Minnie the Moocher’s Revenge (JVC 2001)

Abstract Say this of JVC: the plot changes annually. It may look the same on paper, may list toward the same artists, suffer the same limitations, and capitulate to the same distractions, but George Wein’s flagship festival manages to take different turns each summer. If I am especially conscious of past vagaries, triumphs, subplots, and themes, contrived or otherwise, it is because midway through this edition, I realized that I had been reporting on the behemoth variously known as Newport–New York, Kool, and JVC for 30 years, and perused a few of my old reviews. Two seem most relevant: In 1991, the cast focused on under-40s and over-60s, leaving the boomers out in the cold, not for the last time; in 2000, every event paid its respects to the past. The current edition reversed both trends. Identifying bona fide boomer jazz heroes requires some precision. I refer to those who came into their own when we first started to listen, as opposed to those who, though slightly older or even younger, were already established parts of our inheritance. Dewey Redman, who turned 70 in May but had no national reputation until 1967, makes the cut; Phil Woods, who turns 70 in November but was a star long before 1960, does not. Boomer heroes (notably Redman, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, and did I mention Wayne Shorter?) accounted for most of the expectations and red orchestrations for strings by Johnny Mandel (stately) and Claus Ogerman (predictable), and Krall was often compelling, not least in her piano solos. Gladys Knight arrived half an hour late, but once she got going all was forgiven; except for an unnecessary guest saxophonist, her 90minute set—which included a vaudeville routine with her sole remaining Pip—was show business heaven. Yes, she could probably sing jazz, but her old material is so good she doesn’t need to.