Holding forth on two consecutive evenings this past Labor Day weekend, James Carter wielded his cumbersome bass saxophone while leading his "Chasin' the Gypsy" ensemble.
On a double bill with Dave Valentin, Herbie Mann sounded as good as ever during the 2001 festival as he continued to foster that unique mix of jazz and Latin music sensibilities.
Leaping back and forth between marimba and vibraphone, Stefon Harris led a musical dance that was as fascinating to watch as it was to hear during festival weekend 2000.
One of the Saturday afternoon gigs in 2000 featured the JazzTimes Superband, which included the incendiary organ grinder Joey DeFrancesco.
Although based in Cleveland, drummer Greg Bandy is a world-class musician who tours the world regularly with a wide variety of jazz artists. At the 2001 Detroit festival he was caught backing up vocalist Ramona Collins.
Delivering one of his most succinct performances in recent memory, Jimmy Smith amused himself by looking at his mug on the Jumbotron screen set up by the festival stage. "That's me up there," he enthused. "Damn, I look good!"
There was an obvious "world music" slant to the 2001 festival and a rare appearance by Henry "Pucho" Brown and his Latin Soul Brothers kept things "mucho caliente" for a Labor Day afternoon crowd.
Part of Donald Harrison's group during the 2000 fest, bassist Vicente Archer and drummer John Lamkin formed a powerful rhythm section that was just as capable swinging the bop as they were layin' in the groove.
Along with Randy Brecker, Joey DeFrancesco, and Dennis Chambers, tenor man Bob Berg made the scene in 2000 as part of the JazzTimes Superband.
Chris Hovan has been active in the field of jazz since his days at the
Berklee College of Music in the mid-'80s. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he
has been a past trustee of the Northeast Ohio Jazz Society and a jazz
deejay at WCPN-FM. A freelance musician and record collector, Hovan has
been a contributor to the MusicHound album reference guides for jazz
and swing, is the Focal Point Editor for AAJ and a regular contributor to
The Jazz Review and The Cleveland Free Times. Hovan also
regularly pens liner notes for the independent Criss Cross Jazz label.
