Kicking off Saturday at the Garden Stage, young vocalist Ryan Shaw is putting a modern twist on the glory days of soul with a sound that’s part Motown, part Stax, but also incorporates bits of Little Richard and Lenny Kravitz…
As Day Two of the 51st annual Monterey Jazz Festival gets underway, it is perhaps a good time to step back a bit and explain to those of you who have never been here just where everything is…
The Arena debut of Cuban flutist Orlando “Maraca” Valle has been one of the most highly-anticipated events of this year’s festival, and it takes very little time for Valle to justify the interest.
A sticker on Anat Cohen’s saxophone case reads simply, “MEAN PEOPLE SUCK.” Anyone who has listened to the myriad albums Cohen has graced will be unsurprised by that philosophy.
Standing alone, his tenor sax running through effects pedals on the floor, Chris Cheek moans and keens, sounding now like a runaway train whistle, now like one of Charlie Brown’s long-suffering teachers.
Every opening night has its own unique atmosphere. Last year there was a charge in the air; two years before that, a hollow sadness over Hurricane Katrina. But this year, the mood is one of laid-back conviviality.
Look at the news these days and you’ll get depressed in a hurry. But about 40,000 people in Monterey, California, get to forget all about it for the next three days and revel in some of the world’s finest music.
