Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

This is the fourth of four pieces covering the 2021 Detroit International Jazz Festival. Two weeks before the festival, a decision was made to go to a virtual format due to the surge provided by the Delta variant of Covid-19. Three outdoor stages became three soundstages in the ballrooms of the Renaissance Marriott hotel. All sets were run back to back, with no overlap. This made roaming the grounds and catching at least a piece of everything, impossible. While the broadcast of Facebook and YouTube formats offered every note of the festival, we as media members were allowed into the soundstages to witness the music live. The broadcast crew and writers were the only members permitted in the broadcast area. In order to find time to write, have a bite to eat, or take care of any professional and personal matters, you literally had to pick and choose which sets to miss from the continual flow of performances from noon to midnite. Writing a set by set description encapsulating each performance became impossible. While in the soundstage, you could not tap into the broadcast for context, set lists and other helpful items. We were virtually in the dark, pun intended. The real stories began to emerge—the quick change to virtual, the amazing quality of the broadcast, the vibe of the music minus a live audience and exceptional deeds in terms of mentorship and impacting the future of jazz. Our times, the worldwide pandemic, was indeed a huge part of the story. And so you will find highlights of many sets, plus storylines that helped make the 2021, 42nd annual Detroit International Jazz Festival a unique success. Thanks to festival photographer Jeff Dunn, wonderful images of the four days are included.

Day Four: Terri Lyne & Bravo, Mama Dee Dee

While four days may seem like a long stretch to attend set after set at a jazz festival, the vibe Monday morning in the Renaissance Marriott was still one of anticipation for the music that was to come that day, but as well mildly sad, as bidding farewell always is. There were people not to be seen for a while. The deft silence that will somehow become apparent with the last note Monday night would be as a bugle call signaling a return to our everyday lives. Festival participants inquired as to when you would be flying out, where you would be going next. In the cloud of a worldwide pandemic, there were friends and acquaintances that each person had not spent time with for over a year, and now with the uncertainty that lies ahead, may not be in the presence of for some time to come.

Detroit, and more specifically, the music department at Wayne State University, took center stage to kick things off, with an all-star band of WSU and Detroit collegiate musicians led by trumpeter