Hampton’s pizzazz
Annual concerts at UI bring together the finest from the world of jazz
For 45 years, the University of Idaho in Moscow has been a swinging place.
This year will be no different as the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival brings some of the brightest jazz stars to the region beginning Wednesday.
Paquito D’Rivera, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Tower of Power are among the headliners set to perform over the festival’s four days.
The festival began in 1967, and over the years has brought legendary performers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Doc Severinsen, Bobby McFerrin, Sarah Vaughn and Dizzy Gillespie to town. In addition to the headlining concerts, the festival sports an education component, as masters of the form work with youth from area schools.
This year’s event kicks off on Wednesday with a concert by nine-time Grammy-winning saxophonist D’Rivera with bandleader and composer Anat Cohen. Joining them will be the the All-Star Quartet, featuring Josh Nelson, Ben Williams, Graham Dechter and Kevin Kanner and the Lionel Hampton School of Music Jazz Band 1.
D’Rivera was born in Havana, Cuba, and by the time he was 17 he was performing wih the Cuban National Symphony. In 1988, he was a founding member of Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra, a 15-piece ensemble showcasing the fusion of Latin and Caribbean sounds in jazz.
Friday night, the Grammy-winning Blind Boys of Alabama will take the stage. The group, which formed in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind, has taken gospel music to a new level, having performed around the world and on a host of television programs. The group has lifetime achievement awards from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Grammy Awards.
On Saturday, the lineup includes The Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band and Tower of Power.
Hayes, one of jazz’s top drummers, joined Lester Young’s band in 1947, and went on to work with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Stan Getz among many, many others.
Tower of Power, after more than 40 years, is still putting its spin on soul music. And the group has never stopped touring, making annual treks to Europe and Japan, and across the United States.