SO. CALIFORNIA
By Taylor Jordan
The music was so good - said the satisfied souls sojourning with the magical wonder of perfectly played melodies and harmonies echoing from the Jimmy Lyons Stage - somebody ought to take it on the road.
Evidently enough people offered such sage advice, Monterey Jazz Festival general manager Tim Jackson opted to heed it. Starting this month and continuing through March, the 50th anniversary Monterey Jazz Festival All-Star Ensemble will perform 54 concerts in 22 states, including five major shows in Southern California.
Those unable to make it to Monterey's main event can experience the awesome artistry of ensemble music director and pinnacle pianist Benny Green, Grammy-winning and pioneering trumpeter Terence Blanchard, seminal saxophonist James Moody and sultry songstress Nnenna Freelon with timekeeping wonder Kendrick Scott on drums and Derrick Hodge maintaining the bottom on bass.
Tickets are $30 general admission and $28 for students and senior citizens attending the 8 p.m. concert on Jan. 19 at Citrus College's Haugh Performing Arts Center in Glendora. Tickets and information may be secured at the center box office, (626) 963-9411, Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The 8 p.m. Southern California shows also include the Irvine Barclay Theater, Jan. 17 with tickets $45 and $38; UCLA Royce Hall on Jan. 18, tickets $48 to $26 general and $15 for UCLA students; Lancaster Performing Arts Center on Jan. 22, tickets $40; and the Samuelson Chapel on the California Lutheran University campus in Thousand Oaks on Jan. 23. The Thousand Oaks concert is free, but donations will be accepted.
Moody, a master for six decades on alto, tenor and soprano saxophone and flute whose "Moody's Mood for Love" is a cross-generational classic, is the elder statesman of the MJF golden group. He has traveled a long way from his Georgian roots and New Jersey upbringing, serving as a musical ambassador and American cultural icon on every continent since his 1940s' bebop moments in Dizzy Gillespie's big band. He recorded his signature song during a Sweden recording date in 1949 while living in Paris.
The overwhelming success of "Moody's Mood for Love" initially as an instrumental, hit again with vocalist King Pleasure's version, the song's lyricist Eddie Jefferson and repeated recordings by influential artists over several decades, including Quincy Jones on his "Q's Jook Joint" multiple artists album. Other pioneering partners with Moody have included Dinah Washington, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Manhattan Transfer, Dizzy's United Nations Orchestra, Queen Latifah, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea and artistic director Wynton Marsalis and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra great guests Lionel Hampton, Jon Faddis, Jon Hendricks, Kenny Barron, Janis Siegel and Annie Ross.
Blanchard, a New Orleans native who astutely succeeded Wynton Marsalis in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, is equally adept at playing and composing. He uses both talents and his position as artistic director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance to spread the good news of jazz to youthful musical prodigies and fans.
The former young lion progressed into a master player and composer, fine tuning his own natural skills as a brass man, composing scores for feature films and documentaries of note and leading ensembles featuring a mix of masters, pioneers and young lions.
As MJF's 2007 artist-in-residence, he demonstrated dexterity judging and mentoring teen all-stars in the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, promoting MJF's 50th anniversary with pre-festival concerts, presenting the emotionally moving premiere of his composition "A Tale of God's Will: A Requiem for Katrina," entertaining thrilled audiences with his own combo on main and grounds' stages and enthralling appreciative aficionados as a principal player in the MJF 50th anniversary all-stars.
Blanchard's impressive 40 film scores include "Mo' Better Blues," "Jungle Fever," "Malcolm X," "Inside Man" and "When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," all produced and directed by socially conscious filmmaker Spike Lee. A 2005 best jazz album Grammy winner, Blanchard has been nominated for four more Grammy awards as well as the Grand Prix du Disque.
Green, another former Blakey Messenger, was also a child prodigy whose obvious talents were recognized early. His first MJF appearance was as a teen all-star. His prodigious abilities have led him to acclaim on world stages, performances with pioneers and seminal style creators and leadership of ensembles with equally well-known and masterful skills. He so impressed Oscar Peterson, the late, great pianist frequently performed and recorded with him and recommended Green as the first recipient of Toronto's prestigious Glenn Gould International Protege Prize in Music.
Green has also performed with such luminaries as Freddie Hubbard, Ray Brown, Russell Malone, Eddie Henderson, Betty Carter, Christian McBride and Milt Jackson. Pioneering pianists influencing Green include Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, Phineas Newborn Jr. and Buddy Powell.
Freelon is a genuine diva and considered among likely candidates as a new queen of jazz. There were few things memorable about the lackluster performers on the 2001 Grammy Awards telecast. But no one among the millions watching nationwide could forget Freelon's enchanting and exhilirating performance on the show or the sight of 20,000 guests rising to their collective feet for an awesomely long standing ovation.
She is in high demand worldwide as a festival favorite, but also captivated listeners on her five Grammy nominated recordings, won critical acclaim as the recipient of the Eubie Blake Award and Academie du Jazz's Billie Holiday Award, found fan favoritism with her "Live" recording from Kennedy Center for the Arts and achieved educational acceptance as national spokesperson, mentor and instructor for Partners in Education.
Influenced by such masters as Papa Jo Jones, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes and Tony Williams, it is little wonder Scott secured a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and a seat in the Berklee/Monterey Quartet that performed at MJF in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
The young drummer from Houston is a member of Blanchard's regular combo now. He has additionally performed with Joe Sample, The Crusaders, Stefon Harris, Lizz Wright, Pat Metheny, David Sanborn and Dianne Reeves. He is a past recipient of the Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship from the International Association of Jazz Educators and National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts.
Hodge's roots in music, like so many before him and predictably more, began in the Black church where he was most influenced by church bassist Joel Ruffin and his own mother's vocal talents in Philadelphia's Beulah Baptist Church choir. Sacred and secular co-existed amicably throughout his formative years and training. After teen years in top school, all-star, state and regional ensembles, he won the Berklee College of Music High School Competition and its outstanding soloist award. He was the first jazz major participating in the Temple University Symphony Orchestra.
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