Jazz Stories

Kenny Garrett and his quintet took the stage at Blues Alley and immediately blasted off into a fiery, postbop crescendo with a driving rhythm with all the sounds a saxophone can muster. After this excursion, the group settled into a series of relatable, danceable grooves that engaged the crowd. The duo of Rudy Bird and Ronald Bruner Jr on percussion and drums were a highlight. Ronald is a 100,000 ton locomotive of pulse — tight, driving, and defining the bands’ sound. Rudy overlaid complex texture. The overall effect was grooving and celebratory. ...

On a delightful Friday evening, we strolled down the Chicago Riverwalk to take in a set from a local sextet, the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective. After a funky first tune, they welcomed vocalist Dee Alexander to the stage for a set of originals. The music featured an electric bass groove a bit like motown and the two horns played tight lines together. I particularly liked the solos of the tenor sax and leader, John Fournier. The pianist, Amr Fahmy, also offered dynamic solos. Some of trumpet players best work was with a mute, giving his horn a distinctive tone. The jury was out on vocalist Dee Alexander. I enjoyed her work overall, but some were turned off by a first scat solo on a tune about a redwing bird–she warbled through it. ...

On a cool early May afternoon, I walked over to Adams Morgan for “Porchfest,” an event where local bands play on neighborhood porches. Throngs of people turned out to hear every kind of music from over 100 bands playing on more than 20 stages. I enjoyed: a Cuban rock band oldsters playing punk surf rock a top-notch blues band playing from a balcony a Latin ensemble led by a singer from Chile and a violinist from the “Republic of Minnesota” and a little bit of everything else It was great people watching, too ...

From the first note, this band was tight and sonorous. Each soloist put something different on offer. We were seated directly in front of trombonist Steve Davis and enjoyed some masterful trombone playing. Dr. Eddie Henderson surprised us with some sweet sounds in soft passages, as well as bright fast trumpet solos. The pianist (not George Cables) and drummer worked particularly well together. At 5:30 pm on a Sunday afternoon, Blues Alley held a mostly full crowd who were there to listen. We were surprised when after about three tunes, Steve brought up his wife, Abena Koomson-Davis, who was a great singer and engaged the crowd. It made for a uniformly entertaining hour and half of music. ...

Nashville is a great city for music. And this visit, I found the right spot on the right night. I was in town for a conference sponsored by the Gates Foundation and they treated us to dinner at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Afterwards a group of colleagues sought out some live music. We discovered The Listening Room Cafe and were in luck because it was singer-songwriter night. Four writers who create music for country stars took the stage together: The Warren Brother, JT Harding, and Marv Green. They each sat on stage on a stool with a guitar. In sequence, they shared stories and songs. In one story, the Warren Brothers wrote a song with 14-year-old Taylor Swift in their office. Then nothing happened. Twenty years later, Taylor’s agent told them to be “waiting at your phone at 9:37 am tomorrow.” When she called, they learned she was finally recording their song. Dryly, one of the said, “so I told my daughter, we can pay for you to go to college after all.” ...