![\"Blakey](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Blakey-Jazz-Message-Group.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWatson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s phrasing, dynamics, tonal variety and joyful demeanor stood out in a group populated by some of the music\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most interesting players. In a ballad medley, his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153These Foolish Things\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was marinated in blues character and in humor that included a deftly placed allusion to Johnny Hodges. Forty-three years following his death, Hodges\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 spirit hovers over this festival and jazz at large. His tunes are in the repertoires of several artists. Soloists frequently refer to him in their improvisations. Cables\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 medley choice was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Body and Soul.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t resist inserting eight bars of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Prisoner of Love,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as pianists have since Nat Cole did it on a famous recording in the 1940s. Cables, Williams and Nash constituted a powerhouse rhythm section. Henderson followed Cables with an abstract creation he did not disclose as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Know What Love Is\u00e2\u20ac\u009d until near the end of his solo. He long ago fashioned his Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan influences into a personal approach. He occasionally makes judicious use of half-valve effects, as he did during \u00e2\u20ac\u0153One by One.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Henderson opened his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Moanin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d solo with a direct quote of Morgan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opening phrase on a famous 1957 recording.<\/p>\n
Six-and-a-half feet tall, Jackson is reminiscent of Dexter Gordon in more than height. The roominess of his sound and the gliding assurance of his conception recall Gordon and, often, laconic elements in the style of Wayne Shorter during his Blakey period. The senior member of the tribute group, in his 79th year Fuller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trombone tone has a slightly muffled quality that contrasts with his quickness of execution and the wit of his ideas. Following impressive solos by Watson and Henderson, Fuller quoted \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everything Happens to Me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d A master of conciseness who speaks his piece and gets out, his solos were short stories, not novels, as in Benny Golson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s classic \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Blues March.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
A striking aspect of the band was the close attention each member paid to what the others played. There were nods, grins and sometimes \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the jazz musician\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s seal of approval. The audience\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own endorsement was a standing ovation. Their reward was an encore, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Night in Tunisia.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Each of the Blakey all-stars played one solo chorus. When the concert ended, they strolled offstage into the wings chatting and laughing. The concert was a one-shot get-together, but the Blakeyites and the audience had such a good time, it would be surprising if the band didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do it again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Friday night, members of several graduating classes of Art Blakey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jazz Messengers celebrated their boss. Tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson assembled the intergenerational all-star band only for their concert at the Portland Jazz Festival. Jackson, alto saxophonist Bobby Watson, trombonist Curtis Fuller, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, pianist George Cables and bassist Buster Williams all spent time in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4494\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}