Jazz Fest Full of Talent, Creative Programming
The best evidence that the Detroit International Jazz Festival has dramatically upped the quality of its programming is that aficionados had scheduling conflicts all weekend long. The chance that you had to mortgage one can't-miss act for another was perhaps the highest in the festival's 29 years.
The trend toward tough choices actually began with last year's festival. But this year the conflicts got worse -- or better, if you get my drift.
Throughout the annual Labor Day festival, which came to a close Monday night at Hart Plaza, there were six- to seven-hour shifts during which you could only throw up your hands and laugh at the orgy of overlapping talent on the menu. The point is not so much that bigger is better but that better is better.
The thematic programming and curatorial bent that executive and artistic director Terri Pontremoli began to explore in 2007 flowered with more creativity this year. The theme -- “A Love Supreme: The Philly-Detroit Summit" -- played out in myriad satisfying ways, including: Well-considered tributes to forces as diverse as Detroiters Alice Coltrane and Marvin Gaye; a rare Detroit appearance by tenor saxophonist Bootsie Barnes, a legendary Philadelphia bebopper barely known outside of his hometown; and performances by leading figures with roots in Detroit or Philly.
The result was a festival where the sweeping impact of the whole equaled more than the sum of the individual performances. You left with a more nuanced understanding of the two cities and their historic connections. But -- and this is key -- the festival never played out like a pedantic affair pitched to jazz dweebs. It was fun, though it was also a festival a jazz dweeb could love, gratefully shorn of crossover garbage, and filled with legitimate stars and insider favorites. Quality is entertaining.
Not that the festival doesn't have work to do. Progressive currents are still under-represented, not all of the bookings are as hip as Detroit deserves and festival leaders need to pursue more ambitious commissions and Detroit-only projects. But the party is swinging again, praise the ghost of Duke Ellington.
The trend toward tough choices actually began with last year's festival. But this year the conflicts got worse -- or better, if you get my drift.
Throughout the annual Labor Day festival, which came to a close Monday night at Hart Plaza, there were six- to seven-hour shifts during which you could only throw up your hands and laugh at the orgy of overlapping talent on the menu. The point is not so much that bigger is better but that better is better.
The thematic programming and curatorial bent that executive and artistic director Terri Pontremoli began to explore in 2007 flowered with more creativity this year. The theme -- “A Love Supreme: The Philly-Detroit Summit" -- played out in myriad satisfying ways, including: Well-considered tributes to forces as diverse as Detroiters Alice Coltrane and Marvin Gaye; a rare Detroit appearance by tenor saxophonist Bootsie Barnes, a legendary Philadelphia bebopper barely known outside of his hometown; and performances by leading figures with roots in Detroit or Philly.
The result was a festival where the sweeping impact of the whole equaled more than the sum of the individual performances. You left with a more nuanced understanding of the two cities and their historic connections. But -- and this is key -- the festival never played out like a pedantic affair pitched to jazz dweebs. It was fun, though it was also a festival a jazz dweeb could love, gratefully shorn of crossover garbage, and filled with legitimate stars and insider favorites. Quality is entertaining.
Not that the festival doesn't have work to do. Progressive currents are still under-represented, not all of the bookings are as hip as Detroit deserves and festival leaders need to pursue more ambitious commissions and Detroit-only projects. But the party is swinging again, praise the ghost of Duke Ellington.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
