Michal Sýkora:
Saturday’s jazz feast at Paul Zauner’s farm began at 11 am on the meadow with an extremely successful performance by Walter Smith III in a light rain, which did not deter the large audience. His band was so busy for their next gig that they had to play at INNtöne in the morning. Nevertheless, the all-star quartet of Walter Smith III – tenor sax, Danny Grissett – piano, Joe Sanders – bass and Bill Stewart – drums played superbly. Walter Smith III’s excellent sax was balanced by the bravura pianist Danny Grissett, both expertly driven by Bill Stewart on drums along with Joe Sanders on bass. This excellent concert introduced us to another direction in contemporary modern American jazz.
Michal Kratochvíl:
I enjoy Walter Smith III from the records and live it just confirmed! A great line-up of musicians and interesting music made me want to enjoy the best performance of the day, even if still in a slightly inclement weather. At least it cooled down nicely… Walter caressed me with his wonderful velvety tone and the protégés Danny Grissett, Joe Sanders and Bill Stewart formed a compact combo that was a joy to listen to. The final burner, Quiet Song, provided an absolutely awesome ending and we still got an encore of just the piano and sax duo. It’s a pity we missed the best part of the day this morning…
Michal Sýkora:
The lunch break on the main Open Air stage was again filled with a series of proven hits by the junior jazz band Jumping Jungle & Youth Jam Lab in the adjacent barn. Meanwhile, the rain had stopped, so we were able to enjoy the unprecedented trio of legendary jazzmen Kirk Lightsey – Steve Watts – Don Moye on the meadow. The indefatigable, 87-year-old, still excellent pianist Kirk Lightsey (*1937 in Detroit) with British bassist Steve Watts and 78-year-old drummer Don Moye, the unforgettable percussionist in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, perfectly recalled their golden years with their skilled improvisations of jazz standards. Their enjoyment of the music was exemplary and quite unique at their age, and we were happy to receive it.
Michal Kratochvíl:
Steve Watts, Kirk Lightsey and Don Moye performed jazz of the older school, which especially after Walter didn’t quite bring me to my knees, although I have to say that it also turned out to be a very enjoyable performance. Kirk Lightsey was all smiles and having a royal time.
Michal Sýkora:
After another break with the young men in the barn, the Europeans came to the main stage. The Dutch Jasper van’t Hof Trio, consisting of Jasper van’t Hof (*1947) – piano, Stefan Lievestro – bass and Jamie Peet – drums with guest saxophonist Christof Lauer, presented us with Jasper’s very impressive music from their CD Skin Under. It was a significant change from the American jazz of previous US bands, a completely new almost experimental sound experience thanks to the original Jasper and the frenetic sax of Christof Lauer. What a shame that the time for their mature to avant-garde jazz was limited to 60 minutes.
Michal Kratochvíl:
I had certain expectations from the following trio after listening to various albums. The trio of Jasper van’t Hof presented a quite fluffy musical expression, furthermore enriched by the guest Christof Lauer. However, even this performance was not particularly exciting for me and my eyes even started to slip in the sultry atmosphere after the morning rain.
Michal Sýkora:
Belmondo Brothers, another European line-up from France, took the music of the Grateful Dead as their inspiration for their concert at INNtöne. The sextet, consisting of Lionel Belmondo – sax, flute, Stephane Belmondo – trumpet, Jozef Dumoulin – Fender Rhodes, Laurent Fickelson – piano, Thomas Bramerie – bass and Dré Pallemaerts – drums, in their project Deadjazz, did not seek to pay homage or resurrect, but to revive the music of the Grateful Dead, the legendary band of the psychedelic years of their youth. This collective project recalled a pivotal moment in musical history when jazz was electrified by the rhythms of rock and rock was freed from the shackles of song through improvisation. The Belmodo brothers kicked it into high gear, with both keyboards complementing the brothers‘ duets above average. A very interesting diversification of Saturday’s festival program.
Michal Kratochvíl:
Already during the Belmondo Brothers soundtrack it finally seemed to be some kind of a dare. The funky groove and earthier bottom end injected some lively energy into the festival meadow. And how could they not when they played Dead jazz, their tribute to the Grateful Dead! A streamlined Rhodes wailed like a guitar in the second song, the rock rhythm pushed forward, and at times the atmosphere and of course especially the sound even evoked the early 70’s and for me the best years of Miles Davis. But when it slowed down a bit, it suddenly stopped being so interesting. Fortunately it didn’t end there and the brothers still mined an encore that again rolled on a more rockier wave. A pleasant festival surprise.
Michal Sýkora:
A significant change on the Open Air stage was the performance of the five-member a cappella ensemble Apollo5 from Great Britain, whose name is derived from the name of the ancient Greek god of music. Two elegant singers, Penelope Appleyard – soprano and Clare Stewart – mezzo-soprano, and three dashing men in gala dress, Oscar Golden-Lee – tenor, Oli Martin-Smith – tenor and Augustus Perkins Ray – bass, took us through the music of the last five centuries. Starting with the opening, beautifully interpreted 16th century madrigal Veni Domine (Francisco Guerrero), Apollo5 soothed us with Renaissance and classical choral works before moving on to traditional Scottish songs, Elton John pop and jazz. A further broadening of musical horizons.
Michal Kratochvíl:
Apollo5 may have been a bizarre choice, but I thought why not. This a cappella could have been a nice change from the day’s stream of jazz, but in the end, for me, it was just a filler program that I would have happily forgiven. However, I guess I didn’t tune in properly and just stared as this performance garnered a standing ovation.
Michal Sýkora:
Scandinavian jazz was represented at INNtöne by the Liv Andrea Hauge Trio. The young talented Norwegian pianist and composer Liv Andrea Hauge was accompanied by bassist Kertu Aer and Swedish drummer August Glännestrand. The Nordic trio captivated us with original music from their recently released excellent album Ville Blomster, which they developed improvisationally during the concert. Liv focuses on groove, simple and singable motifs in her compositions, Nordic melodics and harmonies are commonplace. It was a joy to behold the musical passion of the beautiful pianist and her dedicated bandmates, as well as to hear their almost moving concert.
Michal Kratochvíl:
The following Norwegian piano trio, Liv Andrea Hauge, tried to transport us to the north and wanted to paint landscapes that they occasionally broke up. At first I tuned in, but as time went on, some of my satisfaction with the performance waned. There was a nice interlude when Liv sang a piano solo and showed other possible horizons for the development of her musical career.
Michal Sýkora:
The last Saturday concert on the main stage took us to the hills of northern Mississippi, where hill country blues originated, which was interpreted uncompromisingly and convincingly by American guitarist Cedric Burnside at INNtöne. His raw vocals and powerful blues riffs on acoustic guitar on tracks from his new album Hill Country Love completely changed the atmosphere of the evening. Midway through his set, he was joined by bassist Kody Harrell and drummer Joseph Johnson, and together they unleashed an electric, rather monotonous high-intensity blues that blew away the dancing crowd, but (if the musicians will forgive me) quite disturbed the rest of the tired spectators in their campers in the adjacent meadows.
Michal Kratochvíl:
Already from my attempt to listen to Cedric Burnside‚s albums I had a hunch that this would not be my cup of tea and this was confirmed. The opening woody blues didn’t really appeal to me and so I went to the tent where the production was slowly being heard just as well. Before falling into a reverie, I just confirmed that I hadn’t missed anything crucial on the scene.