Another Great Night In Harlem
The Jazz Foundation of America 2024 Annual Gala
Very Special thanks to Jim Eigo for these wonderful photos - somehow he managed to get them sitting in what he described as “The Nosebleed Seats.” (Thanks again, Jim!)
The Annual Gala of the Jazz Foundation of America - traditionally titled “A Great Night in Harlem” - was held last night, as always, at the world famous Apollo Theater on 125th Street. In between speeches and presentations celebrating the organization - and the great work that such leaders as Wendy Oxenhorn and Dick Parsons have been doing - and handing out awards, there were six segments of music:
The Sun Ra Arkestra - directed by Marshall Allen, wailing away at full force, two months shy of his 100th birthday.
Two young singers doing brief sets: Jazzmeia Horn (pictured, and dressed very appropriately for one about to follow Sun Ra) with her group, and the rapidly-rising Alexis Morrast with the inspired young B3 organ virtuoso Matthew Whitaker.
The rap star Chuck D, whom, I have to admit, I enjoyed more than I thought. He was accompanied by one Mix Master Mike, who was doing something with turntables, as well as a musician, the drummer Steve Jordan, who was also the evening’s musical director.
Then there were two even more ambitious “acts” that amounted to mini-concerts unto themselves:
A Max Roach Centennial Celebration with many moving parts and players: trumpeter Charles Tolliver conducting his big band, with compositions that he wrote as a member of Roach’s ensembles; three veteran drummers, Billy Hart, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and Louis Hayes; another veteran Roach sideman, the 89-year-old tenor saxophone legend George Coleman; and the great singer Dee Dee Bridgewater.
And the evening concluded with a truly remarkable set - Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead with David Murray, Jamaldeen Tacuma, and Mr. Jordan. More about this presently.
There was lots of singing throughout the evening, especially from the fabulous Ms. Bridgewater, but surprisingly, most of it wasn’t exactly singing but more like chanting - perhaps they wanted Chuck D to feel at home. Both Ms. Morrast and Ms. Horn performed numbers that were more like chants, repeating key phrases over and over, although Ms. Horn did treat us to “Love is Here to Stay.” Ms. Bridgewater also sang insistent chant-like works by Roach, not exactly songs, like those from his 1960 classic Freedom Now Suite.
When Mr. Weir took to the stage, he did what would have been the absolute last thing I expected: he sang Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” The rest of the set was Grateful Dead tunes, but he made his point. This was a meeting of the absolute furthest out in rock with the absolute furthest out in jazz, as represented by Mr. Murray, and while we knew that they would find common ground in the blues, he wanted to make it clear that what we call The Great American Songbook was also part of the mix - something that the two musics have in common.
While the Max Roach celebration was certainly a one-off highlight, the Weir-Murray combination is one that needs to be repeated. The Grateful Dead have always been considered one of the most jazz-like (though not necessarily “jazzy-sounding”) bands in all of rock. Mr. Murray has keenly admired the group: he guest-starred with them in 1993 at Madison Square Garden and a few years later recorded one of his most ambitious albums, Dark Star: The Music of the Grateful Dead.
At various points, they functioned like a jazz quartet, establishing the outlines of what they would do and then mostly improvising. At other moments, as on the climactic, “Turn On Your Love Light,” the music was more pre-arranged, and they were joined by a three-part horn section with Clifton Anderson on trombone, Eddie Allen on trumpet, and Patience Higgins on baritone sax. It was a brilliant 40-minute set, and one fervently hopes that this long-awaited collaboration will continue from here.
Mr. Weir was clearly the star of the night. While standing on line outside (it was raining, thank you very much), I was inundated with Deadheads - who pointed out that, in the old days, when they passed a joint around while waiting to see Bob Weir, it was considerably less legal.
Very Special thanks to the fabulous Ms. Elizabeth Zimmer, for expert proofreading of this page, and scanning for typos, mistakes, and other assorted boo-boos!
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I absolutely loved that account of the Harlem gala & forwarded it to our buddy Owen Cooper. Sorry you got rained on but it sounds very much worth it!