The Truth Staff
The fourth annual Glass City JazzFest, a free event that brought out an enthusiastic audience to hear performers from all around the world, took place this past Saturday at the Glass City Metropark.
The intense weekend heat notwithstanding, the festival proceeded on schedule and the musicians performed spectacularly.
Toledo’s own Jean Holden opened the afternoon entertainment in her inimitable style of blending jazz, blues and R & B to the delight of many in the audience who arrived early just to hear her.
Holden was followed by Otonowa, a Japanese jazz quartet which fuses traditional Japanese folk melodies with contemporary jazz. Otonowa tours internationally with a message of healing and cultural connection.
Next up were RiShon Odel & The 5th Element, a genre-defying group blending jazz, funk, gospel and soul, led by bassist, composer and producer RiShon Odel.
Then came Straight Ahead, an all-female jazz ensemble from Detroit which weaves bebop, funk, Latin and blues with various jazz styles.
From Brazil came the Vinicius Gomes Quintet and special guest SongYi Jeon. Composer and guitarist Gomes leads the group which features compositions that blend modern jazz with Brazilian rhythms. SongYi Jeon is a South Korean-born, Switzerland-based vocalist who helps to create a lush, cross-cultural performance.
Completing the lineup was Grammy-nominate bassist Brian Bromberg. Smooth jazz, straight-ahead funk and fusion have been the hallmarks of his extensive career.
“We were thrilled,” said Cheryl Catlin after the event. Catlin and her partner Hugh Ross, who served as MC for the festival, are the principals of the Great Lakes Jazz Society, the organizing entity. This was the fourth year of the JazzFest and arguably the most successful one yet.
Catlin and Ross were delighted with how the day, and the preceding week of jazz at different locales, went. “People showed up in the scorching heat,” said Catlin. She noted that she and Ross were also impressed with the increased diversity of the crowd, with all ages, and families. “Most of all we were pleased with the musicians and the performances,” she added.
In addition, noted Catlin, most of the food vendors sold out and the product vendors were very happy with how their sales went during the day.
Following the day’s performances at the Glass City Metropark, an enthusiastic audience joined a number of the festival performers, local performers and hosts Ramona Collins, a veteran jazz vocalist, and Ross at the Assembly American Brasserie in the Downtown Hilton, for a post-festival jazz jam.
This was the first year for the Jazz Jam and Catlin believes that it was so successful that it will continue to be an important part of the event
The Glass City JazzFezz was actually the culmination of a full week of musical treats for Toledoans who love jazz.
The Toledo Jazz Week opened on Monday, August 4, with a performance by Leslie Deshazor, a classically trained violinist from Detroit, at the Assembly American Brasserie. Dshazor combines her classical roots with jazz and R&B soul.
On Tuesday, Lori Lefevre & The Toledo School of the Arts Jazz Vocalists brought their show to Middlegrounds Metropark. Lefevre is a seasoned jazz vocalist who has graced the Midwest jazz scene for over 30 years.
Keith Bernhard & More Jazz Messengers performed on Wednesday at the Red Room of the Toledo Club. Bernhard was the last house drummer at the former Murphy’s Place Jazz Club.
On Thursday night, the Jerome Clark Trio held for at Club 1343 on Avondale Avenue and, the crowd was standing in line well in advance of the performance, said Catlin. Detroit guitarist Clark and his trio focus on jazz standards and reimagined standards.
To close Jazz Week, on Friday Gene Parker & Damen Cook performed at the Glass City Metropark.