I admit it. I caught the live outdoor music bug, at least for a time.
It was my third visit to Wolf Trap for live music in five or six days. But who’s counting? This time, it was time to hear some visionary jazz with recently-acclaimed and gifted saxophonist, Kamasi Washington, much acclaimed after his work with rapper Kendrick Lamar; and the legendary, jazz-fusion keyboard visionary, and ambassador of jazzian good-will, Herbie Hancock.
Kamasi and his group opened the show and worked together flawlessly and produced modern works of art that led to many standing ovations. The ensemble is a family and neighborly affair with father, Rickey, a talented and experienced woodwind musician in his own right, and boyhood friends. As sunset fell on the park, it was so natural that they connected with each other and with the audience, leading to an outpouring of joy and standing ovations. It was innovative jazz the way it was meant to be.
After a relatively long intermission, Herbie Hancock and his group came on. From the start, they were the more experimental and had more difficulty connecting to each other and to the audience. Herbie Hancock is truly a gifted artist and he remains one, but coming on late with a somewhat impatient crowd did not help, and many in the crowd uncharacteristically started to walk out. It was hard to match the earlier warm links of Kamasi and grou[, and Herbie and his group seemed to be just getting to know each other by contrast. Herbie commented that “tonight you will hear things never heard or played before,” and tonight it just did not fully work. Overall, it was great to once again hear live music under the cool nighttime sky and to enjoy the creativity of gifted players at work and at play, especially when they succeed, but even when they do not quite bring it home.
