Writer's Notebook - James Rafferty Blog

Soaring with Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton at Newport

Every time I've gone to the Newport Jazz Festival, I've made some new discoveries.  Earlier in the day, I got the last seat on a shuttle bus from the parking lot. As I smiled and took my seat, a friendly woman in the next seat back greeted me and asked if there was somebody special I was going to see.  I said I was looking to take in the whole experience and had been impressed with the day's lineup. She said she was excited to see Lisa Fischer, who had previously been at Newport singing with Chris Botti. I made a mental note and decided to check Lisa's music out if I had the chance. 

In my last post, I mentioned how much I liked the Quad Stage. So late in the day, I returned and found a good seat.  A few minutes later, I heard a lilting sound coming from the stage -- my first glimpse of Lisa Fischer as she was checking out her microphone. 

A few minutes later, Eric Jackson of WGBH, the most famous jazz announcer in New England, introduced Lisa and said this was his first chance to see her sing live. Lisa's group is called Grand Baton. Moments later, the music began. Here I was at Newport and the music was clearly -- gospel.  Midway into the song, she led a sing-along.  She convinced the audience to sing the word Freedom and to sing a few other words as well.  As I wrote in my journal, I wasn't sure if this was jazz, but it was working.  Her next song was Fever which suited her very well. Lisa sings both words and sounds and moves effortlessly from one to the other.  A favorite move of hers is to swoop upwards to hit impossibly high notes and then let them echo.  By now, Grand Baton had shown they were a group of fine musicians and very tight. The guitarist, JC Maillard, had been introduced as the musical director and he was all of that. In the first few songs, he played an amplified acoustic guitar and showed versatility in shifting from folk sounds into a powerful flamenco style. The other band members were Aidan Carroll on bass and Thierry Arpino on drums, but they worked best as a unit and their solid foundation allowed Lisa to swoop and soar, drawing echoplexed sonic figures in the air. Here's what the band looked like in full swing.  

Next, Maillard strapped on a dark red electric guitar and began riffing.  Above the riff, Lisa began to sing a baroque version of Led Zep's It's been a long time since I rock and rolled. Later in the song, Maillard revved up the electronics and played waves of highly distorted guitar licks, not at all like Jimmy Page, but fitting in well in counterpoint to Lisa's high notes and wordless harmonics.  

By this time, I'd decided the music was unclassifiable, but that was a good thing! Next, the band shifted into a rococo version of Jumping Jack Flash. Maillard had shifted to tall, lute-shaped instrument and his sounds had elements both of sitar and Mediterranean style acoustic music.  Maillard also sang and on this song, he and bassist Carroll both same background while Lisa floated above all with her voice and did a little dance using her long burgundy dress like a veil.  In between songs, she recounted a conversation she'd had with another woman:  "To feel the way someone else sees me."  

She chose to finish with a rendition of Wild Horses.  I've always liked listening to (or playing) this song and I reacted to the band's music by releasing a bouquet of salty tears, a welcome cleansing of my eyes on this hot, dry day. The music shifted moods. Lisa's vocal was somber, like the echoing tones sung by monks in a medieval church. She ended by building up to a high-pitched wail like Aretha Franklin, then dropped to a whisper to articulate the final words.    

I gave a mental word of thanks to the woman who'd told me about Lisa earlier in the day. What a show! I met friends just after the set ended and we agreed that we'd all experienced an amazing end to a wonderful day.   

Quad Stage Magic at Newport Jazz

One of the aspects of the Newport Jazz Festival which really works well is the multiple stage concept. True, it often seems like two groups you've just got to see are playing at the same time, but you can always split your time if you're really intent on seeing both acts.  

Newport normally has three stages, but this year a fourth smaller indoor venue was added. The main Fort stage often has the headliners, but sometimes the best action is on the other stages. My favorite tends to be the Quad Stage. Here, one walks through the walls of the fort (yes, there is still a Fort Adams) and arrives on an open field with a long tent set up to the right.  The stage is at the back of the tent, near the fort walls, but the tent also extended over a seating area with folding chairs, lawn seating and standing room along the sides.  In this more intimate venue, it's easier to see the musicians and the scale is much more manageable for all. 

After sitting in the sun for two hours on a hot Saturday afternoon, making my way into a shaded tent seat sounded like a great idea. I caught the very end of a set performed by a unique vocalist -- Jose James. His sound clustered with rap speed and a vocal style that reminded me of singers as diverse as Al Jarreau and Gil Scott Heron. After he finished, I sidled over to the folding chairs and settled into an aisle side seat. In about twenty minutes, the next act, the Hiromi Trio Project was ready to begin.  

My oldest son Jason is a huge Hiromi fan and he introduced me to her music at Newport a few years back. Hiromi is a young Japanese pianist who is visually striking.  She has a lean frame and jet black hair which seems to defy gravity.  The Quad Stage suited her group very well. A trio like hers tends to get swallowed up by the Fort stage, but here the size is just right. They began the set with a punchy vamp ala Chick Corea. The music built up and her percussive touch drove the band forward. Sometimes she'll bang out her piano lines and rocks forward and back until she momentum seems to propel her a few inches up off of her seat -- it's natural movement and fits the music. Here's a glimpse of Hiromi at work (she's on the left):  

 

She can create crystalline melodies with her right hand, then add the left to dive deep into the lower timbres of her piano.  The band was outstanding.  Anthony Jackson played an 8 string contra-bass guitar and was the rock who held together the music even when Hiromi embarked on flights of extended improvisation.  To the right, drummer Simon Phillips made full use of his large drum kit and lent a highly percussive counterpoint to the ensemble. Hiromi mainly played her acoustic piano, but at times stood up and added a synth line with her left hand while continuing to play melody lines with her right. Later she told us the names of her songs -- Warrior, Desire and Dreamer, to name a few. Her music touched many bases -- a two-handed ragtime feel flowed into chunky chords like Monk, then ultra-fast lyrical lines with her right hand accompanied by delicate brush work from Phillips. They closed the set with the title track from her latest album, Alive.  I wondered if any music I would hear later in the day could possibly match this.  I'll talk about that in my next post. This post is the second in a short series on the 2015 Newport Jazz Festival. The first post can be found here.  

Hot Jazz Afternoon at Newport

It's a challenge to keep up with new developments and artists in the jazz world.  The Newport Jazz Festival offers the best local remedy for people in the northeast US. This past Saturday was a near cloudless day and the bright sunshine attracted thousands to Newport. The streets were filled with visitors and bicyclists made much better time than drivers throughout much of the route to the seaside Fort Adams site.  

But all was forgiven when I was able to plunk down my lawn chair a couple hundred feet from the main stage and listen to the music. The site is right on the harbor and on a day like this sailboats take advantage of the breezes that flow through Narragansett Bay. Here is what it looked like facing the stage:  

 

Drummer Jack DeJohnette led the first act, a group aptly named Made In Chicago. As I found my seat, Jack was driving the band hard as they collectively improvised on their instruments. The musicians present had helped originate the classic late Sixties Chicago avant-garde sound - Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams and Larry Graham -- but still played with intensity and originality.  Not a bad way to start the day.  

The next act on the Fort Stage was new to me, but the Maria Schneider Orchestra had been highly recommended by a friend. Maria is a young, blonde-haired woman who writes music and leads a group of about twenty musicians. Maria has listed Gil Evans as an influence, but the music ranged widely. The  musical structures which left room for multiple horn players playing over the band reminded me of seeing the Gil Evans Band in Montreal in the late eighties, but the overall musical palette covered a lot of ground. Jazz guitarist Ben Monder was featured on a couple of different songs which illustrated the band's range. On an early tune in the set, Ben played a highly distorted and blazingly fast guitar sound reminiscent of early Al DiMeola, coupled with wails of Hendrix style feedback. On a later song, Ben's approach was quiet and lyrical, helping to paint the vision of Maria's home region of Minnesota countryside. Most of the music in the performance was from her latest album, The Thompson Fields. On another composition, dueling saxophonists played over choppy piano overlaid by orchestral textures.  On the final song, Stephen Wilson played immaculate soprano sax stating the melody with support from the rest of the band. Lately, there's been more big band jazz music evident at Newport; Maria Schneider showed that her work is an important example of this direction. Later, I purchased her CD and she seemed very down to earth as we chatted briefly about her music and jazz in the signing line.

I'll share a few more of my experiences from my day at Newport on my next post.