Our Review of The 12th Annual 2009 KWJZ 98.9 FM Smooth Jazz Festival | by Peggy Oliver | TheUrbanMusicScene.com

KWJZ 98.9 FM 2009 Smooth Jazz Festival

At the Chateau St. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, WA

August 2, 2009

With Spyro Gyra, Jesse Cook & Wayne Brady

It was a nice change of pace for yours truly to get away from the ever smoldering computer screen in my indoor office to head for the hot but still comfortable outdoors to check out some familiar national acts live and direct. On this twelve annual event for KWJZ at 98.9 FM in Seattle Washington, the veteran smooth jazz station has gathered some of the top bands and vocalists that represent the heart of contemporary jazz and crossover acts under that genre’s umbrella. Special kudos to the KWJZ staff and station program director/afternoon DJ Carol Hanley, whose wealth of knowledge of jazz long before the smooth jazz came into existence – is so valuable in this station’s rise to the smooth jazz top. In its fifteenth year of broadcasting, KWJZ is still one of the most listened to smooth jazz formats on both the west coast and the entire U.S. Now that KWJZ has received their brief and proper introduction, let’s go on with the show, which was actually the second of a two day concert.

The first act to hit the stage was Wayne Brady (shown above), the ‘newest’ of the smooth jazz stars on this bill who released a critically acclaimed disc from 2008, A Long Time Coming. The multi-gifted television host, actor, impressionist, comedian and now recording artist took the audience on a tour of his Peak/Concord Records debut. With his backup band and two dancers, Brady fulfilled that task in a fun and entertaining manner. Fans that have followed the Florida born showman on the improvisational game show Whose Line Is It Anyway and more recently the musical game show Don’t Forget The Lyrics also acknowledge his smooth soulful pipes. Besides his capable vocals, he shows off his precision dance moves and meshed quite nicely with his dancing sidekicks, especially on the more advanced level including accomplishing the splits. Even though he really did not stretch his comedy muscles too much, the audience was still laughing outright when he brought his jokes. Brady is absolutely no stranger in pleasing audiences; from his ambitious Las Vegas improv/music impressions revue to his more recent career as a straight-ahead R&B old and new school vocalist. Concentrating on the later, Brady’s best moments came with his recent single “F.W.B.” – his tribute to Marvin Gaye. Of course, his debut hit entitled “Ordinary,” which introduced him to the KWJZ audience, understandably received one of the biggest responses from the crowd. This track reached a very respectable number #9 appearance on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Charts and #26 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts. To close out, Brady wisely chose an outstanding and faithful rendition of Sam Cooke’s signature civil rights anthem, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” in which the crowd saluted him with a standing ovation. Despite a tight and energetic show, the backing voices were all pre-taped, and for a sophisticated festival of its kind, this should never be the norm. It would also fair to say that Brady’s vocals and overall music content is not best suited for those who appreciate more jazz improvisation. Yet with the state of smooth jazz market today, radio programmers are implementing more urban genres along with the contemporary jazz favorites.

For a complete one-eighty change of direction from Brady’s slick R&B program, Canadian native Jesse Cook and his crackerjack backing band brought their flamboyant brand of world music flavors from the first note. The Juno Award (the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Grammy Award) winner and nominee is considered one of the most popular musicians of the Nuevo Flamingo movement which also includes Ottmar Liebert and Armik. Cook’s uninhibited but articulate flamingo guitar approach is a product of classical training and interacting with the Gypsy culture on their freestyle traditions. His engrossing improvisations, whether at a brisk pace or in a delicate mood, certainly have attracted the contemporary jazz lovers on various festival stages in Europe and North America. Longtime violinist/accordion player Chris Church presented some calm ambiance during his solos but could also strut his stuff just as fast as Cook. The extremely nimble Cuban percussionist Chandy Leon stole several of the shows moments behind a standard drum kit augmented by Latin percussion and his contribution on a percussion box that could have passed as a mini-drum kit. Besides his trademark rumba rhythms that have made Cook a jazz and world music favorite, several corners of the world were covered throughout his set: from Cuba, Middle Eastern, Spain, Africa and Ireland (the latter two because of his appearance with Afro Celt Sound System). As his portion was winding down, Cook in h
is slightly droll manner kept asking the audience about choosing a ‘rumba party’ or ‘sad depressing songs'(which he only played one true ballad amongst the usual energetic arrangements). After finally figuring out that the rumba party vote won, the audience started dancing to “Café Mocha,””Mario Takes A Walk” and other rumba favorites from his thirteen year recording career, mostly for Narada Productions. Leave it to Cook for his humorous professionalism to deter the few technical wallops that hampered the beginning of the set and during a brief bass guitar solo from Dennis Mohammed. Cook also downplayed the fact that the top string on his guitar snapped during one of his solos. For those who live in the Pacific Northwest, Cook will return for a series of dates in September.

Finally, some old friends complete the two-day festivities. Spyro Gyra (shown above) has been a solid fixture during past KWJZ Smooth Jazz Festivals, and like Cook, is another Pacific Northwest favorite. This five-piece unit is still stirring jazz fusion magic thirty-five plus years later. The long-standing members are group co-founder Jay Beckenstein, co- founder Tom Schuman, Scott Ambush, Julio Fernandez, and Bonny Bonnaparte. Throughout various personnel changes in their history, this current configuration has held steady since the early nineties. They began the set by dipping into their celebrated past with extended jams of old-school lessons: “Laser Material,” “Shaker Song” and “Morning Dance.” What really bonded Spyro Gyra during this performance is that their exuberant stage presence is equally as steadfast as their sturdy musical cohesiveness. The group expertly bounces off funk, Latin, rock, pop, R&B and be-bop jazz with shear ease while holding down long jams without drifting off into oblivion. Due to time constraints, I stuck around for two more numbers centering on their newer material, including the title track from the most recent release – Down The Wire. The audience was treated to a lengthy yet mind-boggling bass guitar clinic from the song’s composer, Ambush. His impeccable timed solo was filled with delightful pops, elegant chords and pure speed without losing his melodic sense. In other words, I believe he could stand toe-to-toe with other fusion bass guitar technicians such as Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten. Besides Ambush, every solo bit from Beckenstein, Schuman and Fernandez was full of joy and was exhibited with top-notch execution. As an accompanist, Bonnaparte provided a thankful untiring foundation with his drumming and percussion skills. During Spyro Gyra’s sound check, I also heard Bonnaparte’s rich tenor voice and was blown away. In a nutshell, considering all the obvious talent representing this year’s festival, the pride of Buffalo, New York registered the highest on the audience’s radar. As my friend and I caught the shuttle back to our car, we witnessed the event staff had a smile on their faces listening to the bright jazz fusion noise from the veteran fusion masters Spyro Gyra.

Overall, the show was not a complete sell-out, but that did not hinder the festival audience that came for a rewarding half-day’s getaway. Once again, thanks to KWJZ for offering a complete package deal of urban delights, world music excitement, and naturally plenty of jazz desserts.

Peggy Oliver

The Urban Music Scene