Jazz Stories

Our friends Rob and Jane took us to see one of their favorite bands, Guster, at the Kennedy Center. For this two-night stand, Guster was backed by the National Symphony Orchestra. We had great seats among the Guster fanatics, who were up and dancing whenever possible. It was fun. For the song “Hello Mister Sun,” fans in the audience had rainbow hats. Some danced in front of the the stage. The lead singer put on a hat to join in the spirit. Audrey wanted his jacket. ...

Jason Moran, the Artistic Director for Jazz at the Kennedy Center, led an adventuresome trio through 90 minutes of exploratory improvisations. Jazz is the music of freedom, and Moran steered true to purpose. At the center of the trio was a synthesizer virtuoso, going by “Blank For.ms,” who perched above a mess of colorful wires with lots of knobs to turn. To the left, Moran played the grand piano and to the right Marcus Gilmore played drums. They played without a score, creating “open” or “free” jazz that was entirely improvised. ...

At the Bach Dynamite and Dancing Society, founder Pete Douglas is remembered each week by putting his pipes and cap on the windowsill for the duration of the jazz concert. Pete had an intense love for jazz, strong and pure, and I’m sure he’d be pleased that his club keeps on swinging under the leadership of his daughter, Barbara. Micah, Victoria and I came out to hear Isaiah Collier with his trio. Isaiah is a devotee of John Coltrane, and plays his sax ferociously, filling the hall with a relentless intensity. The music was loud, wild, fast, and expressive—exploring all a saxophone can do. He started with some standards including Bye Bye Blackbird and Naima. And then later moved into his originals. I particularly liked a moving piece written in memory of Ahmaud Arbery. ...

A new year brought a new artist to my awareness, the Israeli-Ethiopian singer Aveva Dese. She played a soulful set at the JCC in Washington DC. With only guitars backing her singing, the set highlighted her powerful voice and strong song writing. In between songs, Aveva told stories of her family’s history as they left Ethiopia for Israal, and her own search for identity. This article shares more of Aveva’s background and I found her website, as well. ...

The Christian McBride Quartet raised the roof at the Village Vanguard with a fiery set. McBride shared that the group had only played together for one night so far, and then announced they would “hack” their way through Coltrane’s “Moment’s Notice.” Hack? Blaze! I’ve seen Mike Stern (guitar) many times and he was in the finest form I can remember. Tivon Pennicott had marked intensity and sax. And although we could not easily see him from where we sat, Marcus Gilmore was strong. ...