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The Day Jazz Took Over the Mall
The Day Jazz Took Over the Mall
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The nation's capital has long been home to great jazz — but never more so than during the DC Jazz Festival. After 13 days, the 2011 edition is now in the books.
Historically, the Festival's signature event has been a free afternoon-long concert on the National Mall, at the bandshell on the slopes of the Washington Monument. This year, with the weather hot and humid, I took in the show this Sunday with Giovanni Russonello, proprietor of the excellent local jazz blog CapitalBop.
After the concert, I wanted some perspective on how this event fits into Washington, D.C.'s jazz landscape. (CapitalBop put together a few shows that were part of this year's festival — which also gives Russonello a unique viewpoint on how the festival works.) So we had this conversation over instant message, also cross-posted at his blog.
A Blog Supreme: I was just thinking how sitting all day in the sun is really tiring. We're really working in the coal mines with this jazz journalism thing.
CapitalBop: Ah yes. Never seen so many people willingly spend their off days in a coal mine, though.
ABS: Is it that sticky-swampy hot in coal mines?
CB: Nothing's as sticky-swampy hot as D.C. in August. And this felt exactly like August.
ABS: Well, we were out for about seven hours in it. The brief rain delay cooled things off, blessedly — I don't know if I would have made it to Eddie Palmieri had it not been for some fortuitous meteorological intervention. But I'm glad I stayed: Palmieri's set, although weather-shortened, was great.
CB: Definitely. It was funny — the sun was going down and then Eddie got people sweating again, dancing all over the place. It was by far the most engaged I'd seen the audience all day, I think, which was surprising after a full day of jazz. Or, "jazz."
ABS: Yea, I agree. A lot of the other acts brought tons of energy, but nobody got people to get their dance on like top-notch, straight-from-the-source Afro-Latin jazz. Plus, the best tres guitar player I've ever seen.
CB: Right. Amazing, subtle innovators, too. Palmieri has got this Monkish Latin jazz touch to his playing that you don't really hear anywhere else — at least not on stuff that's strictly classifiable "Latin jazz" like this was.
ABS: As I recall the lineup, you might be on to something with your scare quotes for "jazz." The lineup was pretty diverse, but it doesn't feature what DC's scene is known best for: straight-ahead swing.
CB: Nope. I thought this lineup lined up perfectly with the image of jazz put forth in the new Smithsonian Anthology. That is, that it's the world's music, an instrument or a tool for expression that can be applied to traditions across the globe. Which is obviously a tremendous thing. It's sort of like, "We've hit upon this rubric, this particular blend of composition and improvisation and communal thinking, and it really can catch on anywhere."
ABS: I think the best example of that came in Claudia Acuna's set. You know, she's originally from Chile, but she had top-notch New York jazz players behind her — Daniel Freedman on drums, Mark Kelley on electric bass, Marc Cary (DC native) subbing on keys. What came out wasn't exactly Latin jazz like Eddie Palmieri, but it had lots of musicianship, lots of feeling. Plus, she had the Venezuelan guitarist Juancho Herrera, who filled out that studied-but-folkloric approach she has to South American songs and rhythms.
CB: Exactly. What it didn't have as much of were the typical trappings of the North American jazz tradition. You talked about it having a real folk element to it, and I think that's the centripetal force of her music. Its pulse is very much Chilean folk. It was fantastic, and her voice is almost unbelievably rich. I thought she gave both the jazz standards and South American folk songs some very personal readings.
ABS: Agreed. Kinda husky and dark — it's got some character.
CB: What did you think of Roy Hargrove's set, rain-shortened as it was?
ABS: See, there was another jazz-trained musician leading a band (presumably of other largely jazz-trained musicians) which didn't make jazz music. It came from the same common jazz ancestor for sure, but his RH Factor band is more dedicated to a certain sultry, electrified funk. (There were three keyboard players!)
CB: Right! So maybe that proves the day wasn't just about showing the different ways that jazz adheres around the world –- but also about how well it can intermingle with other genres in this continent. Music doesn't need to be bundled and separated. Then again, it would have been nice to hear some jazz.
ABS: Right. And this wasn't really "jazz-funk" as it was defined in the early '70s — more funk, funk.
CB: The best wedding band you've ever heard, maybe.
ABS: They definitely closed the joint down with some Parliament, "Give up the Funk." Roy doing a little singing, you know.
CB: Yea, not that much trumpet playing, though.
ABS: When he did play, you could see that he's got mad skills ... but a bit of space and groove and laying out, sure.
CB: No arguing with that! It was Roy Hargrove. Always good to see the master.
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For press inquiries please contact Joe Kildea at (202) 210-3250 or joekildea@rational360.com.