September 27, 2023 in Pittsburgh, PA — Trumpeter Keyon Harrold blew up a storm but staved off the rain on the closing day of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival [Vince Robinson / The Real Deal Press]
PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival offered attendees a smorgasboard of musical magic over a four-day stretch last month. The annual event, powered by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, was curated by Orlando Watson, a Clevelander who left a post with the Tri-C Jazzfest, spread his wings, and landed in the city of three rivers with a partial mission of bringing the two cities together with culture as the common denominator.
Opening day performances included Madison McFerrin and Nigel Hall, followed by a Friday lineup of Ledisi, Cleveland’s Hubb’s Groove, Jonathan Barber and Selecta, a DJ with an amazing repertoire of musical mixes. Hubb’s Groove brought it that night, according to Watson, lighting up the Wilson Center, embellishing a stellar performance by Ledisi.
On Saturday and Sunday, the festival moved to Highmark Stadium, a soccer field with a majestic view of the Pittsburgh skyline, replete with river, bridges, train tracks and skyscrapers. The soccer field held three stages that hosted the acts sequentially, and patrons could easily move from one stage to the next.
The Pittsburgh festival pales in comparison attendance-wise to larger festivals in Detroit and Chicago, but Highmark has an intimacy that serves it well. On Saturday, festival goers were treated to smooth sounds from Bob James, Howie Alexander, and Christie Dashiell, before this writer arrived. The Spanish Harlem Orchestra delivered a high-powered dose of Latin music in the late afternoon sun.
Then it was time for the Orrin Evans Quintet, which came in with both barrels blazing. The pianist fired up bandmates Robert Hurst on bass, drummer Mark Whitfield II, trumpeter Nicholas Payton and saxophonist/flutist Gary Thomas as the group romped in some real deal jazz.
Grammy Award-winner P.J. Morton punctuated his predecessor’s performance with a high-spirited gallop through some of his own hits and those of others that sparkled in the early evening starlight, before making way for headliners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
September 26, 2023 in Pittsburgh, PA — Ann Nesby of the Sounds of Blackness belts out a tune at the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival [Vince Robinson / The Real Deal Press]
The Jam-Lewis duo turned up the audience with a plethora of hits featuring many of the artists they have produced, including Cherelle, the S.O.S. Band, Ann Nesby of Sounds of Blackness, Kevin Ford (as Alexander O’Neal), and Korea’s Crystal Kay (as Janet Jackson). The stage was set as a living room. As they plowed through the hits, the singers brought the songs to life over pre-recorded tracks that sounded so good the audience either didn't know or didn't mind the faked funk.
On Sunday, the prospect of rain dampened attendance, but faithful fans were treated to masterful performances by Chelsea Baratz, Gerald Albright, Jose James, Nicholas Payton, Kurt Elling, Keyon Harrold and Gregory Porter.
Particularly noteworthy was the set by Jose James which featured his interpretation of songs by Erykah Badu. After the Minnesota native assured the audience that the fitted NY baseball cap was not a Yankees item, he assured fans was not a Yankees item, he proceeded to give Erykah her musical props.
Nicholas Payton manned his Fender Rhodes electric piano, a Hohner Clavinet and Hammond B-3 on top of the added spice of his trumpet strategically hanging next to him. His compositions took listeners down an ethereal musical path that primed them for the hugely energetic Kurt Elling’s Superblue with Charlie Hunter, a musical force in his own right. Hunter doubled as bassist and guitarist with a six-string bass he manages to play bass and “guitar” licks simultaneously as Elling bounces in a sort of hyper-animation for a 55 year-old vocalist.
September 27, 2023 in Pittsburgh, PA — The singer-songwriter was in his element at the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.[Vince Robinson / The Real Deal Press]
September 27, 2023 in Pittsburgh, PA — The rapper Pharoahe Monch performed with trumpeter Keyon Harrold on the closing day of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival. [Vince Robinson / The Real Deal Press]
Keyon Harrold merged jazz, hip hop and R&B, presenting songstress Lulu Fresh, the iconic Pharoahe Monch and his own brand of trumpet virtuosity that had patrons rocking hard.
The evening wound to a close with Gregory Porter, a perennial performer at this event. His deeply resonant velvet vocals reverberated against the bluff that backgrounds the stadium, and brought the long weekend miracle full circle. The rain managed to wait until the last notes were sung, giving the diehards a just reward for their perseverance and a fitting end to a beautiful four days in Pittsburgh.
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