Skip to main content

Dave Holland John McLaughlin Open The 50th Monterey Jazz Festival


Fans arriving at the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival, presented by Verizon, were greeted by colder than normal temperatures rain. The rain would stay thoughout the evening, but the temperature got a little hotter when Dave Holland & Friends took the stage as the opening act in the main arena.

Holland is most often seen backing some of the most well known artists in the music. What gets lost is he is also a very accomplished composer. On this night, as he is doing more frequently these days, he led an extraordinary group of young musicians. His regular quintet saxophonist, Chris Potter, was joined by Gonzalo Rubalcaba on piano and the incredible Eric Harland on drums.

Holland's last appearance here was with his big band, performing a commissioned work. This time he did what he is most often seen doing, delivering some hard driving, straight-ahead jazz with intricate compositions and innovative musicians. As usual with Holland, he stays subtly in the background. Chris Potter was in fine form, doubling on both tenor and alto. Rubalcaba, on the other hand, was on fire. In his first appearance on the main stage at Monterey, He was bringing the kind of performance that has come to be expected by first time festival artists. His energy level was much higher than I've seen in previous settings, even as a leader. Eric Harland is one of the most captivating young drummers out there today. He's every bit as much fun to watch as he is to hear. Together, these guys set the evening off to a roaring start.

John McLaughlin is most known for his time with Miles Davis, and for his Mahavishnu Orchestra. His performances are usually toward either of those two extremes. His 4th Dimension band played what is best described as a cross-section of both worlds, with a MJF audience flavor. It was jazz, with the expected English rock guitar that has been the signature of this legend. the compositions were fresh, as were the faces in the band. Fresh faces or not, they came with passion, they came with fire, and they came with a very tight performance.

McLaughlin, of course, was still the show. The East Indian flavored side of his musical repitoire may be for select audiences, but the 4th Dimension selections were pleasers for the entire crowd. Well aware of the historic nature of this year's festival, McLaughlin cleverly injected his solos with quotes from many of the classic recordings he's bee a part of, and others that are considered fusion classics. A Miles Davis reference here, a Chic Corea reference there, a little Al Di Meola and John Coltrane sprinkled in here and there, and you had a salute to the many legends that have graced the Jimmy Lyons stage.

Two great performances to open a weekend of great performances. Neither of these legends were promoting a new CD. They were just there to play and honor the great history of the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

66th Monterey Jazz Festival - Part 2, New Discoveries

Festivals offer the opportunity to see a variety of artists, within a short period of time, and frequently at the same venue. The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of that presents a well crafted mix ranging from established legends of the music to local fan favorites. Each year I especially look forward to hearing emerging artists that have either been part of groups or recordings from headliners and legends, composing and producing for other artists, part of a collective of artists involved with a variety of collaborations, or, stepping out on their own as a leader. The artist list for the 66th Monterey Jazz Festival is filled with artists I'm very familiar with and plan to hear their latest work. It also contains quite a few I've either heard on other artist's recordings, read about a number of times, heard their current recordings, or are just plain curious about. I know the pattern well. These artists that are less familiar to the festival audience at large frequently find...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jazz 500 - An Overdue Personal Project

Hello again. First, I must apologize for being away for so long. I wish I had more of an excuse to give you, but the fact is, sometimes life just gets in the way. In any case, I’m back just in time for the heart of the festival season. Next up for me is the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. We have our tickets in hand, and can’t wait for this, the 61st edition, of the longest continuously running jazz festival in the world. In the meantime, if you’ve followed my Instagram feed in the past, you may have noticed quite a bit more activity than normal. I usually post images live from the festival, and hope to be doing that again this year. In addition, I’ve started a series I’m referring to as Jazz 500 (#jazz500). My Jazz Photojournalism adventure began in 1995. A year later, I covered my first Monterey Jazz Festival. Since then, I’ve covered it every year except 1997 and 1998. As you can imagine, after 20 years of photographing some of the greatest legends of the musi...
Post a Comment
Read more

66th Monterey Jazz Festival - The Tradition Continues - Part 1

Closing Out The Summer, and Festival Season Opening Friday, September 22nd, the Monterey Jazz Festival continues its run Herbie Hancock as the longest continuously-running jazz festival in the world. After two years of adjustments coming out of the pandemic, the three-day festival has hit its stride without having to make many major adjustments. The richness of the performance schedule and variety of artist is unchanged, and unparalleled. The tradition of presenting the established and recognized legends, the up and coming rising stars, and the stars to be, remains a key focus.   As to be expected, over the lifespan of a legacy as great as Monterey, evolution is inevitable and necessary to remain viable.  Festival organizers world wide have had to make adjustments in this post-pandemic era. The Monterey Jazz Festival organizers are no exception. Safety concerns for the attendees following the reopening of live venues made it necessary to close down the Night Club and Dizzy’s ...
Post a Comment
Read more