© Ruby Washington/The New York Times
The big news in the jazz world the past few days is the announcement of this summer’s CareFusion Jazz Festival New York. The line-up, booked by 84 year-old jazz impresario George Wein, features many younger cutting-edge artists, including our own Darcy James Argue (who will also perform at the CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival) and Mary Halvorson, that Wein sought out in the city’s smaller clubs.
As the New York Times‘ Ben Ratliff wrote in his February 25th article on the subject, CareFusion‘s sponsorship of approximately $500,000 “will cover several Carnegie Hall bookings that are his predictable standby hits: the pianists Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock, the bossa-nova pioneer João Gilberto, the trumpeter Chris Botti. But the schedule also includes a lot of club concerts by jazz’s younger challengers: Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society; the quartet Mostly Other People Do the Killing; a large ensemble culled from the jazz-hip-hop collective Revive da Live, including the rapper Talib Kweli; a new trio of the pianist Jason Moran, the guitarist Mary Halvorson and the trumpeter Ron Miles; and bands led by Eric Revis, Matana Roberts and Craig Taborn, among others.”
Ratliff adds, “The focus on clubs is a good sign for the festival: it is an investment in jazz’s daily working life. Because clubs are where jazz culture lives, this move seems likely to benefit everyone—musicians, clubs, audiences and maybe even Mr. Wein.”
In a post at the JazzTimes Web site, also from February 25th, Wein blogs about the process of seeking out these lesser-known groups, going to hear them perform and their impact on the festival’s new approach.
“On June 21st,” he writes, “we have arranged for Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society to be presented at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, a place renowned for the appearance of a 16-year old Canadian young lady, Nikki Yanofsky, who sang ‘O’ Canada’ at the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Having Darcy and his 18-piece ensemble at Dizzy’s will be intriguing for us to see the response of an uptown crowd to the Secret Society. I think he will be a huge success. It is with the cooperation of Todd Barkan, musical director of Dizzy’s club, that this could be done.”
“There will be 45 separate events in the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York,” he continues. “Except for usual high ticket prices at Carnegie Hall, most events will either be free or with few exceptions, a charge of $15. Because of CareFusion’s sponsorship, we are able to give over 250 musicians a night’s work, and also help some small jazz clubs to get through these difficult times. Thanks CareFusion.”