Sep 24

Sep 24 HPJF 2022 (Day 1)

Chicago, Chicago Tourism, Festivals, Jazz, Musicians, Performance, Things to Do in Chicago

The sixteenth annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival wrapped up late this afternoon with a terrific closing set from trumpeter Victor Garcia and his sextet. With Garcia were Rocky Yera (tenor saxophone), Richard Johnson (piano), Josh Ramos (bass), Victor González (congas) and Jonathan Wenzel (drums). No new ground was cut, but that is not supposed to happen during the last set after a long and fruitful weekend of jazz. The crowd heard topflight solos, with Latin rhythms added to the mix.

Appropriately, the festival began 29 hours earlier with Darren Johnston’s Life in Time in the courtyard of the Smart Museum. Johnston is another trumpeter, but is far edgier than Garcia, which may because he has split his time between San Francisco and Brooklyn. With Johnston, was the formidable rhythm section comprised of Dana Hall (drums) and Clark Sommers (bass). I spoke with Johnston later in the day (super nice guy), and he agreed that Hall and Sommers pose a welcome challenge because they have long worked together, so anyone working with them must ride their well-honed groove—which Johnston did with finesse. Rounding out the band was Geof Bradfield (tenor and soprano saxophone), who was excellent as usual.

Once I left the Smart Museum, all hell broke with. There is so much music to hear. I headed to the Wagner Stage on the Midway Plaisance, where Lenard Simpson (alto saxophone) was putting his band through its paces. Midway through the set, I scrambled over to the Logan Center, where pianist Jim Baker was soloing in the penthouse performance space. Baker is always interesting. Today, he left the electronics behind, opting for the acoustic piano.

It was then down to the Logan Center Performance Hall, where a long-delayed performance finally had beaten back Covid. Cellist Tomeka Reid and her colleague Silvia Bolognesi (bass) had teamed up with QWANQWA, a group of musicians from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia who play traditional instruments but with an experimental flare. Rhythm washed over the stage, with lots of colorful tones. I particularly enjoyed the violin and vocal work.

But at the HPJF, it is impossible to stay in one place too long, so I headed over to the West Stage on the Midway Plaisance to catch drummer Isaiah Spencer’s organ quintet, with Dan Chase on organ. Loud and rocking.

I then hightailed it over to the Wagner Stage for pianist Ryan Cohan’s Quartet. To some extent, Cohan plays straight-ahead jazz, but he is a very thoughtful player, so the several numbers I caught were enjoyable. Particularly notable was the John Wojciechowksi on sax and Ethan Philion on bass. I’ve been seeing a lot of Philon lately. His Mingus tribute at Chicago Jazz Fest earlier this month was terrific.

But one can’t dawdle, so next it was over to the Hyde Park Union Church, where the the Michael Dease/Chris Madsen Quartet was performing. They certainly aren’t “whacked,” but they aren’t conventional either. I always enjoy any performance where the trombone (Dease) is a featured instrument. Dana Hall and Clark Summers were once again fueling the entire affair with their rhythm work.

Then I headed back to the West Stage for some blues. Billy Branch and the Sons of the Blues put in a typically raucous set; one that the crowd ate up. Branch was once again the best dressed man in sight. He always is, but it only matters if Branch can blow harp, and he does know how to blow.

Once Branch finished, I made the quick trip to the Wagner Stage, where Camille Thurman was playing sax and singing with a terrific band backing her. Both her singing and playing are topflight and go down smooth, which explains why she is a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. With her was Duane Eubanks on trumpet. He is quite the player.

But there was still more: I headed back to the West Stage for Etienne Charles & Creole Soul. Charles is quite the dresser, giving Branch a run for his money. Creole Soul? It was now Saturday night, and the audience wanted some swinging dance music from New Orleans, which is exactly what they got, particularly when Charles exchanged his trumpet for the congras.

After Charles, I returned to the Wagner Stage, where the great Charles McPherson was playing some straight-ahead jazz, with Terell Stafford on trumpet. I first saw McPherson in 1975 at the a Newport Jazz Festival concert at Carnegie Hall celebrating what would have been Charlie Parker’s 75th birthday. We have both aged considerably since then, but McPherson still sounds as great at the young phenom he was back then.

It was then over to International House, where Ernest Dawkins was leading a quartet of young players—notably Oscar Evely (drums) and Leo Milano (tenor sax). it was great to watch the interaction between Dawkins and his two young proteges. Both sides were eating it up.

Finally, I headed over to Rockefeller Chapel for Samara Joy’s 11:00 PM concert. She was the big disappointment of the day. Yes, she has a beautiful voice, but she just doesn’t know how to use it, particularly on a Saturday night. Among her selections were April in Paris and Nancy Wilson’s Guess Who I Saw Today? Her set was devoid of gestures, humor, blues, and swing. Her guitar player, Pasquale Grasso, was superb, but I am a sucker for hollow-body electric jazz guitar.

In fairness to Joy, I was a in a distinct minority. The audience loved her performance, so you should head down to the Jazz Showcase in November (10th-13th) to hear for yourself.

Despite Joy’s uninspired performance, I heard a lot of great music; I was now exhausted. Along the way, I took a break for a piazza that came out of a wood-fired pizza oven located on the Midway. It was as good as Ernest Dawkins, which is saying a lot.

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