Saratoga Jazz Fest 2008

This is too quick, too concise, but I have to get it down before I lose detail.

Weather: the forecast was for thunderstorms off and on for both days. Instead, we got dumped on for about an hour on Saturday, and then later for about twenty minutes, and the only problem really was that nothing dried. But Sunday was lovely, and any storms in the area missed us completely.

Saturday:

Jonathan Batiste Quintet: solid. Evening jazz, but they played at noon.

Conrad Herwig's Latin Side: likewise solid, but Latin jazz is more amenable to daylight. Hot jazz (as opposed to Cool jazz, as opposed to that Smooth stuff).

Ryan Shaw: gospel singer backed by a classic rock band. For the most part, it worked, but I won't be seeking out more.

Saxophone Summit: this line-up includes Ravi Coltrane. They shown. Modern jazz (which is a genre from the late 1950s), with a post-Modern (e.g., like Ornette Coleman) feel. I will seek out more.

Chris Botti: he was crisp, and on-target. Shows that Smooth jazz doesn't have to be a wilted lettuce leaf. Also shows that Smooth jazz can be real jazz, and not just pop songs with a jazz-influenced foundation.

Dee Dee Bridgewater: I was unimpressed.

Return to Forever: ZOMG! All four of these guys (Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al diMeola, Lenny White) are talented masters of their instruments, incredible musicians, expert soloists, and they jammed together seamlessly. If I have any complaints at all, it's that their various solos were a little too solo, as if they hadn't played together for 25 years. (They hadn't.)

Sunday:

Rachael Price: eh. This, after Saturday's lackluster Dee Dee Bridgewater performance, tells me bad things about the tastes of the people who put together this line-up.

Terence Blanchard: Woa. Or should I say, "Woe", as his whole set was basically a funeral for New Orleans. I'm glad he didn't close the show, because that would have been a real downer. But I am definitely tracking down this album, because all the feelings are real and raw.

Charles Lloyd: another solid act.

Dianne Reeves: finally! A female vocalist who sings jazz instead of glop. I guess if you're famous enough, you can get past the auditioners. That, and Charles Lloyd came on-stage to accompany her for a couple of songs.

Boney James/Jonathan Butler: Boney James (despite his name) is a saxophonist. I hadn't heard of guitarist Jonathan Butler, but he's a South African jazz guitarist with Afro-pop influences (duh). He's quite good. And Boney James continues to prove that he'll be played for decades to come.

The O'Jays: I hadn't seen them for twenty years. They still play their old hits, but they've got a lot of new material (that is, new since I last saw them in 1988) which focuses on "bedroom soul". The lighting played a neat trick where the spotlight would shrink away from their white suits and focus on their faces as they sang softer, creating a neat intimate feel. Then the stage was light-flooded for "Backstabbers". A truly good act.