In its third year now, the Uptown Charlotte Jazz Festival continues to grow and attract national acts as well as a large following of fan. The venue, once again, was the Uptown Music Factory which houses both clubs, an indoor venue, and the beautiful outdoor amphitheater where the festival has been held each year. Patrons began buying the premium seating months in advance for reserved seats. The beautiful Charlotte skyline serves as the backdrop here and shines as the evening goes onto the night.
Local jazz group Intertwined kicked things off on Friday evening just as the sun was setting on this Carolina sky. They played lots from their latest release which included saxophonist Marcus Anderson of the Sax Pack. He was all over the stage as the music continued to grow. Both “Flow” and “Mary” were crowd favorites, and Marcus had them on their feet with his soprano. Add in some screaming guitars, and these guys were rocking from the beginning. Pieces of a Dream were up next and didn’t disappoint. Great introductions on keys were the hallmark of the evening as they played through most of their hits from the past 36 years including the crowd favorites “Four Five Four” and “Mt. Airy Blues.” David Dyson was simply superb on bass all evening and showed why he is considered one of the best in the business. James Lloyd kept them all together and continued to wow the crowd with his keys. They completed the set with a great ending as they all were jamming together. Tony Watson, Jr. kept them going with his sax throughout with some wonderful solo work.
Jonathan Butler, Maysa and Warren Hill rounded out the evening. Butler supported a new guitar most of the evening that sounded great on so many of his songs such as “Sara” and one of my favorites, “Take Good Care of Me.” Maysa added in some wonderful vocals on the always popular “Deep Waters” that went into quick tributes of Whitney Houston and Donna Summer (“Always Love You” and “Love to Love You Baby”). Warren dedicated “Our First Dance” to his wife then launched into some rocking Edgar Winter (“Frankenstein”). He had the crowd dancing later on “Play That Funky Music” as Jonathan came out for the vocals which was a lot of fun. He stayed out as they three of them finished the set with Butler’s “So Strong” and the always fun and popular “Lies”.
Day two saw an even larger crowd than the night before. Fans were still buzzing about the day before when Incognito hit the stage. The set included a lot from their newest CD Surrealand had the crowd rocking. Maysa was back for another night as the crowd loved “The Less You Know.” “This Must Be Love” quickly became a crowd favorite. Trumpeter Joey Sommerville was brought out and only added to the fun! They had the whole crowd rocking until the end. A little rain didn’t dampen their spirits as Boney James closed out the evening. Dressed in a fun t-shirt and his infamous hat, he went through all his catalog hits. Songs went long into the evening as the crowd enjoyed this one until the very end.
Be sure to check out the Uptown Charlotte Jazz Festival next year. It is sure to attract lots of national artists once again. It is a fun festival that continues to grow and is just a sample of the jazz scene that spans across the Charlotte area. The continued support here shows why smooth jazz is so popular in this area and remains a hot bed for both national and local artists. You’ll be glad you did.
