Guitar Lessons in Boulder & Longmont, CO with Joseph Brenna

During Labor Day weekend, my wife Rachel and I had the pleasure of spending three and a half days in downtown Chicago at the historic Palmer Hilton, just blocks from Lake Michigan, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Grant and Millenium Parks, site of the Chicago Jazz Festival. The festival, like so many arts and music festivals that take place during the summer in Chicago, is absolutely free to the public. I say “kudos” to Mayor Richard Daly, the City of Chicago, and all of the festival sponsors for an enlightened approach to support of the arts, and public participation! The feeling downtown throughout the weekend was one of community, celebration, and joy.

In addition to enjoying the festival, Rachel and I were in town to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday, do some architecture tours, visit the Art Institute, and just generally relax and enjoy the end of summer with friends, so this was not a mission to catch every set. (Remember Jim Hall’s admonition to practicing musicians, which I paraphrase: if you want inspiration, mix it up with life. It’s as important to get out of the practice room as to get in it). We dropped in and out of the festival throughout the weekend, therefore what follows is not an exhaustive rundown, but rather notes on some of the highlights we enjoyed.

The Chicago Jazz Festival features a mix of national superstars and local, hard-working musicians, some well known nationally and some not. Chicago has one of the most vibrant jazz scenes in the country, with deep roots, a storied history, and a distinct local character. I was impressed and deeply moved by the many local players I heard, heretofore unknown to me, whose mastery and dedication to their art was on full display.

We arrived in Chicago late Thursday night, too late to catch the festival’s opening set by Sonny Rollins. Friday morning we strolled down to the park and visited its centerpiece, Frank Gehry’s startling Pritzker Pavilion, along with the reflective “bean “ sculpture, and the whimsical water park. Making our way to the Jazz on Jackson stage, we caught the last couple of songs by Isotope 217, a quintet that shares three members with the band Tortoise, including Jeff Parker on guitar. The drums and percussion were laying down a furious latin beat, to which Parker and cornetist Rob Mazurek added alternately funky and jazzy solos.

Parker stayed on stage for the next set, a “Jazz Guitar Summit” featuring some of Chicago’s top guitarists: John Moulder, Buddy Fambro, Curtis Robinson, and Parker. I have to admit, I was wary of this set, having experienced similar showcases in the past where 28 strings (including acoustic bass) and drums just didn’t meld, and one-upmanship overpowered musicianship. Happily, this set was a different story. Robinson mc’d the set and led the ensemble through a number of standards, including On Green Dolphin Street, Things Ain’t What They Used to Be, Caravan, and others.

Moulder and Parker played what looked to me like Gibson Es-335’s, while Fambro played a full bodied Ibanez (similar to a Gibson Es-175) and Robinson played a “Robinson”, or so he called it. Looked to me like a Gibson Es-175 with tape covering the Gibson logo on the headstock – but what do I know? Weigh in if you have an inside scoop in this! I found it curious that all four players used Fender Twin Reverb Amps, until Rachel remarked that they all just drifted away from the stage with their guitars after the show. So perhaps the amps were provided by the festival. Moulder had the fattest and most personal tone, standing out notably from the other 3 players.

All four guitarists acquitted themselves admirably as bona fide bebop guitarists – not necessarily their bailiwick in their own projects (as is evident from listening to Tortoise and Moulder’s CD “Trinity”), but clearly showing their roots here. Moulder and Robinson stood out, Moulder for the melodic inventiveness of his lines and his ability to develop an idea through many permutations, and Robinson for his Wes Montgomery style octave melodies and chord solos. There was terrific dialogue between all four players throughout the set.

I’ll post more about the fest in my next blog entry, Chicago Jazz Fest Parts II & III!