{"id":8180,"date":"2017-02-18T17:19:26","date_gmt":"2017-02-19T01:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=8180"},"modified":"2017-02-19T20:14:33","modified_gmt":"2017-02-20T04:14:33","slug":"2017-portland-festival-report-no-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2017\/02\/2017-portland-festival-report-no-1\/","title":{"rendered":"2017 Portland Festival Report No. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Branford Marsalis Quartet and singer Kurt Elling combined in the first major concert of the 2017 Portland, Oregon PDX Jazz Festival. A packed audience in the capacious Newmark Theater heard a performance that drew upon their recent album Upward Spiral<\/em>. The principals listened intently to one another and appeared to be enjoying their work as much as they did in this earlier encounter.
\n\"\"
\nWith his rich harmonic palette and hard swing, longtime Marsalis pianist Joey Calderazzo generated audience enthusiasm equal to that shown the co-leaders. The strong support of bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner intensified as they buoyed the proceeding when Marsalis, Elling and Calderazzo were soloing. Calderazzo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u201dno other word for it\u00e2\u20ac\u201dfierce playing on the opening number set a joyous mood that suffused the concert and moderated only when tempos slowed on ballads. One of those ballads was the 1950s Nat Cole hit \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Blue Gardenia,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Elling sang with affecting simplicity. He finished the piece on a high note held longer than a human oxygen supply might be expected to last. Marsalis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ballad triumph, on soprano saxophone, came in an Antonio Carlos Jobim piece, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153S\u00c3\u00b3 Tinha de Ser Com Voc\u00c3\u00aa,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that is little-known compared to much of Jobim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s extensive output.<\/p>\n

Following the PDX festival audience\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s customary standing ovation and cheers, the concert ended with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153St. James Infirmary.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Marsalis performed the piece with the New Orleans flavor that characterizes his best work. Elling\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obbligato, using a water glass and his voice to suggest trombone sounds, was an unexpected touch that fell just short of being vaudevillian.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Maria Schneider Orchestra filled the Newmark to capacity. She is a composer and arranger who conducts with a fluid style that parallels the poetic content of her music. Her program in Portland consisted of pieces from her orchestra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s albums<\/a> over two decades or more, and some of her recent work. It began with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Powder Song,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a new composition combining power and grace that provided the”\u00a0setting for a stunning extended accordion solo by Gary Versace. Yes, accordion. In the right hands it can be a musical instrument. Versace\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s are the right hands. Trombone soloist Marshall Gilkes and trumpeter Greg Gisbert followed Versace, keeping the level of fluency high. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gumba Blues\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from Schneider\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first album (1994) is stylistic evidence of her study with the protean composer and arranger\"\" Gil Evans. It featured extended work from alto saxophonist Steve Wilson and another round of Versace\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s accordion wizardry. This orchestra of gifted soloists has empathy that puts it in a category with the camaraderie of Thad Jones-Mel Lewis, Claude Thornhill and\u00e2\u20ac\u201dgoing back even more decades\u00e2\u20ac\u201d Fletcher Henderson in the late 1920s and Duke Ellington\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 1940-41 band.<\/p>\n

Other highlights of the concert:<\/p>\n

\u00ef\u0081\u00ac A complex new piece by Schneider in observance of the increasing power and threat of digital technology as it spreads into every aspect of our lives. She introduced it by quoting the scientist Stephen Hawking\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s prediction that by 2035 the robots we have created will take over the world\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand mankind. Called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Data Lords,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d it featured an impressive young trumpeter, Mike Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

\u00ef\u0081\u00ac A magnificent baritone saxophone essay by Scott Robinson on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Winter Morning Walks.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Introducing it, Ms. Schneider read the Ted Kooser poem that inspired the piece and the title of her album featuring classical soprano Dawn Upshaw.<\/p>\n

\u00ef\u0081\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u009dComing About,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from the 1996 album of that title. It had a long, satisfying piano solo by Frank Kimbrough and a Donny McCaslin tenor saxophone solo that gathered momentum as it developed and carried the orchestra with it.<\/p>\n

\u00ef\u0081\u00ac \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sky Blue,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with another Steve Wilson alto saxophone solo saturated with feeling; the feeling of the blues.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"The powerhouse drummer Ralph Peterson took his trio, Triangular, into the Winningstad”\u00a0Theater. To their credit, his sidemen were not submerged by Peterson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s waves of energy\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand to his credit,”\u00a0he adjusted his volume and enthusiasm to accommodate brothers Zaccai Curtis, a pianist, and his bassist brother\"\" Luques. The Curtises have lyrical tendencies and although they have become adept at playing Peterson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s games of strength and rhythmic complexity, their best moments of the pieces I heard were quieter ones. Scheduling circumstances meant that I had to leave before the concert was over. As I tiptoed out, they were massaging a Latin groove and building excitement into it. I was sorry that I had to leave it behind.<\/p>\n

Go here<\/a> for compete information about the PDX Jazz Festival..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Branford Marsalis Quartet and singer Kurt Elling combined in the first major concert of the 2017 Portland, Oregon PDX Jazz Festival. A packed audience in the capacious Newmark Theater heard a performance that drew upon their recent album Upward Spiral. The principals listened intently to one another and appeared to be enjoying their work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8182,"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-8180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-main","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8180","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=8180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}