td james moody jazz festival - grp jazz revisited at njpac's prudential hall - NJ, mar 17

• photography by Clara Pereira / text by Filipe Freitas

On Thursday, November 17, an enthusiastic crowd filled the NJPAC’s stunning Prudential Hall to welcome an assortment of artists associated with the performer-centric label GRP Records, founded by the late drummer and sound engineer Larry Rosen (illustrious honoree of this show), and the pianist and producer Dave Grusin, who at the age of 82, performed with his usual brio.
This event was part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, which occurred for the fifth consecutive year.

The American jazz-fusion quartet The Yellowjackets, vindicating 40 years of existence, was summoned to open the show. Besides the pianist/keyboardist Russell Ferrante, a founding member, the band includes Bob Mintzer on saxophone and EWI, Will Kennedy on drums, and the most recent acquisition, the young Australian bass player Dane Alderson.
They dug six miscellaneous tunes, including "Spirit of the West", “Tenacity”, and the brand new “Inevitable Outcome” from their latest recording Coherence. Without surprise, the music slid into a familiar crossover jazz spiced with thick chunks of spirited funk and smooth pop rock. 
The highlight of this performance was the slapping bass solo from Alderson near the end, which drew an immediate reaction from the audience.

After the intermission, the quartet co-led by the iconic Dave Grusin and the Grammy award-winning guitarist Lee Ritenour stepped on stage. Rounding out the group were the bassist Melvin Davis and the drummer Sonny Emory.
This formation was intermittently extended with the guests David Sanborn, an altoist and multi-Grammy recipient, and Phil Perry, a vocalist known for having a remarkable falsetto. 
The diversified repertoire included a couple of tunes from Wes Bound - Ritenour’s 1993 homage to the colossal jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, a rendition of Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen Moments”, a pair of Sanborn’s numbers that move in a more commercial pop-jazz-R&B, Grusin’s melodious “Punta Del Sol” and a solo interpretation of Jobim’s “Retrato em Branco e Preto”, and Phil Perry singing in a weird Portuguese the fantastic song “Arlequim Desconhecido” by the Brazilian Ivan Lins.

Visibly pleased with what they were listening to, the audience applauded and shouted words of encouragement to the musicians, who seemed equally delighted for making them content.