Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
June 3-5, 2005

Each June the Washington, DC metro area starts buzzing. This year it was not due to cicadas. This June buzz was about the lineup for the 13th Annual Capital Jazz Festival. This festival is a major draw for thousands of devoted jazz fans from states up and down the East coast and beyond. It is a time for renewing old friendships and creating new ones. This year we were treated to not only the fantastic music, but fabulous weather for a change. After braving past years of floods, mud, cicadas, hurricane force winds and blazing heat, this was perfect… sunny and warm.

The Festival officially opened on Friday evening with performances by Chaka Kahn and George Benson, who provided a wonderful night of music for the smaller crowd. George Benson has been a regular at the Capital Jazz Festival over the years.

Saturday's events officially opened with The Sax Pack, featuring Jeff Kashiwa, Marion Meadows and Kim Waters. They kicked things off with a bang! Watching these three talented sax men with distinctly different styles was exciting. And they really got the crowd pumped when they each came out into the audience.

Continuing with the sax sound, Mindi Abair was up next. Over the last few years, Mindi has really come into her own with style and craftsmanship. Her talent on the sax is shining and her vocals add something special to every show. The crowd was definitely pleased with her performance, and totally enthralled with her bass player, the ever-talented Andre' Berry. It was a treat to have him on stage with Mindi. The only problem with Mindi's set was that it eventually had to end!

Due to prior business obligations, we were unable to be there for Lee Ritenour's set. We regret having to miss it because having seen him perform before we know he is a very talented player. His “friends” are also extremely talented in their own rights and included Patrice Rushen (keyboards), Ernie Watts (sax), Brian Bromberg (bass), and Alex Acuna (drums).

Joe Sample brought his trio with him (piano, acoustic bass, and drums) and they played several of his most popular songs, including “Spellbound” and “One on One.” Joe explained that one of his songs, “X Marks the Spot,” is a nod to voodoo priestess Marie Laveaux, and the pilgrimage that people pay to visit her grave in New Orleans.

Brian Culbertson was the Saturday night closing act. Brian has just been on fire the last few years with the enormous success of his CD, Come On Up, and touring constantly. This tour has a couple of changes…but all good. Saxman Eric Darius is now part of the horn section, alongside Brian and his dad, Jim Culbertson. Eric adds his own funky style to the band and seems to have meshed well. Brian, as always, electrified the crowd with his keyboards. He played a lot of the favorites, but also introduced some of the new tracks from his upcoming CD, It's On Tonight. It was great to get a preview of what the next project from Brian will be like, and most folks seemed pretty excited about the new music.

While we've seen most of these musicians before, Ledisi was new for us. She turned out to be one of the pleasant surprises of the day. She is a strong voiced singer and entertained the crowds not only with her music, but with her charm and wit as well. She admitted to not being a jazz singer, but the crowd still loved her old school R&B.

Boney James played material from his current CD, as well as favorites from his back catalog. Once again, Boney's guitar player Norris Jones wowed the crowd with his slick guitar playing style, his vocals, and his moves. Boney continues to be one funky saxman out there with his soulful struts across the stage. Even when he is not playing, he's constantly in motion on the sidelines!

Sunday was another hot day, and with the schedule of musicians to play, it was about to get hotter. The festival opened with the DC based Phaze II, winner of the 2005 Capital Jazzfest Competition. Capital holds a competition, and the winning band gets to open the festival on Sunday. The competition takes place on Saturday on the second stage.

Following a well-received Phaze II was guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., who took us back to old school house parties with his blend of smooth jazz and R&B music. He had the crowd laughing when he reminisced about basement parties and blacklights.

This was Spyro Gyra's first Capital appearance in quite awhile, and they did not disappoint their fans. They played selections from their latest release, The Deep End, as well as their back catalog. What would a Spyro Gyra show be without the classic “Morning Dance?” The crowd really showed their appreciation for this vintage Spyro Gyra tune.

As most people know by now, Lalah Hathaway is the offspring of the late R&B singing great Donny Hathaway. Although he passed the family talent onto his daughter, Lalah has made her own mark in the music world. Her rich voice and earthy performance was a nice touch to the festival.

This was our first time seeing Marcus Miller and his band perform live. His band included Patches Stewart on trumpet and Poogie Bell on drums. Marcus is a master bass player, song writer, and arranger. He played tracks from his latest release, Silver Rain, as well as ending his set with an encore performance of the vintage tune, “Frankenstein.” (Because of time restraints, most performers at Capital are not allowed an encore, however, the crowd would not let him leave until he gave us one.) We loved when Lalah Hathaway joined Marcus and the band onstage to perform together. This was one of the “surprises” of the show and something that we wish we'd see more of in festival situations where you have so much talent assembled in one place. However, most festivals are so regulated that we doubt this will catch on, even though it would be a great experience for the musicians as well as the audience. We certainly appreciate Marcus Miller and Lalah Hathaway for deviating from the schedule and stretching out a bit.

Truly the highlight of the entire weekend was the set by Jazz Attack featuring Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Peter White and Jonathan Butler. This group of incredibly talented musicians had the crowd on their feet and screaming for more. It was one fantastic, high energy tune after another. There were so many terrific songs played, but some of the highlights were Peter White's “Bueno Funk” and Richard Elliot's “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Nobody plays that better than Richard. Jonathan Butler graced us with his smooth vocals and Rick Braun…what can we say? Rick is a top notch performer. He started off the set by playing “Cadillac Slim” while in the crowd. As said before, if you catch just one concert this summer, make it a Jazz Attack show!

The closing act for the festival was none other than smooth jazz icon, Kenny G. We sat there thinking how could he possibly follow the Jazz Attack show and keep up the energy. Well, he did. He played to a full house and pleased everyone there with some of his terrific favorites like “G-Bop” and “Songbird.” He also played some of his newer hits from his latest CD, At Last..the Duets Album. Kenny G's performance and humor left everyone feeling very fulfilled. It was quite an ending to an amazing weekend.

So, there you have it. Another Capital Jazz Festival is over but not forgotten. Each year this festival gives us unbelievable music and great memories. This year was no exception. Be certain to mark your calendars for next year's Capital Jazz Fest… June 2-4, 2006. See you there!

- Bonnie Schendell & Mary Bentley