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Show Review
Hazelnut Coffee In the morning, the audience was awoken with the Denver, CO local cup of joe named Hazel Miller. Opening the event the past three years, Miller aimed to please, and successfully hit the bull’s eye. Utilizing soul-jazz, and her genuine motherly affection, she interacted with the early crowd, referring to the audience as "children," making everyone relaxed and ready for the day ahead. In a fruitful effort to get the crowd dancing she said, "you better shake what your momma gave you." Blues emerged from rock, as Miller sang about relationships, and added a surprising twist when the keyboardist's vocal abilities sounded like Michael Jackson preceding a cover of Big Head Todd and the Monsters, "I See You In Everything."After an enthusiastic drum solo, Miller and crew hi-fived, and launched into some Chaka Kahn before thanking everyone involved. She invited the audience to dance and gave props to the first person to hop up and groove. Just when the set seemed to subside, a standing ovation summoned the group back, and Miller exclaimed, "If this one does not make you crazy, I quit!" The group closed with a mushy little love song. Minding MindiBerkley College of Music, Boston graduate and soprano/alto saxophonist Mindi Abair and band came to the stage around noon. Besides Abair's musical skills for a new generation of Jazz that intertwines pop with R&B, she also possesses the unique talent of performing in high-heeled shoes. Walking in them is difficult enough, add an instrument to the equation and the challenge becomes a circus act. Explaining her subtle fashion touch, see told the crowd, "I like going on tour and bringing a little glamour to a genre...there's nothing wrong with being feminine, accepting who you are and still playing your instrument well." The group opened with "Play" and eased into the breezy vibe of "Salt and Lime." When Abair was about to begin her first solo, a technical glitch created an audio drop-out. In a professional manner she announced, "sometimes there are technical difficulties, but we are over it now and on to bigger and better things." A moment later, acoustic guitarist Mr. Clark introduced "Save the Last Dance." Abair joined Clark on soprano sax, followed by Andre Berry on electric bass. The trio stood next to each other in a tight-knit group, then split into a smooth arrangement that thrilled the audience. The spirited ensemble performed Abair's collaboration with Duran Duran's John Taylor off their new album, It Just Happens That Way, before Berry performed a powerful solo, slapping the bass strings with great vigor.
Unfortunately, an audio buzz continued into the set of Warner Bros. recording artists Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum, and Norman Brown, known as BWB. Each member’s solo project inspired impromptu collaborations that resonated on stage along with Michael Manson on guitar, Christian McBride on bass, Mitch Forman on keyboard, and Rayford Griffin on drums. The soft, smooth Jazz received an enthusiastic response from the crowd, and rousing applause as each new member was announced. Opening with funky be-bop that seemed to crawl out of a 70's era disco, Braun's syncopated trumpet wavered into many vibratos. Hunched over, he breathed so heavily into the trumpet with such force that his legs began to quiver. Brown’s guitar riffs moved the group into Whalum's invigorating tenor sax, and in "Ruby Baby," McBride kept the time by walking the bass into Brown’s beaming soulful guitar, and the crowd roared a receptive response.As the introduction to Whalum's "Ascension" began, he thoughtfully dedicated the song "to my girl Mindi Abair.” Whalum’s sax evoked signature easy listening, and the chorus chimed, "Real love / You are the highest of the high / If you don't know then I'll say it / so don't ever wonder.” As Brown began to skat, a zesty Latin sound emanated from the keyboard, followed by Hutchinson's rolling drum solo. In "Hot or Mild" off Whalum's [I]Just Chillin[/I] album, the BWB trio stood next to each other and with fancy foot-work, moved from side to side. The groove stirred a commotion in the audience that settled down with their waltz like whimsical ballad of contemporary blues. Whalum thanked the audience and said, "We like to think that we kind of link the past, to the present, and then to the future. We can not do that without the past." Then explained, "we have a mutual respect for one another that grows out of our individual respect for the legends who inspired us.” Then with a humorous nod to the south he continued, "I know you guys (Colorado locals) eat Tofu. I'm from Memphis, TN, and we have chitlings, turnip greens, and cornbread, which is the kind of food that will make you go wa wa." Brown picked up where Whalum dwindled and said, "Well, well. I'm from Allentown, PA, where we have Polka and chicken potpie. Whalum retorted that Brown's hometown has some "soulful stuff," and encouraged Brown into singing a solo of such. Afterwards Brown exclaimed "Mercy," the song that became a showbiz anthem in the backdrop of Forman's sensual organ and Braun's rambunctious flugelhorn. Brown’s next skat was in exact notated accompaniment with his bass. They walked off stage, and the crowd successfully beckoned them back. Whalum humbly admitted that he was anxious to listen to Michael McDonald and said, "We are going to make this one quick,” and they closed with "Pick up the Pieces." Mac of MotownFormer Doobie Brother and neighbor to a BWB member, Michael McDonald and band walked on stage. Opening with the gentle solo of "Peace," they moved into nonstop classic Motown remakes from such extraordinary legends as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Smokey Robinson off his newest UK Motown release. "The allure of Motown is that you can go back to it all the time” he explained. “You can remember where you were...In many ways, these records are almost historical documents." Positioned on center stage, his fingers pranced on the keyboard with vibrant energy. "You Are Everything," originally by the Stylistics, remade by Motown and then by McDonald he proclaimed, "you hear these lyrics forever for years and you kind of take them for granted...then you go up to sing them and somehow what the lyrics might really mean kind of come through your head, images of what is actually being described..."A synthesizer echoed his strong crescendos and the drums added deep harmony to"Ain't no love to be found." Thunder and lightening accompanied the pouring rain as they covered "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," though many found the contagious vibe from the stage, and danced until the rain cooled down the hot day and made for a comfortable evening. Suiting the magnificent scenery, they performed Dream Street's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" in a contemporary pop style and professionally closed the event with a “Thank You.”
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On a hot summer Saturday, the mountain resort of Winter Park was transformed into a hyped Jazz park for the 20th anniversary of the JVC Jazz Festival. Jazz is an artform which reflects a blend of traditions and cultural values, so the cats in the crowd were just as diverse as the artist line up, creating an unsurpassed atmosphere of unity. Even mountain bikers listened to the sweet sounds of the stage from chairlifts high above the audience. 
Although Abair doesn’t believe in performing cover songs, she insisted on including Eagle-Eye Cherry's "Save Tonight," stating it was the one song by another artist that she could find something of interest in. Knowing they often toss around the "Right On" phrase, the group decided to playfully perform "Right On," without a mention of the phrase. In "Remember," the instrumental highs and lows exploded into a subdued acoustic and sax duet, and the intelligent "Flirt" found Abair stroking keys on the keyboard, as a colossal drum solo flickered onward. Ending the set on a high note, the band closed with "Louie's," a #1 jazz radio hit about a bar in Los Angeles, which culminated in a crowd sing-a-long.
