by Barbara Smith

Photos by Earl Edwards
Samara Joy’s opening night performance at the 2024 Monterey Jazz Festival set the mood for a weekend infused with hope, joy, and the magical power of music to unite. The 24-year-old Grammy winner headlined a 3-day musical celebration that featured iconic artists including Stanley Clarke, Joshua Redman, Jason Moran, Gerald Clayton, Kyle Eastwood, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and Mavis Staples, along with up-and-coming student jammers in the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, HBCU and Women in Jazz Combo, and Berklee’s Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.

Joy’s unique capacity to interpret and illuminate her selections was front and center, backed by her stellar ensemble. Her musical imagination soared with the Charles Mingus composition “Reincarnation of a Lovebird,” showcasing her amazing range and fluid silky tones.  With Sun Ra’s “Dreams Come True,” a piece she lyricized with intriguing storytelling, the JazzTimes Best New Artist shared her own pathway to finding peace and inspiration, with so many of her own dreams being realized.

Samara Joy

The legendary Blind Boys of Alabama, joined by blues giant Bobby Rush, headlined on Saturday. Rush at age 90 is one of the oldest active bluesmen, and his vocal and instrumental chops are still soulfully intact. The Blind Boys, who rose from the Alabama Institute for the Blind in the 1930’s, are revered as gospel titans. The group, dressed impeccably in blue suits, vests and bowties, treated the Arena crowd to church on Saturday, laying down rough growls and sweet harmonies, borne of their deep Christian faith. “Take My Hand” and “Amazing Grace” were standouts. Saturday’s other blues sensation, Corey Henry and the Funk Apostles, nearly overheated the stage, preaching a supercharged sermon of roof-raising grooves. “Dancin’ ain’t no sin,” funkmaster Henry roared to the crowd, as the Arena/congregation rose to their feet in reverential joy.

Stanley Clarke’s Saturday night performance marked the bass master’s first time on the Monterey stage as a band leader, and the 6’3” jazz-fusion icon’s extended set mesmerized, with tributes to Miles Davis and John Coltrane, for whom Clarke wrote “Song to John.” His ensemble N·4EVER, a virtuosic collection of new generation artists, displayed uncanny musical communication that held the audience spellbound throughout.

A special presentation of the inaugural Cultural Leadership Award on Sunday by actor Morgan Freeman to his longtime pal, MJF Board member and devoted jazz enthusiast/composer Clint Eastwood, offered a historic moment, made sweeter by Eastwood’s son Kyle’s “Eastwood Symphonic” homage to his father, a brilliant composition featuring the younger Eastwood’s quintet and the Monterey Symphony.

Mavis Staples

Sunday’s much-anticipated appearance by Mavis Staples did not disappoint. Promising to bring joy, happiness, and positive vibrations, the Grammy lifetime achievement awardee delivered, her gravelly voice, both passionate and caressing, bringing it home for the adoring crowd. Backed by two vocalists offering honeyed harmonies and guitarist Rick Holmstrom, who channeled “Pops,” the beloved Staples patriarch, with some cool moves and sweet picking, Mavis offered Staples classics including “Respect Yourself,” as well as the captivating “Friendship,” which was Pops’ last recording and which she dedicated to him, and the folk/gospel gem “Far Celestial Shore.”

“The spirit of jazz is one of innovation,” said MJF’s new artistic director Darin Atwater. The 54-year-old, who is the first African American to hold the position, offers a vision that preserves the Festival legacy but also reaches out to younger newcomers to the jazz scene, many of whom flocked to performances by jazz/hip hop artist Robert Glasper and ground-breaking trumpeter Keyon Harrold. To that end, this year’s Festival featured hip hop and other jazz adjacent genres, which some longtime fans may resist but arguably not enough to discourage them from returning. “We see a lot of changes, with younger artists and patrons,” offered Dana Point resident Ngozi Okato, after Robert Glasper’s performance. “But times change, and the music has to keep on going. We love the people and the vibe. We’ve been coming here for years, and of course we’ll be back next year,” he added. “I was here when Jimi Hendrix burned his guitar,” enthused Anthony Kidd, referring to the famed 1967 Monterey Pop Festival that showcased Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, and Hugh Masekela, and led him to MJF the following year. Born in Watts and now living in Monterey, Kidd, sporting a Negro Leagues leather jacket and brimming with history, saw all the greats, naming Quincy Jones as a favorite artist from past years and was excited about Corey Henry this year.

Other highlights: New Orleans Groove Masters, featuring Jason Marsalis on drums and vibraphone;  wild and spirited percussionist Cristian Pepin & Orquesta Bembé; New York-based vocalist, Somi, drawing on her Rwandan/Ugandan ancestry, paying homage to Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone; and Artist-in-Resident Jason Moran’s and NGJO Director Gerald Clayton’s ebullience in leading the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, a powerful reminder of MJF’s primary mission to promote musical and personal growth through their phenomenal jazz education program.