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The Stanford Jazz Festival is known in part for the quality of the artists it presents. Our focus is on choosing the tastemakers—who may be less familiar in the commercial marketplace, but who are critically revered—in order to create a one-of-a-kind experience for audiences to savor. Continuing in this tradition, the 36th season of the Stanford Jazz Festival offered a bounty of extraordinary moments to treasure, from legends including saxophonist/flautist Frank Wess (at 85, our most senior performer whose vigor on the bandstand would be the envy of those half his age) and the exquisite alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, to prodigies such as pianist Taylor Eigsti and guitarist Julian Lage (debuting a suite written specially for the occasion featuring strings and woodwinds). The Heath Brothers—tenor saxophonist Jimmy and drummer Tootie—delivered a sparkling bop treatise, delighting audiences equally with their wit and elegance and recalling a bygone era. Redefining the jazz argot, the Bay Area’s own composer / saxophonist / pianist Peter Apfelbaum worked hues from the world, classical and even spoken word palette onto his canvas, while the Los Angeles/Brooklyn based quintet Kneebody enthralled a rapt house with their effects-processed mix of electronic and organic sounds and use of embedded musical cues. Trumpeter Nicholas Payton and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, acknowledged masters of their respective instruments, were pure pleasure; their performances glowed with an apparently effortless mastery, a graceful command that was breathtaking, exciting and humbling. If you were someone who attended the Festival this year, we extend our thanks and hope that the photos, biographies and interviews on these pages will bring back fond memories. If you are new to Stanford Jazz, consider this an opportunity to become better acquainted with an auspicious group of jazz artists with whom we are proud to be associated. |