Sunday shortly before noon, the festival continued with saxophonist Rocco Ventrella who did his own 45 minutes show, he kicked it off with a cool cover of an r&b classic, next was "Teresa Margarita" from his current release Sweet Temptation, featuring a swaying reggae vibe, after that he turned up the heat with "Rocco Funk", before he settled into "Knock On Wood" and one more picture perfect smooth jazz song, before he invited singer Ilaria De Robertis onto the stage, she comes from Bari, Italy like Rocco. She did two songs and won the audience over in heartbeat with her heartfelt singing, she actually gave me goose bumps! They finished the show with a shuffling blues number, having Marc Antoine and Matt Marshak joining in. Rocco Ventrella did an excellent show and is a player to watch!
After that, guitarist Marc Antoine and keyboardist Brian Simpson did their show, first each one featured one of his songs, before Brian Simpson did his "South Beach" on the keytar, allowing him to get to the center of stage. Then it was Marc Antoine's turn for a couple of his tracks, then Brian Simpson did "Brazilia" that got its inspiration from a trip to Rio, then another latin groover from Marc, which really blended nicely into the flow of music. One personal highlight was Brian doing his sensuous "Let's Get Close" which culminated in a great piano solo. After that it was "Saturday Cool", which segued in Grover Washingtin, Jr.'s "Mr. Magic" having Brian stepping out into the audience with his keytar, allowing for one more slapping bass solo by Marius Goldhammer, marking the highlight of the show.
I had to rush off after that track to catch my bus to the airport, which was a bit early for my needs, but anyway, I got loads of outstanding music by a bunch of world-class players over the course of this festival. In addition, I met many old and new friends, chatted with other music aficionados, enjoyed the excellent facilities of the hotel and had a great time in Mallorca. I have marked my calendar for next year already, the Smooth Jazz Festival Mallorca 2014 will take place April 30 - May 4, 2014, at the same location. See you there!
Saturday night, the festival continued with guitarist Matt Marshak, his funky and bluesy playing won the crowd over quickly, the house band had drummer Andy Pilger taking over, plus the same players from the night before. He did "Sunday Noon", followed by "Cadillac Kid", bringing things up to speed. Next he honored one of his main influences - George Benson - with his rendition of "Breezin'". He slowed things down a bit with a new song called "Teddy P" which featured a cool, slow groove and funky, distorted guitar, that was very well received, and one track from his days with Four80East. His show continued with head-bopping, accessible and groovy funk-jazz, featuring his guitar playing, supported by the great band, during "Funkology", Marius Goldhammer did a wicked bass solo, that had the crowd cheer along, while Andy Pilger pulled all the stops during his complex drum solo. Another nice one was "On The Rocks", followed by his rendition of the Larry Carlton classic "Sleepwalk" plus one more funky number from his own catalog. He gave us one encore that got people up, clapping and dancing along, wrapping up a great show.
Next was trumpet player Rick Braun, being supported by saxophonist Rocco Ventrella, bringing almost the energy of an R 'n' R show. Rick started the show playing from the audience, slowly wandering towards the stage, the first groovy track featured another awesome bass solo by Marius Goldhammer, jokingly nick-named "Goldfinger" by Rick. Rick and Rocco blended really well together, and Rocco Ventrella played his heart out. Rick played his biggest hit "Notorious" on the flugelhorn, before he slowed things down with the Tony Bennett classic "The Good Life" from his Sings With Strings album, featuring him on flugelhorn and vocals. After this romantic excursion, the pace picked up with more groovy tracks, one of them "Use Me" that allowed for some audience participation, having Michael Lington to join the party on the saxophone. They kept the energy level high with "Green Tomatoes" from his Esperanto album, before he wrapped up the show with "Grazing In The Grass", where he had a guest trumpet player joining the band doing a great job. The encore was the funky "Mustang Sally", done in the spirit of James Brown, finishing a great night of music.
I knew when I first met Andrew Neu that someday I'd be writing about him. I found him to be such an interesting and versatile musician. The first thing that struck me about him was the level of his skill in playing. Next was the very down to earth personality, those blond curls and that ready smile. With so many talented saxophone players already in my CD player, I wondered how I could fit yet another one into my mixed bag of musical favorites. I didn't know how there could be anything truly new, because I've heard so, so many good players over so many years. And that's only because I live in Reading, Pennsylvania, home of the Berks Jazz Festival; I'm blessed with the opportunity to get a close-up look and impression of the great players that come through our town. And that includes saxophonists like David Sanborn, Boney James, Richard Elliot, Kim Waters, Warren Hill, Euge Groove, Kenny Blake, Gerald Albright, David Mann, Kirk Whalum, Dave Koz, and the list could go on. But I didn't need to worry. Just as with other artists who are true to themselves, I found that in Andrew Neu there was, indeed, something new.
At 2pm, Maysa was headlining her own show tagged as Maysa & Her Jazz Funk Soul Symphony, the first time she actually appeared under how own name, until now she just has been guesting with other artists, so she took the opportunity to give us something really special. The stage was crammed with players, the band consisted of four string players, a three piece horn section, two keyboard players (one doubling on flute), percussion, drums, bass, guitar, plus two additional vocalists. They started with a nice latin track with some great flute playing, followed by "Hooked On Your Love", then her classic "Out Of The Blue" followed, a song she wrote when her son was prematurely born, then one of my favorites, the mesmerizing "Hypnotic Love", which was nicely grooving along, the groove picked up again with "Pressure" having almost an Incognito feeling. In general I had the impression that her songs owe a lot to Bluey and Incognito, that is the school she went through and an ongoing connection that is still very strong, even the instrumentation retains many ingredients of the Incognito sound, especially the strong horn section, which provided several great solos. Another nice one was "Honey Bee", slowing down the pace, allowing her voice to shine, the first set was ended with the introspective "Can We Change The World".
Sunday morning, the was another Sunday morning brunch at the Inn at Reading featuring guitarist Marc Antoine, the room was packed and the show seemed to be sold out. After some healthy breakfast, we were ready for some music. Marc had a great band, on keys was Jay Rowe, on drums was Third Richardson and on bass was Tim George, they were nicely grooving along supporting the acoustic guitar playing of the leader. Among the songs played were his classically influenced "Dreamer", a nice rendition of a Mozart composition, his famous composition "Jaseco" which also was covered by George Benson, they played the gamut from latin to jazz to funk to classic having the time fly by, the encore given was Chick Corea's "Spain", bringing a very nice and well received concert to an end.
At 10pm, Jonathan Butler appeared at the Crowne Plaza ballroom with his own band, he had his daughter Jody as vocalist in the band. He opened with a nice instrumental on acoustic guitar, with lots of African flavors, followed by "Many Faces" featuring some killer bass. Next were the funky "Color Green" and the great cover of "If I Ever Lose This Heaven", other highlights were "Sarah, Sarah" and especially "No Woman, No Cry" which is one the staples of his show. Next was a cool instrumental on guitar, providing some solo spots for his band, before the show was finished with his hit song "Lies", that had people get on their feet and clap and sing along.
Saturday night, the much anticipated new show by Brian Culbertson was taking place, it was sold out. They started their current tour one week ago, so the new band was playing together not for very long. They entered the stage and hit us hard with some funk, playing some of his favorite in songs in quick succession. All that was left from his old band were drummer Chris Miskel and keyboardist Eddie Miller, everybody else was gone. New in were some young players, we got Maurice Ellis on bass and Adam Hawley on guitar, plus vocalists Selina Albright and Jason Morales. Brian Culbertson as usual was center stage with his keyboards, also playing his mean trombone. They were playing a few songs from the XII record, among them "It's Time", then things slowed down with some soulful trademark playing by Brian, creating magical moments. Despite all the nice vibes, I felt something to be missing, until it stuck me - there were no horn players! So getting used to a horn-less Brian Culbertson takes some time, the shift from a powerful horn section to vocalists will probably make some people feel uncomfortable at first. Nevertheless, especially Selina Albright was a great addition to the show, with her youthful energy and great vocals, she provided lots of joy and entertainment, while her fellow vocalist Jason Morales did a great job as well, especially on "Skies Wide Open" that featured him. They turned up the heat again with "You Got To Funkifize", then it was time for some solo piano with "Dreams", the tile cut of the CD of the same name, segueing into "Secret Garden", providing some sensuous playing of the highest order, having the audience cheer along. Next was his rendition of EWF's "Serpentine Fire" featuring his keyboards, followed by "Funk For My Fathers", before they wrapped up the show with another instrumental. Despite the new band needs some getting used to, the final impression was positive and the crowd seemed to have loved it. Brian Culbertson deserves credit for doing something new, take some chances and not play it safe by relying on the same old stuff.
Marcus Johnson is a gifted keyboard player and successful entrepreneur, he not only has a string of solo albums under his belt, but also has been running his own label (Three Keys) and now promotes his own wine under the Flo brand, along with a string of matching CDs. Playing with him, he had saxophonists Philip Doc Martin and Brian Lenair, who were great additions to the show. He started the show with some hard hitting uptempo songs, before slowing things down, which allowed each player to show his sensuous side. In between, he was talking about his career, emphasizing to go your own way even if everybody says it wouldn't be possible. Further highlights of the show were his covers of Sergio Mendes' "Mas Que Nada" and Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle", which brought his set to an end.
After an intermission, saxophonist Kirk Whalum appeared with his killer band, he was accompanied by drummer Marcus Finnie, bassist Braylon Lacey, guitarist Kevin Turner and his long time friend and collaborator John Stoddart on keyboards and vocals, they were kicking off the show with "The Wave", followed by "Desperately", a song written for his wife transferring a message of love. Then we got a southern flavor with brother Kevin Whalum joining the stage for "Do You Feel Me". For a change, we got a straight ahead jazz track with some scatting by Kevin Whalum, a thing he is particularly adept with, plus solos by each member of the band. Next was "Autumn Serenade", a song they did together on their Romance Language album, followed by "You Are Too Beautiful" from the same CD. Then it was back to well known territory with their famous rendition of Maxwell's "Ascension", after that they gave us a little teaser for the upcoming Gospel show that would take place Sunday night with the great "Ta Ta You Jesus", using the Johnny Guitar Watson classic to carry a spiritual message. The next segment was featuring John Stoddart on vocals and keyboards, an outstanding artist in his own right, doing the heartfelt "Angel", a song he did for his wife on his wedding day, then the pace picked up with the Stevie Wonder classic "Do I Do". During the introduction to his next song, he was talking about his time with Whitney Houston, veering off to some preaching, before he went on to play "I Will Always Love You", probably the biggest hit of Whitney Houston that featured the timeless saxophone solo of Kirk Whalum, ending another entertaining show by those consummate artists.
Wednesday night at the Jazz Base, guitarist Chuck Loeb was leading a bunch of daring musicians through his Berks Bop III night, a concert which was dedicated to the art of bebop, taking place for the third time and always drawing a big crowd. The club was packed and not a single seat was empy. They kicked off the show with "Billy's Bounce", originally done by Charlie Parker, featuring the horn section, saxophonist Eric Marienthal did the first solo, followed by Rick Braun on trumpet, then it was Gerald Albright's turn, each player having a distinct sound on his instrument, before Chuck Loeb took the chance to shine on guitar, then Jeff Lorber did a smoking solo on the keys, next was bassist Brian Bromberg on acoustic bass soloing, the band was supported by the excellent Lionel Cordew on drums, who seemed to have a lot of fun playing this kind of music. After this one, they did "Night In Tunisia", originally done by Dizzy Gillespie, slowing things down a bit, before the pace decidedly picked up with Miles Davis' "Donna Lee" who really was the ultimate challenge for the horn section, Jeff Lorber on acoustic piano and Chuck Loeb on guitar played like hell as well, it was great to see those world class players to master this complex tune. After that, they did Charlie Parker's "My Little Suede Shoes", followed by Thelonius Monk's "Round Midnight" featuring Gerald Albright to relax a bit, before after one more uptempo track we had a short intermission.
Tuesday evening, we got the opportunity to witness two times Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding on bass and vocals at the Scottish Rite Cathedral doing her Radio Music Society show, she appeared with her band (keyboards, guitar and drums) plus a mini big band consisting of seven reed players, one of them doubling on vocals, plus a dedicated singer. Esperanza Spalding is not only a great bassist - acoustic and electric - but also a gifted vocalist and a beauty to look at. She was extensively talking between songs sharing her views on various things, their talks were segueing into the next song, each time featuring her on bass and vocals, with several horn solos thrown in for good measure. Her horn players were an integral part of her music, we got lots of great trombone, alto and tenor sax playing, plus the occasional keyboard and guitar solo. Her music has a certain quirkiness and is therefore a bit of an acquired taste, but is at the same time innovative and intriguing, thus providing excellent entertainment. Her show lasted two hours which flew by, they finished with the title track of their current release, which had the audience sing along. The encore was just a duet done by her female singer and her on bass and vocals, which brought things nicely to an end.
At 7pm Sunday night at the Sovereign Performing Arts Center, it was time to witness the beauty and perfection of super group Fourplay, featuring Bob James on piano, Nathan East on bass & vocals, Chuck Loeb on guitar and Harvey Mason on drums, plus special guest Lalah Hathaway on vocals. Despite their lengthy careers, they still kept the sparkle, they opened their show with "December Dream" that featured the voice of Nathan East and some nice piano playing by Bob James, this song was written by newest member Chuck Loeb and garnered them a Grammy nomination, followed by the groovy "Max-O-Man" that had Chuck Loeb smoking on the guitar, then "Chant" written by Bob James. They did their tribute to Hank Jones called "Gentle Giant" featuring some trademark Bob James piano playing, followed by their current single from the Esprit De Four album called "Sunnymoon". Then it was time to have special guest Lalah Hathaway enter the stage, she sang a jazzy version of the Gershwin classic "Summertime" in her inimitable style, then "For All We Know" - a tribute to her father Donny Hathaway - before a highlight from the Fourplay catalog in the form of "Between The Sheets" was due, featuring the vocals of both Nathan East and Lalah Hathaway. The pace picked up with another funky song, showing the virtuosity of all players, before the signature song "101 Eastbound" was done. They finished their show with Lalah Hathaway back, doing the Marvin Gaye classic "After The Dance", they came back for an encore, the much revered "Westchester Lady" that gave each member of the band an opportunity to shine. This was another flawless show by those great players, it was nice to see that Chuck Loeb now firmly has become a Fourplay member, having earned his rank in this super group with his excellent contributions as a composer and instrumentalist.
Trumpet player Joey Sommerville appeared for the first time at the Berks Jazz Festival, which certainly was long overdue. He opened his show with a killer jazz-funk track that had the bass slapping and gave the drummer some, he was definitely in the mood to play! The energy level was kept high with a groover from his Ride To This album, followed by AWB's "School Boy Crush", a song he did with the late Wayman Tisdale. After that, things were slowed down with his cover of Floetry's "Say Yes", featuring Alex Smith on keyboards. As a special guest, saxophonist Elan Trotman was invited to the stage to do a funked up version of Duke Ellington's jazz classic "Caravan", both players stretched out and delighted the crowd with their extended solos. Next, Joey sat at the piano to start his "Moonshadows", later switching back to his trumpet to play this heartfelt, slow number, showing lots of sensibilities. After that one, the pace picked up again with a blues number that gave Joey an opportunity to sing, having the audience clap along, followed by "On And On", his tribute to the late Grover Washington, Jr., a cool track that offered some smoking trumpet playing over a rhythm that owed a lot to "Mr. Magic". Elan Trotman was reinvited for the last song, they finished their show with "Like You Mean It", a latin party track that brought a great concert to an end.
Sunday morning, we had to get up early again to be at the Sunday Jazz Brunch at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel Ballroom, where rising star Elan Trotman on saxophone was playing. As he later remarked during the show, three years ago, he came to the festival as a spectator, the year after that he sat in at the Midnight Jam, the next year he officially participated in the All-Star Jazz Jam, and this year he got his own show. He started it by entering the ballroom from the rear and wandering through his audience, playing his sax. He brought us in the right mood with the sultry "Rain" from his Love And Sax album, he totally blew me away with his soulful and smooth playing, this artist has the art of smooth jazz completely mastered, this song was simply outstanding and had people cry and shout of excitement, a nice extended guitar solo by Tyrone Chase was another highlight during this one. Hailing from Barbados, Elan Trotman paid homage to his heritage with "Tropicality", the title track of his new album, providing a laid back island vibe, followed by his rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster Jamming", that grooved along nicely. "Tradewinds" featured him on soprano sax, showing his versatility. Then his guest artist, bassist Gerald Veasley was invited to the stage, a musician he heard playing with Grover Washington, Jr. when he was 16 at the Barbados Jazz Festival, an experience that influenced him deeply, and now he had Gerald play with him - dreams come true after all! They did Grover's "Winelight" and Elan Trotman proved that had the Grover vibe down for sure, his smooth and sensual playing was simply mesmerizing, and Gerald's bass playing did the rest to make this a very memorable performance. The next song featured his trumpet player Eric Bloom on Chick Corea's "Spain", jazzing things up, during this one, each band member got a short solo spot. After that, a really great Earth, Wind & Fire medley followed, starting with "That's The Way Of The World", segueing into "Reasons" which featured some nice flugelhorn, then "Sun Goddess" which really evoked a classic EWF feeling and had the audience sing along, then "Can't Hide Love" and "Getaway", providing another highlight of the show. He did one encore and used this opportunity to get out into the audience once more and play close to his fans. This concert was really outstanding, I knew that Elan Trotman was good, but during this show, I learned that he is an absolute top-class artist, and with his humble and nice personality, there should nothing stand in his way to make it to the very top of the genre.
Saturday at midnight, it was time for another Midnight Jam led by bassist Gerald Veasley, the place to be for people looking for unexpected moments and unpredictable moves from our favorite players, who happen to hang around at the club during this night. The core band were Gerald Veasley on bass, Richard Waller III on drums, Donald Robinson on keyboards, Andrew Neu on saxophone and Brian Hughes on guitar, they started the proceedings with the easy grooving "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" by Joe Zawinul, saxophonist Elan Trotman joined the band, to give us some awesome saxophone playing, continuing the song, then another saxophonist, Michael Lington, joined in to do his part of this song. After that Forrest Robinson sat at the drums and Allen Smith at the keyboards to support Kim Waters on sax who did an uptempo and very straight ahead jazz track showing his prowess on the sax. Next was trumpet player Joey Sommerville doing Freddie Hubbard's "Little Sunflower". Other players that showed up later that night were Nick Colionne on guitar and the outstanding Eric Bloom on trumpet. They wrapped it up with Richard Tucker on guitar and Andrew Neu on sax doing a moving rendition of the Beatles classic "Let It Be". It was another memorable and entertaining jam that lasted until 2am. There will two more this week on Friday and Saturday.
At 10pm, I opted to skip the big star event at the Crowne Plaza and check out bassist Brian Bromberg who played in the Jazz Base, presenting his Compared To That album with a five piece horn section. I always admired his artistry on the bass and experiencing him play in the intimate setting of a club seemed rather enticing. He was supported by Joel Taylor on drums, Randy Brecker on trumpet, Chris Farr on tenor sax, Tom Zink on piano and keyboards, plus the Berks Jazz Fest Horns who appeared in their extended version. They kicked off the show with "Compared To That", a groovy uptempo number that featured several solos by the band members, followed by "I'm Just Sayin'", a song with a cool walking bass line that had many heads bopping along. Featuring his more introverted, darker side, he did "The Eclipse" and evoked a variety of sounds from his acoustic bass. Another favorite was "Rory Lowery, Private Eye" with its no holds barred, go for it feel having the band groove like hell. For the song "A Little Old School", he switched to his electric bass and funked things up considerably, the horn section was burning on this one. They continued the set with the swinging "It Is What It Is", the title track from the album of the same name, before they returned to the Compared To That album with Brian's cover of the Chicago classic "Doesn Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" played on a higher tuned bass guitar, sounding close to a guitar, before they wrapped up the show with "Give It To Me Baby", originally done by Rick James, but his jazzed up version sounded definitively different. This was a really great straight ahead concert that tremendously benefitted from the Berks Jazz Fest Horns, who elevated the music to another level.
Keiko Matsui put on a phenomenal show, filled with the beauty and grace of her well known hits and some uptempo as well as Latin-influenced tunes. With her I keep noticing how perfect her delivery of notes, mood, and style are in every song. The endings to her songs were exquisite, to the point where it felt sacred to remain quiet-- I wanted to hear the last note evaporate into the air before that burst of applause. Her band members and featured saxophonist were outstanding as well and the entire evening has become a beautiful memory.
Najee�s show was filled with energy, of course his own (he's a multi-talented player of soprano, alto, tenor sax and flute!) but also the band members, especially the bass player, always moving and grooving and easy to see in his white slacks (a welcomed tribute to warmer weather on the way), and the guitarist, Chuck Johnson, who was a dynamo of heart and soul, most especially when he sang Freddie Jackson's 'All I Ever Ask.' Both Najee and Alex Bugnon thrilled the audience with their playing. It�s hard to imagine the complexity of what these artists can do until you see them in person.
