Saturday, August 5, was a bright and sunny day and our group of four drove down to the Newport Jazz Festival. We hit the usual traffic, but it took quite a while before we got through security and found a spot to plunk down our chairs to the right of the Fort stage. As we got situated, we were able to listen to the sounds of Superblue, which featured the fluid vocals of Kurt Elling.
I stopped by a nearby food tent and picked up a tasty Mediterranean platter -- with stuffed grape leaves, lots of hummus, lightly toasted pita bread and a Greek salad. Yum.
Here's a view of the nearby waters on this day.
Next up on the main stage was Charles Lloyd. He played several songs with a John Coltrane flavor on his tenor saxophone, then shifted to quieter songs where his flute reminded me of the Seventies music of Chick Corea from the Light as a Feather album.
I then took a walk to go inside the Fort area, where Louis Cato's band was about to begin at the Quad stage. Cato plays guitar and sings vocals. The band began with the set with a funky talking blues. On the second song, the rest of the band joined in to fill out a jazzy strut. Cato's guitar solos reminded me of the long sustained lines of Robben Ford and he also liked to add a vibrato sound to his chords. I noticed that Christian McBride's Jam Jawn group was about to begin at the Fort stage, so I headed back there.
McBride had about eight musicians on the stage. As I arrived, the band played the classic Afro Blue, which highlighted the strong melodic lines of Ravi Coltrane on soprano sax. After that, McBride introduced more of the players, which included the veteran jazz pianist and composer Bob James; the band continued by playing one of his tunes, which had a funky sound that reminded me of the theme from Shaft. Once again, Coltrane offered strong solos, this time on tenor sax. Later, James traded off riffs with McBride and the two percussionists in the band. A couple songs later, the up and coming vocalist Celise joined the band and sang an energetic version of "Hound Dog." The guitarist Eric Krasno played a hard edge solo that threatened to rip a hole in the atmosphere and then McBride shifted over to the eloquent sounds of a bowed bass for his solo. The band closed the set with soul music from James Brown. It was amusing to see McBride ask Ravi if he was ready to got down with James Brown. Ravi seemed to shrug his shoulders as if to say "whatever." Ravi kept it professional and did his part. This was the first time I'd seen Ravi Coltrane play. He truly brings life to the music and carries the Coltrane name and sound of his parents John and Alice very well.
Here's a dimly lit glimpse of the band.
The smaller stage areas at Newport often offer the best chances to see and hear the music up close. A standout group was the trio led by guitarist Julian Lage. Lage played a solid body guitar and offered a very melodic style that included lots of sliding notes and even a few octave passages. The group played in tight communication with uncanny interplay. The other band members were Joerg Roeder on upright bass and Dave King on the drum kit. Here's a view of the band while improvising:
I stayed by the Harbor stage and managed to get a good seat near the stage while the next group, the Orrin Evans Quintet, was setting up. I was not familiar with the group beforehand, but liked the way their music built up over the course of their set. Orrin Evans on keyboards is the band leader, but he gave the other musicians lots of space for soloing. The front line of Ingrid Jensen on trumpet and Gary Thomas on saxophone was very strong and propelled by the powerhouse rhythm section of Luques Curtis on upright bass and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. They wailed together on the first song and the collective sound and energy reminded me of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Orrin Evans showed influences of Herbie Hancock in his right handed chords and lines, but with a sharper edge. By the last song, which Evans dedicated to the memory of pianist Geri Allen, the band had really hit its stride. Jensen played lyrical muted trumpet lines and Thomas switched off between flute and his sax. This was ensemble jazz at a high level where the players listened closely to each other and the music evoked the spirits of many brilliant musicians who have played here at the Newport festival. Here is a shot of the band:
The final act of the day was Jon Batiste. His band was dressed up in flashy clothes, led by Batiste himself in a bright red suit. For me, the early music felt like showtime from the Doc Severinsen era of the Tonight show, as the players blasted out hot solos from their instruments. They were good, but it didn't feel very much like jazz. Later, Batiste led the crowd in some collective vocals and got people up and moving on the grassy areas in front of the stage. Then, Batiste changed the mood and played some delightful acoustic piano with a ragtime feel. At the close, the band played a rousing theme and finished by stepping off the stage and playing music out in the crowd. It was powerful and energetic, and offered a unique ending to the festival for this day.