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LIVE: 2015 Art of Cool Festival
The Second Annual Art of Cool Festival brought hundreds of jazz and soul music lovers from across the country to downtown Durham, North Carolina this past weekend, April 24-26. The festival was a jazz music lover’s dream, as most jazz festivals these days seem to be a lot more R&B than jazz.
The festival kicked off early Friday afternoon on a small stage at Durham Central Park where there were local food trucks and vendors selling t-shirts jewelry and artwork, etc. Starting with The MPS Project, a progressive jazz trio from North Carolina, they were followed by local Durham quintet Zoocrü, and then self-described “Southern Soul” artist Rissi Palmer, who is somewhat of a country/folk singer that has a great voice and sings melodic songs that tell a simple story.
Then around 6:00pm, the Durham Armory was the venue to host the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble who performed a rousing set, festival headliner Roy Ayers who had the crowd singing and dancing along immediately when he opened his set with “Sunshine,” and Durham’s own Carlitta Durand. She performed some songs from her collaborations with The Foreign Exchange, as well as some of her own. Also, Phonte (of Little Brother and The Foreign Exchange) served as MC during the Durham Armory performances.
Next up was Jesse Boykins III, an electro-soul powerhouse that immediately filled the room with his energy the second he hit the stage. He was dancing wildly from left to right while singing some of his killer tracks to the enjoyment of the crowd.
Grammy Winner Robert Glasper has returned to straight jazz after releasing two highly successful R&B collaboration albums. His Robert Glasper Trio closed out the night with an amazing sounding set of songs from the forthcoming album Covered starting off with a cover of Prince’s Sign 'O' The Times.
Meanwhile, a couple of blocks away on Main Street at The Pinhook, a bar with a small stage but just the right size for Mad Satta, an eight-piece band based out of New York, fronted by vocalist Joanna Teters, who has a husky, deep and rich voice. This ultra-tight eight-piece outfit concocts lush neo-soul awash in electric organs, bright horns, and deep bass-line grooves. They are embarking on a small East Coast tour starting May 1st; check them out!
The jazz and soul trio Moonchild was next. Lead singer Amber Navran’s voice whistles and whooshes in and out of the band’s soul claps, horn melodies, and synth shades. They are multi-instrumentalists as well, switching effortlessly between keys, vocals and horns. Closing out the evening at The Pinhook was Blue Note trumpeter Takuya Kuroda who usually performs with Jose James, but let his chops shine in his solo showcase.
Approximately 4 blocks away at Motorco, another small club, vocalist Chris Turner sang to the crowd, from a falsetto, to scatting to laying down smooth and creative phrasings, he showed that old-school soul is nowhere near dead. Following him were piano man Kris Bowers and then legendary saxophone and flute player Kenny Garrett.
Early in the day on Saturday, the “Innovate Your Cool” event was held at American Underground @Main. This was a mini-conference with a series of short talks and roundtable discussions that focused on innovation in business, music and culture. The highlight of this event featured Kendra Foster, performer & co-writer of D’Angelo’s Black Messiah, discussing working with George Clinton in the past and her current role working with D’Angelo. This was followed by a short intimate performance featuring some songs from an upcoming solo project. She also treated the crowd to a soul-stirring cover of Sunshine Anderson’s “A Warning For The Heart” and a rousing rendition of Chaka Khan’s “I Know You, I Live You.”
The rain and cold put a damper on the fun and music on Saturday, as the outdoor Parrish Street Day Party was cancelled due to the rain. One band, The Fuzz Band, who was originally scheduled to perform at 3:00, was determined to still play however - roaming the streets looking for a place willing to let them set up and jam. They lucked out when Letters Bookshop on Main St let the band plug in and play, and by about 6:30 they were ready to jam, while the band frantically tried to get the word out social media to “Come check out @thefuzzband NOW at Letters Bookshop!!!” The lucky few who were in attendance got to witness one of the funkiest bands around up close and personal.
The rain actually lightened up to just a light mist, so the main outdoor event at the Durham Athletic Park went on as scheduled with a huge crowd in attendance. They got to witness the incredibly talented Maimouna Youssef (AKA Mumu Fresh), saxophonist Mike Phillips and then the main headliner Anthony Hamilton. It was a sort-of homecoming for Anthony, as he is from North Carolina. He performed his super-popular album Comin' From Where I'm From in its entirety, while adding a few other fan favorites such as “So In Love” his chart-topping duet with Jill Scott. The large crowd sang along and really seemed to enjoy the show despite the weather.
Over at the small intimate PSI Theatre, bass virtuoso Ben Williams entertained the audience with his prowess, followed by the cool folk sounds of Gretchen Parlato and Alan Hampton playing as a duo.
Back at the Durham Armory, the band Sidewalk Chalk - featuring an emcee, vocalist, keyboardist, bassist, drummer, trumpeter, trombonist and tap-dancer, rocked the house. Next up was the Butcher Brown Band joined by special guest jazz trumpeter Christian Scott (aka Christian aTunde Adjuah), and then the Grammy winning jazz-fusion band Snarky Puppy which completely shut down the festival with their late night performance that started after midnight. Beyond the awe-inspiring amount of technical skill that Snarky Puppy demonstrates, what makes their live show special is their brotherly presence on stage. Like when the two keyboardists battled it out on stage, taking turns trying to outdo each other with ever faster riffs, until their fingers were twirling so quickly through the notes that it felt like the whole room was flying through space. This left the audience in complete awe and was the perfect official closer for the festival.
On Sunday, there was a VIP brunch featuring a performance by Avery*Sunshine and Mike Phillips (who seemed to be everywhere this weekend.)
There were a few other artists that performed that I was unable to catch, as there was just so much going on and many shows competing with each other.
Organizers said they are already planning the 2016 festival.
