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Umbria Jazz & Jazz Ascona by W. Royal Stokes
Umbria Jazz and Jazz Ascona reflect the musical tastes of their respective artistic directors, Carlo Pagnotta and Karl Heinz Ern, the former being a self-confessed bebopper, the latter an unabashed lover of traditional jazz and the Swing Era. Yet both face up to the economic realities. To verbalize the obvious, when you book big names you have to pay them big bucks. To cover those costs you need big crowds. Both festivals attract tens of thousands of fans not only of jazz but of pop, blues, gospel, zydeco, and other genres. Umbria Jazz provided indoor ticketed concerts by, for example, Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea for the purist, while for the crowds who throughout the afternoons and evenings throng the open-air free performances there was the high-decibel electronic Gotan Project from Argentina, replete with hi-tech sampling, beat programming, and a dj at turntables, and Sean Ardoin & Zydekool, a high-energy sextet from New Orleans that turned cheering audiences on with its funky beat. Similarly, Jazz Ascona featured the Lars Edegran New Orleans All Stars and Dan Barrett's Swing Party for those whose allegiance is to historic jazz and, for others simply out for an evening's entertainment, the crowd-pleasing antics of saxophonist and Louis Prima band alumnus Sam Butera, the Boston-based blues belter Toni Lynn Washington, and the madcap Johnny Ferreira Swing Machine with its shimmy-and-wiggle singers Tanya Hancheroff and Rebecca Shoichett. For this frequenter of European festivals since the mid-1980s it is hard to recall two locales as beautiful as Ascona, on Lago Maggiore in southern Switzerland and surrounded by mountains, and Perugia, halfway between Rome and Florence in the rolling hills of Umbria. The attractive lakefront is the main festival site of the former and Umbria Jazz takes place on the hilltop Centro Istorico of Perugia, a city chock full of ancient and medieval art and architecture. At Jazz Ascona a reasonably priced fee buys a a pass to the entire festival area. Umbria Jazz has two outdoor stages providing free performances from early afternoon until 2am. Ticketed performances are held in two theaters, a wine tavern, a chapel, a museum, and several restaurants. A principal theme of this year's Umbria Jazz, Europe's unrivaled premier jazz event, was big band jazz of a decidedly contemporary cast. The Vienna Art Orchestra, a 20-member unit of virtuosi, delivered an hour-and-a-half set in Teatro Morlacchi titled "Art & Fun" that recalled the zany arrangements of Sun Ra, the more disciplined approach of Gil Evans, the theatrics of John Zorn, and an Art Ensemble of Chicago gone mad. Yet, guided by its leader, conductor, and arranger Mathias Rüegg and including in its ranks a number of improvising geniuses, these disparate sources were subtly blended into an idiosyncratic artistic whole. In the soloists' extraordinary efforts there were brilliant strokes of originality, for example, a teaming of flugelhorn and bass had the brass player creating an echo effect by alternating his instrument's sound with falsetto voice. The wordless vocals of Anna Lauvergnac lent to the proceedings a haunting ambience. The Carla Bley Big Band, with notables like trumpeter Lew Soloff, trombonist Gary Valente, and electric bassist Steve Swallow aboard, did a half-hour deconstruction of the national anthem that was not only a tour de force blowing session but deeply moving. Soloff was showcased on a delightful, horn-blaring "Fast Lane". "Lo Squattero", a mournful dirge, was dedicated to New York's Central American kitchen workers. Although it had been inactive for a couple of years, the George Russell Living Time Orchestra acquitted itself with distinction as an improvising band under an improvising conductor. Kicking off the evening with his own "Cubana Be/Cubana Bop" and "All about Rosie", Russell then introduced a medley of "folk tunes" the third of which he claimed to have forgotten the name of. Once the first two were dispatched, a 20-minute succession of solos tantalizingly hinted at the melody of the third, which eventually fully revealed itself with a rip-roaring church piano outburst cum gospel vocal and a tumultuous ensemble explosion as "You Are My Sunshine". Uri Caine's solo recital, performed one late afternoon in a packed hall with a 60-foot ceiling in the Galleria Nazionale Dell' Umbria, was a rich demonstration of this eclectic musician's art. Underlying the dense, sometimes thunderous, passages, earth quaking movements, and the races against time that this pianist's fingers can execute, one heard stride, blues, boogie woogie, boppish lines, Hinesian trumpet notes, balladry, on-the-edge Cecil Taylor-like clusters and leaps, and echoes of European classics. He even drummed with his knuckles on the piano's lid and added a coda of "Shave and a Haircut" to one selection. Notwithstanding all these evident sources of inspiration, it all came out Caine. One of the highlights of the festival was the All Star Quartet of Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Dave Holland, and Al Foster, and [begin italics>]the [<end italics] highlight of the evening was Foster, whose sensitivity to the musical needs of his companions puts him in the company of the great time-keepers of this art form, for example, Sid Catlett, Dave Tough, and Max Roach. Guitarist Scofield's dissonant single-note lines were met with unison cymbal pings and the drummer's snare attack unobtrusively found its way into tenorist Lovano's jagged phrasing. Foster's solo feature, breaking out of an extended statement of bassist Holland, began with rudimentary sticks-on-toms, gradually evolving into a cross-handed hailstorm across the entire drum kit. Two singers captivated full-houses with their early evening concerts in Oratorio Santa Cecilia. Jane Monheit, spiritedly backed by her quartet and utilizing her phenomenal vocal tools, charmed with a set of standards, including "People Will Say We're in Love" and her signature song "Over the Rainbow". Norwegian Silje Nergaard, in a varied set that included a bossa nova, a lullaby in her native language, Pat Metheny's "This Is Not America", and an up-tempo "Traffic Jam", proved to be a singularly individualistic performer, combining originality of presentation, a voice that sometimes simulated a wind instrument, and a natural stage presence. One of the stars of the festival was 85-year-old Johnny Frigo, whose artistry and skills surely qualify him for membership in the Jazz Violinists Hall of Fame. Performing nightly with pianist Joe Vito in the Hotel Brufani's Sala del Cambio, a room seating about 30, Frigo and his accompanist, a soloist of imagination, rendered with passion tunes by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and Irving Berlin. The room rarely had a vacant chair and a crowd usually stood, mesmerized, in the hallway at the door. Of other bands and combos present, mention should be made of several of the two-dozen or so more checked out by the writer, namely, the quartet of Pat Martino; the duos of Pat Metheny/Charlie Haden and Gary Burton/Makoto Ozone; the Bobo Ferra Quartetto, with its Oregon-like approach; the trios of pianists Michel Camilo and Larry Willis; the Johnny Nocturne Blues Band, which did nightly gigs on the free outdoor stages and hosted lunchtime jam sessions with sit-ins at Ristorante La Taverna; the Swing Maniacs, led by master showman Renzo Arbore; the hard-swinging Ray Gelato Giants from Great Britain; the Coolbone Brass Band of New Orleans, whose daily noon and 6pm march on the Corso attracted a second line of hundreds; and a 75th Birthday Celebration of Miles Davis & John Coltrane by Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, Roy Hargrove, George Mraz, and Willie Jones III in Teatro Turreno, which was sold out to the fourth, balcony for this final evening of Umbria Jazz 2002. As the sun was preparing to dip behind the mountains on the opening evening of Jazz Ascona 2002, the Ambrosia Brass Band from Milan had just finished a boisterously up-tempo stomp when New Orleans Grand Marshall Earl Conway, parasol now folded at his side, stilled the assembled rapt audience on Borgo Ascona, the festival's lakefront main drag, with a somberly voiced "Closer Walk with Thee" over muffled drums and softly played horns. It was a perfect mood-setting beginning for the eighteenth edition of Jazz Ascona. On Stage Chiesa, at the foot of the historic San Pietro e Paolo cathedral, Dan Barrett's Swing Party was in full steam with a front line of its trombonist leader, trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso, and Scott Robinson on tenor saxophone and clarinet and one of the finest Swing Era-style singers working today, Rebecca Kilgore. German master of the 8-to-the-bar idiom Thomas Scheytt's rolling bass figures and treble flights on classic compositions of Leroy Carr and other boogie woogie legends of the 1920s and '30s kept a full house at the tented lakefront night-spot Meeting Point moving restlessly in their seats and clapping on the off-beat. The Lars Edegran New Orleans All Stars, on Stage Torre, concluded this writer's festival-opening evening. When tenor saxophonist Franz Jackson, whose career spreads across seven decades, rose for his solo on "Dippermouth Blues" many in the audience were clearly awed by his force and sheer swing. Bassist Arvell Shaw, the solitary survivor of The 1940s and '50s Louis Armstrong All Stars, offered affecting vocals on two Satchmo favorites, "Pennies from Heaven" and "What A Wonderful World." Trumpeter Duke Heitger impressed with his clarion tone and molten heat. Clarinetist Evan Christopher's virtuosity and creativity has been admired here at past seasons of Jazz Ascona. Trombonist Fred Lonzo was his usual delightful and inimitable musical self, and leader Edegran at the piano and drummer Ernest Elly were, as always, the driving pulse of the All Stars. If any combo active today provides assurance that the New Orleans jazz tradition will renew itself with each emerging generation, it is the quintet under the leadership of the brilliant Crescent City trumpet and flugelhorn player Leroy Jones, who grew up not only to the sounds of the New Orleans tradition, but with his city's other musical forms, including bebop, rhythm 'n' blues, soul, and rock. In his vocal rendition of "Bye Bye Blackbird" on Stage Piazza one detected nuances of both James Brown and Louis Armstrong. A cooking arrangement of "Perdido" paid as much homage to Dizzy Gillespie as to the Swing Era origins of the tune, and guest tenor saxophonist Gianni Basso inserted some Jazz at the Philharmonic licks into the number. "K. T. and Me" was notable for its unison choruses by the leader and trombonist Craig Klein. The Italian Vocal Quartet has the advantage of being as much a delight to the eyes as to the ears. Gisa Ottaviani and Clea Cotroneo are both masters of the impish smile, puckered lips, and winking eyes. "All of Me" commenced as a funereally slow ballad and then erupted into a race to the finish line with final choruses of machine-gun-fire scat. "Summertime" began in very slow time and then went into overdrive with trilling warbles and vocal acrobatics, essentially becoming a jam session. On "Some of these Days" pianist Caporale came on like a gut-bucket trombone, Dario Daneluz cupping his hands and joining in on simulated muted trumpet, while Gisa and Clea riffed like a reed section beneath them. Ed Polcer has occupied the cornet chair of the latter-day Eddie Condon clan for two decades or so. Leading his New York All Stars on Stage Piazza, Ed achieved an inspired balance of gorgeous balladry and fireworks. Jelly Roll Morton's "Mamie's Blues" caught pianist Mark Shane in fine voice, clarinetist Allen Vaché brought the house down in homage to Sidney Bechet with "Lover Come Back to Me", and Polcer followed with a touchingly warm cornet feature cum vocal on "Carolina in the Morning". Drummer Joe Ascione got his turn at bat and hit it out of the ballpark on the set-closing "I Cried for You", a barn burner that also put trombonist Tom Artin up front for some serious blowing. Bassist Frank Tate walked the band through all of this in high style. The New Orleans Serenaders celebrated the 90th anniversary of the formation of trombonist Kid Ory's first band. At a late-evening set at Piazzetta Ambrosoli, the NOS's attentive audience was treated to a variety of selections associated with the celebrant. Clive Wilson gave a very dramatic reading to the King Oliver call-to-arms trumpet breaks of "Snag It". Alyn Shipton's somber bowed bass solo on that classic Oliver composition was a first for these ears. Not surprisingly, trombonist Freddie John was given ample space to stretch out and on several numbers he was the Kid reincarnated, most especially on "Ory's Creole Trombone". "Maple Leaf Rag", although done as a band number, was a showcase for Butch Thompson's pianistic genius. "Dixieland One Step" contained a drum solo that brought Baby Dodds to mind by reason of Norman Emberson's full circuit around his kit and the consistency of pulse throughout that circuit. A bonus for this observer was clarinetist Tommy Sancton's playing, which thrilled both in solo and in descant above the ensemble. America's loss is Europe's gain, what with singer and Oklahoma native Shaunette Hildabrand settling in Amsterdam as a member of Swing Cats, a quintet led by multi-reed player Frank Roberscheuten. In a late afternoon set at Piazzetta Ambrosoli the leader's versatility was nicely on display in the three opening instrumentals, one of which, "12th Street Rag", he took at a fast walk and in which he accorded space for thoughtful solos by pianist Dirk van der Linden and bassist Karel Algoed. Hildabrand opened with a medium-paced take on Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me", soft traces of her southwestern accent effectively surfacing. She slowed the proceedings down with the verse of "Tea for Two", strolling through it dreamily, and then kicked the tune into overdrive, delighting her audience with her vocal attributes, stage presence, swing, and sheer charm. The set-closing "Just One of Those Things" became an untrammeled jam, Hildabrand's pipes and Roberscheuten's tenor taking turns leading the uproar. Banjoist and guitarist Lino Patruno, a main man on the Italian traditional jazz scene, wore several hats for Jazz Ascona 2002, his principal one being as producer of, and occasional performer in, a late-night spectacular, "The Guitar Player Night in Memory of Eddie Lang". Presented on Stage Torre, the festival's airplane-hanger-size tented venue, the celebration filled the space with an audience clearly aware that the line-up was a rare and historic gathering, the center piece of Jazz Ascona 2002. Gracing the stage were guitar masters Bucky Pizzarelli, Marty Grosz, Al Viola, Howard Alden, and Frank Vignola, violinist Andy Stein, pianist Mark Shane, bassist Frank Tate, and drummer Joe Ascione. Opening with "Sweet Georgia Brown", the five guitarists first dealt individually with the age-old standard's melody and then their combined ten hands exploded in a shoot-out. A series of solo and duo selections included Vignola whipping up "The Sheik of Araby" to a killing tempo, Alden joining him on "Fascinatin' Rhythm", Grosz teaming with Alden on Lang's tune "Peg Leg Shuffle", and, in tribute to the long association of Lang and Joe Venuti, violinist Andy Stein and Grosz getting it together and then some on "From Monday On". Bucky Pizzarelli's "April Kisser", another Lang composition, served to remind that this former Benny Goodman combo member and musical associate of myriad other luminaries, is one of the hardest swingers in jazz. Al Viola, another veteran player, joined him for a sprint on "Broadway" and then went romantic on his own with "Polka Dots and Moonbeams". All hands were again on deck for the finale "Limehouse Blues", an eruption of Vesuvian proportions in its extended ride-out, as one guitarist after another took the ensemble lead over the boiling undertow of the other four and the rhythm section poured on the fuel. One doubts that the memory of this incredible evening will ever fade for those who were fortunate enough to be present. For information on the festivals, log on to www.umbriajazz.com and www.jazzascona.com. © W. Royal Stokes 2002 This review originally appeared in the Vol. 6 Winter/Spring 2003 edition of Planet Jazz, the International Jazz Review. W. Royal Stokes has been editor of JazzTimes and the Washington Post's jazz critic and is author of The Jazz Scene: An Informal History from New Orleans to 1990 (Oxford University Press, 1991), Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson (Temple University Press, 1994), and Living the Jazz Life: Conversations with Forty Musicians about Their Careers in Jazz (Oxford University Press, 2000). He is currently at work on his next collection of profiles for Oxford University Press.
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