Duke Ellington Jazz Festival 2008
Photo Gallery from this music festival!
As a native of Washington Duke Ellington’s legacy is all around the city. You just have to see the murals, or school of the arts, not to mention his legacy in jazz. It is this magical mystical journey in music that is celebrated every year in DC. Late in summer for a week the city of DC is alive with jazz. Bohemian Caverns, Blues Alley, Twins Jazz, and even the 9:30 Club host some of the greats in the jazz world. It all culminated in the free jazz festival at the Sylvan Amphitheatre next to the Washington Monument on the National Mall.
Taj Mahal
This year had an impressive lineup of artists: Afro Blue, Taj Mahal, Christian McBride Quartet, Conrad Herwig Latin Side Project, McCoy Tyner Quartet, Dee Dee Bridgewater. I took Metro into the city and arrived a little late. The crowd was a little thin when I arrived so I was able to get a good spot right next to the sound board. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky, unfortunately this made it a little hot when sitting in the sun without any shade.
Afro Blue was the first on stage and was already performing their set when I arrived. They are a vocal jazz ensemble from Howard University singing jazz standards and a few of their own tunes. Unfortunately they didn’t float my boat and I quickly became bored with them.
Next up was Taj Mahal with some great blues. This trio is a kick ass blues band that rocked the house. I had heard a couple of his tracks on XM radios Beyond Jazz channel and was excited to see them. They did not disappoint.
christian McBride Quartet
Christian McBride Quartet was up next, another band that I have heard on Beyond Jazz. The quartet that McBride had was definitely a funky jazz fusion sound. They played several songs from their Live at Tonic cd. I wish I got all the names down because they were great songs. The jams were precise and well thought out, never did it get to melodic or repetitive. Each member would have a solo and they would play off each other very well. Like all good jazz the beginning and end were well established with the middle filled with jams and noodling. I look forward to see these guys again.
Conrad Herwig Latin Side Project
Already the festival had quite a varied lineup, now it was time for a little latin twist. Conrad Herwig Latin Side Project provided the change in tempo, literally. These guys mixed salsa, merengue and other latin styles with jazz standards from days past. I wanted to get up and dance while listening to them play, the music was so rhythmic. About half way through the set they invited a special guest saxophonist, I only wish I could remembered his name.
McCoy Tyner Quartet
Last up for me was McCoy Tyner Quartet. If Christian McBride is where jazz is going, then McCoy Tyner is where jazz came from. This was old school jazz at its best, right out of the 50′s as well as all of the band members. There was not a young guy in the band and obviously they have been playing for a long time. They were tight and it was refreshing to hear these guys after a long day of music. The sun was starting to set and the temperature was finally starting to drop.
After their set it was almost 7 o’clock, the festival was running late and Dee Dee Waters was still scheduled to take the stage. But after hiking the day before and spending all day in the sun I was tired as crap and wanted nothing more than to go home and rest. I was hungry and missed football all day so I wanted to watch at least some of the Sunday night game. Before long I was finally home sitting on my couch watching football. It was a great day and an excellent weekend.
I look forward to attending next years festival on the Mall.
view from the amphitheatre
