New sounds to highlight SF Jazz Fest 2009
By Greg ZemanStaff Writer
The San Francisco Jazz Festival jumped off on Oct.10 and will keep on going until Nov. 21. This year’s lineup is an eclectic collection of sounds not limited to traditional jazz.
SFJAZZ, the non-profit organization sponsoring the event, has booked performances from some incredible artists at the far ends of the jazz spectrum, including globally renowned sitar icon Ravi Shankar. Shankar is widely known in the West through his association with the Beatles. It was Shankar who taught George Harrison to play the sitar. Shankar also joined forces with John Coltrane in the 1950s, making his presence at a jazz festival quite appropriate.
The music of Shankar is transcendental to the point of being almost psychedelic. It transports the mind to elevated realms of lucid insight with it's droning, visceral resonance. His technique and musical philosophy is rooted in prayer and the path of devotion to God, so when Shankar is playing, he is praying. The combination of sincere tranquility and fiery belief in his ecstatic, musical prayer makes his performances unforgettable.
Those seeking to drown their woes and worries with a shot of Chicago blues will find just what their looking for pouring from the wailing harmonica of blues legend James “Superharp” Cotton. The virtuosity of Cotton helped define the electric blues sound, contributing to the songs of legends like Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters.
Appearing onstage with Cotton is Hubert Sumlin, a highly influential musician and one of Rolling Stones “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.” Sumlin was a major influence on guitar luminaries like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
The malleable notes of Sumlin’s unpretentious, economical picking weave a perfect pocket for Cotton's explosive sound. The searing crunch of Cotton's electrified harmonica burns in your chest like whiskey fire, so if you're into that sort of thing make sure to check out James Cotton.
If you’ve never heard the astoundingly powerful voice of the impossibly talented Dee Dee Bridgewater, you should seriously consider fixing that. Bridgewater is a Tony and Grammy award winner, and with good reason. Her energetic, emotive song styling has a magnetic appeal only compounded by her huge vocal range and gargantuan stage presence. Bridgewater will be performing a musical tribute to Bille Holiday.
Those hungering for something new and innovative in jazz music will be blown away by the experimental musical journeys of Marco Benevento. Using his talent as a keyboardist in conjunction with mad-scientist ingenuity in the creation of new sounds, Benevento paints poignant, sometimes bizarre aural portraits of alien landscapes.
The musical devices Benevento creates with electronic toys, amplifiers and pedal effects are reminiscent of that telephone Elliot built for E.T. out of a saw blade, an umbrella and a Speak & Spell. That alone is really worth the price of admission, which in the case of Mr. Benevento is $25, making it one of the less expensive performances in the festival.
If you’re really hurting for cash, you can still check out the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars playing a tribute to Duke Ellington and the sound of the Harlem Renaissance. That will set adults back $15, unless they bring a child with them, in which case it only costs $10.
Other notable performers include jazz tap dancer Savion Glover, tabla legend Zakir Hussain, tropicalia vocalist Gal Costa and banjo icon Bella Fleck. A complete list of artists appearing as part of the festival can be found at SFJazz.org.
