On November 11, 2018, Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts (Day 300) wrapped up 8 weeks of never before seen shows from
around with world with Liberation. This show featured The Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra (PJO) together with trumpet
player Sean Jones. PJO brought together an assembly of Pittsburgh’s best jazz
artists for a celebration of jazz and to premier a new commissioned
composition. This show was a jazz explosion and a dedication to all artists.
Refection
Jazz has
played an important role in Pittsburgh’s musical history. A show that showcased
this free flowing music was the perfect way to end the Festival of Firsts that
brought diverse and unique new art
experiences to Pittsburgh. This sold out crowd enjoyed the sounds of 10 masterful musicians: Sean Jones, James Moore, and JD Chaisson on
trumpet; Eric Defade (tenor), Chris
Coles (alto) and Rick Matt (baritone) on saxophone, Jeff Bush on trombone, Alton
Merrel on piano, Tony DePaolis on Bass and Thomas Wendt on drums.
My jazz
experiences have usually been on a smaller scale with three or four musicians. The PJO ignited the smaller Greer Cabaret Theater with sound. Each
musician (I really want to call them cool cats because they were so cool) had
an equal part in making this night combust especially when they soloed standing
and letting loose on their instruments.
 |
| Tony Depaolis Bass, Sean Jones Trumpet, Chris Cox Alto Sax |
They
played six pieces opening with Beatitudes,
that had trumpeter Sean Jones starting a solo and then James Matt on
baritone saxophone. Matt really shined with a lengthy riveting solo. Sweet Dreams had
a smooth flowing trombone sound
from Jeff Bush unlike anything that I
had ever heard. In the Meantime and Swingatim were originals from pianist
Alton Merrell. The latter was the perfect name for this gospel- like energetic tune which had all audience heads bobbing to the rhythm.
Two or Three was Jones’
original composition based on the Mathew 18:20 in the Bible-,“where two or three are gathered together because
they are mine, I am among them”. It began
with the piano and rhythm section adding solos first of trumpeter (Jones) and
then the alto saxophonist (Coles). Eric Defade on tenor sax and James Moore on trumpet crushed it in Krush, a Dizzy Gillespie piece.
The show
ended with the anticipated premier composition by saxophonist Chris Coles, Only the Poet, which was inspired by
writer James Baldwin’s essay “Artist's Struggle for Integrity”. Coles
explained that Baldwin writes,“The poets (by which I mean artist) are
finally the only people who know the truth about us..something awful is
happening to a civilization when it ceases to produce poets..”
This composition,this night of jazz, this International Festival of Firsts, celebrated poets of
every kind. Liberation, which was a
jazz explosion, closed the International
Festival of Firsts with a celebration of not only jazz but of all expression and the “truths of all poets”.
(Explore free
jazz performances every Tuesday at The
Backstage Bar At Theater Square from 5 pm to 8 pm. For the schedule of live music go to Trustarts.org. Sean Jones will be back
preforming, A Suite for Fly Girls, on
December 12, 2018 at the August Wilson center for tickets go to Trustarts.org.)
Other
Sources
https://soundcloud.com/brainpicker/james-baldwin-the-artists-struggle-for-integrity-full-lecture
