It’s the 33rd annual Copenhagen Jazz Festival. MAGNET’s Mitch Myers translates the action.
After 10 full days (and nights) of hanging out at the Montreal Jazz Festival, I now find myself in Copenhagen, where the international jazz fest is already in full swing, and I do mean swing. It seems that the population of Denmark spends more money on jazz per capita than citizens of any other country, and while Copenhagen is fairly expensive across the board, there’s still plenty to do regardless of one’s income. The city is lovely in the summer (cobblestone streets, canals, kickass architecture, etc.), and it doesn’t get dark until quite late, making my ongoing jazz sojourn a very pleasant affair.
Disoriented from overseas travel and lack of sleep, I started out on Wednesday night by going to the beautiful outdoor venue Jazz By The Sea to catch my old friends Medeski Martin And Wood perform with saxophonist Bill Evans and trumpeter Randy Brecker. Both Brecker and Evans have long pedigrees playing electric jazz fusion—sometimes of questionable quality—but having MMW as your rhythm section would make any musician play loud and proud. This was the band’s first gig on its summer tour of Europe, and MMW was still working out the set list just before go time. Personally, watching the sun go down and enjoying a cool summer breeze while listening to live music outdoors made for a great introduction to the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, and when drummer Adam Nussbaum spontaneously joined the band onstage for a tune, the energy level immediately jumped up two notches. As always, John Medeski was a true standout, playing a variety of keyboards, including blowing freeform through an amplified melodica. Sadly, I was only able to stay for the band’s first set, because I had to run over to the Jazzhouse to hear the Charles Lloyd Quartet.
Saxophonist Charles Lloyd is one of jazz’s great survivors and has achieved the status of a true master, both musically and spiritually. His tenor style is derived from that of late John Coltrane, and his flute playing is right up there, too. His latest quartet is staffed with young jazz lions, specifically pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland. Lloyd’s first quartet back in the 1960s featured Keith Jarrett, Jack Dejohnette and bassist Cecil McBee, and his new group may be just as good, which is really saying something. Lloyd opened the show with a silent prayer (this is in a jazz club!) and ended with a meditation adapted from the Bhagavad Gita. Lloyd’s tenor playing gained strength as the night progressed, Moran was sublime on piano, and drummer Harland was basically unstoppable. In spite of my jetlag and battle fatigue, I still stayed for both the early and late sets, as Lloyd’s group settled into a spiritual groove that proved irresistible. Then, after a quick jaunt over to the legendary jazz haven, Café Montmartre, it was time for bed. But don’t fret; there will be more jazz reports from Copenhagen in the days ahead. To be sure.
