The 52nd annual Monterey Jazz Festival has come to a successful conclusion. Once again, the festival organizers have brought together fantastic music and a warm community atmosphere for an experience that will be remembered for years to come.

Attendance was clearly lower than the past two years, but hopefully strong enough to keep the festival moving onward and upward. Those who sat out this year missed a phenomenal program of music: as I commented on another blog, the artists at this year’s MJF could have been spread across two or even three festivals and all would have been first rate. I already regret all the shows I missed: Joe Lovano’s Us Five, Dee Dee Bridgewater (twice!), Wayne Wallace, Pete Seeger… But on the other hand, I can honestly say I didn’t hear a bad set the entire weekend, even if a few weren’t quite my cup of tea or failed to inspire a review.

Memorable Moments:

• John Scofield and Ruthie Foster privide a super-powered one-two punch of blues, gospel and soul on Saturday afternoon.
• Scott Amendola, Buffalo Collision and Jason Moran push the envelope, losing some but enthralling others.
• Excellent sets from John Patitucci, Ambrose Akinmusire and Vijay Iyer push the music forward, while Terrence Brewer, Dave Brubeck and the Erskine/Pasqua Trio show how much life remains in the jazz tradition.

Best Discovery:

Alfredo Rodriguez has a stunningly original conception of Cuban piano. I would love to hear him play in a more intimate setting, preferably one with better sound than the outdoor Garden Stage.

And while I was already aware of both Ruthie Foster and Ambrose Akinmusire, each made me discover their talents all over again with outstanding performances.

Best show I heard but did not review:

Vijay Iyer’s first set in the Coffee House Lounge on Sunday was exuberant, with compelling original tunes like the swirling “Window Text” meeting inventive takes on Andrew Hill and Leonard Bernstein.

Best reason to come back in 2010:

There’s no place like Monterey.