With the Detroit International Jazz Festival now just eight days away, you can practically sense the scene mentally and physically turning a corner, gathering its collective strength for the coming four-day explosion. The pre-festival series of gigs -- which jazz fest leaders have been using to showcase local talent and raise awareness of the Labor Day weekend event -- reaches its apex with two events this weekend.
The young guitarist Randy Napoleon, who grew up in Ann Arbor and studied at the University of Michigan, returns with a sextet to perform at Cliff Bell's. A regular visitor, Napoleon last played in town as a member of vocalist-pianist Freddy Cole's suave quartet, and he's toured extensively with pop singer Michael Bubl, the straight-ahead pianist Benny Green and the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
Napoleon is something of a throwback to an era in which jazz musicians knew how to express themselves without shouting at the top of their lungs. He plays with a gentle, purring tone that makes you lean in close to hear its range of color and articulation. His improvisations are true narratives, a collection of shapely melodies rather than a series of prepackaged licks. There is nothing innovative about Napoleon's approach, but it is a tasteful, well-crafted and expressive statement of mainstream values and the classic jazz guitar tradition that grew from Wes Montgomery and others.
The young guitarist Randy Napoleon, who grew up in Ann Arbor and studied at the University of Michigan, returns with a sextet to perform at Cliff Bell's. A regular visitor, Napoleon last played in town as a member of vocalist-pianist Freddy Cole's suave quartet, and he's toured extensively with pop singer Michael Bubl, the straight-ahead pianist Benny Green and the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
Napoleon is something of a throwback to an era in which jazz musicians knew how to express themselves without shouting at the top of their lungs. He plays with a gentle, purring tone that makes you lean in close to hear its range of color and articulation. His improvisations are true narratives, a collection of shapely melodies rather than a series of prepackaged licks. There is nothing innovative about Napoleon's approach, but it is a tasteful, well-crafted and expressive statement of mainstream values and the classic jazz guitar tradition that grew from Wes Montgomery and others.
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