The sixth annual New York Hot Jazz Festival, held Sunday, September 30, at the McKittrick Hotel on West 27th Street in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, presented no fewer than seventeen different musical aggregations, ranging from one-man Tuba Machine to the 11-piece Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks.
This year’s themes were the 300th anniversary of the founding of New Orleans and the centennial of the introduction of jazz to France via Lt. James Reese Europe’s Harlem Hellfighters. In keeping with these themes, festival founder and curator Michael Katsobashvili brought musicians from both places. From the Big Easy came clarinetist Evan Christopher, trombonist Charlie Halloran, and vocalist Sasha Masakowski. The “French connection” was soprano saxophonist Olivier Franc and his pianist son Jean Baptiste, in addition to Hot Sardines vocalist Elizabeth Bougerol.
Although not part of the festival per se, reedman Evan Arntzen’s Animule Dance played for a two-hour brunch starting at 2 pm on the upstairs outdoor terrace. The weather fortunately cooperated, although the terrace is at least partly roofed over in case of rain. Brunch was included for people who bought patron tickets.
With so many choices, it was virtually impossible to catch all the groups, much less take in an entire set by any one of them. Each set ran about 45 minutes with a 10-15 minute break to re-arrange the stage. The house has three venues: the afore-mentioned rooftop piazza called Gallow Green, and the “Club Car” in the basement where the largest groups played and which was decorated to look like a Paris cabaret, complete with artificial fog to replicate cigarette smoke. While the toxicity of smoke was, mercifully, absent, there was a distinct musty odor that I attributed to the fog. The third venue, opposite the Club Car, was dubbed the “Train Car,” where the solo and duo acts performed. This was a very small room with no more than half a dozen chairs and not a lot of standing room. Not coincidentally, it looked like a railroad lounge car, but from the golden age of train travel, not a current-day version.
As at previous festivals, purchasers of higher-priced tickets got guaranteed seating in the two larger venues. With the event running nearly 12 hours, not counting the brunch, one could get very tired standing that long. At least one bar was open selling drinks and light refreshments. I had the brunch, which provided ample sustenance for the entire day and evening.
To maximize the number of groups I could take in, not only for my own pleasure but also to write this article, I painstakingly wrote out an itinerary that I followed almost to the letter. While I wanted to see familiar bands that I’ve come to like, I also felt obligated to audition some new ones, particularly those who seldom play in New York.
Still, I missed several: the Julian Labro and Olli Soikkeli quartet, Evan Christopher’s Clarinet Road (although I did see Evan with other groups here, and have seen him in NYC several times), the Sugartone Brass Band, the Xylopholks, Michael Mwenso and the Shakes doing their Fats Waller revue, and the Moonlighters.
I also had to pass up parts of other sets, including most of Cynthia Sayer’s, in order not to miss a note of the two Nighthawks sets. Having been a fan of this band for nearly its entire existence, my loyalty to them overrode my desire to see anything else. But these Nighthawks sets were more noteworthy than usual. Many other attendees thought so, too, because even though I had a guaranteed seat, I could only hear, not see, the band, during its first set because other patrons were standing around the stage, blocking the view of the people in seats. Between the two sets Vince was presented a lifetime achievement award conceived by Michael Katsobashvili and presented by the eminent jazz journalist Will Friedwald.
The band’s second set brought in vocalists Kat Edmonson and Nicolle Rochelle, as well as dancers Dewitt Fleming, Heather Gehring and Lou Brockman, recreating Paris’s Montmartre theater. In Vince’s own words, “What a night!” I should note that in addition to hawking the band’s own CDs and DVD, Vince gave this newspaper a shout-out, as he does at every show at Iguana (and probably at other concerts as well).
The most unusual set was Dave Neigh, the “Tuba Machine.” He has rigged up a series of foot-operated rods to push the valves while playing another instrument, in this case a banjo and a violin (but not simultaneously). He was adept enough not to have to concentrate on blowing the tuba while bowing the fiddle. Gimmicky, yes, but he acquitted himself well.
Which of the day’s offerings did I enjoy most, aside from the Nighthawks? The Francs re-creating Sidney Bechet’s music, especially two of his compositions he only played on piano and never recorded; the banjo trio (plus Mike Weatherly on bass) of Cynthia Sayer, Blind Boy Paxton, and Eddy Davis; the Charlie Halloran band; and the Avalon Jazz Band.
If there was any band I was not totally satisfied with, it was the Hot Sardines. I joined them mid-set, but I’ve heard them several times before. They are certainly competent, but this time I found the drums overpowering and the horns too loud. The band as a whole was too loud behind Elizabeth Bougerol’s vocals.
By the time midnight rolled around, I was too tired to stay for the traditional jam, led this year by Jon-Erik Kellso. I rarely leave any show or festival before the last note sounds, but the jam was late in starting and I had to get up Monday morning to catch the train home. This one-day festival has become of the New York’s premier jazz offerings, one where every aficionado will find plenty to enjoy.
More Photos from Aidan Grant
