Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » 2004 Iowa City Jazz Festival

153

2004 Iowa City Jazz Festival

By

View read count
[Patricia] Barber's original compositions and twist on standard tunes made us Midwesterners realize that we don't have to travel New York to hear world-class talent.
Although the 2004 Iowa City Jazz Festival (ICJF) has already passed us by, jazz fans looking ahead and planning festival trips for next summer may find this overview informative. Held each year during the first weekend in July, the ICJF is a wonderful opportunity for families, students, and the general public to hear world-class musicians in accessible and friendly downtown Iowa City.
This year the main stage moved from the heat-soaked pavement of the streets to the Pentacrest (old Capitol lawn), where towering shade trees provided relief from the blazing summer sun. Vendors continued to offer plenty of food choices and cold drinks were a-plenty. And the best part: admission to the ICJF is completely free.
This year's festival was bigger than ever, and despite the rain that ruined the Friday night portion (leaving local groups The United Jazz Ensemble and Orquesta Alto Maiz gig-less) eager listeners returned the next morning to stake out prime seating spots.
Saturday's lineup featured blues band Kevin "B.F." Burt and the Instigators; pianist David Berkman and his quartet, featuring Dick Oates; Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana, led by Ms. Bunnett on flute and soprano sax; Stefon Harris and Blackout, a fantastic young vibraphonist and marimba player; and the obnoxiously loud but energetic jam band, Soulive.

By Sunday the clouds dissipated and the weather couldn't have been better—for most of the day, anyway. The Grismore/Scea Group, led by festival coordinator and guitarist Steve Grismore, kicked off the show with some gutsy electric jazz. Guaranteed Swahili followed, a drummer-bass-and-two-sax combo that, while the musicians clearly exhibited excellent musicianship, was somewhat monotonous as the two horns dominated the majority of each tune with their extended improvisational efforts. Trumpeter Terrell Stafford got more traditional jazz fans back on track with his tasty approach to standard and contemporary tunes. Chicago's own Patricia Barber was a pleasant surprise; though somewhat mellow, Barber's original compositions and twist on standard tunes made us Midwesterners realize that we don't have to travel New York to hear world-class talent (Barber performs regularly at the Green Mill). Concluding the festival was one of my favorite bands, the Yellowjackets. I was disappointed that sax man Bob Mintzer couldn't be there, but Bob Sheppard did a great job as a sub. (Kudos to Sheppard—I sure wouldn't want to sight read any of their tunes!) Unfortunately, the Jackets' set was cut short as dark clouds and lightening began to roll across the skies once again.

This was my sixth year at the ICJF, and I'll certainly be back for more in 2005. For more information about this fantastic festival, including its history, past performers, photos, and more, visit www.iowacityjazzfestival.com

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Jazz article: Bark Culture At Solar Myth
Jazz article: Hingetown Jazz Festival 2025
Jazz article: Hayley Kavanagh Quartet At Scott's Jazz Club

Popular

Read Take Five with Pianist Irving Flores
Read Jazz em Agosto 2025
Read Bob Schlesinger at Dazzle
Read SFJAZZ Spring Concerts
Read Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Read Vivian Buczek at Ladies' Jazz Festival

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.