Notes and tones: Major fests like Monterey, Newport offer jazz aplenty

Editor’s note: This is Part Two of a two-part column on upcoming jazz festivals taking place in the relatively near future. Part One looked at summer fests in locales such as Iowa, Minnesota, New York and Canada.

It's only fair to begin Part Two of this 2023 jazz festival overview tour with Monterey. Edition No. 66 of the Monterey Jazz Festival, held annually since 1958 in California, marks the conclusion of Artistic Director Tim Jackson’s curation.

Jackson, who also co-founded Kuumbwa, Santa Cruz’s year-round jazz venue, announced in January that, while he will continue to oversee the club, this MJF cycle, his 30th, would be his last.

For as long as I can remember, MJF, with its multiple indoor and outdoor stages, serves as one of the truly high quality, comprehensive models of how to do a jazz festival — or, for that matter, how to produce any festival. Jackson has a lot to do with that.

Taking place amid the informal, laid-back county fairgrounds, the three-day affair showcases the perfect balance of arts-related booths, clothing and music-centric vendors with a coterie of food stands and tents showcasing a fusion of international culinary selections.

However, one never forgets that MJF is a music gathering of the first order. While the festival under Jackson, like many larger festivals, has broadened its fare to include what some people might consider more pop-oriented participants — for instance, Snarky Puppy, Thundercat and Jamie Cullum appear this year — this is decidedly a jazz-drenched event.

Among Jackson’s final-hurrah picks: pianists Herbie Hancock, Taylor Eigsti, Sullivan Fortner, Gerald Clayton and Benny Green; vocalists Dianne Reeves, Catherine Russell, Samara Joy and Katie Thiroux, who also plays bass; saxophonists Lew Tabackin, Charles Lloyd and Lakecia Benjamin; trumpeter Terence Blanchard; and guitarist John Scofield in a variety of contexts. For more information visit: montereyjazzfestival.org.

Newport Jazz Festival

In the interest of paying equal attention to long-running festivals, we jump across the country to the only jazz festival that pre-dates Monterey, the Newport Jazz Festival. Held in Rhode Island's Fort Adams State Park August 4-6, the festival offers a panoramic view of both Newport Harbor and the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, which face the main stage.

From the listing on the festival’s website, there is some overlap such as Hancock, Thundercat and Joy; but as with MJF, there is an abundance of artistic reasons to attend Newport, such as pianists Vijay Iyer, Bill Charlap, Matthew Whitaker, Orrin Evans and Julius Rodriguez; percussionist Pedrito Martinez; vocalists Diana Krall and Claudia Acuna; and saxophonists Charles McPherson, Bobby Watson and Kamasi Washington.

Labor Day festivals in Vail, Chicago, Detroit and more

Meanwhile, Labor Day Weekend boasts a myriad of three- and four-day jazz festivals, with some events starting on Thursday and others continuing right through the entire weekend and into Monday night.

If you could time travel fast enough, you could begin in Vail, Colorado and check out the Vail Jazz Party. Then zip over to Chicago and be in Millennium Park in two hours. From there, travel 313 miles in a northeasterly direction to Mackinac Island and the Grand Hotel, which has hosted an on-premise jazz festival for quite some time. Then, simply drop down 256 miles to Detroit and take on the Detroit Jazz Festival, which lasts well into the Labor Day night.

Here’s a few highlights from Vail, Chicago, Mackinac Island and Detroit.

Vail: Run similarly to the old-style “jazz parties,” a core band performs on multiple occasions with each other and becomes a support group for other individuals. The Vail Jazz Party features bassist John Clayton, trumpeter Terell Stafford, clarinetist Ken Peplowski and drummer Lewis Nash, among others. Others appearing: trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, pianist Renee Rosnes, vocalist René Marie, pianist-organists Mike LeDonne and Bobby Floyd and vibraphonist Steve Nelson. For a complete schedule visit, vailjazz.org. 

Chicago: The Chicago Jazz Festival, like Detroit, is free and takes place Thursday-Sunday. The City of Chicago administers the festival; the Jazz Institute of Chicago programs it. The festival, while offering an array of headliners, does pay attention to its native, internationally-known musicians. Many members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, which includes the likes of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, along with the late Von Freeman, have performed during the festival’s substantial history. At press time, the daily lineups hadn’t been announced. For information, visit Chicago Jazz Festival at the chicago.gov website.

Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island: Labor Day Weekend packages run from approximately $1,000 to $3,000; they include food and other perks, and all the music you can take in Friday through Sunday. This year’s performers include Emmet Cohen, Eddie Palmieri, Lao Tizer, Karen Briggs and Veronica Swift among others.

Detroit: Motown left an indelible mark on the world. So did the city’s jazz artists, whose global impact pre-dates its “soul brother” label namesake. A good place to learn about the many important jazz musicians Motown produced, and who landed near to the top of the artistic charts, is journalist Mark Stryker’s “Jazz From Detroit.”

The Detroit Jazz Festival has now evolved into a powerhouse. The late Gretchen Valade, nee Gretchen Carhartt, became a jazz lover and ultimately the festival’s guardian. In 2005, Carhartt’s continued success led to a Valade $10 million gift — an amount that allows for an impressive annual lineup and a free downtown festival.

Like Chicago, while you’re at the festival, you can often listen to some of the Motor City’s current native successes including this year’s artist-in-residence, percussionist Karriem Riggins, who performs on multiple occasions throughout the weekend in numerous configurations.

Other native Detroiters set to appear are acclaimed violinist Regina Carter, an ensemble providing a set titled "The Detroit Piano Legacy Continues ...” and a set by saxophonist Kenny Garrett. Each DJF day begins early and runs into the night with the festival hang taking place across the street at the Renaissance Hotel. If you’re going to attend, make sure to eat your jazz Wheaties beforehand.

Jon W. Poses is executive director of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series. Reach him at jazznbsbl@socket.net.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Notes and tones: Major fests like Monterey, Newport offer jazz aplenty