It has been a hectic summer this year. Now back in Big Bear Lake, I have been gigging like a madman and getting down off "the hill" sporadically to catch shows in Southern California and a few short trips East. It is all too rare when a national act comes up the mountain to Big Bear Lake and when we get them it is always a big occasion for music fans up near the 7000 feet mark. The Skeleton Key Folk Music Center, the town's best kept secret for free weekly local and regional music had one of their first national acts earlier in the year when folk/country songwriter Butch Hancock came to town from Texas for an intimate concert. Granted the natl. acts here are ticketed events but Hancock was well worth the price of admission playing a wonderful set of his funny, poignant and savvy originals. He even got the house band, Skeleton Key up for a mini-set at one point.
The Letterman also play a yearly gig in town as well as city sponsored concerts at The Discovery Center and at the Swim Beach. Maria Muldaur played this summer and previous concerts have featured America, Marcia Ball, and many others. But jazz music is sporadic at best. We did have bebop and country guitar master Jackie King in town a couple of years back. Willie Nelson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Chet baker, Ray Charles are just a few the names on his CV. He played a magnificent solo jazz set and then joined my local group Porch Jones for 2+ hours of country, rock, blues and Bob Dylan tunes. Keep dreaming if you expect to see straight-ahead or outside jazz artists up here very often though the location and proximity to L.A. would make for a great, hip jazz festival. Perhaps an ancillary, smaller version of the spectacular Angel City Jazz Fest that happens in L.A. each year.
One area of jazz that DOES get some action on the mountain is SmoothJazz. Okay, if you know me you may be surprised to see me writing about a SmoothJazz festival. I admit, it is not my favorite genre of music and yes, in an uncharacteristic moment I told Kenny G he "sucked" to his face many years ago. What a couple of cocktails and an opening act horning over his allotted time can do to someone waiting to hear Miles Davis. Apologies, Mr. G. You're the millionaire, I'm not. So what do I know. Though I stand by my comments.
Anyway, I will also mention that it is not the standard hate rap against SmoothJazz that I beat a drum to. But, we all know that even the best SmoothJazz can remind one of a) soul music rid of it's funky heart b) music to shop or ride elevators by or c) background for "your local weather on the 8's" if heard out of context.
Wait, context? Well, maybe the best context is exactly what many of the best SmoothJazz festivals give their audiences--bright, sunny music in vacation-like settings...rolling vineyards, exotic tropical beach fronts or lakeside in a beautiful mountain resort with plenty of good food and libations.
Somehow all of that sunshine, all of those wine-flushed cheeks of the exuberant if a tad slurry crowds dressed in their splendiferous summer duds just brings out the best in this music. Who says you can take the music out of the elevator but you can't take the elevator out of the music?
Still, I'd rather hear this music in this setting instead of mixed into an otherwise straight ahead jazz program. I do admit having worked PR on records by great SmoothJazz forefathers like The Yellowjackets and Acoustic Alchemy. I also booked Hiroshima, Spyro Gyra, and a plethora of fusion bands into SDSU back in the mid-late 70s, so I'm not adverse to the music when done with a bit of integrity and jazz harmonized solos by major players. I also LOVED almost everything on CTI Records back in the day which was really the precursor to the whole genre but which featured some jazz heavyweights such as George Benson, Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Paul Desmond, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Turrentine, etc etc. So I am not tone deaf to the genre's intricacies and possibilities. Just often let down by the commercial elements and sameness tonally these days. So would I generally be prone to a full day, much less a weekend of this music? Not generally, but this is Big Bear and a day in the sun, on the beach just may get me motivated.
The 6th Annual Big Bear Lake JazzTrax Summer Music Festival in what is called Southern California's only "four season resort" proves just that. Growing every year through the fine promotion efforts of JazzTrax, the city of Big Bear Lake and local sponsors, the festival has quickly grown accustomed to its recent digs on the Floating Stage Lakeside Lawn on the beach of the Marina Resort. In conjunction with Nottingham's Restaurant & Tavern across the street who catered the event, the perfect weather, ideal setting and strong line-up the weekend of June 24-26 made this wonderful start of the Big Bear summer tourist season.
Friday night featured a smaller scale concert under the tent by Chris Standring while Saturday's line-up ran from 2-8pm and included Marcus Anderson, Johannes Linstead and crowd-favorite Warren Hill. There was even an after-party at Nottingham's Robin Hood Resort featuring DJ Johnathan Phillips.
But Sunday's crowds even topped the previous days with a line-up of genre favorites. You saxophonist Jackiem Joyner opened the day with a modern, funky set followed by long-time Smooth Jazz superstar Marion Meadows and his impeccable band. A little soprano sax goes a long way with me so I was antsy by the time the band got around to the proto-rap anthem "Rapper's Delight". Why this decidedly non-jazz cover? Marian Meadows bassist of nearly 18 years, Chip Shearin was recently inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame as bassist on this seminal hip-hop classic from the Sugarhill Gang. Meadows even asked if there was any in the crowd who knew the word. A couple of brave women grabbed their moment of (out-of-tune) glory and hopped up on stage to the crowds amusement.
Closing the day was the penultimate SmoothJazz showman, guitarist Peter White. I must make note here that while I did work for a PR firm that has worked Peter White's records over the years, I never personally was his publicist. As a guitar player, I was impressed by his touch and tastefulness. Always, tossing in a sneaky quote from a 70s hit or a slick jazz harmony to spice things up when the music verged on the predictable. Most impressive though to me, a novice at Smooth fests, was White's easy rapport and natural stage presence and connection with the audience. Always opting for fun instead of heaviness even on tunes that bordered on the overly dramatic.
Most importantly, White knows his crowd. His set is peppered with silky covers of easily recognizable hits from the 60s and seventies as well as groove oriented jazzier numbers which allow the band some room to stretch. Like most Smooth acts though the solos lean heavily on the leader's signature sound. Even in a band with ringers such as Eric Marienthal on tenor and alto sax and Gregg Karukas on keys, both among the A-list purveyors on their respective instruments in the genre today, White took the lion's share of the spotlight. He played well-thought out and articulated solos through out the near 90 minute set. The rhythm section of Eric Valentine (who also backed Meadows) and bassist/vocalist Nate Phillips was propulsive throughout.
I wasn't hip to the titles of the first two tunes White played but the crowd sure was, leaping to their feet as the tunes transitioned one into the other. The third tune was a bit of Western pastiche called "Ramon's Revenge" which told the story of a friend's roller coaster love affair. White even tucked a humorous quote from the cowboy anthem "Ghost Riders In The Sky" into his solo. Next was a tastefully emotive number White wrote about the famous jazz space in Austin called "Caravan of Dreams" which featured Marienthal on a warm but too-short solo.
Commenting on the weather on his first trip to Big Bear Lake, White began the next number with a few bars of Johnny Nash's reggae hit, "I Can See Clearly Now" before thrilling the crowd with a tender mid-tempo version of Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour" with ended with a brief quote of the standard "It Had To Be You". Don't quote me on that last title. i was scrambling to find a pen that worked at that point.
As the band vamped White, who communicated warmly with the crowd all night, told the audience that they weren't really playing a song just "warming up before we actually get to the song...don't try this at work, your boss won't appreciate it." Karukas even teased White into a short quote of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" riff before they eventually landed on a shimmering take on the Isley Brothers' hit "Who's That Lady". This segued into a wah-wah fueled guitar figure for The Temptations classic "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" with White and Phillips splitting the vocal chores.
Next up was the beautiful song dedicated to his mother back in England, White's "My Prayer" followed by White's daughter's favorite song, "Bright". Taken from White's latest release, this he dedicated to the late NBA and SmoothJazz all-star Wayman Tisdale.
"We'll go back again to my 'big hair' album called Reflections for this one." They played a gorgeous version of the Bee Gees "How Deep Is Your Love". And on the set went...long and with lots of treks into the crowd to pose with folks and virtually play to nearly every corner of the joint. They even got down on the right end of the pier/stage and kicked their feet in the water while they played. Fans waded out into the water to get pictures and be close. It was a very interactive set with the crowd.
As the sun went down behind Butler Peak, the band was still playing Eric Marienthal's arrangement of the Les McCann/Eddie Harris classic "Compared to What". This was one of those rare gigs where the venue truly helped me enjoy the music much more than I would have in a normal boring auditorium. The folks that put on this fest and their longer, bigger festival on Catalina island know exactly what their fans are looking for and know just how to provide it. If SmoothJazz is your thing then make a point of attending next year's Big Bear Lake Jazz Festival. You can't go wrong.
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