Monday, August 07, 2006
Life isn't always the trip to the circus that this weekend was, but it should be. I made it into the office for a bit Saturday, and got the lawn mowed but then it was off to Coles for the IPA Festival. I'd have been fine finishing the day there, but the friend I was with proposed a Bison's game. It was an 11-1 laugher over the Mets' Norfolk Tides, but there are no bad evenings at the ballyard.
Sunday we did a little more work, but were able to make the scene at the Pine Grill Jazz Reunion. I'd checked this event out once before, a couple of years ago, riding my bike over to see a couple of acts, but this time we did it right and did the lawn chair thing. The way to really do it seems to be to set up a base-- a lot of people have pavilion-style tents-- then either get grilling, or start circulating. It really does have the feel of a reunion, with people ambling about, making a circuit of the park, spotting friends, shaking hands, catching up a bit, and moving on. The crowd is nicely dressed, polite and friendly. Up front, by the stage, people were dancing all afternoon, and into the evening.
Musically I'd describe the event as pretty old school for the most part. We came in close to the start of Ghanniyya "G-G" Green's set, in the Alberta Hunter vein, I suppose. There are probably thousands of singers out there that can do this sort of thing, and watching any of them would be a pleasure. There's always a Hammond B3 act, and this year it was Nathan Lucas. I can't say that this sort of thing is my favorite, but this was good in a almost trance-music sort of way. Ernie Andrews followed, sort of in the mold of Joe Williams, I guess. We were sort of dozing in the heat by this time. There are food stands all around, churches, mostly I think, and we'd had a big old supper. Ribs for me, chicken for A, with four sides. Cole slaw, potato salad, green beans (full of side meat, the green beans were) and mac'n'cheese. We'd brought a bottle of Chianti, and were working on that when Wynard Harper took the stage with his sextet, who started wailing. (Actually, they even played, "Wailin'"). This was knowledgeable crowd, and they were seriously into it. This is the second time I've seen him, the first as a leader, and the music was more in the Art Blakey, hard bop style that I favor than what had gone before. The show finished with everyone on stage jamming to "Kansas City"-- a fine thing to see.
It is always interesting to find myself in a setting where I am an ethnic minority. As we drove home A and I toted up the other white people we'd seen there. The three people sitting next to us. The guy who looks like the comic book store owner from the Simpsons who is at all the Art of Jazz shows. Mary Kunz Goodman and her posse. We got up to about 14, but there may have been more-- the white folks didn't circulate the way everyone else did. There could have been as many as 20, but I don't think many more than that. In the Men's restroom the urinals had signs that said "Out of Order". Three times I went in, and three times a different person said to me, almost verbatium: "Man, what's up with this, when they're having an event like this? If we were in the suburbs these'd be working." I didn't get the sense that they were suggesting that I was from the suburbs-- one's presence at an event like this, seems to be validating. I agreed with the speaker, each time, and I agree now-- this was a big event, and there is no excuse for the park to have been in anything but tip-top shape.
When I am at something like that, I walk away thinking I should get a dashiki and one of those pillbox hats, but I don't imagine I'd be able to carry it off.
Sunday we did a little more work, but were able to make the scene at the Pine Grill Jazz Reunion. I'd checked this event out once before, a couple of years ago, riding my bike over to see a couple of acts, but this time we did it right and did the lawn chair thing. The way to really do it seems to be to set up a base-- a lot of people have pavilion-style tents-- then either get grilling, or start circulating. It really does have the feel of a reunion, with people ambling about, making a circuit of the park, spotting friends, shaking hands, catching up a bit, and moving on. The crowd is nicely dressed, polite and friendly. Up front, by the stage, people were dancing all afternoon, and into the evening.
Musically I'd describe the event as pretty old school for the most part. We came in close to the start of Ghanniyya "G-G" Green's set, in the Alberta Hunter vein, I suppose. There are probably thousands of singers out there that can do this sort of thing, and watching any of them would be a pleasure. There's always a Hammond B3 act, and this year it was Nathan Lucas. I can't say that this sort of thing is my favorite, but this was good in a almost trance-music sort of way. Ernie Andrews followed, sort of in the mold of Joe Williams, I guess. We were sort of dozing in the heat by this time. There are food stands all around, churches, mostly I think, and we'd had a big old supper. Ribs for me, chicken for A, with four sides. Cole slaw, potato salad, green beans (full of side meat, the green beans were) and mac'n'cheese. We'd brought a bottle of Chianti, and were working on that when Wynard Harper took the stage with his sextet, who started wailing. (Actually, they even played, "Wailin'"). This was knowledgeable crowd, and they were seriously into it. This is the second time I've seen him, the first as a leader, and the music was more in the Art Blakey, hard bop style that I favor than what had gone before. The show finished with everyone on stage jamming to "Kansas City"-- a fine thing to see.
It is always interesting to find myself in a setting where I am an ethnic minority. As we drove home A and I toted up the other white people we'd seen there. The three people sitting next to us. The guy who looks like the comic book store owner from the Simpsons who is at all the Art of Jazz shows. Mary Kunz Goodman and her posse. We got up to about 14, but there may have been more-- the white folks didn't circulate the way everyone else did. There could have been as many as 20, but I don't think many more than that. In the Men's restroom the urinals had signs that said "Out of Order". Three times I went in, and three times a different person said to me, almost verbatium: "Man, what's up with this, when they're having an event like this? If we were in the suburbs these'd be working." I didn't get the sense that they were suggesting that I was from the suburbs-- one's presence at an event like this, seems to be validating. I agreed with the speaker, each time, and I agree now-- this was a big event, and there is no excuse for the park to have been in anything but tip-top shape.
When I am at something like that, I walk away thinking I should get a dashiki and one of those pillbox hats, but I don't imagine I'd be able to carry it off.
// posted by Bill @ 9:22 AM 
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