One of the many highlights of the
19th Annual Jazz in the Pines in Idyllwild, though there
was SO much more ahead of me
these two days.
I had interviewed
Kenny a few weeks before the
festival. I had also interviewed Bubba Jackson,
producer and on-air host at KKJZ in Long Beach
(THE Jazz and Blues station for Southern California -
in my humble opinion). More pertinent to THIS
write-up however, he serves
as Artistic Director for
Jazz in the Pines.
One of the things he raved about during the interview...
Was the shade. Understandably.
First time he came up,
as a matter of fact, he saw these parachutes,
called a buddy, and just had to tell him,
"Man, I'm at a jazz festival...
...with SHADE!
But look at it.
Almost like you're looking up a school of jellyfish...
Surrounded by some old, old, HUGE pines.
This next shot is from near the top of the seating area,
not horribly far from the stage.
The first to perform
were students and alumni from
and were JUST as top-notch as any of the more seasoned players to perform this weekend. Truly. Some honor
and recognition needed to be given...
...And Bubba was right there to give it.
(((I'll recognize them even further by including their names,
when I get that info in front of me again)))
Also hitting the stage that day,
Janis Mann (below). Phenomenal vocals
and interpretations, mixing lyrics from one tune
with the vamp of another. Pretty sure she did this on
attention though was Old Devil Moon
over the vamp of Killer Joe.
NICE!
After a dynamite performance,
she had fun with Bubba on stage for a bit,
then just hung back and enjoyed the music to come.
Enjoying the festival as well - Priya...
...And Katie.
And me?
At this point I had just met Kenny backstage,
and then was given the privilege of introducing him
to the audience.
At this point I had just met Kenny backstage,
and then was given the privilege of introducing him
to the audience.
Kind of a funny expression,
but it's at this point that I'm telling gawd
knows how many people that I learned more about
jazz in a 30 or 40 minute phone conversation with Kenny,
than I had in over 20 years of
being AROUND it.
I'm envious of his students.
He still teaches at UCLA, where he
the course, Ellingtonia - the first class of its
kind in the country, if not
the world.
I'm sure he had
less to say about me than I about him,
but he DID get the mic...
...spoke JUST a bit...
...Then the entire amphitheater got
quiet as they listened to him play. But really,
of course they listened. While he DID bring on a couple
other guys for a few tunes, the rest of the
time he was a solo act.
He had JUST released his
first and only solo recording from
a 50-plus year career.
Priya caught me on this.
I was just kinda blown away - soaking it all in.
We had to leave for the day, but...
I couldn't resist...
A Premier Export.
Oy! We're getting quite the collection
of these kinda photos.
So...
Next morning,
this is the view on the way up.
Well, one of many wonderful viewing areas
along the way up the mountain. But we'll
hit some of those
spots later.
Oy! We're getting quite the collection
of these kinda photos.
So...
Next morning,
this is the view on the way up.
Well, one of many wonderful viewing areas
along the way up the mountain. But we'll
hit some of those
spots later.
First up on the
main stage was Brian Bromberg.
I first became aquainted with Brian's albums
(yes, albums) sometime around '89 or '90 - when
I was at WKMS in Murray, Kentucky. It was actually
a late-night, mainly ambient instrumental music show.
The Midnight Hour - Monday through Thursday nights.
Some of it wouldn't be truly ambient, per se, but something akin to what people eventually started calling Smooth Jazz.
Since that time, he's explored SO many avenues within
the jazz spectrum - including covers
based on... heavy metal
influence?
And after hauling an acoustic bass onto the stage,
I really didn't expect them to open with
But it got ME sticking around
long enough to JUST make it over to "The Barn",
one of the other stages at Jazz in the Pines. There
was a performer there that I REALLY wanted
to catch in person.
One of the FIRST things I got into,
when I first got into jazz that is, was jazz flute.
Herbie Mann's, Memphis Underground was that'n.
Soon though, there was Hubert Laws, Frank Wess,
Deepak Ram, Bud Shank, Ali Ryerson... I'm gonna stop
now, 'cause there are far more that I'd leave out than
I could possibly remember to include. One OF the
others to include though...
There with, among others, Mike Wofford on Piano...
Rob Thorsen on bass...
...and Richard Sellers on
the kit.
It was HARD to get a photo of him. I really wanted to. He's QUITE expressive...
But moves a LOT!
Anyway - they wrapped
just in time for me to make it BACK to the
main stage to catch the end of Bromberg's set...
Only to have to
run back to The Barn to catch
Clayton Cameron and the Jass Explosion.
Clayton is the drummer you'll see in the photos below.
This is ONE of the guys Bubba had been raving about.
I really HAD to check him out. Had I read the
notes closer, I really woulda been
over here anyway...
Billy Childs on Piano. Didn't expect that!
(On the mic, below)
Also, Gilbert Castellanos ON the trumpet...
(thanks Q)
I'll come back
into this to plug in the names of the rest
of the band...
...but believe me...
...They were LOCKED in...
...and tight!
Here's Clayton...
SO cool to have caught this drummer.
I mean, he drums a mean drum...
...But he also
BRINGS players to the table.
This is one of the things Bubba had told me
about a few weeks prior.
After the show,
Tony Moore - another drummer
who had played with Lori Jenaire earlier in the day,
his camera was JUSSsssssst about to crap out,
so I helped him out with a shot of him with
Billy Childs.
Another shot of Bubba -
FINALLY relaxing with his wife, Michelle...
And then...
it was Max, the little bobbing Bhudda,
set to be my driving companion.
It was a great
time of the evening to be
wrapping up a jazz fest and driving down
the mountain. The sun was jussssst beginning to set,
off to my left as I drove.
This REALLY created
some nice light and shadow play. On this pic below,
this HUGE tree growing JUST at the edge of a
sheer hillside, which served as a nice canvas
to catch the shadow of a huge pine
somewhere behind me.
The same KINDA thing later,
except with the moon now on one side of me...
...And the sun on the other.
Nice.
Then after it was pretty much gone,
after a few curves, I was driving pretty much
right into it. Albeit - a much more subtle,
softly painted version of it.
I coulda stuck around,
taking photos of, well - everything UP there,
but I was looking forward to being home. Again, the
drive was beautiful. A great way to cap it all off.
When it was all said and done,
I missed more acts than I saw, and I've now
left out far more names than I could remember to
include. A few missed highlights include Llew Matthews
(I've caught him with Kristen Korb a few times). Another
one I missed was Luther Hughes, who played bass with
Gene Harris for God knows HOW long. He's currently exploring "The Cannonball Coltrane project", with at
least four discs out representing the same. He's
relatively local though, and I'll be contacting
him soon.
I also wish I coulda seen Ray Goren,
but if I don't see him for another 10 years,
he'll still only be 22 or so by then.
Anyway...
I look forward to
being even more involved next
year for the 20th Jazz in the Pines.
If all goes well, I'll be serving in more
of a co-hosting role - which I would look forward to.
I'll also have access to more of the musicians for
interviews, both in the weeks before the
festival, and right after they
come off stage.
Truth be told though,
as a scholorship raiser, it's a great cause
AND a great experience. I look forward to being a
part of it in any capacity, and am thankful for being
welcomed into the folds.
Truly!
