Articles by Forrest Bryant

Live Review

Bobby Hutcherson @ Yoshi's

by Forrest Bryant
March 12, 2004

Bobby Hutcherson isn't the flashiest vibraphonist around. He doesn't leap about the way someone like Stefon Harris does, putting on a show of physical gymnastics to match the musical cartwheels coming from his keys. That sort of thing is for the young. At age 60, what Hutcherson has is very different. He has authority. When he bangs out a line, no other living player can match Hutcherson's absolute conviction, and few can command such reverent attention from a nightclub audience. ...

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Live Review

Kenny Garrett @ Stanford

by Forrest Bryant
March 12, 2004

Every summer, the otherwise sleepy campus of Stanford University is overrun by the living masters of jazz. For six weeks, these players teach classes to teenage students by day and dazzle the general public at night. One of the headliners of this year's festival was Kenny Garrett, who was making not only his first appearance at the venerable festival, but his only San Francisco Bay Area gig of 2001.In the cozy confines of Dinkelspiel Auditorium, playing seven tunes in ...

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Live Review

McCoy Tyner @ Yoshi's

by Forrest Bryant
March 8, 2004

McCoy Tyner's annual two-week residency at Yoshi's jazz club in Oakland is always an “event", with all performances selling out well in advance. For the first week of this year's stay, Tyner was matched up with an all-star lineup in a classic quintet arrangement. They did not disappoint. The Sunday matinee show was exciting, often brilliant, and brimming with joy.But let's get one thing straight. Tyner may have been the headliner, but the real star of the show was ...

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Live Review

San Francisco Salutes Sonny Rollins

by Forrest Bryant
March 8, 2004

There are ordinary men and there are giants. And then there's the Saxophone Colossus.The concert halls of San Francisco were ringing with that declaration in April, as the SF Jazz Organization devoted a week of its spring season to the greatest living saxophone master. Concluding the honors on back-to-back nights were a visit from the man himself and a four-way jam session celebrating his songbook.Rollins' fans are legion, and they jammed Masonic Auditorium from floor to rafters to ...

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Live Review

Take It from the Top

by Forrest Bryant
January 10, 2003

Happy New Year! A new calendar calls for new beginnings, of course, and Bay Boppin' is no exception to the rule. In the past, this column has been—not sporadic—let's say occasional; yes, that's a nice, polite word. And focused. That's a much better word than 'limited' or 'narrow' or 'slavishly devoted to reviewing SFJAZZ concerts.' But no more. The Bay Area jazz scene merits a lot more than that, and here at All About Jazz we're committed to seeing ...