Recalling the 51st Grammy winners for Jazz and other Improvisations, 2008

Best Contemporary Jazz Album

Category 45

(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.)

• Randy In Brasil
  Randy Brecker
  [MAMA Records]
• Floating Point
  John McLaughlin
  [Abstract Logix]
• Cannon Re-Loaded: All-Star Celebration Of Cannonball Adderley
  (Various Artists)
  Gregg Field & Tom Scott, producers
  [Concord Jazz]
• Miles From India
  (Various Artists)
  Bob Belden, producer
  [4Q/Times Square Records]
• Lifecycle
  Yellowjackets featuring Mike Stern
  [Heads Up International]

Category 46

Best Jazz Vocal Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.)

• Imagina: Songs Of Brasil
  Karrin Allyson
  [Concord Jazz]
• Breakfast On The Morning Tram
  Stacey Kent
  [Blue Note]
• If Less Is More…Nothing Is Everything
  Kate McGarry
  [Palmetto Records]
• Loverly
  Cassandra Wilson
  [Blue Note]
• Distances
  Norma Winstone (Glauco Venier & Klaus Gesing)
  [ECM]

Category 47

Best Jazz Instrumental Solo
(For an instrumental jazz solo performance. Two equal performers on one recording may be eligible as one entry. If the soloist listed appears on a recording billed to another artist, the latter’s name is in parenthesis for identification. Singles or Tracks only.)

• Be-Bop
  Terence Blanchard, soloist
  Track from: Live At The 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival (Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary All-Stars)
  [Monterey Jazz Festival Records]
• Seven Steps To Heaven
  Till Brönner, soloist
  Track from: The Standard (Take 6)
  [Heads Up International]
• Waltz For Debby
  Gary Burton & Chick Corea, soloists
  Track from: The New Crystal Silence
  [Concord Records]
• Son Of Thirteen
  Pat Metheny, soloist
  Track from: Day Trip
  [Nonesuch Records]
• Be-Bop
  James Moody, soloist
  Track from: Live At The 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival (Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary All-Stars)
  [Monterey Jazz Festival Records]

Category 48

Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.)

• The New Crystal Silence
  Chick Corea & Gary Burton
  [Concord Records]
• History, Mystery
  Bill Frisell
  [Nonesuch Records]
• Brad Mehldau Trio: Live
  Brad Mehldau Trio
  [Nonesuch Records]
• Day Trip
  Pat Metheny With Christian McBride & Antonio Sanchez
  [Nonesuch Records]
• Standards
  Alan Pasqua, Dave Carpenter & Peter Erskine Trio
  [Fuzzy Music]

Category 49

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
(For large jazz ensembles, including big band sounds. Albums must contain 51% or more INSTRUMENTAL tracks.)

• Appearing Nightly
  Carla Bley And Her Remarkable Big Band
  [WATT]
• Act Your Age
  Gordon Goodwin‘s Big Phat Band
  [Immergent]
• Symphonica
  Joe Lovano with WDR Big Band & Rundfunk Orchestra
  [Blue Note]
• Blauklang
  Vince Mendoza
  [Act Music and Vision (AMV)]
• Monday Night Live At The Village Vanguard
  The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
  [Planet Arts Recordings]

Category 50

Best Latin Jazz Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)

• Afro Bop Alliance
  Caribbean Jazz Project
  [Heads Up International]
• The Latin Side Of Wayne Shorter
  Conrad Herwig & The Latin Side Band
  [Half Note Records]
• Song For Chico
  Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
  [Zoho]
• Nouveau Latino
  Nestor Torres
  [Diamond Light Records]
• Marooned/Aislado
  Papo Vázquez The Mighty Pirates
  [Picaro Records]

Category 85

Best Instrumental Composition
(A Composer’s Award for an original composition (not an adaptation) first released during the Eligibility Year. Singles or Tracks only.)

• The Adventures Of Mutt (From Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull)
  John Williams, composer (John Williams)
  Track from: Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull — Soundtrack
  [Concord Records]
• Alegria
  Chick Corea, composer (Chick Corea & Gary Burton)
  Track from: The New Crystal Silence
  [Concord Records]
• Claire’s Closet
  Russell Ferrante, composer (Yellowjackets Featuring Mike Stern)
  Track from: Lifecycle
  [Heads Up International]
• Danzon De Etiqueta
  Dave Grusin, composer (Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin)
  Track from: Amparo [Decca]
• Hit The Ground Running
  Gordon Goodwin, composer (Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band)
  Track from: Act Your Age
  [Immergent]

Category 86

Best Instrumental Arrangement
(An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

• Define Dancing (From Wall-E)
  Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman, arrangers (Thomas Newman)
  Track from: Wall-E — Soundtrack
  [Walt Disney Records]
• Down In The Valley
  Frank Macchia, arranger (Frank Macchia Featuring The Prague Orchestra)
  Track from: Landscapes
  [Cacophony]
• Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love
  Michael Abene, arranger (Joe Lovano With WDR Big Band & Rundfunk Orchestra)
  Track from: Symphonica
  [Blue Note]
• St. Louis Blues
  Bob Brookmeyer, arranger (The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra)
  Track from: Monday Night Live At The Village Vanguard
  [Planet Arts Recordings]
• Yesterdays
  Gordon Goodwin, arranger (Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band Featuring Art Tatum)
  Track from: Act Your Age
  [Immergent]

Category 87

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
(An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

• Alfie
  Vince Mendoza, arranger (Traincha & The Metropole Orchestra)
  Track from: The Look Of Love — Burt Bacharach Songbook
  [Blue Note]
• Grace
  Cedric Dent, arranger (Take 6)
  Track from: The Standard
  [Heads Up International]
• Here’s That Rainy Day
  Nan Schwartz, arranger (Natalie Cole)
  Track from: Still Unforgettable
  [DMI Records]
• Johnny One Note
  Don Sebesky, arranger (John Pizzarelli)
  Track from: With A Song In My Heart
  [Telarc International]
• Lazy Afternoon
  Claus Ogerman, arranger (Danilo Perez)
  Track from: Across The Crystal Sea
  [Emarcy]

Category 90

Best Album Notes

• Art Of Field Recording Volume I: Fifty Years Of Traditional American Music Documented By Art Rosenbaum
  Art Rosenbaum, album notes writer (Various Artists)
  [Dust-To-Digital]
• Debate ’08: Taft And Bryan Campaign On The Edison Phonograph
  Patrick Feaster & David Giovannoni, album notes writers (William Jennings Bryan & William Howard Taft)
  [Archeophone Records]
• Kind Of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition
  Francis Davis, album notes writer (Miles Davis)
  [Columbia/Legacy Recordings]
• Rare & Unreleased Recordings From The Golden Reign Of The Queen Of Soul
  David Ritz & Jerry Wexler, album notes writers (Aretha Franklin)
  [Rhino/Atlantic]
• The Unsung Father Of Country Music: 1925-1934
  Henry “Hank” Sapoznik, album notes writer (Ernest V. Stoneman)
  [5-String Productions]

Category 91

Best Historical Album

• Art Of Field Recording Volume I: Fifty Years Of Traditional American Music Documented By Art Rosenbaum
  Steven Lance Ledbetter & Art Rosenbaum, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Various Artists)
  [Dust-To-Digital]
• Classic Columbia, OKeh And Vocalion Lester Young With Count Basie (1936-1940)
  Scott Wenzel, compilation producer; Malcolm Addey, Michael Brooks, Matt Cavaluzzo, Andreas Meyer & Mark Wilder, mastering engineers (Lester Young With Count Basie)
  [Mosaic Records]
• Debate ’08: Taft And Bryan Campaign On The Edison Phonograph
  David Giovannoni, Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Richard Martin, mastering engineer (William Jennings Bryan & William Howard Taft)
  [Archeophone Records]
• Polk Miller & His Old South Quartette
  Ken Flaherty, Jr., compilation producer; Marcos Sueiro Bal, Ken Flaherty, Jr., Kurt Nauck & Glenn Sage, mastering engineers (Polk Miller & His Old South Quartette)
  [Tompkins Square]
• To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story
  Richard Seidel, compilation producer; Mark G. Wilder, mastering engineer (Nina Simone)
  [RCA/Legacy Recordings]

———————

Category 92

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
(An Engineer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.))

	Consolers Of The Lonely Joe Chiccarelli, Vance Powell & Jack White III, engineers (The Raconteurs) [Third Man/Warner Bros.]
	Just A Little Lovin’ Al Schmitt, engineer (Shelby Lynne) [Lost Highway Records]
	Lay It Down Jimmy Douglass, Russell “The Dragon” Elevado & Jon Smeltz, engineers (Al Green) [Blue Note]
	Still Unforgettable Steve Genewick, Al Schmitt & Bill Schnee, engineers (Natalie Cole) [DMI Records]
	We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Dyre Gormsen & Tony Maserati, engineers (Jason Mraz) [Atlantic]

Category 9

Best Pop Instrumental Performance
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, without vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)

	Love Appetite Steve Cropper & Felix Cavaliere Track from: Nudge It Up A Notch [Stax]
	I Dreamed There Was No War Eagles Track from: Long Road Out Of Eden [Eagles Recording Company II]
	Fortune Teller Stanley Jordan Track from: Energy [Heads Up International]
	Steppin’ Out Stanley Jordan Track from: State Of Nature [Mack Avenue Records]
	Blast! Marcus Miller Track from: Marcus [Concord Jazz]

Category 10

Best Pop Instrumental Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.)

	Sax For Stax Gerald Albright [Peak Records]
	Greatest Hits Rerecorded Volume One Larry Carlton [335 Records]
	Jingle All The Way Béla Fleck & The Flecktones [Rounder]
	The Spice Of Life Earl Klugh [Koch Records]
	A Night Before Christmas Spyro Gyra [Heads Up International]

Jack DeJohnette‘s Peace Time [Golden Beams/Kindred Rhythm] won Best New Age Album.

Primary Source: Grammy.com

Previous Post: The 50th Annual Grammy Awards winners list, 2oo7

Cayman Jazz Fest 08, here and now

Cayman Islands

update 3, December 05, 2008

Cayman Jazz Fest 08 (version number 5) sounded off again on Grand Cayman on December 04 and will run through December 06.  J-Fans have been flocking to Pedro St. James and Pageant Beach for a serving of the typical BET J fare of Classic and Smooth Jazz, R&B with some variations, and of course, Jazz with Caribbean inflections.

Making the rounds of the main stages are Adult Contemporary Jazz vocalist Anita Baker; Smooth Jazz saxophonist/bassist Gerald Albright; the eclectic Cassandra Wilson; and 23 year-old bass phenom Esperanza Spalding, among others.

Without an official outfest, the band Mainstream and singer KK Alese lead the pack of opening acts at Pedro and Pageant.  The other local acts who have been signed up for the festival are Jonathan Ebanks (guitar), Impulz (show band) and Stuart Wilson (guitar, vocals) & Love Culture.

KK Alese

No stranger to the Cayman Jazz Fest, KK Alese will bring to bear her unique fusion of Nu-Jazz in the vein of Jill Scott, the quirkiness of Nina Simone, the adult contemporary stylings of Baker, the classic soul of Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin with the Reggae of Jimmy Cliff.

 

 

And the influences do not stop there.  Nor will the music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alese performs on the final night, Saturday, December 06, with bassist Esperanza Spalding, pop instrumentalist Norman Brown and Baker at the top of the bill. Also on this night is the blue-eyed soul of Robin Thicke.

Mainstream

On opening night, Thursday, December 04, at Pedro St. James, Mainstream ushered in Albright and Wilson, with Terrance Howard as the undercard.

 

December 05, one would have dressed casually for the heaviest offering of Caymanian talent – on any one night – in Impulz, Jonathan Ebanks and Stuart Wilson & Love Culture.

Then work your way as far forward as possible for the start of the Pageant Beach Pop Fest 08 featuring Algebra, Angie Stone and Michael Bolton. (Disclaimer: I must have been high on something when I typed this last line.)

Previous Post: Will the St. Croix and Cayman Jazz Fests benefit the islands’ Jazz musicians? 

Cassandra Wilson did not work at Tranquility Jazz Fest 2007…

…for some, excluding me!

______________________ 

played on November 11, 2007  

Cassandra Wilson (photo: courtesy Tranquility Jazz/cassandrawilson.com)

          Cassandra Wilson is not a singer for Jazz fans who are feint of heart.  She does for me now what I remember Bob Marley doing to me when in my youth: you know that the music ‘kills’ when you hear it for the first time, but it just takes a while for you to absorb the thrill and to let out the emotion.  

I have been listening to Wilson since the early nineties and have always loved the fusion of styles, Jazz with Country.  Wilson makes no secret of her deep appreciation for Country Blues, even paying homage to the virtual father of the format, Robert Johnson, years back on ‘Blue Light ‘til Dawn.’  Coming to think of it, this title track of the 1993 CD was her seventh delivery of the evening.  

As far as the mix of Country and Jazz, Wilson has not lost any of that edge as evidenced by song number four, a Country-Blues intro tinged with Jimi Hendrix.  And for those of us whose impression of Hendrix is a rock guitarist gyrating on an electric guitar that he lights afire for a phallic high, it must be said that Hendrix’s music was rooted in the Blues.  In fact, a ‘Blues’ CD was produced in 1994 to feature his Delta Blues muse of both previously released and unreleased material recorded between 1966 and 1970.   

So enamoured was I with her sound that I could not miss the first ever chance I got to see her live.  That was in Ottawa, Canada.  I set the books aside that night and made my way to the club where she was due to perform.   

I remember the bare feet, the exceptionally toothy bright smile, her Musical Director at the time, Lonnie Plaxico – and that dream-scape she painted from the small yet unconfined stage. 

I have listened to Wilson lots since then, gathering a few of her works along the way.  So I knew what to expect even before she hit the stage at the Temenos Golf Club for the final act of Anguilla’s Tranquility Jazz Festival 2007.  Marvin Sewell’s haunting guitar lead-in for a vamp, or so it seemed to me, that turned out to be an intro to ‘Caravan’ suggested that I was quite on point.   

I am afraid, not everybody got the point.  But whether or not they did, the music proved to be too heady for them; many of them left the scene prematurely, which got me thinking: the producers should have known not to put her on the main stage.  

I am not sure that her style of music works in the open air of a Festival.  For all I know, she should have been switched with a Diane Schuur for the intimacy of a CuisinArt might have been more palatable to those uninitiated in thick Jazz, characterized by unfamiliar melodic variations such as what Wilson revels in.   

Of course, I stayed for ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’ with its primordial, if not tribal sensibilities, highlighted by pianist Jonathan Baptiste blowing this harmonica; Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Time after time’ taken from Tribute to Miles Davis; ‘St. James Infirmary‘ that got me drifting back to the Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong version; and the Yoruba chant that closed the Festival on the main stage.  

Now, bear in mind that Cassandra Wilson does not swing.  Rather, she swears by a groove that requires one to tune in to enjoy it.   

And if Wilson did not do it for the casual J-Fan, percussionist Lekan Babalola would have done the trick.  I had not heard of Babalola before that night and had to get that name right.  I went out of my way to find someone who could help me out.  Unfortunately, the diligent security guard at the backstage entrance would let me in to ask a question.  However, I got enough of the phonetics right to figure it out – thanks to Cassandra Wilson’s official website.  Babalola is a marvelous percussionist is all I can say.   

Personnel  

Cassandra Wilson (v)  

Marvin Sewell (g)  

Jonathan Baptiste (p, harmonica)  

Marcus Gilmore (d)  

Michael Bowie (b)

Mike Phillips, no holds barred at Anguilla Tranquility Jazz ’07

updated on Sunday, January 06, 2008 

_____________________________

I was not expecting Phillips to tackle a straight ahead tune off the bat.  But he did just that with his namesake ‘Mike Phillips’ on which he delivered a tenor saxophone solo up top before stepping down to allow for an extended trumpet solo by regular collaborator Lee Hogan and another by pianist Glen Steward.

_________________

As Phillips explained, Steward is not a professional musician.  But when pressed to fill his piano chair, he knows he can call on Steward who makes a regular living working for IBM putting business plans together for Fortune 500 companies. 

Next up was ‘Footprints.’  It featured a riveting tenor sax solo by the leader, one that was full of power especially on the awkward lines.  That one segued to melodically structured statements by trombone, lead guitar and bass.

          Andre (tb), Lee (t) and Phillips  

Phillips, not one to skimp on the energy, stepped up the rhythmic pressure with ‘Got a match’ by Chick Corea.  He called this one “rambunctious,” which it truly was. 

 

Mike Phillips kicking it at Tranquility Jazz Fest 2007                 

A Mike Phillips show is nothing without a heavy dose of scorched funk.  On this set, he got the audience involved with a few choruses of call-and-response.  ‘Can I kick it, yes you can,’ a rap ditty by against a vamp by drum and bass and some doodling by the pianist, was the vehicle for that. 

‘My funny Valentine’ brought Hogan front and center.  His lyrical trumpet exposé slid nicely into Stevie Wonder’s ‘Don’t you worry bout a thing’ that Mike Phillips closed his set with.

Phillips was exciting as ever on the night.  But I have seen him in better form.

However, his youthful spirit did wonders for the overall programme of Jazz put on this final night at the Temenos Golf Club.  Sandwiched as he was between the calming of Onaje Allan Gumbs who performed before him and the wonderfully quirky Cassandra Wilson yet to come, the evening was allowed to build with him and then lay back down to rest again for another year.

One day later, on Sunday, November 11, 2007, the festival moved to Johnno’s at Sandy Ground for a last lap jam session.  Mike Phillips had hung back to front the ‘Anguillian Summer Students’ for a short set of Bob Marley classics under an outdoor tent pitched just outside of Johnno’s Beach Bar and Restaurant.

Then to close the festival, Phillips (Mike Phillips (right) with Will Smith of the WES Group) joined the WES Group for a final stand of three songs, “Ancestors,” “Yes,” and “Forgiveness.”  The WES Group comprised of Will Smith (ts), Nathan Jolly (d) Joel Holmes (keys) and Eric Wheeler (b).

 

 (Top photo courtesy of Anguilla Tranquility Jazz) 

Reuben Rogers, one to remember at Anguilla’s Tranquility Jazz ’07

 

Bassist Reuben Rogers was the last of the headliners to perform at the Anguilla Tranquility Jazz Festival 2007 who had at least some ancestral links to the island.  Born to an Anguillian father, Rogers was, however, raised in the United States Virgin Islands where he became interested in and received his formative training in Jazz.  It could, therefore, be said that he was returning home to share with his kin.   On Saturday, November 10, 2007, The Anguillian Jazz All Stars opened for Rogers with a four-song set, ‘10/31,’ ‘Our Song’ featuring Anguillian flautist Shermel Richardson, ‘Evolution’ written by another Anguillian, guitarist Corinne “Sprocka” Richardson and Sonny Rollins’ ‘St. Thomas.’  Shermel Richardson   

Unlike their first performance as opening act for Monty Alexander, the All Stars were obviously more relaxed.  Certainly, band leader Lennox Vanterpool was in his prime in front of the upright piano from where he introduced the band renditions all set long.   

Then the All Stars cleared the stage and made way for the man Reuben Rogers.   

Rogers set up his first song with a series of “loose” notes before stating the theme to swishing cymbals.  Next, in comes the saxophonist to interpret and embellish that theme.  The song is ‘Wala Wala’ taken from Rogers’ debut CD release from 2006 called The Things I am.   

With Rogers on this date, is Los Angeles pianist Danny Grissette whom I had just seen in spectacular form in Steve Wilson’s Quartet at the H.L. Stoutt Community College’s Jazz Showcase at Paraquita Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands; Kendrick Scott on drums; and North Carolina sax man John Ellis.   

Following the rumble of Wala Wala’s drum arrangement is a song taken right out of the Virgin Islands’ (and the Leeward Islands by extension) cultural mix.  In that context, ‘Fungi Mama,’ again from The Things I am, could either have been inspired by one of two – make that three – things: the food that has become synonymous with Virgin Islands’ cooking; the folk music named after the fungi dish, and well, the “mama” who symbolizes both, or something.  Ask me to explain and I will say that it was not the first option per se; nor could it be the Fungi music for ‘Fungi Mama’ is more calypso than folk.  So that leaves us with only one last option…    

Then too, Rogers might simply have taken to the song because of the name and the fact that it was a forty-three year old recording that trumpeter Blue Mitchell made on the wax LP ‘The Thing To Do.’  Rogers did not have to bother rearranging the song to give it a Caribbean flavour since Mitchell originally gave it the calypso touch, albeit with the cymbals rather than the hi-hats, if you are familiar with how classic calypso drums are played.  As an added note, Mitchell’s title was spelt ‘Fungii’, with two ‘i’s.’    

For the second time tonight, (the first was by the All Stars), I heard Rollins’ ‘St. Thomas’ played live on stage.  That was when it came to mind that maybe, just maybe, Rogers had picked his song list by name.   

‘St. Thomas’ was given quite a treatment by the bassist though, one in which he got the audience clapping and singing, literally, to the backdrop of an extended quote that turned it a solo spot for the leader.  And the audience lapped it up, milk, cookies and all.   

In back-checking, I found out that ‘St. Thomas’ is on the Things I Am CD as an interlude.   

In ‘Old Man,’ Rogers went from one extreme to the next.  In calling up the bow for a bass intro, he wrought an odd time signature that made this a jerky yet funky tune. Next up was the straightahead ditty ‘Ting for Ray’ for Rogers’ mentor Ray Brown.   

The final note was the title song from Things I am.  Thus ended a well put together Reuben Rogers extravaganza that set the stage well for the raucous Mike Phillips who would take over from there to dominate the rest of the festival through to the Sunday beach jam at Johnno’s in Sandy Ground, Anguilla.

(All photos courtesy of Tranquility Jazz) 

Anguilla’s Tranquility Jazz Festival 2007 is now done

update 2 on Tuesday, November 13, 2007  

…I was scribbling notes at the festival all weekend long so you didn’t have to

_________________________________________________

Abstract, Night 2

My new J-fan (short for “Jazz Fanatic” in woodshedspeak) Corvette Richardson whom I met in the line at the entrance to the Temenos Golf Club on Night 2 told me that Diane Schuur wreaked havoc at CuisinArt Resort and Spa on Night 1, Thursday, November 09.  (I only flew in on Friday, November 09 so I missed that.)  That was not unexpected news to me though, not with those pipes of hers.  Anguillan flautist Shermel Richardson opened for Schuur. 

Night 2 was headlined by Monty Alexander leading a double band, a Jazz Trio and a Reggae Quintet, all at once.  As I told the percussionist for the Reggae side, Courtney Panton, after the show, all I could think of was Ornette Coleman’s seminal Double Quartet, which epitomized the Free Jazz back in the day. 

An obvious testament to Monty’s attractiveness as a person, let alone his virtuosity as a pianist and band leader, was the length of time it took him for him to get off the stage.  There were so many of us scribes and fans vying for his ear that I literally had to stand in line for a while before I could get a quick interview with him.  I needed to obtain some background information about the band members and to clarify such mundane things like getting the spelling of their names right. 

The second act of the night was pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs who happens to have Anguillan roots (surprise, surprise).  His was an enthralling set of straightahead pieces punctuated by what I can only describe as a display of “bacchanal” rhythms on bongos and congas.  Kudos to percussionist Gary Fritz… 

But opening the show was the Anguillan Jazz All Stars that included the best talent, both home and foreign-based, that the island has on offer.  As is sometimes the case when a band is pieced together for a particular event, it takes a song or two for the musicians to gel.  The All Stars needed one song to get their footing and then it was show time.  

Led by pianist Lennox Vanterpool, and fronted by Will Smith (actually Dr. William Smith of American University, Washington, DC) on saxophone, the band mined different styles Jazz from the accessible Smooth Jazz stylings in the vein of George Benson to Modern to Brazilian. 

Vanterpool was also associated with the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School Concert Band (ALHCS), which pumped out a few of the songs learnt during the 2007 Anguilla Summer Music Camp Synopsis.  He co-directed the school band with Kimba Southwell, a recent graduate of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) Music programme according to Corvette Richardson.  By the way, Corvette’s son is in the brass section, so he should know. 

In the middle of tonight’s programme was Illinois-born singer Liv Warfied.  She was the quiet in the storm tonight, which was fine by me because then I could relax for a bit. 

Cassandra Wilson and United States Virgin Islands’ bassist Reuben Rogers were already in town and rearing to go by this time according to the Master of Ceremonies.  They were due to perform on Night 3 come Saturday, November 10, 2007, again at the Temenos Golf Club.  And guess who also has Anguillan ancestry?  Reuben Rogers!  Cool eh? 

Abstract, Night 3

Opening for Wilson on that night was The Anguillan Jazz All Stars featuring local flautist Shermel Richardson, Mike Phillips and Rogers.  Obviously more relaxed tonight, the All Stars dished it out real good.  For example, they did an original piece as a prelude to the undisputed highlight of their evening, Sonny Rollins’ St. Thomas, a flat out burner. 

Reuben Rogers for his part turned out to be a revelation, to me that is.  Citing Ray Brown (now in Jazz heaven) as a prime inspiration of his, Rogers ran the gamut from out and out straight-ahead; to Jazz-funk; to Calypso-Jazz incorporated into Blue Mitchell’s Fungi Mama; to an extended quote from Rollins’ St. Thomas to which Rogers had the audience clapping and “singing” the familiar refrain.  You know it.  There, told you! 

Mike Phillips took the temperature up some more with arguably the most physically energetic performance over the two nights put together.  Phillips knew that he was “rambunctious.”  He said it himself.  But that was exactly what the doctor ordered.  

Having heard Mike Phillips just once before, (May 2007 at the BVI Music Fest), I was pleasantly surprised that he began his set at the roots of Modern Jazz, complete with awkward saxophone lines. 

Once he had made it clear that he had a sound grasp of the Jazz traditions, he then gave himself permission to delve into a rap ditty for which he has a penchant.  He did this one to drums and bass before his final stand for the night, a tribute to his one-time employer, Stevie Wonder. 

Cassandra Wilson was up next and would present a lyrical style that really tested the audience’s commitment – not mine – to this music.  You see, Wilson is the type of artiste who grows gradually on you, building you up into her sphere, with vocals that are at once sultry and seductive then wrapping you up tight.  You cannot but love her for that. 

The thing is that Wilson’s music is hauntingly primordial (Caravan and Sweet Georgia Brown) though drenched in Country-Blues that is sometimes tinged with a dash of Hendrix.  This must have been the reason why she hired guitarist, Marvin Sewell for this date. 

In one figurative breath, Wilson turned the tide with Time After Time from “Tribute to Miles Davis,” the electric side and again with a song decades older in St. James Infirmary.  

Abstract, Day 4 

Finally, on Sunday, November 11, it was off to Johnno’s at Sandy Ground for the climax of Tranquility Jazz Festival 2007.  My hope was to meet and network with the local Anguillan artistes at this gig.  I got more than that, as I came across not only the main stage artists, but those on the fringe from Anguilla and St. Maarten who perform regularly at Johnno’s weekly Sunday Brunch as well as some of the principals behind the Jazz scene on Anguilla and SM.  

Johnno’s Jam Session would have started at midday, if the folks at the beach bar were to be believed.  I got to Sandy Ground at 02:00 and still I was privy to no less than two hours of the session.  

I was wowed by the likes of guitarist Corinne Richardson from the All Stars, sax man Connis Vanterpool and singer Marita Blyden (Curacao via St. Maarten), 7-string bassist Alex Jack, fanciful drummer Fred York and keyboardist Peter J Gittens all from a St. Maarten band called Mosaic – plus a host of others I will speak to on another post. 

But at 04:30 in the afternoon, it was Mike Phillips‘ turn.  He led a quartet comprising of some of the Anguillan music students who participated in this year’s summer camp.  This was on outdoor stage planted on the sand next to Johnno’s. 

Phillips followed that up by sitting in with the facilitators of the workshop headed by Wes “Will” Smith of the Wes Group.  Together, Phillips and the quartet raised the roof off the tent as the sun went down on the Tranquility Jazz Festival 2007, Straight no Chaser.