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THE 2008 MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL
Normally at Monterey, my goal each year is to see every single group. That can be a difficult accomplishment when
there are five bands playing at once at different venues but usually I can achieve the goal by being constantly on
the move. This year unfortunately I was a bit ill (having a terrible cough for four weeks) and had to miss Sunday’s
music altogether including Kurt Elling, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Barbara Dennerlein and Jamie Cullum. I did
manage to catch many of the highlights from Friday and Saturday, and can report that Monterey’s 51st annual
marathon had enough great moments to almost reach the heights of the previous year’s 50th festival.
Veteran saxophonist George Young began the festival with an inspired tribute set to Billy Strayhorn. Joined by a
rhythm section that included pianist Bobby Phillips, Young came up with fresh solos on “Satin Doll,” “Raincheck,”
“Lush Life,” “Just A Sittin’ And A Rockin’” and Take The ‘A’ Train.”
Up-and-coming vocalist Spencer Day started out singing soulful jazz on “Gotta Make You Mine” and “Any Place I
Hang My Hat Is Home” before veering off into r&b. I veered off to see Rudder, an intriguing group comprised of
saxophonist Chris Creek, keyboardist Henry Hey, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Keith Carlock that at times
was reminiscent of early Weather Report in its most experimental days. The results were creative electric jazz that
held one’s attention. Also impressive was this year’s edition of the Berklee Latin All Stars, a sextet that included the
Freddie Hubbard-inspired trumpeter Niv Toar, the fluent flutist Enrique “Kalani” Trinidad, and keyboardist Abrah
Olivo who was showcased on “Elektric,” a tribute to Chick Corea’s Elektric Band.
Tenor-saxophonist Joshua Redman, leading a pianoless trio with bassist Matt Penman and drummer Brian Blade,
had fun stretching out on some Sonny Rollins-associated material and songs from his own Back East CD. Pianist
Yaron Herman’s trio with bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Gerald Cleaver displayed plenty of energy on their post-
bop originals, some of which hinted at the Latin side of Chick Corea. Drummer Matt Wilson’s Arts & Crafts
performed colorful and eccentric versions of straightahead jazz, featuring trumpeter Terell Stafford, Gary Versace
on piano, organ and accordion, and bassist Martin Wind. Highlights included “The Scenic Route” and Thelonious
Monk’s “We See.” Anat Cohen, the most impressive new clarinetist to emerge in recent years, lived up to her
growing reputation, performing unclassifiable originals that displayed her Israeli heritage and the legacy of the
clarinet with assistance by the Jason Lindner Trio.
Cassandra Wilson, who mostly performed standards, was in a particularly happy mood and her versions of
“Caravan,” “A Sleeping Bee,” “Them There Eyes,” “Till There Was You” and a Robert Johnson tune were practically
jubilant. She obviously enjoyed her long overdue Monterey Jazz Festival debut and was heard throughout at the
peak of her powers. Bassist Christian McBride was featured in several settings throughout the weekend including a
versatile quintet that ranged from straightahead to funk, featuring tenor-saxophonist Walter Smith III. and
keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer. Friday night ended with an encore set by Joshua Redman in one of the indoor
venues, taking a long cadenza on “Angel Eyes.”
Saturday afternoon at Monterey has traditionally been blues-oriented, but this year there were relatively few blues
to be heard. Ledisi performed light r&b and, despite her obvious abilities, seemed to be bragging much of the time
about her successes. Ryan Shaw, who also sang at Playboy, showed that he is a fine soul singer. Altoist Maceo
Parker was as funky as ever and seemed to have the word “funk” in just about every song he performed. Only
Derek Trucks’ brand of southern soul and blues rock captured the spirit of the blues. Also heard during the very
miscellaneous afternoon was the powerful Air Force big band The Falcolnaires, fine Japanese musicians in pianist
Junko Moriya’s quartet (particularly alto and soprano-saxophonist Kazuhiko Konda), and an out-of-place if intriguing
East European folk string group called La Tuque Bleue.from Quebec. Cassandra Wilson fared well at a Downbeat
blindfold test conducted by Dan Ouellette. Nancy Wilson made a lot of interesting statements while being
interviewed onstage by singer Clairdee although she would contradict much of what she said during the night’s
performance. She talked about how audiences are not interested in hearing about an artist’s personal life and that
they primarily want to hear good music.
That night during a Cannonball Adderley tribute, Nancy Wilson dominated the proceedings, telling long rambling
stories about her life, using phrasing that can only be described as theatrical, and purposely cracking her voice
excessively; it sounded phony after awhile. Trumpeter Terence Blanchard and altoist Tom Scott may have been
onstage but they were drastically underutilized, mostly standing around while Wilson talked about herself.
Much better that night was Scott’s tribute to Adderley which found him playing brilliantly (hinting at Cannonball while
still sounding like himself) in a quintet with trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, pianist Nat Adderley, Jr, bassist Hamilton
Price and drummer Gregg Field; Paulette McWilliams provided a few vocals. Terence Blanchard also had his own
set with his quintet, reprising some of the Hurricane Katrina music that he had performed the previous year; few
trumpeters can play with so much emotion.
The Maria Schneider Orchestra introduced a lengthy work commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival (“Willow
Lake”). Tuck & Patti performed their brand of folk jazz with sensitivity and creativity. Pianist Rebeca Mauleon’s Afro-
Kuban Fusion played stirring Afro-Cuban jazz. Drummer Antonio Sanchez’s Migration reunited tenor-saxophonist
David Sanchez with altoist Miguel Zenon. And flutist Orlando “Maraca” Valle’s octet (which also included Sanchez
and Zenon) teamed up with the Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra for some brilliant and unclassifiable
music.
So even though I regretfully missed Sunday’s events, there was certainly a great deal of rewarding music to be
experienced at Monterey on Friday and Saturday.