Sixth Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival Stands Up For Real Jazz

Paul Carr

The Sixth Annual Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival returns Presidents’ Day Weekend to the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville Hotel & Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Put on by the Jazz Academy of Music, the motto of Mid-Atlantic Festival is “Standing Up For Real Jazz.” In this vein, the focus is on hard, swinging jazz with a number of national headliners mixed in with some of the finest musicians in the Washington DC area. The featured performers for this year include vocalists Tierney Sutton, Allan Harris and Carmen Lundy and instrumentalists including trumpeter Sean Jones; saxophonists James Carter, Jimmy Greene, Craig Handy and Marcus Strickland; bassist Rufus Reid; trombonists Delfaeyo Marsalis; and pianists Kenny Barron, Ellis Marsalis and Patrice Rushen. Local jazz favorites include vocalists Sharon Clark and Janine Gilbert-Carter; saxophonist Paul Carr; pianist Eric Byrd, and vibraphonist Warren Wolf. Performances are held both on the Ronnie Wells Main Stage as well as smaller club settings.

Sharon Clark

Friday night, February 13, the Ronnie Wells Main Stage opens with tenor saxophonist Paul Carr, head of the Jazz Academy of Music, and a marvelous player leading a group with vocalist Sharon Clark. Clark, arguably DC’s leading female jazz singer. Writing in the New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote that she “evokes not Holiday but rather a less operatic Sarah Vaughan fused with the more animated side of Shirley Horn, a singer who also liked to take her time. Ms. Clark’s voice is rich, her phrasing unfussy, her jazz embellishments minimal.” They will be followed by another terrific singer Tierney Sutton, with trumpeter Sean Jones closing the evening with his group.

Main Stage activities resume late morning Saturday February 14 with the Mid-Atlantic "Jazz Voice"--Vocal Competition with six semi-finalists competing for a $2000 Grand Prize. Shortly afterwards an afternoon session features DC drummer Samuel Prather and Groove Orchestra with the marvelous vocalist Christie Dashiell. They are followed by Chelsey Green and the Green Project, led by the talented violinist. Saturday Evening’s Main Stage performance opens with a Tenor Saxophonist Summit with three of today’s most compelling tenor players: James Carter, Craig Handy and  Marcus Strickland. After their set, vocalist Allen Harris will captivate the audience followed by Ellis Marsalis and son Delfaeyo, on The Last Southern Gentleman Tour.

Craig Handy

Sunday on the Main Stage, Vuyo Sotashe, the 2014 Mid-Atlantic Vocal Jazz Competition winner, opens the afternoon show followed by the great bassist and composer Rufus Reid leading his Quartet. Craig Handy and Second Line Smith closes the session. Handy’s latest project mixes New Orleans grooves with a tribute to the great organist Jimmy Smith.

Sunday evening’s final Main Stage session opens with one of this writer’s favorite vocalists, Janine Gilbert-Carter backed by a trio that includes pianist Eric Byrd with a saxophonist to be named. Carter brings plenty of warmth and a touch of Dinah Washington to a varied selection of material. Next is  tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene whose backing group includes the legendary Kenny Barron on piano and will focus on music from Greene's latest album, “Beautiful Life” on Mack Avenue Records. Greene is a masterful saxophonist with a robust tone and this recording is part of his ongoing grieving process at the sudden and tragic loss of his 6-year old daughter, Ana Marquez-Greene, who fell victim to the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass murder in Newtown, CT. After this performance, vocalist Carmen Lundy will close out the Main Stage with the great Patrice Rushen on piano and keyboards.

Marcus Strickland

Throughout the festival, there will be plenty of music in the MAJF Club and the MAJF Juke Joint rooms. Friday night the Marcus Strickland Quartet performs two sets in the MAJF Club while David Cole will be laying down blues in the Juke Joint. Saturday shows in the MAJF Club include the Terry Koger Sextet, vocalist Chad Carter, and the great drummer Winard Harper, while Memphis Gold will be in the Juke Joint. Sunday evening Shirletta Settles, Anthony Compton, and Sarah McKenzie are among the MAJF Club room performers while Anthony “Swamp Dog” Clark will be blowing his harmonica and shouting the blues in the Juke Joint.

Additionally there will be free performances in the Hotel Atrium including Big Band and Combo competition performances. There will also be interviews with a number of the artists and workshops for students that are led by some of the performers. One can see how packed the weekend will be. For more information with fuller artist biographies, information on accommodations and tickets along with special features on several of the performances visit, http://www.midatlanticjazzfestival.org.

Long Tall Dexter's Night Ballad Mastery

This writer remembers a weekend of performances by the great Dexter Gordon at the Tralfamadore Cafe in Buffalo in Spring 1977 with a local rhythm section. It was a weekend of music that brought together folk of all ages and ethnicity to see one of the greats of jazz. The tenor saxophonist who influenced Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, but who had been living for several years in Europe was making what was still a rare US tour before moving back.

Gordon was a commanding presence as well as one of the greatest of the post-war musicians to come up during the bebop era. It wasn't simply his playing, but his suave and sophisticated manner when speaking with folks or the audience. Around this time, he was be signed to Columbia Records and made a number of memorable recordings for them, continuing to perform and make music until his passing as well as be acclaimed for his acting in the movie "Round Midnight."

Dr. Robert E. Sunnenblick has produced for his Uptown label a new Dexter Gordon live recording, Night Ballads Montreal 1977. This was recorded at Rising Sun during an engagement in November of 1977 (the music on this recorded between November 9 and November 12). It had Dexter with his working band of George Cables on piano, Rufus Reid on bass and Eddie Gladden on drums who wouldn't record their first studio album until half a year later.

As suggested from the title, the focus on this set is on ballads which include Lover Man, You've Changed, Old Folks and Polka Dots and Moonbeams, along with a brief rendition of LTD, his theme song to close the release. These are, with the exception of the closing theme, lengthy ballad performances. Gordon of course is in the spotlight with his lengthy improvisations that caress the songs with warmth, wit and soul as he would explore the themes, incorporate musical quotes and let the magic develop.

Gordon, like Lester Young, believed in the importance of the lyrics andhe introduces the songs with his recitation of the lyrics in his deep, sonorous voice. In his playing, there is a hint of his idol, Ben Webster, in some of his playing here mixed in with his more lengthy bop inflected choruses. Pianist Cables also gets a fair share of solo space that allowed him to explore the melody in his distinctive style, with his playing on Old Folks being especially memorable.

The CD comes with a booklet with extensive annotation from Gordon's widow, Maxine alone with pianist Cables who provides astute and detailed comments on each of the performances. As wonderful as the music on Night Ballads is, over 70 minutes of ballads may be a bit much for some folks in one sitting, but that quibble doesn't change the view that the terrific music makes it a highly recommended addition to the body of Long Tall Dexter's recordings.

This was a purchase.

No Detours Stopping Chris Pasin

Born in Chicago, but raised outside New York City, trumpeter Chris Pasin had a notable career including stints with Buddy Rich’s Big band, and that of Toshiko Akiyoshi/ Lew Tabackin and working with Jack McDuff, Salsa and Brazilian bands. He had attended the New England Conservatory where he studied with Gunther Schuller, George Russell and Jaki Byard (later he studied composition with Richie Beirach) and in 1987 recorded the just issued ‘Detour Ahead” (H20 Records).

This 1987 recording has him with a fine ensemble including Steve Slagle on saxophones, Benny Green on piano, Rufus Reid on bass and Dannie Richmond on drums. The inclusion of Richmond is not a surprise given that Charles MIngus is a significant influence on Pasin’s writing along with Byard and Beirach. Pasin took a hiatus from music as he raised a family, and recently has resumed playing recently.

The opening “Lost and Found” would have made a nice title for the disc and is a pretty nice composition typical of the hard bop from the 70s and 80s with Slagle sweet and sour soprano here along with the leader’s pungent trumpet on a performance suggestive of some of the combos Woody Shaw led during this period. The notes for this recording note that “It Doesn’t Matter Now,” allude to “Monk’s Mood,” but I found the flavor of this composition reminiscent of some of Charles Mingus’ compositions (such as the slower portions of “Sue’s Changes”) with a double time tempo change occurring throughout as evident during Green’s lovely solo followed by Pasin’s solo with his appealing, round tone.

“Jackburner” is opens with a hot duo between Pasin and Richmond before a hot solo from Slagle on soprano. The title track is not a Pasin original and is a ballad he first heard done by Cedar Walton and allows him to display his bright sound with just the rhythm section and Slagle sitting out. “Light at the End of the Tunnel” is a multi-sectional number that opens with a somber lugubrious Middle-Eastern tone before kicking into a hotter tempo led by Green’s piano with nice concise playing from the leader followed by Slagle on alto, with a forceful solo from Reid.

The aptly titled “Enigma,” has Pasin playing more aggressively than the notes description of Miles-ish muted trumpet would suggest followed by Slagle’s serpentine soprano playing with the rhythm section adding some unusual accents. The Rogers and Hart standard “My Romance” is a strong straight-ahead vehicle for the quintet. The light island groove on “Island” has nice muted playing from the leader along with Slagle on flute.

Pasin’s playing is wonderfully delivered throughout this recording whether bright and mellow on a ballad, or with a crisp pungent attack elsewhere and the rhythm section of Green, Reid and Richmond is superb throughout. If the extraordinary music here had been released when recorded we would be saluting the reissue of a classic session. This is available from, (amongst other sources) amazon, cdbaby and iTunes. Chris Pasin’s website is www.myspace.com/chrispasin.


This review appeared originally in Jazz & Blues Report (December 2009 (Issue 322)). I have made minor edits.  My review copy was provided by a publicist.