The afternoon kicked off with the young jazz violinist Daniel D. He excited the crowd as they continued to come in on a beautiful Carolina afternoon. They were appreciative of his music as he scorched through several selections from his Play For Me CD. It wasn’t long til California vocalist Marilyn Scott was warming up the stage with the sounds of love. Having felt like she had left the Los Angeles area for a little “vacation” time on the east coast, she sang two from her Walking With Strangers CD. “All Of The Above” and “I Always Think Of You” became two of my favorites right away. This was my first time seeing her live, and really enjoyed her music. From her Innocent of Nothing disc, she rewarded us with “A Flame,” a song recorded with George Duke. With full band on hand, she finished the set off with “Avenida Del Sol”. It was the kind of set that made me appreciate the evening even more.

Saxophonist Jessy J came on to an encore as she went right in to “Tequila Moon” which the crowd recognized right away, and enjoyed more and more as she played on. The band was right with her until the very end, and it ended on a high note as her fans expected. Telling everyone she needed a hat to keep the wind from blowing her hair, she played “Scene B Without You,” featuring the band. She topped it off with “Tropical Rain” as the breeze continued to blow, cooling all the patrons to a good evening. Bassist David Dyson was up next as he played through a nice set after some time with Pieces of a Dream. The highlight of his show was the title track from his CD New Horizons. It’s one he recorded with Rick Braun, and came off better live than it did in the studio.

One of the artists that I had really looked forward to hearing was trumpeter Cindy Bradley. She had been tearing up the west coast, and was finally in our area. The set was lively with quite a bit from her Bloom disc. It is her premier disc that has been well received. Her stage presence was a lot of fun as she mixed it up with her band as well as the crowd. I was impressed with her homage to other trumpet players as she played tunes of Herb Alpert (“Spanish Flea”), Chuck Magione (“Feels So Good”), and finally Rick Braun (along with others who played “Grazin In The Grass”). Those three numbers finished up the set, and had the crowd on their feet. Keyboardist Brian Simpson stepped it up a little with several tunes from his Above The Clouds CD. Having a portable keyboard on stage sure has its advantages, and Brian took advantage of the opportunity. He mixed it up with his band, and was all over the stage for most of the set. I was glad that he included “Let’s Get Close” which seemed to be a crowd favorite as well.

It had been several years since I had seen one of my favorite saxophonists, so when Warren Hill launched into the Beatles “Come Together”, I was already on my feet and ready for the show. The crowd came to life with every note, and he went on to play Toronto from his Pop Jazz CD. It was curious to hear “Mambo 2000” from his Still Life CD. He pumped up the crowd with some really great sax on “Take Out Dreams” and brought out his soprano for a couple more. I was very happy to hear “Skinny Dippin’ “from La Dolce Vita as the crowd was really into it. He finished it all off with a favorite, “Play That Funky Music.” The crowd was left dancing as the cool night air fell all around. Keyboardist Marcus Johnson came on next and kept the crowd going after Warren left the stage. He added some spice with Marcus Anderson on sax as they played “Maxum” and was happily greeted with several from his latest disc. He played a lively set that included a lot of great keyboard work from the artist.

Peter White finished up the night or should I say morning? It was well after midnight as he, David Dyson and saxophonist Jaared came on stage. “Who’s That Lady” had the crowd singing the chorus, and included a great solo from Jaared. It was a fun set with several cover songs including “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.” The track “Bright” from Good Day, his latest disc, was fun to hear again. His acoustic guitar sounded so “bright” and clear. He and the band had a lot of fun with “Bueno Funk.” It’s one of those great live songs that has so much going for it and has a lot to offer.

The Carolina Jazz and Wine Festival was a lot of fun. The festival seating made it nice to be able to sit where you wanted to for the evening. The staff was friendly and well knowledged.  There were craft vendors as well as great food to enjoy between sets. The artists were accessible afterwards and the sets flew by into the night. It was hard to believe that so many were jammed into one afternoon, but it really did go well. It has been around for a few years, attracting top names in smooth jazz. If you’re ever in the area in May, I would invite you to check it out.