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Jazz Fest Diary, Days One & Two

Day One

• Sex Mob
• Sonny Rollins
• Bob Sneider Trio Jam Seesion

After reading the New Yorker profile of Sonny Rollins (only an interview with Stanley Crouch is available online) I expected one of two Sonny Rollinses to show up: either the timid, calypso-playing, keep-the-people-happy Sonny Rollins or the come-hell-or-high-water, blow-the-doors-off-the-joint Sonny Rollins.

Thank goodness Rollins #2 showed up. His first solo must have lasted twenty minutes. There can be very few musicians capable of playing with such vigor after spending more than five decades in the business. He lived up to best of my expectations.

So that's the strange thing about expectations. As amazing as Rollins was, I came away from the Sex Mob show exhilarated, which I chalk up partially to the more intimate venue, but mostly to my lower expectations. I had heard a Sex Mob track on internet radio a couple of years ago called "Not Bolweevil," which was fun enough, but is totally unrepresentative of the energetic, grooving, funkified jazz that is the Sex Mob's staple.

So then Bob Sneider's jam session was also amazing per usual, although I was disappointed that Rollins didn't show up to sit in with the band (a long shot, I know).

Day Two

• Steve Turre Quartet
• Josh Irving Quartet
• Night of the Cookers

With no "must-sees" on my list for Saturday night, I took a chance on the Steve Turre Quartet. And I'm glad I did. I'm not normally a big fan of the trombone as a jazz instrument but Turre has made me reconsider. Also, his rhythm section was terrific, particularly the piano player (I coudn't catch his name) who absolutely smoked through a solo on a cuban-flavored number late in the set. But then Turre blew the crowd away by playing on his collection of seashells to close out the set. I know, it sounds a little Zamfir-like or something, but honestly, he was jamming on those shells.

With a light rain falling, Seth and I bypassed the outdooor venue in favor of Josh Irving in the big tent. Unfortunately, as great as he and his band sounded, it was just too hot in the tent to stay through more than a couple of tunes before we evacuted in favor of the cooler climes of the line waiting for the 10PM show of Night of the Cookers.

The band Night of the Cookers takes its name from the legendary album Night of the Cookers, which featured Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan in some epic horn-dueling. Two of that original cast anchored this incarnation, James Spaulding on alto sax and Pete La Roca on drums. They were joined by Jeremy Pelt and David Weiss on trumpet, tenor saxophonist Craig Handy, piano-player Harold Mabern, and bassist Dwayne Burno. And despite some issues with the sound system, yes, they were cooking.