We broke with tradition for day 2 of the Monterey Jazz Festival. We normally skip the Saturday afternoon show and do something recreational, but this year we decided to catch the whole day. We wound up distracted by sushi so we didn’t quite make the beginning of the show, but we did get there in time to catch Ledisi (rhymes with lettuce-E) on the garden stage. Between preaching to the audience, she sang love songs and featured her very capable band. Unfortunately, we never did hear the whole drum kit (the tom mics weren’t on in the house), but the band sounded great and she was very entertaining. We were lucky to find a place to stand. By the time the show got going, there wasn’t even room to walk around.
We ducked out just before the end to go see the Air Force Falconaires big band on the Bill Berry stage in the night club. Among other things, they did a commission piece written by a Japanese composer and conductor from Denver called Sharing the Freedom. Edi really dug her conducting style (as did I, actually). That was supposed to be the show closer, but the audience demanded an encore which they provided (God Bless America).
We wanted to go catch Maceo Parker also on the garden stage, but we couldn’t get back in. So we decided to try to get to the front of the line for Maraca in Dizzy’s Den. This involved a couple of hours of standing in line and taking turns getting food. While we were waiting in line at Dizzy’s Den, the line was forming at the night club for Tom Scott. Gilbert was playing trumpet for him and I wound up having a chance to say hi to him between their rehearsal and their show.
Meanwhile, our front-of-the-line strategy at Dizzy’s Den worked and we were the first ones in the the door there. It turns out there were already some people in the room when they opened the doors, but we did wind up with great seats. They played the same set as they did in the Arena. I think they recorded both shows and plan to release them sometime next year on the MJF’s new record label. The playing was pretty amazing again.
Then we went to the Arena to catch the Christian McBride Quintet. His playing was amazing as usual. After that was Nancy Wilson, with her regular rhythm section (including Roy McCurdy), Tom Scott, and Terence Blanchard. This was her first performance after the passing of her husband. It was obviously a difficult show for her, but she managed to get through it and perform some of her very well known pieces. It was billed as a tribute to Cannonball Adderley, and, indeed, it was, but it was also a tribute to her husband, which was quite a special thing to get to see.
More great stuff today….
V-