly sold-out opener Friday night at the 1150-seat Theatre at Lower Regional High School, where the following night 
Ravi Coltrane
saxophone, tenorb.1965
Show-Stealers: Women and Youth
The stand-out among the females was Barbara King, who received a rare return invitation this November thanks to the feverish reception she received during the 31st bi-annual festival in April. Filling her three sets past capacity at the cordial Victorian Gardens restaurant on Friday night, the 20-something singer ably delivered tried and true standard tunes that in an earlier era got her female jazz vocalist predecessors noticed and respected as accomplished exponents of the idiom.
King, whose look and sound might remind fans of the aura of film noir chanteuse in a once-smoky piano lounge, followed the example set by those savvy musical predecessors by arranging herself as an intoxicating vision—all the better to ensure that the change of setting represented by her repertory and approach would have her audience mesmerized before she even opened her mouth. Wrapped in a snug and shiny turquoise gown, the long-legged, long-haired, chocolate-skinned King allowed nothing to separate her from her unapologetic, seductive femininity when she flashed her manicured smile or shimmied sexily to the sounds of her own infectious beat.
But no untouchable, prima donna-ish diva was King. She extended a gracious hand to her audience with her frequently comical, even jocular, repartee, bringing her selections down from the stage and into the audience's space by following a song lyric up with editorial comments—remarking "Busted!," for instance, at the conclusion of 
Nancy Wilson
vocals1937 - 2018
Sarah Vaughan
vocals1924 - 1990
Following up at Victorian Gardens the following evening was
Denise Thimes
vocals
Ella Fitzgerald
vocals1917 - 1996
Although Thimes couldn't attend the Saturday and Sunday afternoon jazz jam sessions, they provided one more setting where women could continue to shine if not dominate. At two conjoining bars, Barbara King, Cape May jazz stalwart Lois Smith and Philadelphia-based singer Barbara Walker unfurled their estrogen-infused harmonies over a walk-on rotation of male musicians and vocalists. At times during the jam sessions, these ladies contributed to an auditory backdrop that mimicked the murmuring "jazz brunch" venue where sleepy diners talk quietly and spike their coffees and their brains with Irish whiskey and live music; at other moments, they hurled bursting electrical jolts at listeners who, it could be speculated, needed no further stimulant to focus alertly and completely on the entertainment at hand.
In the most memorable example, occurring early Sunday afternoon, Walker threw a rousing party inviting the audience's full participation. Providing what might have been the most outright fun and humorous hour of the weekend, the popular, frequent festival attraction and jam-session overseer, stormed through the audience to yank benign listeners onto their feet, practically morphing them into spontaneous performers. A stranger to the proceedings (or to a healing service at a revival tent show) could not have suspected that the obese woman slouching in the corner with a cane would make for such an enjoyable singer and dancer. Yet with Walker's exuberant, contagious coaxing, there she was, loving the spotlight, unabashedly jiggling her flesh and belting out lyrics while the audience—and Walker herself—cheered and complimented the woman like a beloved sister.
These afternoon jams, which are meant in part to grant exposure to local and rising talents, acutely fulfilled their mission by showcasing two particularly notable young artists who, if the fates behave as they should, will surely make significant and exciting contributions to the jazz and blues worlds for many future decades. The New Jersey Network public TV station sent a camera crew to the "Alan Weber and Friends" Saturday jam at the dedicated blues venue of Cabanas—not to feature Alan Weber but to tape and interview 15-year-old Jay Gaunt, who sat in on harmonica. Although the New Jersey teen didn't exhibit the physical comfort level on stage as a more experienced adult, he played with the dexterity and soul of a man who's slugged from more than one dusty moonshine bottle at more than one Mississippi Delta juke joint. The authenticity was enough to make a blues lover lament the direction his manager (his mother) says he's about to take: away from blues and toward jazz. Still, if his jazz harp playing exhibits the same depth and expertise in channeling the old masters, listeners should expect to revel no less in watching him play in the festival's jazz halls in upcoming years.
But for all of Gaunt's demonstrated maturity of sound, the festival's unrivaled golden child would have to be Immanuel Wilkins, saxophonist for the Philly-based youth band Little Jazz Giants. With all of 12 years in his pocket, Wilkins could have undoubtedly convinced a blindfolded listener that he was listening to a sax icon like 
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955
After Wilkins' Sunday afternoon jam set, lucky musicians and fans caught a pregnant moment watching lauded saxophonist 
Michael Pedicin
saxophone, tenor
b.1947
The Headliners: Count Basie Orchestra and Ravi Coltrane
But as much as the women and "youngsters" gripped the imagination of audiences, a much larger number of people came specifically to witness the headliners. Opening night showcased 
Count Basie
piano
1904 - 1984
Bill Hughes
trombone
b.1930
Jimmy Rushing
vocals
1903 - 1972
Joe Williams
vocals
1918 - 1999
Saturday night, John and 
Alice Coltrane
piano
1937 - 2007
Thelonious Monk
piano
1917 - 1982
Geri Allen
piano
1957 - 2017
Massimo Biolcati
bass
b.1972
Jeff Tain Watts
drums
b.1960
Once the headliners concluded their early sets at the theater, it was back to Beach Drive, where because of the reduced number of acts—attributed to the recession—and the concentrated geography of the venues, it was far easier to catch the majority of the artists than in many previous years. Some attendees and organizers actually found this limitation to be a relief, as it made the festival more manageable and encouraged long-time aficionados to discover unfamiliar acts. But perhaps the greatest beauty of this forced contraction was that interested newcomers and veterans could take the opportunity to sample more of the festival's wares, gaining greater exposure to the diverse possibilities that lie within the "mainstream" jazz tradition.
For the benefit of festival-goers, who paid up to $150 for a weekend pass, along Beach Drive those differences were on fire: Dapper 
Houston Person
saxophone, tenor
b.1934
Richie Cole
saxophone, alto
1948 - 2020
Radam Schwartz
organ, Hammond B3
Carlos Santana
guitar
b.1947
The heterogeneous possibilities that exist within the circumscribed boundaries of the festival were further laid bare by nightly blues acts that demonstrated their own genre's range by leaping all over the time-space continuum to pick up little pieces of eclectic styles and sprinkling them into their sets. But mercifully, at least for the jazz traditionalist who needed to regroup after experimenting with such disparate musical shards within this single and singular crystal palace, additional horn-dominated acts were there to bring the schedule's ensemble theme and sound to mind.
And whenever festival-goers required some soul-soothing or inspiration not found in the headliners, they could find it in one of those ubiquitous woman artists who proved so effective at nurturing ears through sweet harmonies or in one of those youths who offered, in addition to a spark of rejuvenation, optimism for a flourishing jazz future.
Sample the sounds of the 32nd Cape May Jazz Festival.
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