Jazz fest impressions, part 2 - Saturday

David Sanborn

As with the post about Friday at the 2006 US Bank St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival, this isn't so much a formal review of Saturday's show as it is a collection of impressions, written immediately afterwards and slapped up on the Internet for your delectation. While I certainly would have liked to be able to to review every single performer in depth, the fact is that one can only see and absorb so many bands in a day, and a certain amount of time inevitably gets siphoned off by walking from place to place, schmoozing with friends and acquaintances, and so on. So, with that caveat, here's a bit about what I saw and heard:

* Though the Clarke/Duke Project's set was marred by sound problems, it was still a lot of fun to hear them again. I've seen both men with their own bands in the past, and was eager to hear what material each had selected from their vast individual catalogs for their collaborative set. Highlights included the Clarke classic "School Days," given the full treatment with an extended electric bass solo by the composer, and an acoustic version of Duke's big hit "Sweet Baby," to which he added an improvised piano and vocal coda that showed off his singing in a way I hadn't quite heard before. Duke scatted a bit - not like his comedy scat singing with Zappa, though - and was modulating through different keys while improvising lyrics and chord changes, eventually bringing it all back to the original changes of the tune. Though Duke's virtuosity in certainly present in his electric music, this acoustic portion of the show reminded listeners once again that he's also got piano chops in flamboyantly large amounts.

Clark and Duke were backed by the fine drummer Ronald Bruner, Jr. and keyboardist Phil Davis, who ably provided Rhodes sounds, pads and various other background parts to fatten things up behind the leaders. The band's uptempo opening number was intended to grab the crowd by the scruff of the neck and get them to their feet, but the effect was blunted by the aformentioned sound defects, with Duke's electronic keyboards, arguably the key component of the song, barely audible. "Welcome to our soundcheck, St. Louis," Duke cracked good-naturedly, and eventually, after a couple of tunes, the keyboard levels got raised to everyone's satisfaction. Sound problems did resurface once more later in the set during Clarke's acoustic bass solo, as the bassist's vigorous strumming and percussive effects caused something in the signal chain to overload, producing a rather nasty crackle on the loudest notes.

Of course, these guys are old pros, and they didn't let a few sound problems knock them off their game. Along the way, they touched on fusion, Brazilian music and even some straightahead acoustic jazz, with a bass and piano duet on the changes of "Autumn Leaves." They saved the funk for last, with Duke strapping on his portable keyboard for a short version of "Reach For It" that segued into a medley of riffs and vocal hooks from Parliament, Sly and the Family Stone and others. This was clearly the most crowd-pleasing part of the show, with most of the audience on their feet and in some form of motion, from head-bobbing to full-out boogieing.

Both Clarke and Duke can play so much music that it must be hard from them to cram everything into a 90 minute set, but this show offered longtime fans a decent sampling of favorites from both men, while remaining cohesive enough to appeal to more casual listeners. Inevitably, the parts that drew the most raucous applause were the sections of solos containing fast riffs rapidly repeated over and over again, with appropriate body language and facial grimaces. It's the sort of stage cliche that Duke's old employer Frank Zappa used to mock, and I'm sure on some level these guys would like to be appreciated for their artistry as much as for their hott lixx. That said, both Clarke and Duke looked fit and energetic, and the crowd dug them, for sure. It's clear that both of these veterans still have a lot left in the tank.

* The Soul School stage, performance site for most of the St. Louis acts booked at the fest, turned out to be in a tent located away from the main traffic flow of the festival, which may have cut down on the size of the audience there. But by putting the third stage there, and having the backline and PA aimed away from the main part of the grounds, the problem of leakage from one stage's crowd to anothers was neatly solved, which was a defiinite plus. Overall, it seems like a good idea to me, because if the event grows much larger, a more intimate setting may be increasingly attractive as a respite from the big crowds in front of the main stages.

While at the Soul School tent, I was able to catch the last part of singer Anita Rosamond's set. I like her voice, a full-bodied alto, and she's got an attractive stage presence and good taste in songs, which in this case ranged from standards like "I've Got The World On A String" to covers of Aretha Franklin, Motown and Maria Muldaur tunes. She also had some good musicians backing her up, including Greg Worzel on keyboard, Willem von Hambrecht on bass, Don Drewett on drums, Lew Winer III on saxophones and Anthony Wiggins on trumpet. This was a bit of an ad hoc ensemble, as a couple of Rosamond's regular musicians were occupied elsewhere today, and after the set, a couple of the players told me that the gig was bit looser than they might have liked. Still, Rosamond's clearly got talent - as with so many interpretative singers, how far she'll go will ultimately depend on finding the right combination of repertoire, arrangements, and collaborators.

* A lot of people showed up to see David Sanborn - I mean, a lot of people. Although I'm not very good at estimating crowd sizes, this was easily the most people I've seen on the festival grounds in the last four years. And the Kirkwood native did not dissappoint, wielding his razor-sharp alto sound with customary efficiency and verve on funky numbers like "Coming Home Baby" and "Chicago Song". There were no big surprises, except for a version of the old standard "Smile," tenderly played in straightforward ballad style and dedicated by Sanborn to his mom (in attendance at the show) and her friends from her retirement home. And, amidst all the R&B licks, the set's other ballad, a very nice version of the late Don Grolnick's composition "Lotus Blossom," provided yet another demonstration that Sanborn is no one-trick pony, with the altoist caressing the melody gently and wandering meditatively through the changes.

As usual, Sanborn had a first-rate band, with Saturday's standouts being keyboardist Ricky Peterson, who got plenty of solo space from his boss, and St. Louis native Gene Lake (son of famed saxophonist Oliver Lake), who's grown up to be one heck of a funky drummer. As with the Clarke-Duke Project's set, time constraints and the large scale of an outdoor show placed some limits on how far Sanborn could range musicially, but within those parameters he delivered a satisfying set.

* The weather could not have been better for late June in St. Louis, and that undoubtedly contributed to the large turnout noted above. It'll be interesting to see the official attendance figures.

* After Sanborn's set, yr. humble correspondent, desiring victuals not served from a concession stand or folding table, and having heard enough music for one day, made good his escape from the Festival grounds. A number of people left at the same time, but there were still some folks making their way on to the grounds to hear singer Lizz Wright close out the evening. As someone who's in the non-fan category regarding Ms. Wright, addressing the condition of my stomach and my achin' dogs simply was a higher priority in the hierarchy of needs on this particular evening.

So, although this marks the end of StLJN's contemporaneous coverage of the 2006 US Bank St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival, there may be a follow-up post or two, as well as links to any other reviews of the show that can be located, yet to come. So, y'all come back now, ya hear?

UPDATE - 4:15 p.m., 6/26/06: The Post-Dispatch's review of day two, written by pop critic Kevin Johnson, is online here.

(Edited after posting to correct misspelled names.)