From the Director

Make no mistake. Detroit loves jazz, and jazz loves Detroit! With a block-buster lineup, incredible weather, and 750,000 ecstatic fans, the 2007 Jazz Fest was on all counts, one of the most memorable in its history.

In putting together this year’s lineup, I purposefully set out to re-engage the informed jazz audience that defines Detroit. And even though the lineup included soul, blues and gospel, jazz was very much front and center. The festival opened with a pure jazz night – the first in years – and the audience response was deafening.

I’m happy to say that 260 national artists, 160 local artists and 260 student musicians performed. There was something there for every taste, including avant-garde, which was long missing in a market as sophisticated as Detroit.

The thematic underpinning of the Rumble in the Great Lakes not only provided unique marketing opportunities, it celebrated the amazing legacies of Chicago and Detroit, with artists that covered the musical gamut from Herbie Hancock, Kurt Elling, Otis Clay and Mavis Staples to Regina Carter, Curtis Fuller, Yusef Lateef, Larry McCray and Bettye LaVette.

The roster also embraced the big band tradition with three outstanding big bands. And we honored Detroit legends such as Curtis Fuller, Yusef Lateef, Marcus Belgrave and Ron Carter. We heated things up with Latin performances by Poncho Sanchez, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Conrad Herwig, and took a stroll down memory lane with the Miracles, who were celebrating their 50th anniversary.

I was excited about having violinist and native Detroiter Regina Carter as our first artist-in-residence. She was with us throughout the weekend, opening the festival with her quintet, performing a duo with Kenny Barron later in the weekend, and closing the festivities with the ever-swingin’ Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. She taught, performed with students, and participated in a great Jazz Talk Tent session on the American Song.

Most importantly, DJF renewed its commitment to jazz education, to ensure that young players continue to come through the ranks and that young audiences will be there to appreciate them. Twenty-two scholastic ensembles performed, took part in workshops conducted by the Juilliard Jazz Quintet, and jammed at the Top of the Pontch. The Kid Bop area for wee-boppers and their parents was swingin’ everyday. And for our jazz “heads” who somehow can’t ever get enough information, the expanded Jazz Talk Tent hosted numerous panels, artist interviews and blowin’ sessions. Last, but not least, our audiences were treated to beautiful vintage concert footage by America’s jazz legends through the auspices of Reelin’ in the Years’ Jazz Icons Series on the large video screens.

I was also happy to dedicate an entire stage to emerging artists. The Here & Now Stage featured exciting newcomers, both national and local, such as Sachal Vasandani, Jesse Palter, Tia Fuller, Dominick Farinacci and 15 year-old saxophonist and vocalist Grace Kelly. And while we invited the new, we also honored two Detroit jazz legends with the Jazz Guardian Award: musician Yusef Lateef and jazz advocate Bill Foster.

Some exciting plans are already in the works for 2008. So, stay tuned ….the best is yet to come!

Terri Pontremoli
Executive/Artistic Director

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