The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Litchfield Jazz Festival celebrated with good weather, good music
Live music, food and a festive atmosphere greets concertgoers at Goshen Fairgrounds
GOSHEN » Early showers and darkening skies failed to dampen the enthusiasm, and the crowd, on the opening day of the Litchfield Jazz Festival Aug. 5 at the Goshen Fairgrounds.
The 22nd annual festival was special for two reasons: it was the first event without the very active presence of its co-founder, Arthur Muir, who died in January, and the first appearance of 22-yearold vocalist/composer/arranger sensation Michael Mayo and his Quintet.
Mayo brought to mind a long-ago concert at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, when rock star Jimi Hendrix stopped his performance for five minutes so he could tune his guitar to his satisfaction.
Mayo tuned his instrument – his voice – by singing a succession of la-la-las to the audience. His band included pianist Miro Sprague, Josh Johnson on alto sax, Alex Bonham on bass, and drummer Robin Baytas, a Litchfield Jazz Camp alum. Mayo’s perfectionism was quickly discovered by Vita Muir – founder, director and the heart and soul of the Litchfield Jazz Festival.
It was also fitting that one of the star-power groups featured a former student of the Litchfield Jazz Camp, which has been educating 350 students each summer since 1997. Many campers move on to college and professional careers and some remain as teachers and staff.
In a statement, the board president for the Litchfield Performing Arts, Inc. noted the significance of the jazz camp for budding young musicians: “In a troubled world . . . the Litchfield Jazz Camp is a small, brilliant light of civility and calm. First one musician, then another, and then another, will find and hold the groove, experiencing the mutual joy of creating music on the run, playing the tune but not the notes, and then playing the notes but not the tune.”
Young musicians had the opportunity to play on the student stage throughout the festival, alternating with the professional groups. An RS Berkeley trumpet and flute donated by the company were raffled off as a fundraiser for the jazz camp.
Adding to the festive atmosphere, food booths offered a gamut of eats and treats, including Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream, wine-by-theglass and a smoky BBQ truck from Memphis that wafted irresistible scents above the midway.
Approximately 20 crafters in the Exhibitors’ Village were joined by local artist Danielle Mailer’s unique metal sculptures and paintings featured in the student tent.
Other performers over the two-day festival included saxophonist Ada Rovatti, who has toured Europe and Africa; Gabriel Alegria’s inventive synthesis of Afro-Peruvian rhythms and jazz that won the “Best Latin Jazz Album” award from New York City Jazz Record; Ken Peplowski’s Benny Goodman tribute on day one; and Joe Alterman, who has headlined at venues around the US and at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Milan, Italy and the John Pizzarelli Quartet playing Sinatra and Jobim on day two.
For more details about the Litchfield Performing Arts, a charitable organization dedicated to changing lives through music, and the Litchfield Jazz Camp, visit litchfieldjazzfest.com.