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 Greg Ottinger KC Swings at the Kennedy Center)
Pianist Cartwright and vocalist Hagenbach have played the Kennedy Center before, in 1998, as the last stop in the U.S. before launching an African tour (Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mauritius) as Jazz Ambassadors selected by the United States Information Agency (the cultural arm of the State Department). The USIA selected them again, along with bassist Rigazzi, after another nationwide competition, to represent our country in a world tour, from April 25 to June 13, with performances in Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Oman, Ethiopia, Uganda, India, Thailand and Malaysia. With all the extra pages they will no doubt need, their passports will probably look like paperback novels at the end of this trip (and will probably contain better stories). The USIA asked Hagenbach, Cartwright and Rigazzi to highlight the works of Duke Ellington during their tour. They opened with a lesser known Ellington tune (he wrote some 1,500) from his opera Sophisticated Ladies, titled "Hit Me With a Hot Note and Watch Me Bounce." Lesser known, but still a dandy. The introduction featured Rigazzi's bass and Cartwright's finger popping, which had the audience tuned in and tapping their toes even before the first vocal note from Hagenbach. When she began to sing, however, the hook was sunk. Next was "Angel Eyes," in which Ms. Hagenbach showed off the lower register of her incredible range. Other highlights of the evening were "Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me" (a duet featuring Rigazzi's bouncing bass and Cartwright's crystalline keys) and "Everything I've Got Belongs To You." Although the evening focused on Ellington, the trio also paid tribute to Kansas City and Charlie Parker with a beboppin' rendition of Parker's "Now's the Time" (with lyrics by Eddie Jefferson). This trio works magnificently together and Cartwright's solos throughout showed how lyrical a piano man can be while still swinging hard. His mastery of the piano is underscored by Rigazzi's rhythm and Hagenbach's vocal versatility and stage presence. I'm not sure I want to live in some of the places they will hit on their tour, but I would certainly enjoy hearing more of this trio. (And in fact I can, because I bought a copy of their five-cut CD, World Tour 2000, which they recorded in anticipation of this tour and which, I hope for the sake of Kansas City jazz fans, will be available in record stores when they get back.) * * * Clarence Smith and the Paseo Academy Jazz Ensemble have also been to Washington, D.C. before, and have also presented a program featuring the music of Duke Ellington. That was in 1999, when they played at the Smithsonian Institution to celebrate the Duke's 100th birthday. This time, however, they featured the music of another great composer and arranger, opening for the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, with special guest Geri Allen on piano, presenting "The Musical World of Mary Lou Williams." Although the Paseo ensemble only played three numbers, they made the most of each. "Mary's Idea," a rollicking swing number, featured fine solos by Bobby Randolph (trumpet), Ryan Howard (piano) and Marcus Otis (clarinet). Their second and third numbers, "(Keep It) In the Groove" and "Walkin' and Swingin'" had heads bobbing all through the Concert Hall, thanks especially to kicking solos by Howard, Stephen Sampsell (trumpet) and Xavier Fleming (tenor saxophone). Howard's piano solo on the last number was reminiscent of Thelonious Monk (one of Williams' good friends who was heavily influenced by her), and Solomon Dorsey's bass work on all three numbers was particularly ear-catching. Mary Lou Williams spent many years in Kansas City during the jazz hey-days of the 1930s, and performed brilliant work as the pianist, composer and arranger for Kansas City-based Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy, so it was particularly appropriate for the Paseo Academy Jazz Ensemble to open this concert. In addition to her work with Kirk, Ms. Williams also provided arrangements or compositions for Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Earl Hines, Jimmie Lunceford, Duke Ellington and many others. If the Paseo ensemble performs this work locally, or if Kansas Citians have the opportunity to hear the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (or anyone else) spotlight the work of this genius, they should not miss it. Mary Lou Williams is one of the most under-appreciated talents in music, and one whose major creative influence on the evolution of jazz is only now starting to be understood and acknowledged. One final note. Teenagers made up about half the audience at the Hagenbach-Cartwright-Rigazzi performance (D.C.'s Duke Ellington High School for the Performing Arts is located nearby), which was particularly gratifying, as the concert took place the day after the children-shooting-children incident at the National Zoo. While there was a much smaller percentage of teens at the Mary Lou Williams tribute (it was on a school night), the students from Paseo also showed that music is a powerful tool to help young people find and develop imagination, expression, confidence and self-worth. All in all, it was a great two weeks of music and affirmation, thanks to excellent performances by and about Kansas City musicians. (If you would like to read Mary Lou Williams' own words about jazz and life in Kansas City during the 1930s, including her account of the famous all-night cutting contest in which Lester Young blasted Coleman Hawkins right back to St. Louis, I recommend Hear Me Talkin' To Ya': The Story Of Jazz As Told By The Men Who Made It, edited by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff, and published by Dover.) RETURN TO JUNE 2000 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved. |
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