2023 Tucson Jazz Festival
Rialto Theatre, Club Congress and Fox Theatre
Tucson, Arizona
January 19-22, 2023
by Mary Andrews
Tucson’s Jazz in January has continued through the following weekend with incredible artists. Unrated continues to report on some of the highlights of the festival starting with new songstress, Samara Joy.
Born and raised in the Bronx, Joy graduated from State University of New York at Purchase in 2021. During college years she won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and she became an Ella Fitzgerald Memorial Scholar. During the performance, her vocals were easily compared with those legends of the 20th century. Add Nancy Wilson to the mix and you have an idea of Joy’s talent.
She immediately hit the road touring after graduating from college.
Last fall, Joy garnered two Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album, Linger Awhile. The results will be revealed in February. If she wins she will be in the company of Billie Eillish, Megan the Stallion and Olivia Rodrigo among others. The bottom line is Joy is going to be a major force in Jazz for many years to come.
The accompanying band played as they worked hard to keep up with her vocal prowess, included Evan Sherman on drums, Luther Allison on piano, and Mikey Migliore on bass. Her set included a Fats Navarro tune called “Nostalgia”. Her searing vocal of Nancy Wilson’s “Guess Who I Saw Today” was performed as well as Abe Lincoln’s “Retribution.”
The set ended with the Tucson crowd wanting much more from Samara Joy.
New Orleans trumpeter and composer, Terence Blanchard and E-Collective with the Turtle Island Quartet performed at the Rialto Theatre the following night. They released a superlative album late last year dedicated to Wayne Shorter called Absence on Blue Note Records.
The show was a recreation of Shorter’s music and the album. Blanchard relied on Turtle Island director David Balakrishnan for the embellishments for the string enhancements. The musicians in Blanchard’s band were David Ginyard on bass, Charles Altura on guitar, Taylor Eigsti on piano and Oscar Seaton on drums. All were sensational.
Blanchard seemed to avoid the direct style of Miles Davis as he filtered his trumpet through several effects. He reminded the crowd that the word Jazz means ‘I dare you.’ That lead into the selection of the same name. There was also a theme of ‘black lives matter’ during the evening.
To cap things off, Blanchard appeared after his set at The Century Room accompanying Alex Weitz with Arthur Vint. It was a double treat for Tucson Jazz fans.
The Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling had the joint jumping on Saturday night at the Fox Theatre. This was not Bridgewater’s first visit to Tucson with her previous appearance in the 2017 Tucson Jazz Festival. Bridgewater charmed the crowd then and once again tonight.
Bridgewater and Elling opened with Sammy Davis, Jr’s 1956 hit “Too Close for Comfort.” Bridgewater left the stage and Elling took over With Ben Webster’s “Did You Call Her Today.?” Elling has one of the most captivating voices in modern jazz.
One of the most electrifying moments during the set was Lakecia Benjamin’s spellbinding saxophone performance of “Trane.” Bridgewater returned to the stage to perform with Benjamin singing “Bye, Bye Blackbird.” If a chance arises to see Benjamin in concert, by all means, do it.
Bridgewater gave a sultry rendition of “Spain.” If we had a complaint regarding the set, it would be that it seemed too short. They left fans wanting much more from The Monterey Festival on Tour. Once again, the patrons who made it down to The Century Room after the show got to witness Bridgewater sit in with the Emmet Cohen Trio.
The Tucson Jazz Festival has exceeded expectations by offering some of THE best Jazz entertainers in the country. Even though we have just experienced the Tucson Jazz Festival, we can’t wait to see what’s up next year.
For a review of last weekends Tucson Jazz Festival click here.
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