http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005 by the authors Mon, 2 Aug 2004 01:43:19 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/01/120147.php#comment-77594 Oops, sorry, different show. Wow, they were at Disney, too? 77594@blogcritics.org Mon, 2 Aug 2004 01:43:19 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/01/120147.php#comment-77593 I was there, as usual. I look forward to the Central Avenue festival all year, and this was the most enjoyable I can remember. The vibe was relaxed and friendly, and all the music I heard was just amazing. Dwight, Ernie, singer Barbara Morrison, saxophonist Justo Almario, and big band leader/composer Gerald Wilson are all truly great artists (and entertainers), who really should be better known than they are. The level was so consistently high that it's hard to pick out favorites, but I guess I especially enjoyed especially enjoyed Dwight's ecstatic jazz/gospel thing, along with his tenor player Joshua Spiegelman's Pharoah-styled multiphonics, and Barbara, who can shout the blues like Etta James or swing and improvise like Carmen McRae (and I know that sounds like hyperbole, but it really isn't). New to me was a group of talented young musicians called Expressions, who played an intriguing third stream/avant garde piece dedicated to Teddy Edwards, featuring an astounding young alto player who sounded like equal parts Phil Woods, Cannonball Adderly and Eric Dolphy (again, no hype!), One other Central Avenue tradition should be mentioned, for it's really becoming an integral part of the show: the Lady with the Red Dress On (as Barbara Morrison sang, "I bet she can do the electric slide all night long"). 77593@blogcritics.org Mon, 2 Aug 2004 01:41:57 EDT