Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Newport Jazz Festival: Newport, RI, August 4, 2012

Newport Jazz Festival: Newport, RI, August 4, 2012

By Timothy J. O'Keefe
August 17, 2012
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Newport Jazz Festival
Fort Adams State Park
Newport, RI
August 4, 2012

"Yeah that's what I'm talking about, Newport!" the bright-smiled Cuban conga player said with enthusiasm, as the crowd he encouraged to dance clapped a beat to his liking. Amid the vortex of sound that is the Newport Jazz Festival—three stages hosting five acts apiece— Pedrito Martinez's four-piece band played "Ay Amor," and brought the quad stage to life. "Memorias," the second song, saw keyboardist Ariacne Trujillo contribute lead vocals. Venezuelan electric bassist Alvaro Benavides and Peruvian percussionist Jhair Sala, contributed elements that expanded the group's Afro-Cuban sounds. "Que Palo" and "La Luna" completed the set.

Over at the main stage, Matt Perrine's tuba furnished the bottom end sounds of saxophonist

John Ellis

saxophone, tenor
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">John Ellis' Double Wide. Notes smeared as Ellis lead the band through the sugary sounds of "Zydeco Clowns on the Lamb." A set rife with musical gymnastics, the music jumped, flipped, and hopped as it prodded and explored. Punctual changes in time and timbre saw the emotions in "Dowey Dah" morph from light and happy to a dark cinematic nature.

Looking from the stage and towards the audience set about the ocean- side peninsula, Ellis said: "This is such a beautiful, beautiful place to play. We are so happy to be here and we're so happy that you're here." The zany, New Orleans-influenced "Three Legged tango in Jackson Square," bluesy "This too shall pass" and upbeat "Break Time" were also heard.

When Boston jazz radio host Eric Jackson introduced bassist

Christian McBride

bass
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Christian McBride's Inside Straight, he pointed out that the date marked Trumpeter

Louis Armstrong

trumpet and vocals
1901 - 1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Louis Armstrong's birthday. "Seems like a great day to have a jazz festival," Jackson said. Saxophonist

Steve Wilson

saxophone
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Wilson and vibraphonist

Warren Wolf

vibraphone
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Warren Wolf helped established the main theme on the opener, "Brother Mister." Wolf's vibraphone crackled. Carefully striking mallets upon the instrument's metal bars, the notes resonated outward with a glasslike quality. McBride twisted bass riffs. Plucking rapid notes in his heavy-handed yet flowing manner, he pushed the runs in unanticipated directions.

Pianist

Christian Sands

piano
b.1989

" data-original-title="" title="">Christian Sands and drummer

Ulysses Owens, Jr.

drums
b.1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Ulysses Owens, Jr. joined McBride in a trio format. Sands' buoyant phrasings bobbed from crest to trough, exploring the sounds, anchored by McBride's bass. McBride belted a single note, returning the music to calm as the band sounded the main theme to end the piece.

"Theme for Kareem" opened with extended time for McBride in unaccompanied format. Front and center, the bass emitted deep, robust sounds from the stage. McCoy Tyner's "Celestial Chant" provided improvisational travels, and the band closed on the swinging blues "Used Ta' Could."

Inside Fort Adams, drummer

Jack DeJohnette

drums
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Jack DeJohnette's Group delivered some electric fusion on the quad stage. The set began with the slow tempo "Blue," where

George Colligan

multi-instrumentalist
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">George Colligan slipped from behind the keys and delivering long, drawn-out notes and accents on the pocket trumpet.

"If you hear something that sounds out of tune, don't worry," DeJohnette said while introducing

David Fiuczynski

guitar
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">David Fiuczynski. The guitarist employed microtones, and his double-neck, orange sunburst guitar procures sounds not typically found within the 12 musical intervals that comprise Western music.

The centerpiece of the set, "Priestesses of the Mist," was inspired by Marion Zimmer Bradley's Arthurian novel, The Mists of Avalon (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982).

Rudresh Mahanthappa

saxophone, alto
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Rudresh Mahanthappa hoisted saxophone notes high in the register, snaking the music to new places that flourishing about the rhythms. Fiuczywski's guitar warbled around DeJohnette's drums and Colligan's keyboard. Climbing and falling, the guitar harmonized in unison with the sax, broke off to explore disparate harmonies, then returned to new heights amidst a churn of electronic effects. The band wrapped up on the funky ditty "Miles," dedicated to jazz icon

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis.

As the DeJohnette Group exited, the stage crew carefully hoisted a wooden relic onto the performance area. A rack containing metal foot pedals was slid into a rectangular frame. "To the people in the front row, get ready to be blown away," Worcester jazz radio host Bonnie Johnson cautioned as she introduced the

James Carter

multi-instrumentalist
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">James Carter Organ Trio ...that's all I've got to say!"

The trio opened with the fast-tempo "Bossa J.C." For this occasion, they were joined by guitarist

Rodney Jones

guitar
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Rodney Jones. As

Gerard Gibbs

organ, Hammond B3
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerard Gibbs played percussive chords on the Hammond B3 Organ, Jones worked his semi- hollowbody guitar. Playing in flurries, the instrument's round and clean tones yielded additional textures in the overall sound. Carter stepped to center stage, leaned back, and pointed the hollow bell from which the horn's sounds emit upward. Ripping a series of notes, the tenor saxophone honked, shrieked, and howled. With each sound, Carter's body bent and twisted in varied ways. Pushing air through the horn, he created short bursts of notes, combined long melodic phrasings, and derived percussive, smacking sounds.

Carter switched to the alto sax for a slow blues called "Aged Pain." Slowly bending tones, the long and narrow horn invoked a unique tinny sound.

"Walkin the Dog" began with Gibbs' organ—swelling notes that rose high, and then simmered down to a single tone. Gibbs paused for moment, creating tension, then resumed his layers of sound that moved the music and established an upbeat tempo. Throughout the set, Leonard King, Jr. worked the drums in a skillful and swinging manner. With light shuffles, pronounced accents and thundering runs, King held the bottom down and appeared in the foreground without getting in the way. They closed on "The Walking Blues."

The mid-afternoon saw the

Joe Lovano

drums
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Lovano /

Dave Douglas

trumpet
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Douglas "Sound Prints quintet perform at the harbor stage. Lovano's saxophone, always a lush embodiment sounds, and Douglas' smooth, polished trumpet led the group on "Soundprints," "Sprints," and "Full Moon." Highly accessible, there was still a freshness about the sound of the group. The music was coherent and classic, yet far from stale. The back end of the set consisted of "High Noon," "Libra" and "Newark Flash," a dedication to saxophonist

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter, who hails from Newark, New Jersey.

As early evening set in, the harbor stage prepared to host a special set at the request of festival founder George Wein. Dubbed "3 Clarinets,"

Ken Peplowski

woodwinds
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Peplowski,

Evan Christopher

clarinet
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Christopher and

Anat Cohen

clarinet
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Anat Cohen spurred a bouncing rendition of

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington's "The Mooche." The rhythmic, Creole-influenced piece "Listen to the One That Mmakes the Thunder Roll," written by Christopher, preceded

Jelly Roll Morton

piano
1890 - 1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Jelly Roll Morton's "Why," which was performed as a duo by clarinetist Peplowski and guitarist

Howard Alden

guitar and vocals
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Howard Alden. The set featured swing era sounds, including Louis Armstrong's "Swing that Music," the jazz standard "Mood Indigo," and "Ring 'Dem Bells."

Jack DeJohnette closed the quad stage with his second performance of the day. What began as a duo with pianist

Jason Moran

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Moran soon morphed into a seven-piece band. The band—an all-star cast— performed several pieces from DeJohnette' Sound Travels (eOne, 2012). Completing the rhythm section were bassist Christian McBride, keyboardist George Colligan, and percussionist

Luisito Quintero

percussion

" data-original-title="" title="">Luisito Quintero.

Trumpeter

Jason Palmer

trumpet
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Palmer and saxophonist

Tim Ries

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Tim Ries carved a line, establishing the melody on "Salsa for Luisto."

Lionel Loueke

guitar
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Lionel Loueke scratched and muted chords—sliding and bending, incandescent notes flickering, as his guitar danced amid Latin rhythms. The third piece explored

Joe Henderson

saxophone
1937 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Henderson's waltzy "Black Narcissus," and the set ended with more Latin-infused sounds on the bright, punchy "Sonny Lights."

Befitting for Newport, guitarist

Pat Metheny

guitar
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Metheny closed the main stage. In a performance that drew heavily from his recent Unity Band (Nonesuch, 2012),

Antonio Sanchez

drums
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Sanchez's impassioned drumming and

Ben Williams

bass, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">Ben Williams' probing bass forged a dynamic basis. They deeply mined rhythms, delved in varied directions, and created the foundation from which Metheny's guitar and

Chris Potter

saxophone, tenor
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Potter's saxophone emulsified notes into solos. "Come and See," "Roofdogs," and "Breakdealer" made the set.

In 2012, the Newport Jazz Festival continued its tradition of live, improvisational music, and offered flavors from varying eras. The 3 Clarinets brought swing; James Carter kicked in with hard-driving grooves; Joe Lovano embodied the sweet classic sounds; and John Ellis & Double Wide invoked a modern, artistic melding. In 2012, these were the sounds of Newport. In 2012, these are the sounds of jazz.

Photo Credit

Richard Conde

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