During its 61 years of history the Monterey Jazz Festival has always provided some of the veterans of the jazz scene; likewise the 11 year touring All Stars has in the past included long time legends. For this most recent tour, Director Tim Jackson wisely decided to invest in the future, putting together an ensemble that featured mostly Millennials, with the major name being award winning vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant. And, while Ms. Salvant may have been the major draw for the audience at Campbell Hall, having performed here many times before, the crowd left the theatre after the 100 minute concert quite impressed by the “lesser” known names, the proof being the long lines for purchasing cds in the hallway after the event.
Almost each member of the band has honed their skills, simply just under the radar so far, with pianist/music director Christian Sands having been with Christian McBride, Jamison Ross laying down the drums for Snarky Puppy, bassist Yasushi Nakamura honing his talents with JALC, tenor saxist Melissa Aldana being in the front line with Greg Osby and trumpeter Bria Skonberg in queue with the potential to be the next Diana Krall, with her voice and horn a perfect draw for mainstream music fans.
For this evening’s concert, Ms. Salvant opened the evening with her own misty and impressionistic “Fog” with her voice floating through the noir horns, leading into a hip swinger of “I Can’t Help It” that melded Skonberg’s sweet horn and Sands’ rich stride over Ross’ crisp sticks.
Aldana’s smoky tenor was featured on the mournful and pastoral “El Castillo” with rich pastels of tone leading into some frisky post bop soloing.
Ross then perked things up, joking that he was performing “an homage to singing drummers” with a his Donny Hathaway-inspired voice agonizingly optimistic on the passionate “Sack Full Of Dreams.” The richness and sincerity of Ross’ voice teaming with his lithe brush work made this soulful ballad an unforgettable moment; the lady sitting next to me who came to hear Ms. Salvant raised her eyebrows in surprise of discovery after this tune graciously closed.
Exit the horns and voices, and Sands led the trio through a song that was “ a message of hope and acceptance with a sublime “Song of Rainbow People” that mixed lyrical contemplation with a dash of gospel. The interplay between the three gents created a swaying wave that was begging to be body surfed.
Ms. Salvant then returned and with Nakamura’s bowed bass pleaded like a vapor on the deep blue “Monday” and dueted with Sands on the wanderlust intro to Splendor.”
Skonberg took the spotlight and upped the butanes with a scorching table dance of “Malaguena.” Her wordless vocals blended with Aldana’s breathy tenor like a rich exotic mole’ sauce with the rhythm section swirling to an ecstatic climax.
The team closed with a nod to the jazz tradition with a Ross laying down a hip shuffling blues groove on”Lifetime Treasure” and the horns having a gas of a time on the quirky, bright and kinetic read of Thelonious Monk’s bop classic “We See.”
For an encore the band hushed the crowd with a finger snapping and quietly haunting “Ghost Of Our Love” that gave the audience one more chance to take in the three vocalists.
At the close of the show, Ms. Skonberg stated that there were no recordings (yet) of the touring band, “so you just have to buy our own albums and play them together at the same time to get the effect.” This evening’s show was the best advertisement and endorsement, not only for the cds, but for the future of jazz.
Upcoming shows at Campbell Hall include Jennifer Koh, 04/12, The Gloaming 04/14, Yo You Ma 04/25 and Joshua Bell Trio 05/05