Williamstown Jazz Festival 2001
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 13, 2001)- It's got a new name, but the week of lectures, dances, competitions and performances culminating with next weekend's two heavy-hitters - violinist Regina Carter and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra - is still intended to attract visitors to Williamstown at the height of mud season by offering a cornucopia of jazz-related events on and off the Williams College campus.

Williamstown Jazz Festival 2001, formerly known as JazzTown, will run from next Tuesday, April 17 through Sunday, April 22, with a mix of music, dance, lessons, films and discussion programs.

In its third year, there are a few changes in the festival, the most obvious being its name. "Some of the participants last year offered some feedback on the title and felt that it was a bit pretentious," said Andrew Jaffe, festival artistic director and Lyell B. Clay artist-in-residence in jazz at Williams College.

Also, there are just two concerts this year instead of last year's three, one of which took place at Mass MoCA in North Adams, seemingly steering the festival towards a more North County-wide orientation. Jaffe says the retrenchment in terms of location and number of shows is part of the growing and learning process. "Three concerts were too much of a stretch last year, so we decided to modify," said Jaffe. "I guess that it's best not to overextend the festival. We're still trying to find the proper balance of number of events and content."

Jaffe added that the lack of programming at Mass MoCA this year is a temporary aberration, and said he is "optimistic" that the North Adams cultural institution will be participating again next year. "We're very excited about the performers we have lined up for this year's festival," said Jaffe. "Regina Carter is an electrifying performer, and the Vanguard Orchestra is the tightest and hardest swinging big band in New York today."

Jaffe described violinist Carter, who performs on Friday at 8:30 in Chapin Hall, as "one of the very popular up-and-coming young improvisers, who proves that being male and playing a wind instrument are not requirements for being a successful jazz musician." Carter's band features a Williams alumnus, Chris Lightcap (Williams '92), on bass.

Jaffe called the 16-piece Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, which performs Saturday at 8:30 at Chapin Hall, "a great big band with a long tradition and history dating back to the days when Thad Jones and Mel Lewis formed the band."

The festival's program kicks off on Tuesday at 8 at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute with a screening and discussion titled "Crazy Feet," a compilation of comedic, acrobatic, novelty and eccentric dance by jazz historian Ernest Smith. Among the film clips to be shown are "Cakewalk," a 1903 silent movie featuring ragtime dance, "Stringbean," a 1937 comedy featuring eccentric dance, "Patterson and Jackson," featuring song, comedy and dance from 1948, and "Minns and James," exhibiting an array of dance steps from Snake Hips to Charleston, from 1964. For more information call 413-458-9545.

Mickie Davidson will lead the always-popular Lindy Dance Class on Wednesday, April 18, and Thursday, April 19, from 6 to 7:15 p.m., in the Lasell Dance Studio on Spring Street. Focusing on the signature dance from the 1930s through the 1950s, internationally acclaimed dancer Davidson will conduct lecture demonstrations on the history of the music and dance of the legendary Savoy Ballroom, where the Lindy Hop was created. Call 413-597-2410 for more information.

As part of the community-wide nature of the event, Images Cinema and the Williamstown Film Festival are getting into the act this year. Following the Lindy dance class on April 19, the jazz film "For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story," will be shown at Images on Spring Street at 8:30 p.m. The movie, which traces the career of the famed Cuban jazz trumpeter Sandoval, stars Andy Garcia and has aired on Home Box Office, but has not appeared on any movie screen in the United States. The event will be free of charge; however, reservations are requested. Call Images at 413-458-1039.

On April 20, a lecture titled "Praise Him on the Stringed Instruments: The Sacred Steel Guitar Musical Tradition of the House of God Churches" by independent folklorist Robert Stone will begin at 4 p.m. in Brooks Rogers Recital Hall. Stone has been documenting folklife in Florida since 1987. Following the lecture, a performance by Big Ben and the Family Sacred Steel Guitar Band will take place at 6:30 at St. John's Church on Park Street. As always, the juried Intercollegiate Jazz Band competition will be a centerpiece of the festival, with performances by numerous college big bands on Friday, April 20 from noon to 4 and continuing on Saturday, April 21, from 10 to 6 in Chapin Hall. Renowned jazz musicians Greg Hopkins and Freddie Bryant will adjudicate the ensembles from Amherst, Smith, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Hamilton, Northeastern, Westfield State, Skidmore, College of Saint Rose, Schenectady Community College, Holyoke Community College and Williams. Admission to the Intercollegiate Jazz Band portion of the festival, created initially as an exchange concert with Amherst College, is free.

As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, the Williams College Museum of Art will dedicate its annual symposium to exploring one of the gems in the museum's collection, Edward Hopper's "Morning in a City." A program entitled "Hoppermania" will take place on Saturday, April 21, from 2 to 5 in the galleries. The Tri-Colored Trio, featuring Mark Sutton (Williams '93) on trumpet and flugelhorn and Adam Shaw (Williams '94) on keyboards, will perform an original score based on their interpretation of Hopper's work at 3 p.m. Gail Levin of the City University of New York will give a lecture at 3:30 titled "Hopper and the Jazz Age." There will be a reception from 5 to 6:30, with music provided by the Tri-Colored Trio. For further information, call 413-597-2429.

Once again, a few of Williamstown restaurants will morph into jazz clubs on Saturday night, with ensembles featuring Williams alumni musicians entertaining diners at the Main Street Café and the Taconic Restaurant before the big concert at Chapin Hall and at Mezze Bistro and Bar afterwards. Reservations are recommended by contacting the restaurants directly.

The Williamstown Jazz Festival concludes on Sunday, April 22, with a jazz brunch at The Orchards on Adams Road from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., featuring the Dixieland sounds of the Williams Reunion Jazz Band. Reservations are $35 per person; call 413-458-9611.

In its third year, the Williamstown Jazz Festival is presented by the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce and Williams College Departments of Music and Dance. It is funded in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. It is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Co., First Massachusetts Bank, Hoosac Bank, North Adams Transcript/Berkshire Eagle Newspapers, South Adams Savings Bank, Clark Art Institute, Williamstown Savings Bank, Berkshire Bank, Litchfield Financial and Northern Berkshire Health Systems. For ticket and hotel information, call the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce at 800-214-3799 or 413-458-9077 or e-mail commerce@williamstown.net. For Williams College ticket information, call Ernest Clark, concert manager, at 413-597-2736 or e-mail eclark@williams.edu.

[This article originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on April 13, 2001. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 2001. All rights reserved.]