Sep 2

Sep 2 Chicago Jazzfest--Day 3

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

Day 3 of the Chicago Jazz Festival: The temperatures are beginning to climb, just as the weatherman predicted. But the line up holds so much promise that the solution to the heat simple: move slowly, stay hydrated, and keep listening to the great music.

As is true of prior Jazzfests, I began today (Saturday) on the Harris Rooftop, where six groups of Young Lions would show their technical prowess and love of jazz. Yes, the high school students are back again this year. I stayed for performances by students from the Chicago High School for the Arts, Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, and Lane Tech College Prep High School.

Because these students are under the direction of adults, the groups tend to stick to jazz standards, although I do recall at least one original composition. While I was present, these young phenoms played Benny Golson’s Killer Joe, Gigi Grye’s Minority (as reinterpreted by Marquis Hill), Charlie Parker’s My Little Suede Shoes, and a number by Thelonious Monk.

As proof that these kids are listening to today’s jazz superstars, they also took on Marquis Hill’s Thump. Watching closely, I noticed that the students started talking among themselves so that the ending notes for one number were in sync. During the Charlie Parker number, I noticed the drummer softly singing the guitar lines.

To some extent, the numbers sound over-practiced, but that most likely is the ‘fault’ of the band directors rather than the students. To be clear, that observation is not meant to detract from the effort behind or the quality of the performances. I would be interesting, however, in seeing what these young masters do when they are liberated from adult direction. They represent jazz’s future.

After 45 minutes, I then headed to the Von Freeman Pavilion to catch vocalist Devon Sandridge, who looks to Johnny Hartman for inspiration, which explains one of his selections, While We Were Young. Initially, Sandridge’s deep voice and rigid gesturing left me cold, but as I listened longer, I warmed up to him and his rich vocalizations.

Sandridge is promoting his new album entitled Storyteller. He completely won me over: I bought a copy. I was impressed with his guitar player, Derek Duleba, who is starting a masters degree program at Julliard under the direction of Wynton Marsalis. I will be keeping an eye open for him whenever I am in New York City. At times, I thought Luke Sagadin’s drumming was mismatched with Sandridge’s slow, but clear diction. I suspect the mismatch was due to over-miking rather than the Sagadin’s technique.

Sandridge was supported by Tom Vaitsas on organ, so I sensed a theme when the Theodis Rodgers Organ Trio took the stage following Sandridge’s set. Drummer Charles Heath was in the house, with guitarist Michael Ross. I am a fan of organ combos, and these three were in the groove today, doing justice to the format.

Vocalist Carmen Stokes was up next. I was unfamiliar with her, but will make a point to see her when she performs in Chicago again. She is exuberant, while at the same time, somewhat incongruously understated.

As I have noted before, the days and the sets do become a blur. At one point in the afternoon, I caught Rene Avila's Afro-Cuban Quintet at the WDCB Jazz Lounge. The station used this performance to pay tribute Victor Parra, the host of WBCB’s Mambo Express until he retired in 2017. Parra who died August 1, 2023. Avila’s group fit the bill perfectly, particularly with Joe Sonnefeldt on vibes.

Unfortunately, I missed Thaddeus Tukes’ set at the Jazz Lounge later in the day, but I did catch part of the Brown Sisters’ set, which means I heard some remembrances of their father, Oscar Brown Jr.

Around 4:00 PM, I headed over to the Pritzker Pavilion, which would be my base of operations for the remainder of the day. First up, Tammy McCann. I last saw McCann at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, where she devoted an entire set to a superb reinterpretation of Mahalia Jackson, which meant I was looking forward to seeing what McCann would do today. With her was guitarist Fareed Haque, playing both guitar and a sigutar, which is mashup between a guitar and a sitar.

McCann did not disappoint. During her set, she took on War’s The World is a Ghetto, commenting on the 400 shooting deaths to date. She also did a medley that included Nina Simone’s Bye Bye Blackbird and the Beatles’ Blackbird. Throughout the set, Haque filled in the details with some wonderful guitar work.

After McCann left the stage, it was time for Brandee Younger, a harp player who has taken up the jazz mantle. MC, Neal Tesser asked the assembly how many jazz harpists they could name. Alice Coltrane is the easy one, but true to form, Tesser rattled off some rather obscure names.

Over the years, I’ve seen Younger in a variety of contexts, and I have always enjoyed her playing. She stayed true to form today, and I enjoyed the ensemble, but as my prior comments suggest, I headed back to the WDCB jazz lounge mid set.

Fortunately, I returned to the Priztker Pavilion before South African pianist Ndudzu Makhathini took the stage. Like the late Randy Weston, Makhathini is a large man. And like Weston, his playing his very percussive.

With the possible exception of Ron Carter’s performance, Makhathini gave the best performance through Day 3 of the Festival. My mind immediately jumped to Abdullah Ibrahim, who is one of my favorite pianists. Later, when I reviewed the program, Ibrahim was identified as Makhathini’s mentor. Spot on. Other influences, according to the program, include Don Pullen, McCoy Tyner, and Thelonious Monk.

With Makhathini were Francisco Mela on drums and Zwelakhe-Duma Bell Le Pere on double bass. Le Pere wins the photographer’s award for most photogenically dressed musician that I’ve seen so far at this year’s festival—he is also a great player.

While Makhathini plays, he keeps a steady stream of vocalizations coming. Toward the end of the set, Makhathini, gave the assembly a five-minute discourse on his cosmology, and how it relates to the Bantu world.

Makhathni recently received his doctorate from Stellenbosch University, so his ideas should not be taking lightly. Maybe his next performance in Chicago should be at the University of Chicago, with a discussion of his thesis preceding the performance.

Makhathini is also a Sangoma, or healer. His music certainly has healing properties embedded in it. One thing is abundantly clear: He will be in high demand as a jazz pianist at jazz festivals and clubs around the United States. Everyone I spoke with after the performance was gobsmacked.

Following a short intermission, internationally-renowned percussionist Makaya McCraven took the stage, accompanied by alto saxophonist Greg Ward, trumpeter Marquis Hill, vibraphonist Joel Ross, harpist Brandee Younger, guitarist Matt Gold, and bassist Junius Paul. The Chicago jazz ‘mafia’ was back, ready to play in a different format.

I certainly can’t question the musicianship, but the evening’s finale felt a little flat to me. I suspect my expectations, which were very high, were the issue. I’ve seen McCraven work in a number of formats over the years, playing a variety of percussion instruments. His tends to go for tight-rope-walking experimentation, and that was not in evidence tonight. To repeat, not a bad effort, but not up to the caliber that I was expecting.

And so the 3rd day of the Chicago Jazz Festival came to an end.

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