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Live Reviews
Angel City Jazz Festival: Hollywood, CA, Oct. 5, 2012
Chuck Koton
Chuck Koton has been a jazz lover for 40 years and is currently covering the Los Angeles jazz scene for AAJ.
Saxophonist Archie Shepp, a leading voice in the avant-garde jazz of the 1960s, unquestionably provided the highlight of the evening's program. Shepp tore right into the original "Hope Too," dedicated to the late and criminally under-appreciated pianist, Elmo Hope. As Shepp punctuated his potent, bluesy tenor with visceral honks and yelps, the rhythm section, led by pianist McCoy Tyner's long-time bassist Avery Sharpe, swung its collective butt off. It took awhile, but this band finally got most of the feet in the audience tappin' to the swingin' beat, a somewhat unexpected development for those familiar with Shepp's earlier, "out" style.
An even more unexpected turn of events came on Duke Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," when Shepp, the sax man who, along with John Coltrane, stunned listeners at the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival with the "new thing," stood up and, with a deep and mellow voice, sang the tune's familiar lyrics. The band, now joined by Akinmusire (with whom Shepp has been touring of late), closed with a blues dedicated to the seminal and tragic blues diva, Bessie Smith. Shepp alternately shouted and blew his sax with primal inspiration, like a down-home preacher deliverin' a Sunday sermon. Meanwhile, drummer Steve McCraven extended the lineage theme back even further into the nation's antebellum era, performing a traditional "hambone," slappin' out the rhythm on his body, old school style. The appreciative audience responded with a long and well-deserved standing ovation for Shepp, who gave a clinic on the oft-pursued but infrequently achieved original sound.
Once again, Angel City Jazz has staked its claim as one of the most progressive jazz fests around. In year's past, Somazzi and Angel City Jazz have consistently booked the finest jazz musicians, including many who rarely appear here like Henry Grimes, Wadada Leo Smith, Oliver Lake, {{Nels Cline} and many more. More importantly, Somazzi has never compromised his artistic vision by including commercially popular bands, as nearly every other so-called jazz festival has done. Except, perhaps, for New York's Vision Festival and a handful of other music fests, Angel City is one of those rare productions where serious jazz lovers can safely go in the US without fearing the dreaded and deadly smooth jazz virus, or worse. No such worries here!
Photo Credit
All Photos: Chuck Koton
