The Jazz Loft Presents The John Monteleone Art of the Guitar Festival: The Anthony Wilson Organ Trio

When summer settles in, jazz fans turn their focus toward festivals. No stranger to this scenario, The Jazz Loft, in Stony Brook, NY, draws plenty of ears and cheers with its John Monteleone Art of the Guitar Festival. A celebration of a master luthier, his instruments and those who wield them, this eagerly anticipated event offers serious archtop allure. Previous editions have included appearances from the likes of John Pizzarelli, Russell Malone, Dario Napoli, Vinny Raniolo, and Ratko Zjaca, among others, and the 2024 extravaganza—running from Thursday, August 1 through Saturday, August 3—boasted more strings-attached celebrity.

Steve Salerno ushered in the festivities at an opening reception and joined Monteleone to deliver an afternoon workshop on the weekend; the Saturday concert slate looked toward dynamic duos—Frank Vignola and Pasquale Grasso, and Martin Taylor with vocalist Alison Burns; and Friday's first fingerwork display(s) came courtesy of Laurence Juber (of Paul McCartney and Wings fame). That Beatle associate's well-received drive-time show was followed by another very strong draw—an evening concert from West Coast heavyweight Anthony Wilson, leading a trio featuring organist Gary Versace and drummer Kenny Wollesen.

Tom Manuel, The Jazz Loft's President and Founder, and Chris Paradysz, the Director of the festival and one of the venue's Trustees, each spoke to the packed house and added some perspective and history with their remarks. And Wilson, working his way through two sets, proved to be a rich and generous storyteller in song and speech. His anecdotes helped to serve as perfect framing tools, introducing or following one stunning number after another, and his background—as a lauded bandleader, star sideman and the son of jazz legend Gerald Wilson—tied everything together.

Opening with Django Reinhardt's "Fleur d'Ennui," Wilson and company set things in motion with a straight-time groove cruise. That performance led to lengthy commentary—about John Pisano, Joe Pass and his For Django (Pacific, 1964) album; Wilson's earliest aural encounter with Monteleone's craftsmanship, via "Crystal Silence" on David Grisman and Martin Taylor's Tone Poems 2 (Acoustic Disc, 1995); and Hushpuckena, a town in the Mississippi Delta near to his roots...and the title of the band's agrarian soul-based follow-up tune. Then friendship drew attention with a performance of "The Lands," a modal blues-indebted tribute to saxophonist Harold Land and his family, a close part of the elder Wilson's circle. One of several numbers from the guitarist's Hackensack West (Cohearent, 2024) to appear on the program, it proved to be an early highlight.

Shifting gears for the penultimate tune in the first portion of the concert, Wilson spoke warmly of Juber, discussed English singer-songwriter Earl Okin and his time opening for Wings, and delivered a solo guitar-and-vocal rendition of the latter's "Yesterday's Wine." Then the set closed with "The Geranium," a sly number from the leader's Frogtown (Goat Hill, 2016) that readily invited a quickly passing "On Broadway" quote. The break provided an opportunity for the audience to admire the collection of priceless guitar-tifacts behind Wilson—George Benson's 1958 D'Angelico New Yorker, two Archtop Foundation-owned Blue Guitars, Al Viola's Epiphone, etc. And prior to the second set Paradysz introduced Lynn Wheelwright, a vintage guitar scholar and the owner of Charlie Christian's Gibson ES-250, also on display at this year's fest.

When Wilson, Versace and Wollesen returned to the floor after intermission, they arrived with a two-pronged pull from Hackensack West: "Daido," honoring Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama and his grainy black-and-white street scenes, followed by Todd Rundgren's "Marlene." The latter, which the leader cited for its wonderfully Bacharach-esque harmonic language, featured some of the evening's strongest trading between guitar and organ. Moving elsewhere—and further back in time—Wilson crafted an absolutely breathtaking version of Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." Delivering ornamented A sections sans band, he had everyone—Wollesen included—looking on with rapt admiration. When the band finally entered on the bridge, the beauty held.

Mirroring his first set, Wilson gave Versace and Wollesen a rest while he sang and played solo on Mose Allison's "Fool's Paradise." Both a nod to a favorite all-around talent and a sign of respect to another legendary Northwestern Mississippian like his father, the performance ran over with wit and humor, especially through juxtapositions (and lyrical updates) of old truths against newer communication technology. Then the evening reached its conclusion with a mellow "Sunday," pointing toward Hackensack West one last time, and "Mezcal," from Jack of Hearts (Groove Note, 2009). Just as smoky and seductive as its eponymous spirit, that closer's sound hit just right for the night. The concert left the crowd fully satiated, and these photos, documenting the event, offer a small glimpse of an incredibly strong performance within a first-class festival setting.