Jazz Stories

Madison has so much free music in summer. Tonight I strolled to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace, which is situated on the edge of the lake. Its a very modern, pretty structure. On the rooftop, they host free concerts and its landscaped with planter boxes full of prairie flowers. The “Docksiders” were a cover band playing 1970s soft rock. As I strolled up, they were doing a stirring rendition of Rikki Don’t Lose That Number – and the guitar nailed the classic solos. I also liked a Michael McDonald medly, which included the title song of the second album I owned. This was “Takin’ it to the Streets” by the Doobie Brothers. ...

The Orrin Evans Quartet took the stage of the Madison Jazz Festival on a beautiful evening at 7 pm. Audrey and I packed a picnic dinner, including fresh sugar peas from the morning farmer’s market. The terrace was packed with people, most with plastic pitchers of beer, in most various states of disattention to the music. Which was unfortunate as Evans led a blazing, innovative set with super talented musicians. ...

Saxophonist Miguel Zenón joined with Pianist Luis Perdomo to perform songs from Latin America as a duo. It was a treat to hear music without any amplification inside a gallery of a local arts space. I appreciated the full emotional range of Zenón’s saxophone, and he inserted fun quotes of jazz classics as he played. Perdomo sensitively accompanied Zenón with fluid time in ballads and driving Latin rhythms in the uptempo pieces. They played selections from the “El Arte del Bolero” albums. ...

Raul Midón kicked off the Madison Jazz Festival. Nothing better to make me feel welcome in town than a local Jazz Fest! Raul is a virtuoso guitar player, and he generates a lot of sound for one guy: strumming, slapping, fingerpicking and more. At one point, Raul played his bongos with one hand, his guitar with the other hand, and imitated a trumpet thru pursed lips. He’s also a wonderful songwriter and vocalist. His one man show held the audience entranced for two sets. ...

San Franciso-based Train rolled into Madison, Wisconsin—and Audrey and I enjoyed our fourth show from the 1990s pop-rock band. We’re temporarily based in Madison while Audrey works here on Voter Protection. The concert venue was just a 10 minute walk from our apartment—Madison is very walkable town. And we enjoyed a pre-concert gathering at the adjacent glass apartment tower, where Audrey’s new colleagues have a beautiful apartment. Their balcony looked over the concert venue and had a beautiful view across both of the lakes that surround the Madison isthmus. ...