MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
Opening weekend, June 1–3, various venues
The Branford Marsalis Quartet's cohesion and sense of connection were palpable at Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday.
Photo: Kerrie O'Briem
When the Branford Marsalis Quartet joined Kurt Elling on stage during one of Elling's Melbourne shows last week, they lifted an already memorable show to another level. The quartet's cohesion and sense of connection were palpable, and the music seemed to expand as they fuelled each phrase with vitality and warmth.
They brought that same commitment – to each note, each tune and to one another – to their sold-out show at this year's Melbourne International Jazz Festival. The stage set-up (with the musicians grouped in a tight cluster) underlined Marsalis' focus on collective exploration, and allowed him to easily interact with each of his superb band members: pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner.
The set list was drawn mainly from an upcoming album – recorded in Melbourne just days before this show – with tunes ranging from the edgy, slightly ominous Nilaste (where Marsalis unwound corkscrews of energy on tenor sax) to an untitled ballad that swelled and subsided with such fluidity that it felt like all four players were breathing as one. They also delved into a handful of standards, delivering On the Side of the Street with exquisite elegance and radiating vitality and irrepressible optimism on The Windup and Ellington's It Don't Mean a Thing.
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Saturday night's two international acts were a striking study in contrasts. At the Recital Centre, US singer Gretchen Parlato revealed her affinity for Brazilian music via her new project Flor, teaming her soft-focus vocals with guitar, cello and percussion. Her intimate, understated approach was well suited to both the repertoire and the instrumentation, whether she was singing in English or Portuguese, or scatting gracefully over her colleagues' airy rhythms.
Just as appealing – and perhaps more impactful – was the opening set from Melbourne bassist Sam Anning, his deeply empathetic sextet interpreting Anning's compositions with restraint and real feeling.
Across town at the Jazzlab, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and her band Social Science were mining very different musical territory: a gritty and politically charged hybrid of jazz, rock, rap and R&B. This was undeniably music as social activism – sometimes tough and uncompromising, bristling with elusive grooves, but also glinting with a kind of dark beauty, especially when pianist Aaron Parks and singer Debo Ray were in the spotlight.
On Sunday night, Maceo Parker presented his tribute to Ray Charles, fronting an exuberant 18-piece local big band, The Meltdown – conducted by Parker's musical director Steve Sigmund – and joined later in the evening by three former Raelettes on vocals.
Parker's own voice may be a little frail these days, but the raspiness somehow added to the soulfulness of his delivery – and what the 75-year-old lacked in strength, he more than made up for in spirit. It was a generous show, with 22 songs and a handful of instrumental solos (including just two from the leader on saxophone). Parker's emphasis was on honouring the legacy of his idol, and his lifelong admiration for Ray Charles made the concert feel more like an act of love than a simple tribute show.
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