The semi-annual Exit Zero Jazz Festival, held October 25-27, 2024, in the nation’s oldest ocean resort, Cape May, NJ, featured the usual loyal, enthusiastic jazz audiences and its famed eclectic lineup. The mild temperatures made it conducive to taking in acts on the sunny deck or at the nearby clubs, which were overflowing the entire weekend. We attended from Friday through Sunday, shared meals with friends, met many jazz lovers and a few artists, and witnessed acts in Convention Hall and nearby Carney’s.
Friday Highlights – Live wire act, alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin had a new backing trio, including a young drummer, playing only his second gig. Nonetheless, the spot-on nods to the Coltranes remained the feature of her show, which always also has Benjamin imploring the audience to rhythm clap, stomp their feet, or somehow reflect her contagious energy. She calls her band Phoenix, the same name as her most recent three-time Grammy-nominated album. She delivered her political “American Skin” and dabbled briefly in some hip-hop and funk while showing she could also play ‘old school’. Benjamin was, as she typically is, on fire.
One of New Orleans’ top brass bands, The Soul Rebels, had the first evening spot and maintained the high energy level, getting the crowd on their feet and walking off stage into the audience, stopping just short of forming a second-line parade. Like most brass bands, they featured a four-horn front line of two trumpets, a tenor, and a trombone with ‘the big horn,’ the tuba in the back. One of the more exciting facets was the two drummers, both standing, one with bass drum and the other with snare, each with the kits built out with cymbals and other percussion elements.
Eight-time Grammy winner and one of jazz’s top personalities, Christian McBride, introduced his latest working band, Ursa Major, comprised of younger emerging talents drawn from several locales. The band has been playing for about two years and will debut their first recording in January 2025 on a 7-inch 45rpm. They are keyboardist Mike King, who plays the full array of acoustic, electric, and synths; tenor saxophonist and member of all-female Artemis, Nicole Glover, drummer Savannah Harris (Marta Sanchez), and Tel-Avid-born guitarist Ely Perlman. McBride played acoustic and electric bass as several compositions bordered on fusion. Each band member had multiple solo opportunities, with King and Perlman drawing the most audience approval. The repertoire included two from McBride, one from Don Brown, pianist of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, a sterling arrangement by King of Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance,” a composition from Harris, and two from Perlman, “Elevation” and “Cows” which were most impressive for their wide-ranging dynamics and harmonics.
Saturday Highlights – There is not a jazz ensemble playing today that’s comprised of as many legends as The Cookers. They feature three NEA Jazz Masters – altoist Donald “Big Chief” Harrison, bassist Cecil McBee, drummer Billy Hart, and two others that may eventually get that honor – pianist George Cables and trumpeter Eddie Henderson. Trumpeter David Weiss leads the group and also featured tenorist Wayne Escoffery. Solo opportunities were generous, to say the least, with Harrison and Escoffery incredibly aggressive among the four-horn front line through compositions from Cable, McBee, Harrison, and other jazz giants. In the presence of so much greatness, you just soak it in. The prevailing takeaway was the frontline harmonics of the closing choruses on many tunes – what a sound!
Pianist and Zulu healerNduduzo Makhathini brought his creative mysticism alongside bassist Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere and Cuban drummer Francisco Mela. The program was largely from his most recent Blue Note release, uNomkhubulwane. Makhathini plays piano and sings (rather chants) in his native language, creating a hypnotic, transcendent vibe with a tight trio. Yet, their dynamic range included mellow, highly melodic material to the highly percussive, thunderous piano of McCoy Tyner, to whom Nduduzo is most compared. The audience was mostly spellbound, but the encore brought out a call and response to his chanting. He related to me later, “I felt a connection.” Midway through the program, he spoke to the audience about his beliefs that time is elastic and that “jazz is a protest for all that’s been taken away.” His was a stunning, highly memorable set.
Trumpeter Keyon Harrold and his Foreverland ensemble, a sextet, played material from the guest-filled album of the same name released earlier this year. Vocalist Malaya (from American Idol, no less) highlighted several songs, including “Find Your Peace” and “It’s a Beautiful Day.” The gist of program with its emphasis on peace, love, and freedom (somewhat akin to Lakecia Benjamin’s) seems just a little trite in these times. Harrold’s trumpet playing is top shelf, and the instrumental portions of the program were arguably stronger than the vocal pieces, especially “The Intellectual” over a slow-burning hip-hop groove. Yet, the set seemed like a series of disconnected rather than cohesive pieces, leaving us a bit flat, especially compared to the prior acts.
Sunday – The duo of vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and pianist Bill Charlap brought their unique, improvisational shtick to the stage, covering the Great American Songbook as no two others can. Bridgewater can wring out every nuance of the song as she did several times, but most memorably on “In the Still of the Night,” in the next minute, gets bawdy and raunchy on a blues tune. Charlap just improvises as few know the standards canon as well as he does. Another highlight was one they had never performed – Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and the back. Their stage routine, though, is a highlight as well, with a seated Bridgewater at times getting up to dance or to stand behind Charlap’s shoulder to convey even more intimacy., We heard “Blue Indigo,” “My Funny Valentine,” “Honeysuckle Rose,” “I’m Beginning to See the Light,” and a killer closer “Come Rain or Come Shine,” among others. Yet, it all came off so casually. None had any written material, and there was likely no setlist. Talents of this caliber need neither. It was truly special.
Opening was a very talented guitarist, Marel Hidalgo, only 16 years old, who you need to watch for, as well as his pianist, Mike Bond. The two are destined to be forces in jazz for the future. Hidalgo plays with blinding speed and articulation, and both have chops to spare.
An added feature for this edition was the deck performances from two youth groups of aspiring, talented musicians, with the weather totally obliging. The Jazz House Kids and The Heart of Jazz Sextet each had four sets over the three days and impressed the audience with not only their talent but also their professionalism.
Rarely, if anywhere, will you find a festival of this modest size, reaching out to so many different cultures and varied styles. Rarely will you find more loyal and responsive audiences and some of the nicest, gracious folks you’ll ever meet. This combination makes Exit Zero Jazz a must-attend event. Held twice a year, it returns May 16-18 with Terence Blanchard and Samara Joy headlining and in November 6-9 2025. Visit www.exitzerojazzfestival.com for more details.
Photos by Mary Hynes
