Springtime Jazz in Tbilisi

Review

The Tbilisi Jazz festival, 21st of its name, king of all jazz festivals in the whole Caucasus region (granted it’s not saying much, but still), was held on April 28. It used to be in autumn, but this year, the organizers moved it forward to coincide with the International Day of Jazz on April 30. And in retrospect, if you ask me, it was a good decision – it sure felt like we were celebrating the brilliance of Jazz together with the whole world, and that’s a magnificent feeling to experience. The festival opened in the Tbilisi Open Hall. First on the program was the Bad Plus band, but before they could grace us with their presence, the audience was entertained by the Georgian Sandro Bibich Trio. Both they and the Bad Plus played solid, if slightly unspectacular, jazz and while I wouldn’t complain, it still felt that bigger and better things were yet to come – with hindsight being a wonderful thing, of course. Oh and a nice bit of retro reminiscence here - I met several Georgian actors the second day, who had been invited to attend by the organizers, and asked them what they thought about first day acts. First thing they said (unsurprisingly) was that Jazz in their days was way better and of higher quality and that some of the crazier Jazz aficionados in the 70s even ignored the Iron Curtain to get a chance to listen to their favorite performers worldwide. As for the Bad Plus, their conclusion was that it was as good as any other, and I wholeheartedly agree.

The second day was hosted by Club Republica. Naturally 7 was the standout performer, although not entirely for the all the right reasons. You don’t really see jazz and a-cappella blended together that often, let alone in such an unorthodox manner: they call it “vocal play” and well, it’s essentially elaborate dub step meets choir meets jazz with a dish of rapping. Certainly interesting, certainly takes a lot to master and most certainly not my cup of tea. Call me Mrs. Old-fashioned, but I still think vocal is well, for singing, and instruments are there to be played on and that is the right order of things. But that’s just me and most of the public absolutely loved it, jumping around and whistling and cheering and dancing. If you’re a fan of unconventional jazz, this band is definitely one to check out. Oh and while I’m speaking about the audience, I think it’s worth mentioning that the usual crème de la crème, the aloof elite that has no understanding of jazz whatsoever and attends only to underline their own social status, were also well-represented. Some of them even seemed perturbed by the loud music and with the audience’s active engagement – when supra meets jazz, one of them has to suffer. The evening was rounded out by the man in charge of the DJ set, Derrick Mackenzie of Jamiroquai fame. He was very, very good and easy to relate to, not dissimilar to Jamiroquai’s sound.

Naturally 7

The best thing happened on 30th, International day of Jazz and my, was that jazz to remember. Miles Electric Band, together with Ravi Coltrane. This was what jazz is about: intricate, melodic and downright mesmeric. Coltrane was superb, but one man stole the stage, the show, and my breath – whoever played those little bongos was a magician. Jazz solo on a drumming instrument. Let that sentence sink in a while. This was the performance that the 21st Jazz festival will forever be associated with in my mind, such was the power of sound and the mastery of the performer. Not to slight the other performers, but these few minutes were head and shoulders above everything else we were treated to during these three days. And I can only ponder what a man who can conjure such sounds, a man who is able to entice so, must feel himself when he’s playing. Leonard Feather, the legendary pianist and jazz journalist once said that “jazz ecstasy” is the closest thing to a trance you can get without using substances and this is probably what he had in mind.

Miles Electric Band with Ravi Coltrane / imedinews

To all things, an end, eventually and the 21st Tbilisi Jazz Festival also bade us farewell, its helping with a much-needed dose of jazz in our daily diet much appreciated. Till the next year then, or see you in Batumi, perhaps?

By Inga Mumladze