Jazz: Festival mixes genre's old-timers, rising stars
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| Flutist Herbie Mann, 72, is a dean of American jazz music. Jazz sustains him, now more than ever, and he gives 20 to 25 concerts a year. He couldn't resist the opportunity to play in Hawai'i. |
• Hawai'i International Jazz Festival
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
Something for everyone.
More than ever, that's what the Hawai'i International Jazz Festival offers — in its ninth edition — when it plays Thursday and July 19 in Honolulu and then on Maui for the first time July 20-21.
Elders and newcomers alike, reflecting old blood and new blood of the genre, are raring to go.
In one corner: flutist Herbie Mann, 72. As a leading force in the jazz movement, and the one who helped coin "world music" because of his ventures into the rhythms of Africa, Cuba, the Middle East, Latin America and Japan, Mann is perhaps the dean of this year's visiting crew. He's been battling prostate cancer but is fit enough to participate in the festival (Honolulu only). Retirement is not in his vocabulary yet.
At the other end of the spectrum: Alex Han, 14. His remarkable wizardry on saxophone, at so tender an age, makes him a prodigy and a force of (and pipeline to) the future. He performs in Honolulu and on Maui.
The local fave: Gabe Baltazar, 72. His dulcet saxophone has been one of the reasons jazz has flourished in Hawai'i.
Festival organizer and founder Abe Weinstein said there are many elements worth checking out.
"Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom will be singing Hawaiian lyrics with a jazz beat," he said. "Gabe's writing special music for saxophone for a thing he's calling Island Woods. Keahi Conjugacion is new to the festival this year. And Jake Shimabukuro (the 'ukulele wizard) is already famous. Last year, he got a standing ovation in the middle of the show."
Weinstein was quick to say why he invited an old-timer like Mann ("he's the monsieur doyen of jazz, juxtaposing blues with Brazilian music, doing great things for four decades") and a rising star like Han ("I wanted Hawai'i people to see how the young are keeping jazz alive").
"And you can't do a jazz festival without Gabe, can you?" Weinstein said. "You can book him in 100 shows and each time, he does something different."
Now listen up to what's on the minds of the featured acts:
Herbie Mann, flutist
Mann's latest tune is a battle for survival.
Four-and-a-half years ago, the veteran musician was diagnosed with inoperable prostate cancer. Until recently, he was undergoing draining health treatments.
"My cancer's in a very active stage," he said in a phone conversation on a rainy day in Sante Fe, N.M. "I've already done the chemo, the radiation. I decided I don't want to have anything more with that; I'll go the other route, the natural route, so I don't feel like s---."
He was immersed in the rhythm and life-sustaining rains outside, which he dubbed "gorgeous." He added, "Rain is like a Japanese garden. So peaceful. And nurturing. When it rains, we all dance with happiness, considering all those terrible forest fires."
He's been in the forest, and he's seen the trees. Jazz sustains him, now more than ever, and he gives from 20 to 25 concerts a year. With no more treatments, he has no more nausea. It's too soon to know, he said, if his decision was the right one. But he doesn't want any more hospital stays.
"When you love what you do, you keep doing what you can do till you can't," he said about his music.
His condition resulted in the formation of Herbie Mann's Prostate Cancer Awareness Music Foundation, which stages concerts and includes recordings to help spread awareness of the disease.
"We organize shows in conjunction with hospitals, help arrange free prostate tests and give away free CDs to those who normally wouldn't be tested," he said.
He said he used to play sax, years ago, settling on tenor, but quickly discovered there were far too many saxophonists for too few jobs.
"So I played flute; there was no competition. I think I was the second guy to play it in New York, where I lived for years, and the first guy who played it mainly with a group," he said. "Not as a soloist."
Early on, he said, he realized the flute — generally considered an improvisational instrument among American musicians — had a significant solo role in other cultures. "It's been an important instrument in Brazilian, Latin and Indian music. It became my passion."
And his ticket to fame.
He was drawn to the exotic and romantic nuances of Brazilian music, and he mustered alliances with Sergio Mendez, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Baden Powell. Eventually, his "Do the Bossa Nova With Herbie Mann," which also featured Joao Gilberto, helped usher in the bossa-nova craze in the '60s.
"I just believe that if you play music that's honest to you, you're always going to attract people who are looking for the truth," he said. "And that applies to anyone, whether you're 19 or 65. It's like movies or creative chefs; if the audience believes in what you do, they will go with you and discover and applaud something new.
"I don't do rap, or hip-hop, because these things don't interest me; but I don't do straight-edge jazz, either. ... I try to attract people who know that they will get an enjoyable and creative experience when they hear me."
It dawned on him, just recently, that he had journeyed to so many international musical sources but had neglected something close to home: his Eastern European roots.
"So for my next project, I will go to Hungary in August to record new music with Hungarian musicians, and share this with people. This kind of creativity really opens up a younger base of fans for me."
With his health concerns, Mann said, he prioritizes where and when he performs. "When Abe Weinstein invited me to be part of a Latin Jazz program in the festival, I couldn't resist," he said. "It's always so wonderful to come to Hawai'i; before he could finish telling me about it, I said yes.
"I try to pick interesting places to visit and work, not that I can afford to turn down jobs. But I'd rather play Maui than St. Louis. If you do 20 jobs, it results in 60 days of travel, because you go before you work and spend a day or two once you're there. I've traveled all my life; now, I go for quality."
Alex Han, saxophonist
At 14, Alex Han is one of jazz's stars of tomorrow. He plays the alto saxophone and will perform in Honolulu and on Maui.
"I fit in pretty well with the adults," said Han from his Scottsdale, Ariz., home. "It's my parents' influence that helped me get going; when they signed me up, at 9, to be in a jazz ensemble, they felt I had something to offer."
He was 7 when he first played the recorder, because he was too tiny to handle a sax, but he said he preferred the mellow sound of a saxophone, so he switched at 8. By 11, he was doing a demo record in a studio.
"I play a Yamaha, and it has a big, bright sound," he said.
His taste runs from John Coltrane to Charlie Parker, from Joe Lovano to Miles Davis; he's performed in an array of venues, from the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C., to Gracie Mansion in New York City for former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
He'll be in high school in the fall (a ninth-grader at Pinnacle Peak High School), so he has to juggle classes or homework between engagements. When he travels during the academic year, as he often does, "I either get the work in advance or hand it in when I return," he said. Math is his favorite subject.
He makes time for TV and video games (hey, he's still a kid!) and he still takes music lessons. "There's always something new to learn," he said.
"My dad usually tours with me, but for Hawai'i, my brother and my mom are coming," he said. "They don't want to miss out" on the fun.
Gabe Baltazar, saxophonist
Beloved island saxophonist Gabe Baltazar, 72 ("I'll be 73 in November"), has found a way to inject new life into his artistry.
"I've started making something refreshing out of something old, forming a group called Island Woods," he said. "It features woodwinds, especially the saxophone, and it's kind of a take-off on slack-sax, covering a whole facet of music, from Hawaiian to contemporary and traditional jazz, as well as music from other ethnic groups with a focus on a slightly jazz motif."
Three saxes would be featured — soprano, alto and tenor — plus other reed instruments and flutes.
He reached into the past for his forward thrust. "Saxophone used to be a part of a Hawaiian ensemble in the 1930s and '40s," Baltazar said. "As a kid, I heard Hawaiian saxophonists who had a mellow sound, which was blended in with the steel guitar and 'ukulele. I'd like to bring back that traditional kind of thing. Hopefully, we'll reach a younger crowd by putting in a contemporary beat, but without losing the tradition of jazz."
He's fit as a fiddle, plays golf, watches his diet and exercises. "I don't have the strength I had when I was younger, but I still have energy. I still work in the yard," Baltazar said.
"But I work (play music) less than before, taking on only special gigs, casuals," he said. "That way, it still remains fun. And keeps me young."
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, phone 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.
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| Left to right: Alex Han, 14, already shows remarkable wizardry on the saxophone. Gabe Baltazar, 72, is the local favorite and one of the reasons why jazz has flourished here. Jake Shimabukuro is likely to wow the audience again with his 'ukulele compositions. All three are part of the Hawai'i International Jazz Festival. |
Hawai'i International Jazz Festival
On O'ahu:
- "Hawaiian Jazz Night," 7 p.m. Thursday, 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.-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," 5:30-8:30 p.m. July 21, Outrigger Wailea Resort's Aulani Ballroom. With Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, Jake Shimabukuro, 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.-1 a.m., Outrigger Wailea's Lokelani Ballroom
Tickets:
- $20, $35, $40; $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
- 941-9974, 591-2211, 526-4400 or www.hawaiijazz.com
Free clinics:
- O'ahu: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday and July 19, University of Hawai'i-Manoa Band Room
- Maui: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. July 21, the Outrigger Wailea
The Advertiser is a sponsor of the jazz festival.
