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When this writer worked in the hospitality industry, we had a name for Halloween: Amateur Night. Normally this would serve as a warning to pursue domestic entertainments until it’s safe to go out again. But what if “going out” is more treat than trick? This week’s candy necklace of events will test that notion with a variety of fun-size gigs and not a kernel of candy corn among them (though the late Carla Bley’s “King Korn” would be great addition to a spooky setlist).
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As the weather turns chillier and recreation shifts to indoor locations, the NEO scene is responding with a clambake of compelling offerings this week. Touring artists and local luminaries are throwing down. That’s a challenge for those who like to map out their musical itinerary, but what a nice problem to have, right? Supporting live music is always the right choice, but for a little advice, scroll down. You’re sure to find something interesting.
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For fans of improvised music in the Black American tradition, the arrival of Tri-C JazzFest to Playhouse Square with a roster of artists including Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride and phenomenal shooting-star vocalist Samara Joy is hands down the biggest week of the year.
The touring artists whose shelves are heavy with Grammy Awards and other honors deservedly grab the clicks and dominate the buzz, but for dozens of musicians from throughout Northeast Ohio, JazzFest will be the biggest gig of their year. For some of them, it will be the biggest opportunity of their young careers.
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When I moved to Cleveland in late 2019, I was eager to plunge full-time into a jazz scene that looked like New York’s to me. That notion might be laughable to longtime citizens of The Land, but from the jazz desert of Erie, Pennsylvania, that’s how Cleveland looked to me. Consider this ten-day period in Sept. 2019 when Bop Stop presented a cavalcade of stars that would make even the most hardened New York booker bow in respect and awe.
Even with stars in my eyes I knew that such intervals are few and far between. But every rule needs an exception as proof, and one has arrived this week where in the course of three nights, Cleveland will host concerts by the brilliant tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel, vibes wizard Joel Ross and the mesmerizing poet, community activist and truth-teller Moor Mother.
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My friends in the “jazz is dead” camp often pose two rhetorical questions in defense of their position: Who will want to listen? and Who will want to play this music?
The answer to the first is unknowable, but the second question will be answered in the most unequivocal way Saturday when NYO Jazz makes Tri-C’s Metropolitan Campus Auditorium the first stop on its inaugural U.S. tour.
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