Women in Jazz Fest: Spicing Up the Mix

By the time the music finally faded out Saturday night, and only the last, boisterous big-band refrain of “I Enjoy Being a Girl" was left hanging in the air, the Kennedy Center's Fifth Annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival had racked up some pretty impressive numbers: three consecutive nights of music, 15 performances by scores of musicians, and countless examples of jazz artistry worthy of greater exposure.

There was one disheartening figure, however: the surprising number of seats left unoccupied during some of the performances.

“Talent, not gender" is what earned these musicians a place on the bill, stressed NPR's Liane Hansen, who co-hosted the event with its founder, Billy Taylor. Hansen's claim was borne out by the first-rate musicianship heard throughout the festival-talent demonstrated by women and men alike. Indeed, while they were always cast in supporting roles, men often outnumbered the women onstage and contributed to many of the festival's highlights.

Two ensembles composed entirely of women left a big impression: Five Play, a vibrant and versatile outfit led by drummer Sherrie Maricle; and Sharp Five, which boasts an exceptionally gifted front line--flutist Jamie Baum and saxophonist Virginia Mayhew--in addition to the harmonically venturesome pianist Roberta Piket and the tasteful Maryland-bred drummer Allison Miller. Both bands also featured the wonderfully nimble and melodic playing of Australian-born bassist Nicki Parrott.

Another quintet that made a strong showing was led by the young drummer Sylvia Cuenca. Unlike some of the other groups, Cuenca's band didn't appear overly eager to display its versatility. Instead it focused on a series of complementary tunes composed by Joe Henderson, Antonio Carlos Jobim and others. The arrangements, uniformly powered by Cuenca's crisp attack, were further enhanced by a stellar lineup that included trumpeter Eddie Henderson, saxophonist Seamus Blake, pianist Kevin Hayes and bassist Ed Howard.

Baritone saxophonist Claire Daly, leading her own quartet, played the unwieldy horn with robust authority throughout her set, though she never sounded more inspired than when reprising a marvelously quirky tune by Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

Singer Kitty Margolis and singer-violinist Nicole Yarling delivered two of the festival's most exuberant, if unfocused, performances--the former often inspired by bop and scat vocal traditions, the latter fueled by her soulful alto and electric fiddle. More subtle and balanced sounds were generated by the group led by pianist Deanna Witkowski, who saluted the festival's namesake with a striking original composition, and by trombonist Deborah Weisz's quintet. Among other treats, the Weisz ensemble performed a warmly evocative tribute to Melba Liston and Betty O'Hara, two veteran brass players who recently died.

O'Hara was also on everyone's mind when Maiden Voyage, saxophonist Ann Patterson's 16-piece big band, paid homage to its former colleague. Stacy Rowles sang “God Bless the Child" in O'Hara's honor, a performance made all the more soulful and moving by Rowles's eloquent work on fluegelhorn and trumpet. While the band later flexed its muscles, roaring and swinging simultaneously, nothing it performed came close to eclipsing Rowles's heartfelt salute.

Performances by women who have already etched their names in jazz history were scheduled every night. Pianist Marian McPartland, long a festival favorite and this year's recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award, was in typically fine form, whether tipping her hat to composer Ann Ronell with a lovely, impressionistic rendition of “Willow Weep for Me" or recalling Williams's strong attraction to the blues on “What's Your Story Morning Glory?"

Veteran vocalists Flora Purim and Sheila Jordan seduced the audience by turns, each projecting a distinct sound and spirit. Supported by a band boasting percussionist Airto Moreira, keyboardist Marcos Silva and saxophonist Mary Fettig, Purim displayed the still supple and exotic charm of her voice on tunes by Chick Corea and Djavan, among others. Jordan, who remains a dyed-in-the-wool bebopper at age 71, couldn't have been more entertaining as she coolly glided and cleverly improvised her way through a delightful collection of tunes enlivened by pianist Steve Kuhn, bassist David Finck and drummer Lewis Nash.

Acclaimed instrumentalists and composers Joanne Brackeen and Jane Ira Bloom were also heard to excellent advantage. Pianist Brackeen's performance of “Pink Elephant Magic," for example, was every bit as whimsical as it sounds, brightened by an unusually fanciful trio arrangement. Soprano saxophonist Bloom, on the other hand, charged her quartet's performance with a sweeping range of emotional dynamics, so much so that some of her more impassioned and harmonically probing solos nearly rocked her off her feet.

In sharp contrast, veteran pianist and organist Trudy Pitts won over the crowd the old-fashioned way, first with a slow-cooking piano arrangement of “Stolen Moments," then with a series of bluesy, after-hours organ grooves featuring drummer Bill Carney. It's a pity that she, like so many of the other artists featured at this year's festival, rarely gets a chance to perform in Washington.