Paul Robicheau
There was no doubt guitarist Chuck Garvey was already up to the task, sealing the grit and heart necessary to return moe. to jam-bound heights.
Languid sameness dominated the Wang concert at times, though the acoustic strings and subtly submerged horns and percussion made the sonic scope of Sigur Rós’ music more delicate and human.
John McLaughlin says that even if audiences haven’t heard Indian music before, they are catching on. “They feel what we feel,” he says. “We’re all walking the tightrope, and audiences follow.”
Sunday arguably offered the jazz festival’s most impressive lineup. The star of the day turned out to be singer Samara Joy.
The 76-year-old Carlos Santana didn’t need to dominate with guitar showmanship to make his two-hour-plus concert fly without any lag in energy and spirit.
The real magic of the 2023 Newport Folk Festival didn’t arrive via high-wattage cameos but by way of the quality and quantity of collaborations from its homegrown community of musicians — as well as the cultural diversity of its lineup.
As a major destination fest only a short ride south of Boston, Levitate still remains true to the reggae/jam culture of its surf-shop community.
WasFest was a unique spread of mostly Blue Note artists covering classic albums of either their own or their inspirations, and the first two nights offered a range of jazz permutations.
Perhaps more impressive — though too late to evolve further given the group’s impending finale after eight years and more than 200 shows — was the growing roles and comfort level shown by Dead & Company’s younger charter members.
At New Hampshire’s just-christened Nashua Center for the Arts, 68-year-old jazz guitarist Pat Metheny shared a wily sidelong glance at his own broad compositional and improvisational history.
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