A group going by the mouthful name of the Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary All-Stars has been touring the country and will pull into George Mason University on Sunday night. Assuming that's not too terribly inconvenient of a venue for you, they should be well worth hearing, based on their performance a couple of weeks back at Strathmore -- especially since there are discount tickets available at Ticketplace downtown.

 

The trumpeter in the group is Terence Blanchard, who scores all of Spike Lee's films. Blanchard adapted his score for Lee's Katrina documentary, Where the Levees Broke, and recently won a Grammy for the resulting album, "A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)." The showpiece tune is called "Levees," a wondrous example of conveying emotion through the abstract form of music. On the CD, Blanchard's mighty, plaintive wail is cut off by a slow fade, but at Strathmore Blanchard was able to bring it in for a proper, powerful landing.

 

Blanchard's playing can be spare and I feel that this had a good influence on sometimes show-boating saxman James Moody. Moody's playing was particularly beautiful and in service to the music on Milt Jackson's "Monterey Mist." Moody, who will achieve the age of 83 later this month, is an old bebopper. He was really terrific as part of an all-star group saluting Dizzy Gillespie last summer on the National Mall.

 

I've seen him several times in recent years and he inevitably trots out his humorous take on adultery, "Benny's From Heaven." It's become increasingly rococo, with lots of jokes interpolated into the lispy melody. Invariably, everyone in the house, including the musicians who have heard slightly different versions on other nights, ends up with a smile on his and/or her face.

 

The rhythm section was all very solid as well, including pianist Benny Green, who is an older dude than I am yet still looks about 15, with a big mop of curly hair these days. His playing can be powerhouse but he played spare accompanist style for the occasion, even during solos.

 

I've never followed the work of singer Nnenna Freelon. Her voice sounded strong but a little generic to me but I have to admit it was difficult to concentrate on her actual singing, since she never stopped moving. It was constant hieroglyphic poses and pilates moves with her. I need to hear one of her CDs.

 

All in all, it was a night of top-flight music from people who took obvious pleasure in each other's gifts. I always end up wishing with these all-star conglomerations that the soloists would take each other on a little bit, but that never happens, they always play politely in turn. You can't have everything, though, and this tour is long enough that they are sounding like a real band together.