(Reprinted from the April 2022 issue of New York City Jazz Record)
Many things recommend the former whaling town of Hudson, N.Y. besides its river perch, Greek Revivalist architecture and mid-century modern antique stores. Not the least of these is the Hudson Jazz Festival (Feb. 10-13 and Feb. 17-20), now in its fourth year. Curated by seasoned arts administrator Cat Henry, the festival benefits as much from the town’s intrinsic cultural inclusivity as from the recent pandemic-driven influx of New York City transplants.
“This year’s festival is inspired by the poem by James Weldon Johnson, Life Every Voice and Sing. The poem—and the anthem—have had deep personal resonance over the last two years,” Henry said in opening remarks on Feb. 11. “We honor all voices as they’re lifted in song, in praise, in prayer, in protest, in hope, in celebration, in joy and in love.”
Constellated around the theme Lift Every Voice, the festival threw a light on both the triumphs and the sufferings of African Americans throughout America’s past, in fitting acknowledgement of Black History Month this year. With this theme in mind, more than 30 jazz musicians played the magnificently restored Hudson Hall stage during the festival weekends.
“There’s such a warm vibe here,” said drummer Marcus Baylor after he and vocalist Jean Baylor, the husband/wife duo at the center of The Baylor Project, finished their set on Feb. 11. “You can hear the quietest whisper or brush stroke.”
Such intimacy characterized Jean’s exquisitely gentle vocals on “Tenderly”, from last year’s Generations, and Marcus’ deft percussiveness on “Afro Blue (Dream)”, from 2017’s The Journey, both on the Baylor’s Be A Light label. But close as it is, the 350-seat room readily sustains grandeur, too—as when Jean opened into gospel fervency on “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and “Praise Song”. The Baylor sound—an easy synthesis of contemporary R&B, church and jazz—needs a capable room like this. Not necessarily to handle the volume but to channel the vibe.
Jazzmeia Horn also packs a big voice and an unerring way with a spontaneous vocal solo. On Feb. 19 she built a superlative program from her three celebrated releases, riffing with nary a pause on tunes like “East Of The Sun” and “Tight” from her 2017 debut, A Social Call (Prestige); “Free Your Mind” and “When I Say” from her 2019 release Love And Liberation (Concord); and “Let Us (Take Our Time)” and “Strive (To Be)” from last year’s Dear Love (Empress Legacy Records), her inaugural big band LP. These recordings faithfully document Horn’s indefatigable scatting ability—a marvel when witnessed in person. What they don’t capture, though, is how funny and friendly she is on stage.
On hearing the news of Chick Corea’s passing back in February 2021, vibraphonist Warren Wolf and pianist Alex Brown felt moved to re-create some of the iconic tunes that Corea had played during a 50-year collaboration with vibes player Gary Burton. In their tribute to this historic duo on Feb. 18, Wolf and Brown recalled all the excitement and lavish beauty of that musical partnership on the likes of “Captain Señor Mouse", “Armando’s Rhumba” and “Bud Powell”, Corea’s nod to the modern jazz master. The pair brought their own compositions to the evening as well: Brown’s “New Flamenco” swayed with rhythmic vitality and Wolf’s “Come and Dance with Me”, a love letter to his wife, both engaged and endeared.
Jimmy Green’s originals swing and uplift, too—so much so that it would be impossible to guess the tragedy behind them. For his Feb. 20 set the tenor saxophonist pulled select tunes from his various releases, including “Last Summer”; he wrote this sweet, loping melody for his 2014 studio album Beautiful Life (Mack Ave), a dedication to his young daughter, who was killed in the Sandy Hook massacre. Some tunes from his more recent release, While Looking Up (Mack Ave), hinted at sorrow, however—like his slow arrangement of the Whitney Houston hit, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”. In this, Green reached for the longing that feeds our hopes—and the shared humanity that binds us together.
Jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong left thousands upon thousands of historic documents chronicling his life both in and outside of music. In cooperation with the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Broadway veteran Daniel J. Watts used this archival material to craft Armstrong Now!, fitting more than an hour’s worth of music, tap dancing and spoken word into his Feb. 17 show. Against the backdrop of Armstrong’s generous humanitarianism, Watts’ call for racial justice reverberated soundly, as timely as it was forthright.
Singer Alexis Morrast—a sophomore at Berklee College of Music and the festival’s youngest artist—is already touring internationally, playing major concert halls and catching critics’ ears. Her Feb. 12 performance affirmed the precocity that fuels this early success; her dexterous voice, mature phrasing and clever, jumbled arrangements augur well for a post-Berklee career. Surprisingly, it was Morrast who took on the Black national anthem, the festival’s title song. Brief and moving, her rendition of the hymn rang with promise, drawing shouts of solidarity from the audience. In Hudson, at least, people get it.