Jazz All-Stars Review

by Mariel Capanna, current piano student

When bandleader and bass saxophonist Joe Sudler stepped forward to introduce Settlement Music School’s Jazz All-Stars and its collection of accomplished musicians at the Independence Seaport Museum this past Sunday, he thanked Settlement Music School for the unusual opportunity to “bring these old friends and Philadelphians together.” One of many highlights in the school’s Distinguished Alumni Recital Series, the concert showcased nearly two-dozen Settlement graduates and former teachers who now play pivotal roles in local and national jazz communities.

After a brief bout of nostalgia for the city’s late jazz venues once frequented by both the Count Basie and Buddy Rich orchestras, Sudler counted off the first number— “You Got it” by Frank Foster—and with a lively, brassy bang started off the evening’s bittersweet retrospective of the big band jazz which once thrived in Philadelphia. Performed with careful, focused professionalism, the full-band numbers had a tight, clean, full sound. The first set was decorated by solos coolly delivered by jazz great Tony DeSantis on trumpet and Settlement 100 Honoree Sumi Tonooka on piano.

The first of the evening’s several “very fine combos” was comprised of jazz and classical musician Kevin MacConnell on bass; Tony DeSantis on trumpet; International performer Bob Howell on tenor sax; jazz composer and educator Dave Posmontier on piano; and Pennsylvania Council on The Arts fellow Craig McIver on drums, whose set featured two popular selections evoking happy murmurs of recognition from hundreds of audience-members. Soloists broke free with dizzying lines expertly layered and intertwined, eventually smoothed together to ease back into the melody with the entrance of the full combo. The flirty set was at once crowd-pleasing and challenging, playfully tangling and untangling familiar standards.

To the delight of the audience, the second combo started off with a gentle melody played in unison by Duane Eubanks on trumpet and John Simon on both flute and alto sax, who eased in and out of smooth and thoughtful complementary solo lines accompanied by pianist Tonooka, bassist MacConnell, and drummer Dave Gibson. Before delving into their second selection—the humorously manic “Craziology” —Simon voiced his gladness to be performing in Philadelphia since he “hasn’t played here in a while, and not by choice.”

Sudler brought back the big band to end the first half of the recital with Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen Moments,” introducing two special guest soloists: Down Beat Poll winner jazz violinist John E. Blake Jr. and Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Wallace Roney (looking the part of a Grammy Award-winner in a glittering gold jacket and enormous shades). The band served as an aural entourage rolling out the red carpet with haunting bluesy phrases fading in and out to emphasize and echo the stunning solos of Blake and Roney.

During the second half of the concert, between a fun-filled full-band rendition of Billy Strayhorn’s “Intimacy of the Blues” and a sweet, romantic performance of “Aries” featuring a dreamy alto sax solo by John Simon, Sudler took a break to thank Settlement Music School once again and to mourn the loss of jazz education in the modern school system, noting that “a lot of high schools don’t even have bands.”

The final combo starred the consistently dazzling solo and collaborative sounds of pianist Dave Posmontier, bassist Kevin MacConnell, drummer Dave Gibson, trumpeter Wallace Roney, violinist John Blake, and saxophonist Jaleel Shaw. The first selection was a highlight of this three-piece set, as straight-up rhythms expertly eased in and out of dark Afro-Cuban grooves in the midst of each solo.

The recital came to a close with one last number from the big band, joined by former member of The Roots, bassist Leonard Hubbard. Though the concert’s program ranged in mood from dreamy and romantic to upbeat and playful, the concert was performed with notably consistent serenity. This can be attributed in part to the professionalism of each All-Star Settlement Music School Alumnus on stage, but it can perhaps also be summed up by the title of the concert’s final piece, echoing the voiced sentiments of bandleader Joe Sudler: “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be.”