2009 NYC Winter Jazzfest

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Sunday, 18 January 2009 12:03

Due to the move of The Knitting Factory—which has previously hosted the annual evening of Jazz indulgence— from its TriBeCa home to its new location in Williamsburg, the 2009 Winter Jazzfest debuted at its new locale in the West
Village on Saturday night. Together, the three venues: Sullivan Hall, (Le) Poisson Rouge, and Kenny’s Castaways (all within a two block radius of one another) hosted about two dozen acts, an array of eclectic jazz and jazz-derivative music that began at 6pm and didn’t stop until nearly four in the morning.

I wandered into Sullivan Hall around 9, just as the Jonathan Batiste Trio was heating up the space with some free-form blues. Right away the authentic atmosphere of the place struck me. Not only did the audience members seem receptive but judging from their fixed attention to the interplay between the musicians they were obviously jazz lovers as well, fully aware of the high-caliber music they were hearing. A wave of disappointment ran through the air when the Trio had to cut their set slightly short because of time constraints. Granted, there was a long line ahead of talented artists who’d yet to perform.

Toshi Reagon & BIGLovely were up next on the bill at Sullivan. Reagon is probably the most charismatic front woman I’ve ever seen. She interacted with the crowd, with her personality radiating a certain warmth, and, likewise, her gorgeous, soulful voice warmed the room right up too (despite the blizzard weather outside). Out of all the Sullivan acts
on Saturday night, though, the Marco Benevento Trio (with Benevento on keyboards, Marc Friedman on bass and Josh Raymer on drums) was certainly the highlight. Benevento also plays larger venues and festivals, collaborating with multiple artists in a number of different formations, but seeing him up close, and in his Trio to boot (where he arguably has the most freedom to improvise and experiment on his instrument) is undoubtedly more intense. In such an intimate setting, one can really appreciate the animation with which Benevento plays. The Trio played several songs from their new album, Me Not Me (set to drop on February 3rd), including the My Morning Jacket tune “Golden,” which showcases Benevento’s innovative use of circuit bent toys that complements the beautiful sound he gets out of an acoustic piano.

My only qualm of the evening: following the Benevento Trio, I was forced to decide between catching the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey at Kenny’s Castaways or seeing the midnight showing of The Watts Project—featuring renowned tenor saxophonist Branford Marsalis—a no-lose situation, really. I opted for Jacob Fred, who, for the first time were performing live with Matt Hayes, and not Reed Mathis, on bass. Even with the new lineup, JFJO was still on. Performing very playful, up-tempo, and technically thick tunes, Brian Hass sounded almost vaudeville-like on upright piano. The dynamic between he and Chris Combs (on lap steel guitar) during improvisations, especially towards the end of their set, was awesome. With that said, I wish the sets of JFJO and The Watts Project hadn’t overlapped as they did.

Overall, hearing so many talented jazz-influenced musicians on the same night—

one after another, and in such close proximity—was definitely a real treat. The Winter Jazz Fest is a mainstay of the NYC music scene that shouldn’t be missed.

-Erica Block