TWO NYC Festivals

An embarrassment of riches

I had occasion to attend two music festivals in the city over the past two weeks. It reminded me, again, of the nearly inexhaustible riches of the music scene here.

The first was the Ridgewood Jazz Festival. Haven't heard of it? You're not alone. Now in its 2nd year it was a five day celebration organized by bassist Michael Feinberg that culminated in three long, packed nights of music centered at a large rock club called TV Eye. Though I had not heard of many of the artists, I resolved to check it out. Ridgewood is (so I hear) one of the “next places” that artists have moved to because the rents are still somewhat reasonable. It felt truly distant from downtown Brooklyn.

https://www.ridgewoodjazzfest.com/

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I went the last night, and found a thriving group as diverse as the city itself enjoying themselves immensely. There were a lot of young people, a lot of people of color. In fact most of the bands were made up of Black people, for instance saxophonist Godwin Louis’ sextet which was a jazz/ world music party. There was some serious groove music going on through the evening, let’s call it jazz-adjacent, and Feinberg’s band itself was a heavy-hitting electric fusion sound with W. African overtones. Guitarist Max Light stood out with some scorching solos.

I had hoped to see the headliner, drummer Chris Dave’s band, but everything was running late, and I wasn’t up for what looked to be an 11 pm start time. Feinberg could likely use some help with logistics, but over all this guy deserves a medal of honor. I actually can imagine how much work it took to pull this extravaganza off, and I have deep admiration for his efforts. Look out for this festival next year around the same time.

And then came Longplay, a gift from new music superstars “Bang On a Can.” Over the years I've attended several of the previous iterations of this event that were day long, or even 24 hour, marathons. While I saw some remarkable music in each instance, I also saw a lot of things that were of no interest at all, and given the fact that it all occurred in one place and one day, I was usually inclined to leave after several hours.

Now there are multiple events taking place over multiple venues in the so-called arts District of Brooklyn, next to BAM. It’s like Big Ears, you can move freely from venue to venue at your lesiure, Polonsky Theatre, BAM itself, Roulette, Public Records, BRIC, Brooklyn Music School and more. This couldn't be better for me since I live in that neighborhood. In recent years, there's been a significant uptick in jazz offerings at this festival, which has enriched it significantly. For me this may have been the most interesting jazz festival the city has offered in a long time.

I saw a lovely solo set by 84 year old pianist/ singer Amina Claudine Myers, a stunning new group led by drummer John Hollenbeck with two of the participants playing electronic instruments and singing. Marty Ehrlich lead a saxophone sextet playing the music of Julius Hemphill, and Jeff Lederer lead a woodwind quintet playing his pieces. Pianist Kris Davis’ trio with drummer Jeff Watts and bassist Robert Hurst was interplay at the highest level—Jeff Watts is one of the great drummers of the world. Perhaps most amazing was a trio made up of an electronic artist who dubs himself “Blank For.ms” joined by pianist Jason Moran and drummer Marcus Gilmore. They free-improvised and there wasn’t a moment that didn’t feel riveting.

This was truly new music, bands filled with some of the best musicians the city has to offer, striking out into the future in venues where the sound was good, the seats comfortable.

There were some classical offerings that I was not that enthusiastic about. No need to discuss that. And due to time constraints, I missed some of the more prominent performances, notably the works by the BOAC protagonists . But there were a couple of sets that were terrific. Ken Thompson, who plays woodwinds in the Bang on A Can All Stars, performed a lengthy composition for cello, violin, piano, and clarinet that was spectacular and played to perfection. Ken’s composing should be better known.

This multi-faceted event also features “Indie Rock” groups. The only one I saw did not thrill me. But the audience seemed happy.

I managed to drop in on the multi-guitar performance of Steve Reich's piece “Electric Counterpoint.” It was really fun to see this live. All the performers seemed to be having a blast, and of course, a piece with 13 guitarists is right up my alley.

And then there was a moving, sonorous gathering in Fort Greene Park of dozens of musicians who played a site specific piece by John Luther Adams. Piccolos wafted in from afar as if bird song. Slow, patient dialogue took place between distant drummers, bells, a lone clarinet or French Horn. A theme that seemed rooted in the overtone series repeated in different shapes over and over again, seeming to be part of the landscape itself. There were big smiles in the audience, parents with kids, everyone attuned, a communal feel of wonderment and shared intimacy at the strange and wonderful sounds coming from all directions.

In the end, I feel that festivals like these are a celebration of life itself. Cheers to the organizers. Their hard work makes this city a better place for all of us.