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Tucson's inaugural Jazz Festival hosts
13 days of diverse jazz

The Tucson Jazz Festival
Fox Theatre, Rialto Theatre, The Screening Room,
Crowder Hall, Arizona Inn, Hotel Congress
and the Westin LaPaloma Ballroom
Tucson, AZ
January 16-28, 2015
Jeff Bridges

Review and photos by Mary Andrews

The Tucson Jazz Festival premiered their "Jazz In January" festival with as much diversity and finesse possible. The festival committee put together an exemplary 13-day festival that blended local artists as well as world-renowned jazz music legends and it was so good and so sweet!

The festivities started with organ master Joey DeFrancesco with special guest, the legendary drummer, Jimmy Cobb. Both musicians are Miles Davis alumni. Jimmy Cobb is the only living member left of the "Kind of Blue" band led by Miles Davis. He is 85 years old and still tours extensively with his Cobb Mob and plays with other artists.

Joey DeFrancesco, jazz organist, pianist, trumpeter, and vocalist was invited to play with Miles Davis band at the age of 17. The show was a testament as to how he captured Mr. Davis' attention. Joey captivated everyone from the first note played. Jimmy Cobb played as guest drummer for the band. All members of the band were superb.

The next night, The Rialto Theatre presented the Robert Glasper Experiment. This set was so totally different than the previous night, but just as entertaining. The music was electronic, improvisational jazz. The music was drawn from Glasper's Grammy winning "Black Radio" and "Black Radio 2." Highlights from the show included Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and Bill Wither's "Lovely Day."

UA Presents and the Fox Theatre presented jazz vocalist, Dianne Reeves the following night. Her voice conjured memories of Sarah Vaughn, and Ella Fitzgerald, but it is strictly Dianne Reeves. Her treatment of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" and Bob Marley's "Waiting In Vein" were evidence that she probably is the best female jazz vocalist alive today! The next layer of the festival was Brazilian Jazz provided by Gabriel Espinoza from Mexico and Hendrik Meurkens from Germany with Alison Wedding. Espinoza and Wedding weaved their voices into one and were sublime. Meanwhile Meurkens captivated the crowd with some of the best jazz harmonica ever achieved! Jazz harmonica is rare and Mr. Meurkens continues to blaze the trail. It was an exquisite set.

The Hot Sardines brought their rendition of "hot jazz" to Tucson's Fox theatre for a sold out show. The band is reminiscent of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band with two exceptions. The band is fronted by a female singer, ‘Miz' Elizabeth Bougerol and includes a tap dancer as a member of the band. Both entities keep the band's energy levels on high speed. The music is from a century ago and renewed by this great band.

J.D. Souther augmented by Billy Childs and his band was another highlight to the jazz festival. JD Souther, composer, singer, guitarist, saxophonist, played a key role in the formation of the Eagles and co-wrote the band's hits "Heartache Tonight," "Victim of Love," "New Kid In Town," and "Best of my Love," and Don Henley's hit "The Heart of the Matter," as well as writing classics for Linda Ronstadt. Souther has evolved into more of a jazz vocalist these days. He sang a couple of his classic songs, but stuck primarily to standard songs like "Ain't Misbehavin.'"

The second Sunday of the festival brought New Yorker, Allan Harris, to the Fox stage performing his Nat King Cole tribute concert. Harris started his set with "Paper Moon" with energy yet with an easygoing approach that is not about exaggerating the size and range of his voice but about floating with jazz rhythms and a friendly narrative approach. This is what made his interpretation of Nat King Cole's music fresh and his own. Little wonder that Tony Bennett praises Allan's technique and integrity and called him "my favorite new singer."

Tucson's Jazz Festival finished their 13-day trek of jazz music with Burt Bacharach. Mr. Bacharach is the greatest living songwriter today and perhaps one of the greatest all-time songwriters. Mr. Bacharach credits his writing style to his early fascination with the Jazz scene in New York City that included Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. His approach to popular music has been characterized by unusual chord progressions and odd changing meters. Tonight he had three singers who sang most of the songs of the set as he played piano along with the rest of the band. He did sing three songs. At 86-years old, Mr. Bacharach is gray-haired, his physique has shrunken and he moves slower now. His advanced years have left his voice raspy and strained at times, but he managed to elicit the emotions that these classic songs originally invoked and it was a beautiful thing.

A lot of people are working hard to make this a yearly event in Tucson. Hopefully, "Jazz In January" will be the place to be for many years to come!
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Allan Harris
Allan Harris
Allan Harris
Allan Harris
Allan Harris
Allan Harris
Allan Harris
Allan Harris
Allan Harris
Allan Harris
Gabriel Espinoza
Gabriel Espinoza
Gabriel Espinoza
Gabriel Espinoza
JD Souther
JD Souther
JD Souther
JD Souther
JD Souther
JD Souther
JD Souther
JD Souther
Dianne Reeves
Dianne Reeves
Dianne Reeves
Dianne Reeves
Dianne Reeves
Dianne Reeves
Jazzfest musician
Jazzfest musician
Alison Wedding
Alison Wedding
Jazzfest musicians
Jazzfest musicians
The Hot Sardines
The Hot Sardines
Hendrik Meurkens
Hendrik Meurkens
Jimmy Cobb
Jimmy Cobb
Jimmy Cobb
Jimmy Cobb
The Hot Sardines
The Hot Sardines

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