‘A Love Supreme’ is By K. Michelle Moran DETROIT — Love will be in the air Labor Day weekend, when the Detroit International Jazz Festival honors the music of the Motor City and Philadelphia under the banner of “A Love Supreme.” “I’m using the word ‘love’ (to describe) this (festival) a lot,” said festival Executive and Artistic Director Terri Pontremoli. The 29th annual festival — which will take place Aug. 29-Sept. 1 in and around Hart Plaza — features dozens of jazz stars, including Dianne Reeves, Gerald Wilson Orchestra with special guest Kenny Burrell, Derek Trucks Band, Esperanza Spalding, Calvin Cooke, Robin Eubanks and many more. The artist-in-residence is Philadelphia native Christian McBride, an acclaimed bass player who’s performing with a number of groups, including during an opening-night tribute to Motown legend Marvin Gaye. Pontremoli — who called McBride “one of the pre-eminent bass players in the world” — expects that particular performance to be especially memorable, given McBride’s lifelong love of Motown music. “I love it,” said Gretchen Carhartt Valade of Grosse Pointe Farms, a member of the festival advisory board and board of trustees, of the lineup. “Dianne Reeves, and (a ‘Battle of the Big Bands’ featuring) the Count Basie Orchestra vs. the Gerald Wilson Orchestra — it’s going to be great.” Besides performances by individual artists, the festival features one-of-a-kind combinations of talent, such as Ravi Coltrane’s Tribute to Alice Coltrane featuring Geri Allen, Charlie Hayden, Jack DeJohnette and Brandee Younger. Ravi is the son of the late Detroit native, harpist and jazz pianist Alice Coltrane and her husband, late jazz great John Coltrane. “When you get to create things that are unique and you won’t see anywhere else, that’s (exciting),” Pontremoli said. Among the options for hungry jazz fans, Valade’s new Farms restaurant, the Dirty Dog Jazz Café, will be closed over the Labor Day weekend so that the chef and staff can serve customers at the festival, where they’ll have sit-down dining in one of the tents. There are also special activities and entertainment for the kids, making the festival fun for the whole family. For the first time in years, visitors will be able to purchase a souvenir program with exclusive articles that Pontremoli said also has blank pages for autograph-seekers. The intimacy of the festival means visitors often rub elbows with jazz giants. Many of those same jazz greats spend part of the festival grooming the next generation of musicians, jamming with and speaking to students. Pontremoli said the educational component of the festival has grown over the last several years, as well as becoming a year-round element. More college, middle and high school bands than ever will be playing. Local school bands performing on the Jazz Garden Stage include the Fraser Middle School Jazz Band (2:30-3:15 p.m. Aug. 30), Grosse Pointe South High School Jazz Band (4:15-5 p.m. Aug. 31), St. Clair Shores’ Lakeshore High School Jazz Band (1-1:45 p.m. Aug. 31) and Kennedy Middle School Jazz Band (12-12:45 p.m. Aug. 31), Troy’s Boulan Park Middle School Jazz Band (11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Aug. 30), Utica’s Eppler Middle School Jazz Band (12:45-1:30 p.m. Aug. 30) and Warren Mott High School Jazz Band (12-12:45 p.m. Sept. 1). “The music programs are very good,” Pontremoli said of local schools. “They’re holding up the tradition well.” Unlike most jazz festivals of this caliber, the Detroit International Jazz Festival is free. To keep it that way, organizers have devised new fundraising efforts, such as a Rhythm Section club that donors can join to get premium reserved seats and other perks. The festival has a positive impact on Detroit and the region in general. Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, the event’s honorary chair, said the festival is expected to draw 753,000 people and generate about $90 million in revenue. Pontremoli said roughly 25 percent of those who attend come from outside Michigan. “It’s probably the happiest crowd I’ve ever seen,” Valade said. “It’s warm, inviting. Everyone gets along with each other; people talk to complete strangers. It’s just a great time.” With the city hall scandal giving Detroit unwanted negative national attention, the festival couldn’t come at a more needed time, since Pontremoli said festival visitors get to see the city “in its best, most glorious light.” “Last year, one of my friends from Cleveland came for the first time and he said, ‘I really think this heals the city every year,’ and I have to agree,” Pontremoli said. “This year more than any year, the festival is so important to the city.” For schedules and more information, visit www.detroitjazzfest.com. You can reach Arts & Entertainment Editor K. Michelle Moran at kmoran@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1047. |
