The Montclair Jazz Festival, held in downtown Montclair, NJ (12 miles from NYC) rightfully bills itself as “the largest free jazz festival on the East Coast.” Estimates of 30-35,000 attendees lined the city’s main artery, Bloomfield Avenue, which transformed into a pedestrian way, filled with craft vendors, food trucks and two major performing stages on a gorgeously sunny but breezy September 10, 2022, for the Downtown Jamboree Grand Finale. The festival had major sponsors such as presenting firm BDP Holdings LLC, Amazon, Verizon, and others – absolutely essential to making an event of this magnitude possible. Produced by Jazz House Kids, the musical education organization run by the city’s “first couple of jazz,” Melissa Walker and Christian McBride, unveiled a top-shelf lineup of talent, curated by McBride in his role as Artistic Director (also Artistic Director for the Newport Jazz Festival). To see the massive throngs enjoying jazz was a sight to behold. By comparison, prestigious festivals such as Newport and Monterey typically attract well under 10,000. Yes, “Free” is a powerful motivator.
The stages were spaced at opposite ends of the closed-off section of Bloomfield Avenue, a considerable 10–15-minute trek uphill, which precluded the kind of back and forth to stages that one might have at other festivals, so it was a matter of making those hard decisions. This writer, who arrived a little late, and like the rest of the attendees, had to deal with delays and scheduling issues, was able to take in five of the ten acts, beginning with Latin Grammy-nominated Chilean vocalist Claudia Acuña, backed by her all-Chilean stellar trio on the Fullerton Stage. She possesses a terrific, clear-toned voice and delivered a stirring set that included selections from her two most recent efforts, 2018’s Latin Grammy-nominated Turning Pages and 2019’s DUO. There was a distinct Latin flavor, accented by her hand-held percussion for “Blackberry Garden,” a bluesy feel to “Hold My Hand” and a celebratory kick to the female anthem closer, “Hey.”
The Cookers, an all-acoustic septet comprised of two NEA Jazz Masters and five other highly acclaimed players followed, delivering their brand of post-bop and hard bop. Boasting a four-horn front line of tenorist Billy Harper, trumpeter and bandleader Davis Weiss, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and NEA Jazz Master, altoist Donald “Chief” Harrison, the ensemble work was masterful, let alone the ripping, potent soloing. The trio of pianist David Kikoski, bassist Cecil McBee, and drummer, NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart propelled the unit through a mix of original and classic material to an elated response from the sun-dappled and shade-seeking crowd. NOTE: The Fullerton Stage lineup also had Matthew Whitaker, Immanuel Wilkins, and Monty Alexander’s Harlem-Kingston Express.
Artemis, the all-female all-acoustic supergroup on Blue Note, now in its second or third incarnation, played to several enthusiastic ovations from the main, more easily accessible Lackawanna Stage. These women, pianist and bandleader Renee Rosnes, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenorist Nicole Glover, altoist, and flutist Alexa Tarantino, bassist Noriko Ueda, and drummer Allison Miller, swing hard. Glover and Jensen are especially aggressive soloists and Miller is a powerhouse on the kit. Rosnes, the group’s leader and principal arranger, also has her own band and shows up in several combos including Ron Carter’s Foursight Quartet. She is consistently on the mark.
The fusion quarter OSMOSYS, is a quartet led by exciting keyboardist Rachel Z and her drumming husband Omar Hakim (fresh off a heralded weekend at London’s Wembley Stadium where he performed with surving members of Rush and others at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute show). Z first came to fame in the early ‘90s, as a member of the seminal jazz-fusion band Steps Ahead helmed by vibist Mike Mainieri and later in 2010 in The Trio of OZ with Hakim. She was also a participant in Stanley Clarke and Lenny White’s jazz fusion project Vertú, and she also toured extensively with Peter Gabriel. The drummer is probably best known for his tenure with Weather Report, and has, recorded with the likes of Miles Davis, George Benson, David Bowie, Sting, Madonna, Dire Straits and Kate Bush. The super-charged jazz-rock fusion was quite a change from the acoustic offerings but their linkage to Foo Fighters, and the tune “These Days” was more than enough to satisfy the diverse audience.
Christian McBride has yet another new band. Billed as Christian McBride and Friends, the new group includes keyboardist Mike King, drummer Savannah Harris, tenorist Nicole Glover (making her second appearance of the day), and guitarist Ely Perlman. It’s a versatile quintet than straddles both acoustic and fusion as McBride doubles on electric bass and King on Rhodes and keys. Their short set offered strong harmonics from the combination of King, Glover, and Perlman and outstanding solos from each member, especially McBride on both his standup and electric bass. The program featured Donald Brown’s “Theme from Alpha,” Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance” arranged by King and rendered in fusion, and two McBride compositions – the teeming ballad “A Morning Story” and off-the-hook blistering funk of “Brouhaha,” the closer. NOTE: The Lackawanna Stage lineup also had Jazz House Collective celebrating Mingus, and Danielle Ponder. There was an after party with turntablist DJ Logic at the Wellmont Theater.
An event of this magnitude takes the collaboration of a village and more. Kudos to all for an outstanding job. For more information and news on next year’s event which is a three-month endeavor beginning in July, visit https://jazzhousekids.org
Photos by Mark Robbins
