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Denver Jazz Fest 2025

Courtesy Geoff Anderson
Denver and Boulder, CO
April 3-6, 2025
The inaugural Denver Jazz Fest unfurled over four days from April 3 to 6, 2025. The sprawling festival presented 32 concerts at 12 different venues throughout the Denver and Boulder area. The timing was meant to coincide with Jazz Appreciation Month as well as tap into the ongoing events and celebrations associated with the 40th anniversary of KUVO, Denver's storied jazz radio station. The lineup included world-class national and international acts along with local jazz heroes. With many concerts scheduled simultaneously, the biggest problem was trying to select which outstanding acts to see and which to regretfully miss.
Denver Jazz Fest founders and promoters Don Lucoff and David Froman made those decisions particularly difficult, curating a program of exceptional talent. The stylistic diversity on display was as vast as the open prairies east of Denver, and the prominence of many of the performers in today's jazz landscape rivaled the Rocky Mountain peaks to the west.
The inaugural fest also offered many free jazz concerts around town. Beyond concerts, the DJF offered an educational component with a live interview of

Charles McPherson
saxophone, altob.1939

Terell Stafford
trumpetb.1966

Dawn Clement
pianoAll this was obviously far too much for a single human to absorb, but what a delightful problem to have. After considerable deliberation, I settled on seeing
Ganavya
vocals
The Headhunters
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1973

Ghost-Note
band / ensemble / orchestra
Dianne Reeves
vocalsb.1956

Omar Sosa
pianob.1965

Joe Lovano
drumsb.1952

Bill Frisell
guitar, electricb.1951

Isaiah Collier
saxophone- 1998

Garaj Mahal
band / ensemble / orchestraMany, if not most, of the shows sold out, a testament to the wide and enthusiastic jazz audience in Denver and also to the high-caliber programming of the Denver Jazz Fest.
April 4
Ganavya, Boulder Theater
On Friday night, vocalist Ganavya Doraiswamy turned the Boulder Theater into a Hindu prayer temple.
Charles Overton
harp
Max Ridley
bass
Alice Coltrane
piano1937 - 2007
But it was Ganavya's voice that truly elevated the evening. She sang in English, Tamil and, often, wordless, scat-like vocalizations. With an impressive range and an ability to alter her vocal texture on a whim, Ganavya took command of the theater. At times playful, at other times serious, her singing was always impassioned and sincere. Borrowing a page from

Dianne Reeves
vocalsb.1956
Ganavya was born in New York, but was raised in Tamil Nadu, a state in southeastern India. She credits Alice and

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Ganavya frequently solicited audience participation, not as a gimmick, but as an authentic expression of community. The communal singing heightened the spirituality of the evening, drawing the audience members into participation and not merely observation. In one song, she explained how our singing would create nine ethereal jewels and when we gave them away, we would receive a tenth. The audience joined in the singing of the nine refrains and the final jewel was Ganavya herself, radiating joy as she shared a piece deeply rooted in her cultural and spiritual identity.
Ganavya performed on a dark and stormy night in Boulder with icy roads in every direction. The conditions probably impacted the attendance, which came in somewhat below half capacity. However, a bigger factor may have simply been that not many people know about Ganavya yet. Over time, that is bound to change, but for now, Ganavya is certainly a talent deserving of wider recognition.
April 5, 2025
Headhunters, Cervantes Masterpiece, Denver
In sharp contrast to the prayerful, meditative environment created by Ganavya on Friday night, Saturday night at Cervantes was a fiery funk frenzy. The Headhunters and Ghost-Note were both on the bill representing two generations of the funk.Headhunters, with the benefit of 50 years of playing, had plenty of classic tunes to choose from and they laid down many of them Saturday night including such chestnuts as "Watermelon Man" and "Butterfly." Percussionist

Bill Summers
percussionb.1948

Mike Clark
drumsb.1946
In an echo of Ganavya's spirituality, Summers, at one point, came to center stage to bless the proceedings with a sprinkle of water from a plastic bottle and some Native American chants. Summers is a student of the history of the rhythm, having delved into African and Cuban rhythms to help inform his own playing. The plastic bottle soon gave way to a beer bottle which Summers used to blow the introductory notes to the Headhunters' unique and iconic version of "Watermelon Man."
Big Chief

Donald Harrison
saxophone, altob.1960

Craig Handy
saxophoneb.1962

Chris Severin
bassShea Pierre
piano
Herbie Hancock
pianob.1940
April 5, 2025
Ghost-Note, Cervantes Masterpiece, Denver
In contrast to the Headhunters' half-century run (and counting), Ghost-Note is a relatively spritely 10 years old. They have used those 10 years wisely, crafting an extraordinarily tight unit, with an agility level far beyond a typical 8-piece band. Indeed, Ghost-Note could turn on a dime. And did so repeatedly. Much of it was executed playfully, not unlike a cat batting around a furry funk toy. The entire ensemble would play short, syncopated phrases that were continually surprising in their twists and turns and their impact from all eight players perfectly on top of each note.The band is co-led by drummer
Robert Sput Searight
drumsNate Werth
percussion
Snarky Puppy
band / ensemble / orchestraWe heard several tunes from the band's album Mustard 'n' Onions (Mack Avenue, 2024) including "Bad Knees" and "JB's Out! (Do It, Babay)" a tribute to one of their primary influences,

James Brown
vocals1933 - 2006
Seemingly able to find a groove anywhere, the band made a pitch for Ghost-Note merch toward the end of their set, but it quickly turned into a funky tune about the virtues of buying Ghost-Note vinyl. As a partial disclaimer, Searight explained that we had failed to purchase "Ghost-Note Premium" and as a result, we had to put up with advertisements.
April 6, 2025
Dianne Reeves and Romero Lubambo, Newman Center
The Denver Jazz Fest wrapped up, for me, anyway, with Denver native Dianne Reeves accompanied by Brazilian guitarist
Romero Lubambo
guitarb.1955
As usual, Lubambo mostly played a nylon-string acoustic guitar. He has been Reeves' go-to accompanist since they first met on a trip she made to Brazil in the 1990s. She sang/told the story during "Our Love Is Here To Stay," explaining that he has been on every album she has released since that time. Lubambo also had an electric hollow-body guitar at his disposal which he played on a couple of tunes, using it at one point to show that his ability is not limited to jazz and Brazilian music, but he could also play the blues on the introduction to "All Blues." His playing was consistently virtuosic and intuitive to Reeves and her singing. Which, of course, is why he is Reeves' go-to accompanist. During her set, Reeves announced that she and Lubambo recently recorded an album that will be released later this year.
One of the highlights of the set was a cover of

Pat Metheny
guitarb.1954

Lyle Mays
keyboards1953 - 2020

Kurt Elling
vocalsb.1967
Reeves was chatty throughout, such as her introduction to her song "9," which is about her life in her neighborhood when she was nine years old. The concert started at 4 in the afternoon and Reeves commented a couple of times how convenient that was so that she and the audience could get home in time to see the finale of the White Lotus TV series.
During the set, Reeves displayed all her gifts, masterful range and control, continually creative improvisations and an authoritative voice like few other singers on the scene. Some of her last performances in Denver were with the Colorado Symphony. While her voice and her music pair well with a symphony, Sunday night's show was special because of the minimal accompaniment leaving the focus on Reeves and her remarkable voice.
DJF Conclusion
The inaugural Denver Jazz Fest was a resounding success. The promoters are already planning for next year's fest and they have set aside April 9-12, 2026. My advice for next year's attendees: get plenty of rest beforehandyou will need it.Related Photos
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