This year, we decided to give Capital Jazz Fest another try.  After the unsatisfactory experience we had there two years ago, we vowed to stay away.  And we did.  We stayed away for a whole year, but, like the siren’s song to the mythical Jason, we were lured back by the promise of an outstanding line-up.  What can I say?  We love good music, and, we were willing to take a chance again.  After all, we’ve got a history with Capital, and, you just don’t end such a long and satisfying relationship without trying to work things out.

Capital is a three part event.  It began on Friday evening with a saxophone double header; a very talented up and comer named Justin Young, and, a long time smooth jazz and R&B favorite, the man himself, Boney James.  What a perfect way to end the work week and start three days of musical bliss!  Justin really rocked the house when he broke into a cover of the Nelly hit, “Hot in Here.”  I’m sure there was no pun intended when he selected that song to play.  The area was just getting into the first heat wave of the season.  The incomparable (and opinionated) Patti Austin was the host for this year’s festival.  She’s got such a great voice that we would have preferred hearing her sing.

Saturday brought more heat, both on the stage and off.  The show opened with electric violinist Ken Ford.  We had never seen him perform before, so we admit to raising a skeptical eyebrow when we read his bio in the program stating that he plays electric violin.  Who knew a violin could sound like that?  And here we thought that classical and country held the rights to the violin (or the fiddle, if you will.)  Ken’s performance was absolutely phenomenal – high energy with lots of old school jams.  Did I say high energy?  At one point, Ken jumped off the stage, into the orchestra seats, through the pavilion seating, into the loge seats, and out on the lawn, all while playing his violin in a record breaking 105 degree heat index day.  And to add to the heat, Ken’s drummer, who also had to keep up the pace with his front man, was shirtless!  What a way to start the show. It’s a miracle that no artists collapsed that day from the temperatures.  Spyro Gyra performed next, and, true to the hot weather, they immediately took us to the Caribbean when they chose to open with “Jam Up.”  As is the tradition with the Capital Jazz Fest, the artists do a meet and greet after their sets.  Though we wanted to go and greet the band, it was just way to hot to leave the shaded pavilion to do so.  Kim Waters played next.  Thank goodness for his hit song, “Waterfall.”  We could just imagine it on such a hot day.  Local songstress Maysa, always a crowd favorite, gave another great performance.  She let the audience know that she has a new CD releasing soon, called Metamorphosis.  And, it was great to see and hear Wayman Tisdale.  He always gets the crowd going when he gets into his old school songs.  He really kept us entertained when he and sax player Tom Braxton played a game of “Can you top this?” with riffs from classic TV theme songs like Sanford & Son, The Flintstones, My Three Sons, etc.

Sunday’s lineup proved to be as exciting as the previous two days.  The festival opened with Four80East, making their first appearance at this festival.  They were followed by crowd favorites Down to the Bone, (DTTB) featuring Shilts.  You’re always in for a good time when DTTB is in the house.  Rick and Richard, also known as RnR really got the crowd going with tunes from their latest collaboration, as well as some of their individual hits, like “Cadillac Slim” where they both came out into the crowd to play, and “Who,” where Richard had a bit of a temper tantrum (must have been the heat) and threw a bucket across the stage at Rick.  It was all in jest, and it was hilarious!  It just goes to show that they are both good friends with great musical chemistry between them.  Joe Sample and Randi Crawford endeared themselves to the crowd before they even played or sang a note.  Both are master craftsmen.  Hearing “X Marks the Spot,” “Spellbound,” and songs from their collaborative CD, Feeling Good was special.  Randi Crawford’s voice hasn’t changed over the course of time.  It stills sounds as good and as strong as it did when they recorded “Streetlife” 26 years ago.  Jonathan Butler’s set was a rousing blend of gospel, pop, R&B, and South African rhythms.  He is always entertaining and you always feel good after hearing him perform; especially when he delivers on “No Woman, No Cry,” and “Wake-Up.”  Brian Culbertson brought it all home on Sunday evening.  Brian has a new band, and a new tour to support his latest CD, Bringing Back the Funk.  Brian had about 45 people on stage with him that made up his band, the Funk Experience.  (Okay, maybe not quite that many, but he had a lot.)  He had it all, horns, more horns, keys, drums, etc.  Did we mention horns?!!  It’s a big show with a big sound, and the perfect act to close out the festival.  Nobody does it quite like BC!

Besides the music, food, and vendors, Capital does a few things that we’ve found very unique and interesting, one of which is the Capital Jazz Challenge Competition.  Aspiring contemporary jazz acts from around the country compete on stage for a $7500 prize, and a chance to open at the festival on Saturday.  This year’s winner, the youngest they’ve had thus far, is B.K. Jackson, a 16 year old saxophonist from Tampa.  I’m sure you’ll be hearing more from that talented young man in years to come.  (Justin Young, who opened the festival on Friday night, was the 2007 winner.)  We’re glad that Capital recognizes the importance of bringing new talent into this genre.  It’s even more important now since there really are not a lot of outlets for new music to be heard.  Another thing they offer is Q&A workshops with some of the artists.  The artists sit for an interview by a member of the media, then, the session is open to questions from the audience.  This year’s workshops featured Maysa, Kim Waters, Chris Botti, Rick Braun & Richard Elliott, Howard Hewitt, and Ledisi.  As if this wasn’t enough going on, they also set up another stage in the Symphony Woods which featured a huge array of musical talent including Roberta Flack, Jeffrey Osborne (who actually played the main stage due to a washout from an extremely heavy thunderstorm,) Billy Kilson & BK Groove, The Jazzy Soul Collective, and AWB. 

Overall, it was a great festival weekend.  Our only regrets were that we couldn’t bring ourselves to venture into the heat to the other stage, or the workshops, as often as we would have liked to because of the stifling and oppressive heat.  However, when all is said and done, that’s a small price to pay for three days of music.  Maybe we’ll see you next year Capital, you know, since we’re all friends again.