On July 31, Litchfield Jazz Festival will mark its 26th year with a live stream full day of top-draw jazz from Telefunken Soundstage in South Windsor, CT. The all-day set of performances runs from noon to six PM and is available on YouTube and Facebook free of charge.
After an opener at noon by the Albert Rivera/ Andrew Hadro Sextet entitled Beautiful Ballads puts everyone in a mellow mood, Rufus Reid Trio will take the stage at 1:30. Mr. Reid is renowned musician, composer, educator and author whose career spans five-plus decades.
Rufus Reid, who is orginally from Chicago, began his involvement with music on the trumpet as a youngster and turned seriously to the bass after a stint in the US Air Force. His book The Evolving Bassist, first published in 1974, continues to be viewed as a definitive bass method classic. He co-created the Jazz Studies & Performance Program at William Paterson University where he taught for 20 years. More recently his interest has turned to composition. He has written for string orchestra, jazz ensembles large and small, concert band, double bass ensemble and solo bass.
Rufus Reid’s professional career which began in Chicago moved on in 1976 to New York City and, in due course, became international and remains so until today. He has toured and recorded with a wide array of jazz stars including Eddie Harris, Nancy Wilson, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Lee Konitz, The Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Dexter Gordon, J.J. Johnson, Art Farmer, Stan Getz, Kenny Burrell, and Kenny Barron. He continues to play with Tim Hagans, Bob Mintzer, Marvin Stamm, Benny Golson and others. His dedication to jazz education did not end with his university retirement. But these days his teaching schedule is a bit more flexible, with Reid now an in-demand presenter of master classes and clinics stateside and abroad.
Mr. Reid has participated in a number of Litchfield Jazz programs over the years, beginning with the very first Litchfield Jazz Festival in 1996 where he appeared as the bassist in the J.J. Johnson band. He returned again in 1997 with a band he handpicked from among his talented, young proteges. And he sure knew how to pick ‘em. They included saxophonist Eric Alexander, guitarist Peter Bernstein, drummer Joe Farnsworth, trumpeter Derrick Gardner, and pianist Travis Shook, all of whom have enjoyed highly successful careers in the ensuing decades.
For this 26th Litchfield Jazz Fest anniversary, Rufus Reid’s Trio features, at the piano, Sullivan Fortner and on the drum kit, Jonathan Blake. Fortner, a “young lion” who tours with the Grammy-winning vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant, was the 2015 Cole Porter Fellow in Jazz of the American Pianist Association and won the 2016 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists. Jonathan Blake was born into jazz royalty through his father, violinist John Blake, Jr., who played in the bands of Grover Washington and McCoy Tyner. Now at the apex of his career, Jonathan has years of membership in the bands of Tom Harrell, Kenny Barron, Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Maria Schneider, Dr. Lonnie Smith and many others, and 50 albums to his credit. His latest recording, Homeward Bound, on Giant Step, features on bass yet another Litchfield Jazz Camper from back in the day, Dezron Douglas. As Vita Muir, the founder and executive/artistic director of Litchfield Jazz Festival and Litchfield Performing Arts, the 40-year-old not-for-profit that runs it and its jazz camp, is fond of saying, “turn over a rock and you’ll find a Litchfield Jazz Camper under it.”
Two equally exciting sets follow. At 3PM the Matt Wilson Quartet takes the stage. Wilson has the distinction of having made more appearances at the Litchfield Festival than any other single artist and is a long-time Litchfield faculty member. And to close the day in a party mood, Emmet Cohen & Friends will present Future Stride, Cohen’s own take on a revered, but not dated, jazz style. His hands truly take the audience into the future of jazz. Never again will you consider the query, “Is Jazz Dead?” You’ll know the answer in a snap.
The placement of Emmet Cohen’s ensemble rounding out this day of stellar jazz is purposeful, says Muir. It’s a metaphor for what her organization is about. Cohen was another one of those teen-aged Litchfield-Jazz-Campers-made-good. Since graduating from Frost and Manhattan Schools of Music, Emmet has built an impressive resume of appearances in storied places. And he has not limped through the pandemic either. He has thrived and helped others– audiences and players alike– to do the same.
Litchfield made its way through the pandemic by presenting high-quality lived streamed performances in the excellent facility of Telefunken Elektroakustik in eastern Connecticut. She called the series Litchfield Jazz Presents, and it continues to offer concerts for free and provide paid gigs for musicians across the seasons. Cohen created his own performance space in his own Harlem Heights living room. Understanding he had location on his side, he called it Live From Emmet’s Place and featured his trio and—in the style of Mr. Rogers—had “drop ins.” Since the pandemic began, this series has presented a concert every single Monday night. At this writing there have been 58 of these outings. Litchfield Jazz likes to take a tiny bit of credit for Emmet and what his Litchfield mentors taught him. Now we are all learning from him! As it should be!!
Litchfield Jazz Festival will be live-streamed for free for a second year from the new and improved Telefunken Soundstage with its excellent sound and top-shelf production values and the perfect mix of jazz styles and seasoned and emerging talent, some of it home grown! Join us on July 31 beginning at noon. Litchfield wishes to thank its members and sponsors, especially the National Endowment for the Arts and the Connecticut Office of the Arts for support of the festival and the camp. For a complete list of sponsors please visit www.litchfieldjazzfest.org and www.litchfieldjazzcamp.org.
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