Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival
Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival

Courtesy Richard Conde
(Tiempo Libre) got people up and dancing at a time when the weather temperature was around 92 degrees. The music temperature was 120.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
June 25 and 26, 2022
From the opening strains of the

Dan Wilson
guitar, electricThe 45th edition was an artistic success, with continuously outstanding music played with élan by musicians of superior caliber. Part of the special quality had to do with COVID's grasp being loosened. In 2020, the event was reduced to an online presence, the caliber of which was lacking. Last year's socially distanced and vastly curtailed festival gave more hope. This year, 13 bands on two stages on Saturday; 11 bands on two stages Sunday. And the resumption of one of the world's best picnic atmospheres, dubbed by its organizers as "the hang."
Producer Danny Melnick of Absolutely Live Entertainment had a task ahead of him to jump start the Saratoga classic. He chose the lineup well. Comments from the attendees universally praised the 2022 edition.
Artists included well known figures like

Eliane Elias
piano and vocalsb.1960

Wynton Marsalis
trumpetb.1961

Robert Glasper
pianob.1978

Kurt Elling
vocalsb.1967

Emmaline
vocalsThe bands were divided between SPAC's main amphitheater stage, and the Charles R. Wood "Jazz Discovery" Stage toward the rear of the grounds, where its open, more accessible layout is more intimate.
Guitarist Wilson on that back stage was smooth as silk with a dexterity in debt to

George Benson
guitarb.1943

Pat Bianchi
organ, Hammond B3b.1975

Pat Martino
guitar1944 - 2021

Donald Edwards
drums
John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967

Herbie Hancock
pianob.1940

Wayne Shorter
saxophone1933 - 2023
If there was any chance of a lull, pianist

Connie Han
piano
McCoy Tyner
piano1938 - 2020
Keeping going at a super high level was saxophonist

Craig Handy
saxophoneb.1962

Kyle Koehler
organ, Hammond B3
Art Blakey
drums1919 - 1990

Roy Haynes
drums1926 - 2024

Jimmy Smith
organ, Hammond B31925 - 2005
Sultry chanteuse Emmaline brought the heat down, but not the interest level. She showed a fine voice over a tight band. The set included standards arranged to suit her youthful outlook and modern approachlike "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "You Don't Know What Love Is," but also sparkling originals and even M.C. Hammer's "You Can't Touch This." Her occasional violin playing was remarkable. It was a strong set from a woman with a successful future lying ahead.
On the main stage pianist/composer Glasper had technical problems that frustrated him at times, but he soldiered through with some humor. With a DJ, bassist and drummer

Marcus Gilmore
drumsb.1986
The Ozmosyz band, featuring keyboardist Rachel Z and drummer

Omar Hakim
drumsb.1959
Con Tumbao, a nine-piece all-star Latin group, brought the energy and the groove back. It was led by Isaac Delgado, but many band members contributed vocals and solos came from all across the stage, bass, percussion, horns, keys. Bassist Oscar Hernandez, with his impossibly long braided ponytail, played intricate line that impressed.

Robby Ameen
drumsb.1960

Pedrito Martinez
percussion
Mike Rodriguez
trumpetb.1979
On Sunday,

Ryan Keberle
tromboneb.1980

Scott Robinson
saxophone, tenorb.1959

Maria Schneider
composer / conductorTiempo Libre, a group comprised mostly of Cuban natives (now mostly based in Miami), took the stage by storm. They did what might have seemed impossible. They got a great many people up and dancing at a time when the weather temperature was around 92 degrees. The music temperature was 120. The energy and musicianship are super high when this band plays, directed by keyboardist/writer/arranger Jorge Gomez. He directs the show. Not physically. But most of the music is written and composed by him, and the staging, pace and presentation come from the leader.
Selections included some familiar songs like

Tito Puente
drums1923 - 2000

Marcus Miller
bassb.1959

Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
A bit of a surprise was the unheralded

Matthew Whitaker
organ, Hammond B3b.2001

Chick Corea
piano1941 - 2021
Other great music came from Elias, Elling and Marsalis as the afternoon and evening closed.
Elias took a lot of music from her home country this time around, though she is a fabulous straight-ahead jazz pianist. "So Danco Samba," "Desafinado," "Aquarella Do Brasil" and others were presented with her alluring, sensual voice that caresses the listener while the musiciansbassist

Marc Johnson
bassb.1953
Elling played his SuperBlue project and music from the recording of the same name that features the extraordinary

Charlie Hunter
guitarb.1967
The music was mostly original. "Sassy," a nod to

Sarah Vaughan
vocals1924 - 1990
The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra set didn't break form. Great songs from great composers, played by expert musicians in the band. Arrangements of those charts also came from within the band. Monk, Mingus (a strong version of "Freedom") and Ellington were among those artists whose music blared out across the SPAC grounds. Marsalis himself blew his best on a

Clifford Brown
trumpetb.1930
His band closed a festival that spread a spirit of revitalization over SPAC, its audience, and the musicians, all of whom were glad to be back full force, with the full spirit of the great festival whose origins go back to 1978.
Tags
Comments
About Tiempo Libre
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Support All About Jazz

Go Ad Free!
To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.
Schenectady
Concert Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses
| More...
Schenectady Concerts
Sep
13
Sat
Circular Jazz Trio
Lydia's Cafe
Stone Ridge, NY
Sep
18
Thu
Galen Pittman Quartet
The Park Theater
Glens Falls, NY
Sep
19
Fri
Peter Bernstein Quartet
SUNY Schenectady County Community College
Schenectady, NY
Sep
20
Sat
Spin Cycle
Lydia's Cafe
Stone Ridge, NY
Sep
26
Fri
Adrienne Iapalucci
The Park Theater
Glens Falls, NY
Oct
3
Fri
Sarah Hanahan Quartet
SUNY Schenectady County Community College
Schenectady, NY
Oct
4
Sat
Rob Scheps Coretet - Upstate NY
Lydia's Cafe
Stone Ridge, NY
Oct
16
Thu
Malik Mclaurine Trio
The Park Theater
Glens Falls, NY
Oct
17
Fri
Leo Russo Sextet
SUNY Schenectady County Community College
Schenectady, NY
Oct
18
Sat
Pink Martini
Universal Preservation Hall
Saratoga Springs, NY

Schenectady
Concert Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses | More...
Circular Jazz Trio
Lydia's CafeStone Ridge, NY
Galen Pittman Quartet
The Park TheaterGlens Falls, NY

Peter Bernstein Quartet
SUNY Schenectady County Community CollegeSchenectady, NY

Spin Cycle
Lydia's CafeStone Ridge, NY
Adrienne Iapalucci
The Park TheaterGlens Falls, NY

Sarah Hanahan Quartet
SUNY Schenectady County Community CollegeSchenectady, NY

Rob Scheps Coretet - Upstate NY
Lydia's CafeStone Ridge, NY
Malik Mclaurine Trio
The Park TheaterGlens Falls, NY
Leo Russo Sextet
SUNY Schenectady County Community CollegeSchenectady, NY

Pink Martini
Universal Preservation HallSaratoga Springs, NY