It was one of the most musically haunting moments of the 29th Chicago Jazz Festival, or any other.
Leading his most explicitly political ensemble, the Liberation Music Orchestra, bassist Charlie Haden delved quickly into the politics of our time.
“This concert is dedicated to peace in the world,” Haden told the huge Grant Park crowd Saturday night, after naming past U.S. presidents whose terms had coincided with recordings from the orchestra, which dates back to the Nixon administration.
“And one added note,” Haden continued. “Throw the bums out!”
With that, the Liberation Music Orchestra launched into “Not in Our Name,” the title cut of its most recent recording, a lyrical but unmistakably critical commentary on the state of the nation.
Regardless of where one stands on the political spectrum, however, there was no mistaking the fervor of Haden’s message or his orchestra’s alacrity in expressing it at the festival, which ended Sunday.
By keeping the music comparatively simple and folkloric, Haden and the LMO struck an unapologetically populist, proletarian tone. By steeping the scores in themes of Americana — complete with quotations from “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and other patriotic fare — he left no doubt as to his subject matter. And by drawing upon works with titles such as “This is Not America” and “Blue Anthem,” he laid out his political perspective in unambiguous terms.
Yet the power of this music lay in its uncluttered melodic grace and straightforward expression. This was not angry protest music or arty political diatribe but, rather, a suite of gently stated works with a disarming tone well suited to its plea for peace. Performing arrangements by Carla Bley, the band gave the festival its most poetic set of the night.
One won’t soon forget the radiant horn choirs of “Not in Our Name,” the searing quotations from “La Marseilles” in “Blue Anthem” or the majestic chorale passages of “Amazing Grace.” Though too brief at less than an hour, Haden and the LMO’s show somehow turned a political statement into a spiritual gesture. Because most of this music was delicately stated and transparently scored, it survived (mostly) the amplification challenges of the Petrillo Music Shell.
Not so the performance of The Cookers, a septet of major players whose set earlier in the evening amounted to a wall of noise in the Grant Park echo chamber. Notwithstanding characteristically brilliant solos from alto saxophonist James Spaulding, The Cookers made scant impact until its last number, with the entire front line playing in unison.Still, there was much to appreciate during the festival’s penultimate day.
Leading his hard-hitting B3 Bombers, Dan Trudell produced dexterous, beautifully inventive solos on organ, opening Saturday evening’s festivities. Later, saxophonist Frank Wess turned in some of the most intricate bebop-based playing he has given Chicago in many years, with sweetly demure vocals from Ernestine Anderson.
In the afternoon, at the Jazz on Jackson stage, Keefe Jackson’s Fast Citizens offered inventive scoring and rapid-fire ensemble improvisation in the free-jazz manner. And on the Jazz & Heritage stage, singer Typhanie Monique partnered with guitarist Neal Alger and bassist Larry Kohut to unfurl a beautifully nuanced vocal tone and increasingly accomplished scat singing.
She might be the next major jazz vocalist coming out of Chicago.
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hreich@tribune.com
