Jonathan Butler
By Darlene
Donloe
Smooth jazz
enthusiasts by the thousands converged on Long Beach’s Rainbow Lagoon Park last
weekend (Aug. 12-14) to attend the 29th Annual Long Beach Jazz
Festival (LBJF). This year’s theme was
“A Healthy Taste of Jazz.”
Under the direction
of Kimberly Benoit, president of Rainbow Promotions, LLC, the annual three-day event
kicked off Friday night with a warm breeze and a three-quarter moon glowing in
a clear Long Beach sky.
The opening
night artists included Major, Althea Rene, Elan Trotman, Euge Groove, Peter
White, Paul Taylor, Jonathan Butler and Gerald Albright. Butler and Albright, who performed together
and separately, were last minute replacements for Michael Franks, who was ill
with a flu that left him unable to travel and perform.
Albright wowed
with his hit, Champagne Life, while
the appreciative crowd applauded Butler’s set which included his hits, Lies, Sarah Sarah, and Do You Love Me.
The lineup kept
the 2,000+ revelers swinging, swaying, dancing and singing.
MAJOR
R&B singer Major,
whose CD is called i am MAJOR, opened
his set with Hit The Road, followed
by Serendipity.
He told the
crowd how only a few years earlier, he dreamed of performing on the Long Beach
Jazz Festival stage.
“A couple of
years ago I heard about the Long Beach Jazz Festival,” said Major, who honed
his craft at the Berkelee College of Music. “I saw myself here. I saw myself on
that stage. This is a part of an evolution for an artist. This is the kind of
thing you want to get off your bucket list.”
Saxophonist Elan
Trotman kept the crowd on its feet with Trade
Winds and his take on Bill Withers’ Lovely
Day.
Trotman and flutist
Althea Rene shared the stage for several songs, including Robin Thicke’s
popular Blurred Lines.
Althea Rene
During her set, Rene
came off the stage and wound her way through the audience, never missing a
note.
“I had a great
time,” said Rene after finishing her set. “This is a festival I’ve never done.
I love performing for new audiences and going places I’ve never been.”
LBJF Consultant Al
Williams said when putting the festival together, the focus of the producers is
to gradually increase the enthusiasm with each day’s lineup.
Al Williams
“You have to
build a crescendo every day,” said Williams. “We’ve been successful every year
doing it that way.”
Long Beach Mayor
Robert Garcia was in attendance. He spoke of the economic impact the festival
has on the city.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia
“The Long Beach
Jazz Festival is very important to the city,” said Garcia. “It’s a great event that brings jazz fans
from all over to Long Beach to enjoy the city. The restaurants, the hotels and
everyone benefits from the full weekend of music. The festival has a great
impact on the city’s economic development.”
Paul Jackson Jr.
Paul Jackson Jr.
(photo by Jaime Perry)
Saturday’s
lineup included Mindless Groove, Paul Jackson Jr., Everette Harp, The
Rippingtons, BWB (Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum and Rick Braun) and the legendary
Jeffrey Osborne.
Everette Harp
Guitarist Paul
Jackson Jr., was a crowd favorite, playing several hits from his vast
discography.
Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum and Rick Braun, known as
BWB when they tour together, kicked the musical soiree into another gear.
(l-r) Kirk Whalum and Rick Braun
Norman Brown
The trio opened with a rendition of Michael
Jackson’s Billie Jean, followed by Make My Funk The P-Funk and Gonna Have A Funky Good Time.
Brown played a medley of hits from his CD, After the Storm.
“We all enjoy working together,” said Brown. “The
relationship we all have is true.”
“We have been in awe of each other’s talents for
many years,” said Braun. “Even when we’re not playing together, we follow up
and keep in touch. Then when we see each other, it’s like we saw each other
yesterday.”
“We love playing together because we have the same
musical influences,” said Whalum. “The music reflects that. It reflects the
fact that we love playing together.”
Jeffrey Osborne
Osborne, who was Saturday’s headliner, made his
first appearance at the Long Beach Jazz Festival with a set that included many
of his memorable, old school hits.
“I’ve been looking forward to this,” said Osborne,
who told his fans to look for a new CD from him in January. “Finally, I’m
here.”
Showing off an enviable physique, Osborne, 68, donned
in a light blue striped summer suit, rocked the stage and had the women swooning
as he made his way through his solo hits and the hits of his former group,
L.T.D. His selections included, On The Wings Of Love, Holding On, Where Did
We Go Wrong, Concentrate On You, We Both Deserve Each Other’s Love, Love Ballad
and You Should Be Mine.
During his set Osborne paid tribute to his friend,
the late George Duke, by singing Duke’s hit, Reach For It. Osborne said
he has vowed to “never do a show without mentioning George Duke.”
Osborne said Duke, who died in 2013, produced all of
his hit songs.
Osborne’s ballad-filled, yet high-energy set was the
perfect way to cap a music-filled day.
Smooth jazz artists on Sunday’s bill included
Richard “88 Fingers” Turner Jr., The Al Williams Jazz Society with special
guests Najee and Barbara Morrison, Stanley Jordan, The Sax Pack (Jeff Kashiwa,
Steve Cole and Kim Waters), Kenny Lattimore, Michael Lington and headliners
Dave Koz and David Sanborn.
#lbjazzfest
No comments:
Post a Comment