A Sonny day indeed for Winnipeg jazz fans

Enlarge Image

Sonny Rollins is performing near the top of his game despite closing in on birthday No. 80. ( ANTHONY FERNANDO / WINNIPEG JAZZ FESTIVAL )

Well, Sonny didn't let us down.

(Not that I thought he would, but there were skeptics before his June 23 performance.)

The legendary tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins may be walking more stiffly as he approaches his 80th birthday, but his playing is still spry and he was easily the highlight of the TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival that wrapped up yesterday.

Everyone loses a bit of their edge as they grow older, but among the elder statesmen of jazz still performing, Rollins seems to be the one who still is playing near the top of his game.

He was backed by a crack band, as tight as you can get, which included guitarist Russell Malone, who wrote on Rollins' website about performing in our fair city:

"The concert in Winnipeg was a lot of fun. We were scheduled to play two 45-minute sets. The first set ended up being 80 minutes long, although it sure didn't feel like it. Sonny was on fire, the band sounded great, and Sonny never lost the audience. He's a master of pacing a set, and in addition to being a serious musician, he is also a charismatic performer.

"But what was really amazing yesterday was the sound check. We ran through some songs, just to get the sound together. And then, we spent about 40 minutes or so just jamming on tunes. We played A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, Where Are You, Dearly Beloved, and I had the honour of playing a duet with Sonny on P.S. I Love You. He's an encyclopedia of songs and melodies. This man has not lost his passion, his drive, or his enthusiasm. It is an honour to be making music with him."

-- -- --

One of the more satisfying shows was the piano duo of Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes for its sheer musicality and for the sympathetic (symbiotic, perhaps) relationship between the New York-based couple.

There is more to their uncanny communication when they play than just the fact they are married.

They entertained a smaller audience (139) at West End Cultural Centre, but it was an attentive, appreciative and savvy audience. Too often at performances, the applause starts before the last solo ends, but at the Charlap/Rosnes concert the audience let the last note fade away before putting hands together.

-- -- --

It was a big year for married couples performing together. Joining Charlap and Rosnes were singer Martha Wainwright and her bass-playing husband Brad Albetta as well as singer Ranee Lee and her guitar playing husband Richard Ring.

-- -- --

I was pleasantly surprised by Martha Wainwright's homage to the great French singer Edith Piaf. She captured the essence of Piaf without aping her, and chose lesser-known songs instead of Piaf trademarks like La vie en rose. However, the highlight of the show was Wainwright's heartfelt rendition of Tell My Sister, a tribute to her mother, Kate McGarrigle, who died in January.

-- -- --

Montreal singer Ranee Lee's Canada Day concert was recorded by CBC Radio 2 for broadcast on the Canada Live program July 15, 7 p.m. on 98.3FM.

-- -- --

Singer Helen White is performing her makeup date Tuesday night, 8:30 p.m. at the Centre culturel franco-manitobain. Her June 26 jazz festival show was cancelled because of a storm, but she's ready to hit the stage with Jonathan Alexiuk on piano, Ariel Posen on guitar, Jason Munroe on bass and Glenn Lambert on drums.

chris.smith@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 5, 2010 D3