The New York City Winter Jazzfest was timed perfectly with the weather, as luck would have it. The night of January 10th was below freezing in temperature while moderately frozen precipitation both provided the atmosphere of snowflakes in the air and on the ground as well as creating a sort of half-frozen ice pooling effect in many areas of the streets. Held near Bleecker and Sullivan across three areas in the East Village of Manhattan, the 2009 NYC Jazzfest would host over 20 bands and a variety of jazz flavors. Though the contemplation of modern jazz in such a wintry environment for something titled “Winter Jazzfest” seemed very promising, the cold temperatures may have contributed to the seemingly stunted and slowed performances which would have otherwise been of a higher caliber.
The concert has been occurring annually for the past five years, according to the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ scheduling. This annual convention is somewhat unusual in that it is a hybrid of rock concerts and general assemblies of the music industry. The concert was normally held in the Knitting Factory, but it was closed to later reopen in Williamsburg and thus it was decided to hold the concert across three areas, Le Poisson Rouge, and Kenny’s Castaways (Teichroew, 2009). The Le Poisson Rouge hosted the performances that would draw the largest crowds. People began to make the part immediately in front of the stage the seated section as the audience continued to pile in and sit indian-style on top of blankets or other make-shift seats. Although the performances as a whole were a bit off tempo from complete excellence, the quality of sound alone was high. The bass overshadowing the piano was the only major mixing issue, while the rest was both amplified and blended nicely.
Jason Moran played at least a couple of songs. Drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist Tarua Mateen completed his band, while the method of Moran that had been regarded as a “monk” style emanated unique phrases in a more contemporary style. People seemed to most enjoy the contemplative effect this had, which was also apparently the most popular trait of the concert as a whole. Modern experimental jazz seemed gain some popularity here, and though this may have simply been imagined, despite the slight problems with the bass and the weather possibly impairing the performance people were enjoying the music at a level that is normally not seen at concerts even in more environmentally friendly conditions. Moran continued with a serious of harmonics and lines that blended blues style feelings with the modern styles, and the rest of the performances would lean more towards the modern styles.
Dafnis Prieto, a drummer, would follow Moran. Prieto’s horn section would have artist Alessi playing trumpet with two saxophonists. This group’s intense drumming and solo efforts were devoid of lyrics while they emphasized evoking emotions through pure sound. This seemed to have mixed appreciation. The next group, comprised of bassist Charles Flores and pianist Manuel Valera, had more potential seemingly than they could actually carry through with. They successfully and thoughtfully blended Cuban sounds with their own experimental flavor, which could have been more exciting had the combination not had so much percussion.
The music at Kenny’s Castaways was decent, and while unique, nothing exceptionally memorable. Pianist Lafayette Gilchrist’s music was more unique than the previous performances heard, and was strangely flighty and fundamental at the same time. The combinations of the music went above and beyond to be so different that it weakened them overall. Their efforts to stand out may have been for the sole purpose of gaining attention. Byron Ivey-Divey’s group normally sounded more warmly emotional, however both the notes and lyrics seemed put off both by being outside and because it was actually quite cold. The saxophonist here was above average, but overall this group did not evoke any unique or powerful senses of emotion.
Jeff Watt’s group was obligated to be the best as they were the ones advertised primarily with the festival itself. The trumpeting and bass in this group was mostly unheard of, and as “headliners” people seemed to be naturally quite curious. Their blues were not unique in any real way yet were quite strong and successfully appealing. The remainder of the performances from this group were quite similar, although they played for just about the right amount of time before the audience seemed to be bored with them. It would seem that this would have happened sooner had they not carried the excitement of being the headlining band and were able to draw on that energy as well. Blanchard and Marsalis, coming later, were successful with delivering without lyrics while the horn solos were arguably the most preferred and talented single aspect in the concert.
Overall this concert displayed a number of talents in multiple areas, but was not revolutionary in any way. What made the environment unique also limited it reaching higher potential, and some may prefer this variety of experiencing a concert occasionally. It can be assumed with a high level of certainty that, though the wintry feel would be gone, the core concepts and talents would be much better displayed with better acoustics or even higher temperatures.
Source
Teichroew, Jacob, “Concert Review: 2009 NYC Winter Jazzfest” The New York Times Company, 2009.