The 31st annual Detroit Jazz Festival pays homage to some of the most important trailblazers of modern jazz—Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Betty Carter, Ray Brown and Gil Evans. Subtitled “Flame Keepers: Carrying the Torch for Modern Jazz,” the lineup features a number of artists who passed through the “schools” of these jazz giants to become some of today’s brightest lights and mentors.
As DJF fans have come to expect, the festival will also include a broad array of special features, including fireworks, nightly jam sessions, poetry slams, giant puppets, educational workshops and more. New this year is DJF’s Jazz Planet.tv – streaming live and taped performances, news flashes, interviews and behind-the-scenes commentary.
Here are just some of the unique performances you won’t want to miss.
High Notes
A soulful opening night features the jazz/gospel vocal ensemble Take 6 in a rare performance with the Mulgrew Miller Trio, followed by the urban, funky soul of Tower of Power. A true celebration! And there’s no letting up until New Orleans icon Allen Toussaint plays his last note on Labor Day. Other highlights include:
A reunion of the electrifying quintet HORIZON, with Bobby Watson, Terell Stafford, Victor Lewis, Edward Simon and Essiet Essiet
Roy Haynes and his Fountain of Youth Band: Now 85 years old, this master drummer has become the Blakey of our time, assembling great bands with exciting young players
Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Barron—two great piano masters “alone together”
The Maria Schneider Orchestra in a rare performance outside of New York and Europe
A Ray Brown tribute featuring “Brown prodigies” Benny Green, Christian McBride and Greg Hutchinson
“Defenders of the Groove” with vocalist Ernie Andrews, Detroit’s Louis Hayes, Donald Harrison, Eddie Henderson, Steve Turre, Chembo Corneil, Luke O’Reilly, and Melvin Sparks
The Kurt Elling Quintet in a tribute to Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane, with special guest Ernie Watts
The Detroit International Jazz Festival Orchestra performing with Gerald Wilson and The Manhattan Transfer
The Mambo Legends Orchestra, carrying on the tradition of Tito Puente (Bring your dancing shoes!)
Saturday night “fish fry” with the Pat Bianchi Trio and Mike LeDonne Quartet
Other notables include Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Yellowjackets, pianist Danilo Pérez, saxophonist Tia Fuller, the Freddy Cole Trio, the Scott Kinsey Quartet, the Poogie Bell Band with Victor Bailey, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Kirk Whalum playing the music of Donny Hathaway with special guest Lalah Hathaway.
The festival will also present some of Michigan’s finest high school bands and several outstanding college ensembles from across the country, including the Berklee Jazz Ensemble, the Juilliard Jazz Ensemble and the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quartet. In addition, the Wayne State University Big Band will perform Terence Blanchard’s jazz & film project; the Michigan State University Jazz Orchestra will perform a tribute to Horace Silver with Silver alum Randy Brecker; and piano great Mulgrew Miller will appear with the William Paterson Jazz Ensemble.
Jam Sessions at the Marriott
The music keeps swinging into the wee hours with our nightly jam sessions at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center (our official hotel). The jam sessions, led by student groups, start each night at 11:00 P.M.
Jazz Talk Tent
Hosts Jim Gallert and Lars Bjorn are back with another edition of the Jazz Talk Tent, featuring celebrated artists, writers and musicians in up-close-and-personal discussions about the music we love. This year’s edition features sessions on Pepper Adams, Ray Brown, Django Reinhardt, Clifford Brown, Betty Carter, Art Blakey and Horace Silver.
Kid Bop
Back by popular demand is the Kid Bop tent for the wee-boppers and their parents, with stories, songs, tap dancing and other fun activities. Check out Rob McCabe’s “Tales from Around the World,” Jahara McKinney’s “Scat 101,” the Detroit Tap Repertory’s “M.A.D.D. Rhythms” and Meijer nutritionist Tina Miller.
Saturday Night Fireworks
When the musical fireworks stop on the stages, we turn to the ones in the sky. Continuing a tradition that began in 2007 through the generosity of philanthropist and Mack Avenue Records Chairman Gretchen Carhartt Valade, festival-goers will again be treated to a fiery display over the Detroit River on Saturday at 11:30 P.M.
Festival Puppets
This year’s festival features the Quixotic Quiddity puppets (on opening night) and the 15-foot Gaudi puppets (over the weekend), courtesy of the Community Arts Department of the Cleveland Museum of Art. These elegant puppets—which are crafted of hand-dyed silks and metal mesh—were created for the finale of Parade the Circle 2006. The structures were designed by Robin VanLear, created by Murphy Winters of Trinidad & Tobago, and hand-sewn by Sue Berry and Michael Guy James. Performers include Story and Kelvin Cadiz, Robin Heinrich, Justin Stentz, Jesse Rhinehart and Robin VanLear. Parade the Circle is an annual arts event hosted by the Cleveland Museum of Art. Please visit Cleveland on June 11, 2011, for the 22nd annual Parade the Circle.
