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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, July 7, 2002

Jazz festival expands to include two Maui shows

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

 •  Hawai'i International Jazz Festival

On O'ahu

"Hawaiian Jazz Night," 7 p.m. July 18, Blaisdell Concert Hall. With Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, Jake Shimabukuro, Keahi Conjugacion, Sam Ahia, Gabe Baltazar, David Choy and more

"Latin Jazz Night," 7 p.m. July 19, Blaisdell Concert Hall. With Herbie Mann, Alex Han, Eric Marienthal, San Diego State University Big Band and more

Post-concert jam sessions, 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Brew Moon restaurant, Ward Centre

On Maui

"Vocal Jazz Night," 7 p.m., July 20, Outrigger Wailea Resort's Aulani Ballroom. With the Four Freshmen, Eric Marienthal, University of Southern California Thornton Jazz Orchestra, Buddy Childers, Tierney Sutton, Alan Kaplan with Shelly Berg

"Hawaiian Jazz Night and Scholarship Give-Aways," 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., July 21, Outrigger Wailea Resort's Aulani Ballroom. With Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, Jake Shima-bukuro, Keahi Conjugacion, Sam Ahia, Gabe Baltazar, David Choy, Jimmy Borges, Alex Han and more, plus music scholarship awards

Post-concert jam sessions, 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., at the Outrigger Wailea's Lokelani Ballroom

Tickets

$40, $35, $20; $5 student tickets with ID; $5 discount with two-night purchase; $5 discount for single tickets for Foodland Maika'i Card holders, military and seniors 65 and older. On O'ahu: 591-2211 (Blaisdell) or 526-4400 (Ticket Plus); on Maui, at Maui Tacos, Borders, Tropical Disc, Maui Symphony, Outrigger Wailea, Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, Groove 2 Music

Information: 941-9974 or www.hawaiijazz.com

Free clinics

O'ahu: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 18 and 19, a the University of Hawai'i-Manoa Band Room

Maui: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 21, at the Outrigger Wailea

For the first time, the Hawaii International Jazz Festival is leaping to Maui this year, hoping to bound to yet another Neighbor Island (perhaps the Big Island) in another year or two.

The wider reach is ultimately a matter of survival, said Abe Weinstein, festival founder and executive director. Bigger means better visibility. And some of the participating jazz musicians like the notion of maximizing their own jazz experience in the Islands.

"We're going to Maui for the first time, for two reasons," Weinstein said. "One, we felt it was time to reach out and connect with more people statewide; two, we had to be inventive with funding sources such as the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, to tap more people on more islands. Since the Maui Music Festival folded a few years ago, we felt there was still a niche audience there who would like to attend a jazz festival."

This year's events — July 18 and 19 at the Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu, and July 20 and 21, at the Outrigger Wailea Resort on Maui — offer options not available before. "We had some visitors coming from Maui," said Weinstein of past festivals. "Now, maybe some people won't mind going to Maui instead. From a visitor aspect, many (out-of-town) travelers go straight to Maui and don't come here; part of the rationale was that we could make this part of a visitor experience."

In the trade, it's called cultural tourism, tapping the arts and cultural resources frequented by locals but generally neglected by visitors simply because no one makes a pitch to that segment of the audience. The jazz festival even has tour packages for those who want to make jazz a priority while visiting Hawai'i.

Also, the decision to include Maui partially is a result of the events of Sept. 11, said Weinstein. "We had to be more creative, to look for new ways to reinvent the jazz festival and explain to our sponsors how we would give them additional exposure. When you have a Starbucks or a Foodland or an ABC Store who are sponsors in Honolulu, you know they have stores on Maui, too. It's one of the ways we've built a different tier of exposure for those who support us."

One result of the two-location festival: some artists will perform in only one spot. Jazz singer Tierney Sutton, who has been compared to classic vocalists such as Sarah Vaughan, will sing only on Maui. But popular "smooth jazz" saxophonist Eric Marienthal plays on both islands.

Both performers say jazz is an enduring musical form, drawing listeners with its inherent integrity and continuous surprises. Audiences may be smaller than for, say, rock, but they are a lot more dedicated.

In separate telephone interviews (Sutton was at her Los Angeles home, Marienthal was performing with the Rippingtons in Boston), the jazz stylists say the niche remains powerful.

"I was unexposed to jazz till I was 19 or 20," said Sutton, who initially was attracted to the genre by the artistry of singers such as Vaughan and Nancy Wilson. "The longer I sing, the more I revere Ella Fitzgerald," she said about the icon with whom she often is compared. "There was a sort of absolutely unconscious joy about what she did; she had the pure skill that was awe-inspiring."

Sutton remembers what fellow jazz singer Carol Sloane once told her about song material. "She said, 'The great standards are like a beautiful garden; every time you walk in, you see another flower.'

"That's how I feel about the Great American Songbook tunes, the standards." Sutton said. "They hold up to whatever abuse we may give them, because there's integrity there. I could never see myself interpreting pop music by other singers-composers; perhaps I'm a coward, because I'm not a songwriter, but the oldies have a structural integrity that's hard to forget."

Living in Los Angeles, Sutton has friends in other realms of show business and is continually struck by the differences between the jazz fraternity and, say, the movie and pop music worlds. "There is beauty and spiritual health in the jazz community," she says, describing it as "a group of dedicated people, fans, musicians, club-owners, and concert promoters, who are all in it for sincere motives.

"Nobody's really in it to make money," Sutton said. "We do it for one thing: the love of music. Our numbers are smaller, but I would not trade one fan for any of Britney Spears'."

When she's not performing or touring, Sutton heads the jazz vocal department at the University of Southern California and gives vocal clinics at home and abroad. She often feels that some of her concerts are scheduled because of the efforts of a single loyal supporter. "I think some of my shows happen because I have one diehard fan in a given city, who buys my CD and copies it for his friends, when they all should buy their own, but these few beat down the doors and make a few calls to make a difference," said Sutton. "So when you visit a place for the first time (Hawai'i is such a journey), these fans have something invested. They show up."

Marienthal agrees that jazz audiences are small compared to those of the rock and hip-hop mainstream, but he notes that fans are lot more loyal, with widening demographics providing a note of optimism.

"Jazz continues to evolve." he said. "The nature of the music is fusing different styles, and because it's ever-changing, and because of improvisation, the music now is playing to the widest demographics ever. Younger kids are interested, along with the older people. It's healthy and very encouraging."

Marienthal thought a sax "looked cool, back in the fifth grade, when I was 10," and he later came to realize that of all the jazz instruments, the saxophone best emulated the human voice. "I think that's why I love it the most," he said.

He played in a high school jazz band and eventually met such legendary veterans as Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderly. High school performances evolved into casual gigs, "and a career was upon me before I knew it."

He attended the Berklee School of Music in the late 1970s and in the mid-'80s. While performing in California, he was discovered by Chick Corea and tapped for a slot in Corea's Elektric Band.

The improvisational characteristic of jazz — when musicians jam and figuratively cook up a storm — is what Marienthal likes best. "I think the spirit of the music — so improvisational, with one song always taking on a different character, because of the improv — provides a lot of fun and challenges," he said. "If you play something exactly the same night after night, you lose some of the creativity; you play by rote. In jazz, the thing to do is to create that spark."

Marienthal works as a soloist with his band, and he's a guest member of the Rippingtons. He also tours with Lee Ritenour and Corea's Elektric Band. "Keeps me out of trouble," he said, laughing.

Meeting the fans on the road provides one of the perks of his livelihood. "It's a lot of fun and joy when people enjoy what you do. You can make records in the studio and tour across the country, but the real kick is performing the music before a crowd," said Marienthal.

Sutton, too, finds happiness in her performances. "I have a feeling of contentment when I'm singing, a mood that makes me feel completely at peace," she said. "This relaxed concentration washes away thoughts of anything else in your mind. I have a 5-year-old son and when I hug him or tuck him into bed, I get that similar feeling of joy, of not being conflicted, of experiencing a peaceful feeling."