ABOUT THE EVENTS

Following are many of the upcoming jazz concerts and jazz-related events in the Atlanta area. As you'll see, I focus primarily on straight-ahead jazz. Additional events may be found at JazzAtlantaGA.com, AtlantaJazz.Info, or Eventful.com's Atlanta Jazz listings. Also, if you'd like to see some of the best jazz musicians in Atlanta, I'd definitely visit the calendar page at Churchill Grounds' website. If you're looking for a restaurant that also features jazz music, I'd recommend that you check out the itineraries for the following jazz musicians: Joe Gransden, Will Scruggs, Laura Coyle, Nick Rosen, and Trey Wright.

Here's an RSS feed for Atlanta jazz concerts and events.

Jazz jam session at Queen of Sheba Restaurant
Thursday, September 2, 2010 8pm
Cost: Varies/restaurant

Queen of Sheba Restaurant hosts a jazz jam session. This event repeats every Thursday night. More information...

Jazz jam session at Studio 281
Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 9pm
Cost: FREE!

Studio 281 will host a jazz jam session which is usually led by saxophonist, Eric Fontaine. Doors open at 8pm, music starts at 9pm. This event repeats every Thursday night. More information...

Justin Chesarek Quartet at Churchill Grounds
Friday-Saturday, September 3-4, 2010 at 9:30pm
Cost: $10 cover, $10 minimum per set

Atlanta jazz drummer, Justin Chesarek, brings a special quartet performance to Churchill Grounds. The band will include the one and only Gary Motley on piano, Rick Lollar on guitar, and Moffett Morris on bass. Don't miss this one! More information...

Joe Gransden Big Band at Cafe 290 w/ Mike Geier
Monday, September 6, 2010 at 8:30pm
Cost: $8

Atlanta jazz trumpeter, Joe Gransden, has assembled 16 of the finest jazz musicians in the southeast to bring you an evening of great Big Band music at Cafe 290. You'll hear arrangements from the songbooks of Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Count Basie, Ray Charles and others along with Joe's originals. Rick's comments: When they say "16 of the finest jazz musicians in the southeast" they aren't kidding... On a recent night, the band included Kevin Bales, Mace Hibbard, Brian Hogans, John Sandfort, Anton Harris, Justin Varnes, Melvin Jones, Lester Walker, Wes Funderburk, just to name a few. Don't miss this fantastic band! On August 16, 2010 the band will feature vocalist, Mike Geier. This event will repeat on the first and third Monday of each month. More information...

Joshua Redman at Spivey Hall
Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 8:15pm
Cost: $45

Jazz saxophonist, Joshua Redman, will perform at Spivey Hall. The band will also include Reuben Rogers on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums. More information...

Branford Marsalis Quartet at Ferst Center
Friday, November 5, 2010 at 8pm
Cost: $39-$59

Jazz saxophonist, Branford Marsalis, will perform in a quartet setting at Georgia Tech's Ferst Center for the Arts. More information...

Baptiste Trotignon w/ Mark Turner at Spivey Hall
Sunday, December 5, 2010 at 3pm
Cost: $40

Jazz pianist, Baptiste Trotignon, will perform at Spivey Hall. The band will also include Mark Turner on saxophone, Matt Penman on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums. More information...

Mulgrew Miller Trio at Spivey Hall
Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 8:15pm
Cost: $40

Jazz pianist, Mulgrew Miller, will perform at Spivey Hall. More information...

Glenn Miller Orchestra at Spivey Hall
Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 3pm
Cost: $40

The Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform Spivey Hall. More information...

Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra of NY at Ferst Center
Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 8pm
Cost: $34-$54

Jazz trumpeter, Jon Faddis, will perform with the Jazz Orchestra of New York at Georgia Tech's Ferst Center for the Arts. More information...

Rene Marie at Spivey Hall
Saturday, March 28, 2011 at 8:15pm
Cost: $40

Jazz vocalist, Rene Marie, will perform at Spivey Hall. More information...

The 33rd annual Atlanta Jazz Festival took place this Memorial Day weekend at Piedmont Park. If you've been following the Atlanta Jazz Festival saga, you know this is the first year that the festival has been back at Piedmont Park since 2007. Due to the Georgia drought and budget shortfalls, both the 2008 and 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festivals occurred at smaller venues and with scaled-back lineups. For those of us who look forward to the Atlanta Jazz Festival each year, it was great to see the festival back at Piedmont Park this year, complete with high-profile touring acts. Budget constraints still limited the festival to just two shortened days instead of three full days, but this year marked a big step in the right direction.

Following are some highlights and photos from the Festival.

TROMBONE SHORTY

Vocalist, trombone player, and trumpet player, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews has been on my radar ever since I saw YouTube clips of him playing in concert with Wynton Marsalis. I knew Trombone Shorty was a talented musician, but I didn't fully appreciate the magnitude of that talent until I saw his performance at the Atlanta Jazz Festival. His trombone playing alone was impressive enough, but when he picked up the trumpet I just about fell over. The power and intensity behind every note was astounding. Nothing I had seen or heard of his playing prior to the festival even came close. In addition to his great tone and fantastic musical ideas, his precision on the trumpet, through all ranges was absolute perfection. Trombone Shorty was definitely my favorite performer at this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival.

ESPERANZA SPALDING & RAYDAR ELLIS

Jazz bassist, Esperanza Spalding, and DJ/MC Raydar Ellis brought a hip-hop infused performance to this year's festival. I enjoyed the music, but I would have liked to hear Esperanza Spalding featured more prominently throughout the concert. That might sound strange considering she was the bandleader, but for several of the tunes she only played a supporting role.

It wasn't until the end of their performance when I learned that Marcus Strickland was playing saxophone in the band. I might have recognized him earlier, but since his hair (or lack thereof) was different than I've seen in photos, and since I wasn't all that close to the stage, I couldn't identify him by his appearance. I've been a fan of Marcus Strickland for several years now, ever since I first heard him playing with Dave Douglas. It was cool to see Marcus Strickland at the festival, even if he did only have one solo.

MARCUS MILLER W/ CHRISTIAN SCOTT

Marcus Miller and Christian Scott have been touring the world with their "Tutu Revisited" show, which they brought to this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival. While "Tutu" and the later period of Miles Davis' career isn't exactly my favorite style of jazz, I was still looking forward to hearing the band, especially trumpeter Christian Scott. There's been a lot of buzz about him lately, including a recent Downbeat cover article. It was nice to finally hear Christian Scott in person, although it may have been an off night for him as he struggled to hit some of notes in the upper register. But frankly, after hearing Trombone Shorty's effortless command of the upper register (and every register above and below that!), it was comforting to know that trumpet playing doesn't always come easy to the best players.

I'd also like to mention how impressed I was by the young saxophonist, Alex Han. I hadn't heard of him before, but I've since learned that he's been playing in a variety of high-profile ensembles since his early teen years. I'm sure I'll hear a lot more from him in the future.

JOE GRANSDEN BIG BAND

Followers of the Atlanta jazz scene are certainly familiar with trumpeter Joe Gransden and his 16-piece big band. The band plays on the first and third Monday at Café 290 and it regularly features several of Atlanta's best jazz musicians. The big band's inclusion at the Atlanta Jazz Festival was actually the result of a contest held by festival organizers. For this particular time slot, the festival organizers accepted submissions from musicians all over the country and then held an online vote to determine which of the top three submissions would get to play at the festival. I'm happy to say Joe and his band won by a sizeable lead!

SOUND ISSUES

Overall, this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival was a great event. The festival was back at Piedmont Park, it featured big-name musicians, it included some of Atlanta's finest musicians on the main stage, it had a reasonably sized VIP area (it was too large in 2007), the festival was well-attended, and it even had decent weather considering the fact that rain and thunderstorms were in the forecast for the entire weekend. There were some problems with this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival, however, and they all seemed to revolve around sound. To begin, this was the loudest Atlanta Jazz Festival that I've attended. The high volume level would have been fine, but it seemed like every performance and/or intermission had at least one eardrum-piercing event where somebody's microphone was turned up too high and the sound guys were caught off guard. The sound guys also seemed slow to react when somebody's microphone level was too low. There were several instances where somebody belted out note after note and we couldn't hear anything. Oh, and why did the sound guys play loud (and bad) alterna-rock during some of the intermissions? Maybe they were practicing for Bonnaroo.

FESTIVAL LINEUP

As in previous years at Piedmont Park, this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival had two stages of music. The main stage featured local Atlanta musicians and touring acts, while the second stage consisted entirely of local musicians. Here's the complete lineup:

SATURDAY MAY 29, 2010 - MAIN STAGE

• 2pm - Rialto Jazz For Kids All Star Big Band
• 3pm - Jay Norem & Keith White Quartet
• 4pm - Steven Charles Band
• 5:30pm - Trombone Shorty
• 7pm - Swing Streets to Swing Beats w/ Esperanza Spalding & Raydar Ellis
• 8:30pm - Marcus Miller w/ Christian Scott

SATURDAY MAY 29, 2010 - SECOND STAGE

• 3pm - Our New Dimensions
• 4pm - The Jacob Deaton Trio
• 5pm - Hudson on Bass
• 6pm - Julie Dexter

SUNDAY MAY 30, 2010 - MAIN STAGE

• 2pm - Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble Jazz Band
• 3pm - Joe Gransden Big Band
• 4pm - Kathleen Bertrand
• 5:30pm - Spyro Gyra
• 7pm - Diane Schuur w/ Jason Marsalis
• 8:30pm - Hiromi & Stanley Clarke

SATURDAY MAY 30, 2010 - SECOND STAGE

• 3pm - Groove Project
• 4pm - The Non-Movement Movement
• 5pm - Madoca & Co
• 6pm - William Green & The Magic Dream Band

I moved to Atlanta in 2001 and began attending local Atlanta jazz concerts a couple of years later, when I became serious about playing the trumpet again. During the years that I’ve followed the Atlanta jazz scene, I can think of no better time to be a jazz fan in Atlanta than right now! The musicians, the concerts, and even the sense of community, have reached a level beyond anything I’ve seen yet. To help spread the word, I thought I’d take a moment to share some of the reasons that I’m so excited about today’s Atlanta jazz scene.

JAZZ ORCHESTRA ATLANTA & JOE GRANSDEN AT CAFE 290

Beginning in May 2009, trumpeter Joe Gransden and the Jazz Orchestra Atlanta big band have been performing on the first Monday of every month at Cafe 290. The first two concerts were so heavily attended that they now perform on the first AND third Monday of each month. You might be wondering why so many people would go to see jazz on a Monday night, and in Sandy Springs no less?! I think the explanation is simple. The big band represents the largest concentration of the best jazz musicians that you’ll see anywhere in Atlanta. Although, the Twain’s jam session comes close! I recently attended my first big band concert at Cafe 290 and was delighted to see so many of my favorite Atlanta jazz musicians, including Kevin Bales, Mace Hibbard, Brian Hogans, John Sandfort, Anton Harris, Justin Varnes, Melvin Jones, Lester Walker, Wes Funderburk, just to name a few. And of course, the real star of the night is Joe Gransden. His ability to charm the audience and keep everyone entertained is second to none. Don’t miss these concerts!

Here’s a tip… call ahead and reserve a table. These concerts are crowded and you probably don’t want to stand in the back of the room all night.

TWAIN’S JAM SESSION

The Tuesday night jazz jam session at Twain’s Billiards and Tap began a little over a year ago and continues to be one of the best jazz events in the Atlanta area. Joe Gransden leads the session, with Tyrone Jackson on piano, Craig Shaw on bass, and Chris Burroughs on drums. With those guys in the house band, you know you’re in for some great jazz even if nobody else shows up to play! But they certainly don’t have any problem getting other musicians to show up. On any given night you’ll see dozens of jazz musicians on the stage. In one set you might see college students playing in public for the first time, then right after that you’ll see a trumpet battle featuring some of the best players in the world (as captured in the video clip to the right). Adding to the success of these jam sessions is a strong sense of community among the audience and musicians. Each week you’ll see many familiar faces, some coming to perform, and some coming just to hang out and catch up with friends. I know some people think there’s too much talking at Twain’s and not enough listening, but I think the talking is important. It’s the bond that keeps people coming back each week.

Additional notes: The music starts around 9pm. Usually the house band will play one or two tunes by themselves and then the jam session begins. Things really pick up around 10 or 10:30pm, so if you’re there to play and you want to guarantee that you’ll make it onto the stage, get there early.

DAVID ELLINGTON ORGAN TRIO AT TWAIN’S

The David Ellington Organ Trio performs at Twain’s Billiards & Tap on the first Wednesday of every month. The band includes Mace Hibbard on saxophone and Chris Burroughs on drums. Often, John Bagnato will join the band on guitar and they’ll occasionally feature special guests as they did recently with vocalists Laura Coyle and Tommy Dean. The band performs mostly original material written by David Ellington and Mace Hibbard, drawing heavily from the soulful sounds of Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, and Eddie Harris. I’ve seen David Ellington’s band perform several times and I’m always amazed at how good they sound together. Mace Hibbard really shines in this group, as he plays some of the funkiest sax solos ever heard in Decatur, GA.

YOUNG GUNS AND NEW MUSICIANS

We’ve seen several new jazz musicians come to Atlanta in the past year, many of them falling into the "Young Guns" category. They’re fresh out of college, filled with talent, and eager to make a name for themselves. Aside from their musical talents, I think the best thing about these new musicians is the enthusiasm they bring to the Atlanta jazz scene. They’re not afraid to experiment with new material, new lineups, and new venues. Their audiences might be small on occasion, but they know it’s all part of their journey as jazz musicians. Guess what? You can be a part of that journey by attending some of their concerts!

New/Interesting Venues:

The Highland Ballroom has seen several jazz concerts lately, by some of the younger players in town. Guitarist Jacob Deaton is a regular performer at Highland Ballroom and I know other musicians like Dan Dilormo and Justin Chesarek have played there as well. I’d encourage every college music student to go and support these guys. With enough support, you could have your own underground jazz scene - literally, since the Ballroom is in the basement! I would have loved to have something like this back when I was a college music student.

Studio 281 has been around for a while, but it’s seen some new interest lately thanks to some of the new players in town. Over the past couple of months at Studio 281, I’ve seen excellent concerts by saxophonist John Sandfort and two of my favorite "Young Guns," bassist Will Goble and drummer David Potter. Will Goble and David Potter just moved here after attending FSU and have brought a variety of guest musicians to their gigs at Studio 281. For example, last week they performed at Studio 281 with Marcus Printup and they’ll bring Jason Marsalis to Studio 281 for two nights in September (they recorded an album with Jason which received 4.5 out of 5 stars from Downbeat!). I’d also like to note that Nick Rosen, a gifted jazz pianist who also moved here from FSU in recent months, will be performing at Studio 281 in July. As you can see, good things are happening at Studio 281.

New Musicians

In addition to the musicians I just mentioned, I also want everyone to know about the ongoing Wednesday night performances by the Justin Chesarek Quintet at Churchill Grounds. Justin Chesarek is a talented young drummer and composer from Pittsburgh, and one of the nicest guys you’ll meet in the Atlanta jazz scene. His band includes another newcomer, accomplished tenor saxophonist, Kurtis Adams. Rounding out the band you’ll also hear Akeem Marable on alto saxophone, Dan Gilormo on guitar, and the one and only Craig Shaw on bass. This is a great band that you shouldn’t miss.

Now you know what’s going on… get out there and support live jazz in Atlanta!

For the past few years I’ve been writing reviews of each Atlanta Jazz Festival. Normally, these are some of the easiest articles for me to write because there’s so much to share. Back in 2007, for example, the three-day 2007 Atlanta Jazz Festival had two stages with more than 30 bands, including performances by Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutchershon, Charles Tolliver, Vijay Iyer, and The Bad Plus. There were also some interesting panel discussions for me to write about, including one with Bobby Hutcherson and Charles Tolliver. It was also relatively easy for me to write about the 2008 Atlanta Jazz Festival. The smaller venue, the local-only focus, and the concert itself provided plenty of material. Unfortunately, writing about this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival isn't so easy.

2009 ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL REVIEW

If you follow the Atlanta jazz scene, or if you’re a regular reader of this jazz blog, you know that as of 6 months ago the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival was canceled due to budgetary shortfalls. As I wrote back then, the Atlanta Jazz Festival wasn’t the only jazz festival facing hard times. It also wasn’t the last. Recently, the New York, Chicago, and Miami jazz festivals have all been canceled.

Remarkably, and to the surprise of most people I know in the Atlanta jazz community, festival organizers managed to secure some last-minute corporate sponsors and the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival was resurrected as of a few months ago. I mention the surprise factor among the jazz community because it doesn’t seem like festival organizers involved the local jazz community during the planning of the festival, nor does it appear that the organizers gave the local community any consideration when choosing the lineup. I base this primarily on the many instances where local musicians asked me if I had any information on the festival. They didn’t know anything, it seems, because they weren’t asked to perform. Making matters worse, it appears that they weren't even allowed to request/audition for a slot at the festival since the official festival website strictly forbade direct submission by artists.

And this is where it gets hard for me to write about this year’s Atlanta Jazz Festival...

The 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival was shortened to two days, leaving eight slots for performers (not including two middle school bands that opened each day). Of the eight slots, only one featured straight ahead jazz (Freddy Cole). The other seven slots were a mix of fusion, rock, soul, funk, instrumental pop, R&B and other forms of music. To be clear, I’m not criticizing the talents of the (mostly) non-jazz bands. Some contained extremely talented musicians. I’m also not suggesting that none of them should have been at the festival. You can certainly add a fusion/funk/R&B band or two to the lineup for variety, but they shouldn't be the primary focus of a "jazz" festival. And that's the problem. This year, the overwhelming majority of performances were NOT representative of jazz music.

The puzzling lineup is doubly frustrating to me when you consider the absence of jazz performances by the local Atlanta jazz community. Joe Gransden’s big band, David Ellingon’s band with Mace Hibbard, Audrey Shakir, and Tyrone Jackson with Melvin Jones and Clarence Johnson are just a few local options that would have made excellent choices. Why weren't they considered for the festival?

I could go on and on about this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival, but I really don't want to be critical of an event like this. After all, the Atlanta Jazz Festival is free, it celebrates jazz (by name at least), and I know a lot of work goes into the production. It’s a great festival and I'm happy to have it here in Atlanta. I just know it could have been better this year.

As you can see below, they did at least have a good turnout in Grant Park, especially considering the unpredictable weather.

UPDATE: MAY 26, 2009

I recently received a comment on this article from another blogger named David J. Boutté. David sent an open letter to the festival organizers that discusses several of the issues I mentioned above. Hopefully, one way or another, festival organizers will get the message and we'll return to a more jazz-oriented festival in the future...

ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

For reference purposes, here's the schedule for the 32nd (2009) Atlanta Jazz Festival:

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2009

• 3pm - Rialto All Stars (middle school big band)
• 4pm - Madoca
• 5:30pm - Dionne Farris
• 7pm - Russell Gunn & Elektrik Butterfly
• 8:30pm - Freddy Cole

SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2009

• 3pm - J.C. Young Middle School Jazz Ensemble
• 4pm - VINX
• 5:30pm - Mausiki Scales and the Common Ground Collective
• 7pm - The Cindy Blackman Quartet (former Lenny Kravitz drummer)
• 8:30pm - Hiroshima

MARCUS PRINTUP & MULGREW MILLER

Incidentally, there was some truly outstanding jazz this weekend that occurred outside of the Atlanta Jazz Festival. A local Atlanta organization called the Southeastern Organization for Jazz Arts (SOJA) hosted a concert with legendary jazz pianist, Mulgrew Miller, and jazz trumpeter, Marcus Printup. In the photo below you’ll also see Craig Shaw on bass and Kinah Boto on drums. This was some of the best jazz I've heard all year!

This was a great weekend for fans of jazz trumpet here in Atlanta. Friday night, Jon Faddis performed with the Georgia State University big band and Saturday night, Terence Blanchard was here to play with the Morehouse College Jazz Ensemble. I attended both concerts as well as a masterclass hosted by Jon Faddis. Following are some notes from the masterclass and concerts.

JON FADDIS MASTERCLASS

Jon Faddis is unquestionably one of the greatest high-note jazz trumpet players of all time. Until the master class, I had never seen him play in person nor was I at all prepared for what I’d hear.

A word of advice: if you ever attend a Jon Faddis masterclass, put some distance between you and the end of his trumpet bell. Trust me, your ears will thank you. I made the mistake of sitting directly in front of him, less than ten feet away. Each time he started playing, I braced myself for the loudest ear-splitting high notes imaginable. It was almost comical, actually. Half the time, he’d pick up his horn and rather than play something high and loud, he’d play something at a nice pleasant volume. Inevitably, just as soon as I’d let my guard down, thinking my ears were safe from punishment, he’d launch into the Faddisphere with his trademark thunderous jet engine of pain torture. Ouch.

A large part of Jon Faddis’ discussion revolved around listening to jazz. Specifically, Jon Faddis believes that aspiring jazz musicians shouldn't restrict their listening to modern-day musicians just because that's the music you enjoy the most. Instead, you should listen to the entire lineage of notable jazz musicians. For example, if you’re a trumpet player and you want to play like Nicholas Payton or Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis would insist that you also study Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Fats Navarro, Dizzy Gillespie, and all of the great trumpet players leading up to Marsalis and Payton. As you study the older jazz musicians, you’ll want to gain a level of familiarity that will enable you to identify their music by sound. And here’s the real kicker: you need to do this for all instruments, not just whatever you happen to play.

You might be asking yourself, “Is it really necessary to study all of the old music?” The short answer: no. Technically speaking, if you want to sound like Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, or Kurt Rosenwinkel, you could accomplish that goal simply by listening to their recordings. You could even make the argument that since Wynton Marsalis studied musicians like Louis Armstrong and Rex Stuart, you don’t have to. In other words, if Wynton Marsalis studied the older musicians, and you study Wynton Marsalis, they by way of Wynton Marsalis, you’ve also studied the older musicians. It sure was nice of Wynton to save you all that time and effort!

All joking aside, here are several compelling reasons for you to listen to the old masters:

• Music affects everyone differently - There is some truth to the notion that you’re automatically influenced by all of the musicians that your favorite musicians listened to. But, what if those same influences would have affected you differently? For example, when Kenny Garrett studied Johnny Hodges, his takeaway might have been the way Hodges bends and slurs from one note into another. When you listen to Hodges, however, it might be Hodges’ use of vibrato that makes the greatest impact on your playing. If you leave all the Hodges listening up to Kenny Garrett, you’ll miss having your own unique reaction to Johnny Hodges’ music.
• More inputs = more outputs - If you’re only listening to a handful of musicians, you’re limiting the number of influences you can draw from in your own playing. You’re also increasing the likelihood that you’ll sound like a mere copycat. On the other hand, if you study many different musicians, you'll have that much more material to draw form in your jazz improvisation solos. This will add more variety to your playing and may improve your ability to develop an original sound.
• Deeper appreciation for the music - When you’ve studied older musicians, you’ll likely begin to hear connections and references in the playing of modern-day musicians. For example, you might notice a nod to Cootie Williams during one of Wynton Marsalis’ plunger mute solos. These connections are important in that they help tie together the legacy of jazz music. They also show that even the most talented musicians learned from their predecessors, just like you can learn from yours.
• Respect and preservation - While you may not have the time or interest to study every notable jazz musician to the degree suggested by Faddis, I think you owe it to yourself and to your musical predecessors to at least have some familiarity with their music. It’s thanks to their contributions that jazz exists today, and by celebrating and learning their music, we can help ensure that the legacy of jazz lives on for future generations.

For more information on listening to jazz music, you might want to read my Listening to Jazz article.

TERENCE BLANCHARD AT MOREHOUSE COLLEGE

Melvin Jones, the director of bands at Morehouse College, consistently brings us some of the most entertaining jazz big band concerts in Atlanta. So, when he told me Terence Blanchard was this year’s featured guest, I knew we were in for a special treat. And it didn’t disappoint one bit. Not only did Terence Blanchard and the Morehouse Jazz Ensemble deliver an incredible performance, but the concert also featured some of my favorite Atlanta jazz musicians, including Clarence Johnson, Louis Heriveaux, Craig Shaw, and Che Marshall.

As I wrote a couple of years ago, I really think they key to Melvin Jones’ success with the Morehouse College Jazz Ensemble is that he picks tunes that are both entertaining to the band and audience. This elevates the performance, making it more enjoyable for everyone. This might seem like a no-brainer, but I continue to see college big band performances where the music selections are overly complex and/or so boring that neither the students nor the audience are engaged. I don’t understand it one bit, but thankfully Melvin Jones doesn’t make that same mistake. Melvin Jones knows how to put on a good show.

In the following clip you’ll hear Terence Blanchard solo over Earth Wind & Fire’s hit, “Can’t Hide Love.” It’s hard to believe only a third of the students in the Morehouse Jazz Ensemble are music majors. Just listen to the trumpet section at the end of the tune...

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

This "canceled" article was originally written on December 13, 2008, when the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival was originally called off. In February of 2009, news began to surface which suggested that the festival might occur after all. Immediately below you'll find my recent status updates about the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival and farther down you'll see my original article. Just to be clear, the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival is NOT canceled anymore and it will occur at Grant Park during Memorial Day weekend.

UPDATE - 2/7/09: The Jazzlanta blog recently reported that the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival might not be canceled after all. There aren't any solid details yet, but as the author states, it is a sign of good things to come. Of special interest is the Save the 32nd Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival press release. You'll notice that in addition to naming Grant Park as the primary venue, the press release also states that "The Atlanta Jazz Festival will feature local and national jazz greats, a Neighborhood Jazz Series, Youth Jazz Band Competition, a Kids Zone, 31 Days of Jazz and many other family friendly events and activities." That sounds a lot like the Atlanta Jazz Festival we've come to know and love! I'll definitely keep an eye out for more info.

UPDATE - 2/21/09: Atlanta's Office of Cultural Affairs website confirms that the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival will take place at Grant Park this year.

UPDATE - 3/12/09: Not only is the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival definitely going to happen, but today I saw that they took out a full page add in the April 2009 edition of "Jazz Times" magazine. Still no mention of performers yet.

UPDATE - 4/5/09: Today I noticed that the official site for the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival has changed the dates to show just "two days of live jazz" at Grant Park (May 23-24) instead of the normal three days for the festival.

UPDATE - 4/22/09: The schedule of performers has now been added to the atlantafestivals.com website. Here's the rundown:

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2009

• 3pm - Rialto All Stars (middle school big band)
• 4pm - Madoca
• 5:30pm - Dionne Farris
• 7pm - Russell Gunn & Elektrik Butterfly
• 8:30pm - Freddy Cole

SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2009

• 3pm - J.C. Young Middle School Jazz Ensemble
• 4pm - VINX
• 5:30pm - Mausiki Scales and the Common Ground Collective
• 7pm - The Cindy Blackman Quartet
• 8:30pm - Hiroshima

MY ARTICLE FROM DECEMBER 2008

Following is the original article that I wrote on December 13, 2008...

Due to a budget shortfall, the Atlanta mayor's office recently announced the cancellation of the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival. The announcement came in the form of a bullet point that reads: "Eliminate various arts programming, including Jazz Fest"

The cancellation of the Atlanta Jazz Festival is definitely a disappointment to those of us who care about the Atlanta jazz scene, but I doubt many of us are all that surprised. After all, this year's scaled-back 2008 Atlanta Jazz Festival, which occurred at a much smaller venue than normal and without big-name touring musicians, had already raised concerns about the festival's future. And in this dismal economy, it seems like everything is getting worse before it gets better.

The Atlanta Jazz Festival isn't the only jazz festival facing hard times in 2009. A few months ago, the Portland Jazz Festival faced extinction when its largest sponsor backed out. Luckily for them, another sponsor stepped in and the festival will continue as planned. Unlike the free Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Portland Jazz Festival does charge an admission fee for the various concerts. I'm sure it's a lot easier to resurrect a festival when it has its own revenue stream.

As tempting as it might be to complain about the loss of the Atlanta Jazz Festival, and as compelled as I feel to argue for the importance of jazz music and the arts in general, I know people have more pressing issues on their minds right now. With unemployment rates higher than they've been in 15 years, and our mightiest enterprises struggling to survive, I'm sure most people see this cancellation as a tiny drop in a sea of bad news. I just hope that as the economy recovers, Atlanta will renew its support of the arts and revive the Atlanta Jazz Festival.

I think the most troublesome part of the Atlanta Jazz Festival's cancellation is the fact that we don't know what's in store for the future. Will there be an Atlanta Jazz Festival in 2010, or is it canceled indefinitely? And if the festival does return, will it return to its former glory at Piedmont Park or will it be another scaled-back festival like we had in 2008? At this point, all we can do is speculate and hope for the best.

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE LOCAL ATLANTA JAZZ SCENE?

Ideally, events like the Atlanta Jazz Festival would raise awareness about the local Atlanta jazz scene, and the tens of thousands of people who attend the jazz festival would begin to attend more local jazz concerts. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen.

The jazz festival and other big-name concerts are primarily patronized by "special occasion" jazz fans. You can count on these people to attend two or three big-name jazz events each year, but they aren't interested enough in jazz and/or the local Atlanta jazz scene to attend the concerts featuring local musicians. I guess this is both good and bad. While it's a shame that there isn't more of a correlation between the attendance at big-name concerts and local Atlanta concerts, it's good to know that the local Atlanta jazz scene will continue to chug along with or without the jazz festival.

If you happen to be one of those big-name audience patrons and you stumbled upon this article while looking for information about the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival, I encourage you to check out some of the local Atlanta jazz musicians. Local musicians such as Mace Hibbard, Joe Gransden, Tyrone Jackson, Kevin Bales, Gary Motley Clarence Johnson, David Ellington, and Melvin Jones (to name a few) are every bit as good as most of those big-name touring acts and you can see them perform throughout the year at venues like Churchill Grounds and Twain's.

Wherever you live, support live jazz!

ADDITIONAL READING

Atlanta journalist, Jon Ross, interviewed some of the participants from the 2008 Atlanta Jazz Festival for their reaction to the cancellation. You can read about it here, at his Jazzlanta blog.

As I wrote in my review of the 2007 Atlanta Jazz Festival, last year's Atlanta Jazz Festival was fantastic. The 2007 festival featured some of today's great young musicians such as Vijay Iyer and The Bad Plus and living legends like Charles Tolliver, Bobby Hutcherson, and Herbie Hancock. Ever since the 2007 Atlanta Jazz Festival ended, I've been anxiously awaiting news about the 2008 festival. Who would headline this year? Would there be any great trumpet players? I even started searching the Web a little earlier than normal, as I scoured jazz musician websites hoping to see "Atlanta Jazz Festival" in their schedules. I just knew the 2008 Atlanta Jazz Festival would be one to remember! Turns out I was right…

THE GEORGIA DROUGHT TAKES ITS TOLL

Earlier this year, Piedmont Park officials announced the cancellation of all large festivals due to the Georgia drought. Apparently the ground was so dry that large crowds would have killed all the grass. While this may have been a prudent decision for Piedmont Park, it left Atlanta's largest festivals, including the Atlanta Jazz Festival, scrambling to find a venue. You can imagine how disappointed I was to hear this news. Even worse, when the news first broke, I heard rumors that there might not even be a jazz festival at all this year.

NEW FESTIVAL LOCATION

After a month or so of an uncertain future, it was announced that the 2008 Atlanta Jazz Festival would take place as scheduled, but at a new location: Woodruff Park. While it was great to hear that the Atlanta Jazz Festival found a new home, the new location brought some unfortunate compromises. For starters, Woodruff Park is much smaller than Piedmont Park. Located on just a couple of blocks in downtown Atlanta, Woodruff Park occupies just 3.3 acres of land and has a maximum capacity of less than 50,000 people. Frankly, I don't see how it can hold more than 20,000 people comfortably. By comparison, Piedmont Park is 190 acres and the main concert area can accommodate over 100,000 people. The following image should give you an idea of the different venue sizes:

Due to Woodruff Park's smaller size, the jazz festival couldn't accommodate the types of crowds that you'd expect with big-name acts like Herbie Hancock. Thus the next major compromise would be the decision to feature only Atlanta-based musicians at this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival. That's right, one of the largest metropolitan areas of the southeast was going to have a jazz festival without a single national touring artist. Heck, even Jacksonville had marquee artists like Terrance Blanchard, Casandra Wilson, and Pancho Sanchez at their jazz festival this year (not to pick on Jacksonville, but it only has a metro population of 1.3 million compared to Atlanta's 5.2 million).

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Atlanta's jazz musicians had the opportunity to showcase their music and reach a larger audience at this year's jazz festival, especially since they haven't had much of a main-stage presence in the recent festivals. But I think the Atlanta Jazz Festival works best when both local and touring musicians are featured. To me, the absence of big-name touring acts at the jazz festival gives the impression that Atlanta doesn't take jazz seriously. I know this wasn't the intention, but I'm stating this primarily because I'd hate for the city to think a scaled-back jazz festival is sufficient in years to come. While I'm at it, I'd also like to suggest that future Atlanta jazz festivals should feature local Atlanta jazz musicians on the main stage and in a good time slot (between big-name acts). Since main-stage timeslots are in short supply, perhaps there could be an "Atlanta Jazz Showcase" event where several Atlanta musicians/groups share a set. While it's great that Atlanta jazz musicians have had the second stage in recent years at Piedmont Park, they really deserve a premium billing on the main stage. But I digress…

THE MUSIC THIS YEAR

As mentioned, this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival featured only Atlanta jazz musicians. Actually, they did manage to get smooth jazz artist, Mike Phillips, to play on the final night. I don't follow smooth jazz but I believe he's pretty well known in that world. The rest of the lineup included all six winners of our local Future Of Jazz Competition. Only two of these six acts were straight-ahead jazz. The rest were primarily smooth/contemporary jazz musicians. And depending upon how you classify things, only 3 or 4 of the remaining 9 timeslots at this years jazz festival featured straight-ahead jazz musicians. Consequently, to me it really felt like this was a smooth jazz festival with a little straight-ahead thrown in for good measure. And since I'm not a fan of smooth jazz, I wasn't digging a lot of it (here's the full schedule). I did catch one of the smooth jazz performances, though, and the audience certainly seemed to enjoy themselves. In fact, based on their enthusiastic reaction, I'd say Atlanta could definitely support a separate smooth jazz festival. It would be nice, though, if the real "Atlanta Jazz Festival" was mostly straight-ahead.

Following are some pictures and notes from three of my favorite performances at this year's jazz festival:

KEMBA COFIELD

Kemba Cofield was the winner of this year's Future of Jazz Competition for the "Straight-Ahead Vocals" category. She's also one my favorite Atlanta Jazz Vocalists. Kemba always brings a lot of energy to her performances and she has a natural rapport with her audiences. She's one of those people who you really want to succeed as a musician and she definitely did succeed in singing a great set at this year's jazz festival.

GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY JAZZTET

The Georgia State University Jazztet included various members of Georgia State University's jazz faculty, including Gordon Vernick on trumpet, Mace Hibbard on saxophone, Kevin Bales on piano, Dave Frackenpohl on guitar, Robert Dickson on bass, and Justin Varnes on drums. I've heard all of these guys play and in various groups over the years so it was a real treat to hear them all on the stage at once.

MACE HIBBARD

Mace Hibbard won this year's Future of Jazz Competition's "Straight-Ahead Instrumental" category (here's a photo of Mace receiving his award). Mace Hibbard is a fantastic musician and I've seen him play many times around town. If you haven't seen him play yet, you're really missing out. Mace Hibbard is definitely on my short list of must-see Atlanta jazz musicians.

FESTIVAL ATTENDANCE

Even with the smaller venue and lack of national touring acts the 2008 Atlanta Jazz Festival still managed a pretty good turnout, at least for the size of the venue. While there were still several empty pockets around 4pm on Sunday and Monday (the two days I was at the festival), most of those areas were filled in by 6pm. That's fairly consistent with the Piedmont Park venue as well. At both locations it seems like a lot of people wait for the sun to die down a bit before heading out to the festival. Of course, Piedmont Park's "full" is around 100,000 people while the "full" crowd I saw at Woodruff Park was estimated at only 10,000 people or so. But at least Woodruff Park appeared well attended. The following picture shows the Woodruff Park audience on Sunday around 6pm.

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR'S JAZZ FESTIVAL

As of now, it's uncertain when (or if) large festivals will return to Piedmont Park. If the Atlanta Jazz Festival is forced to find another location next year, I certainly hope they don't return to Woodruff Park. I can't really think of a delicate way to say this, so I'll just tell it like it is: Woodruff Park is not a good location for the Atlanta Jazz Festival. I know it was one of the original locations many years ago, but the festival has come a long way since then and they've had much better venues.

The first problem with Woodruff Park is that it isn't very park-like. The best viewing area at this year's festival was on Auburn Avenue, in the middle of a street (traffic was blocked off). Directly behind the street was a plaza covered in granite tile. Both the street and plaza area got VERY hot under the direct sun and the hard surfaces were totally uninviting compared to the grassy field of Piedmont Park, or any real park for that matter. There actually is a grassy section in Woodruff Park, but the way the stage was setup (and the way people were sitting and standing) you could barely see or hear the musicians from the grass so it may as well have not existed. I'm sure some people didn't mind sitting in the road or on the plaza, but I really missed Piedmont Park.

The other major problem with Woodruff Park was the high concentration of vagrants, panhandlers, and other street characters. There is certainly some of this in Piedmont Park, but they usually don't make their way into the festival audience and definitely not in such a heavy concentration. At Woodruff Park, I witnessed several instances where people were forced to move because they were being harassed in one way or another. My wife and I were forced to move at one point because some guy sat down near us and kept yelling unintelligible stuff about the Bee Gees and Michael Jackson. Then he started arguing with another street person who pulled up in a wheel chair (an hour later the wheel chair guy got up and danced… a jazz miracle!). Frankly, I feel a little silly complaining about all the street people at Woodruff Park. After all, Woodruff Park is one of their normal hangouts. If anything, the jazz festival audience was intruding on their turf. Let's do them all a favor and not bother them again next year!

If Piedmont Park isn't available next year, there are definitely better venues than Woodruff Park. The old home of the jazz festival, Grant Park, seems like a great alternative. I'd also suggest Candler Park. At 55 acres, Candler Park is much bigger than Woodruff Park and it just so happens to be within walking distance of my house :-)

SPECIAL THANKS TO FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS

While this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival certainly wasn't ideal by any stretch, I do give a lot of credit to the festival organizers for making the best of an unfortunate situation. I know the change in venue wasn't their idea and I'm sure they would have wanted to book some big-name touring acts. But, things happen and, as they say, the show must go on. Given the circumstances, I'd say the event went really well. Kudos to the Atlanta Jazz Festival coordinators for pulling it all together!

ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

For reference purposes, here's the schedule for the 31st (2008) Atlanta Jazz Festival:

• May 24, 2008 - 2pm - Youth band competition, 3rd place
• May 24, 2008 - 3pm - Future of Jazz Winner: Genetic Drift (Fusion)
• May 24, 2008 - 4pm - Future of Jazz Winner: Heather Johnson (Contemporary Vocals)
• May 24, 2008 - 5pm - Rua 6
• May 24, 2008 - 6:30pm - Bernard Linnette, featuring vocalist Charito
• May 24, 2008 - 8pm - Serenata Band

• May 25, 2008 - 2pm - Youth band competition, 2nd place
• May 25, 2008 - 3pm - Future of Jazz Winner: Bradford (Nu Jazz)
• May 25, 2008 - 4pm - Future of Jazz Winner: Kemba Cofield (Straight-ahead Vocals) w/ Melvin Jones on trumpet
• May 25, 2008 - 5pm - Gordon Vernick and the GSU Jazztet
• May 25, 2008 - 6:30pm - Joe Jennings and Howard Nicholson's Lifeforce
• May 25, 2008 - 8pm - The Ojeda Penn Experience

• May 26, 2008 - 2pm - Youth band competition, 1st place
• May 26, 2008 - 3pm - Future of Jazz Winner: Zon 3 (Contemporary Instrumental)
• May 26, 2008 - 4pm - Future of Jazz Winner: Mace Hibbard (Straight-ahead Instrumental)
• May 26, 2008 - 5pm - Ron James and the Truth
• May 26, 2008 - 6:30pm - Jaspects
• May 26, 2008 - 8pm - Mike Philips