A budding jazz scene has taken hold in the city over the last several years, and this year's Gainesville Jazz Festival marks the culmination of that trend. Once largely a showcase for local talent, the fifth annual Jazz Festival promises to bring in some big names this weekend, including the headlining Harry Allen and Joe Cohn Quartet from New York. Allen, a saxophonist raised in Los Angeles and Rhode Island, has honed his skills with some of jazz music's greats, including such acclaimed guitarists as Kenny Burrell and Herb Ellis.
Allen has also played with some mainstream musicians, including pop and folk artists like Sheryl Crow and James Taylor. The festival's sponsor, Gainesville Friends of Jazz, started putting on monthly concerts 20 years ago. In that time, Harry Allen has been the single most-requested artist to be invited back, organizers say.
Allen's guitarist, Joe Cohn, is an accomplished player in his own right, having attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. He's the son of Al Cohn, a famed bebop guitarist. Marty Liquori, a board member for the Gainesville Friends of Jazz, says scoring acts like the Harry Allen and Joe Cohn Quartet marks a "quantum leap" in the festival's prominence.
"I started (the festival) five years ago to give local musicians some exposure, and the jazz scene has grown quite a bit since then," he says. Allen and Cohn's quartet will play Saturday and Sunday, which are the last two nights of a three-day festival held at both Mr. Han's Night Club and the Savannah Grande Reception Hall.
Friday night will give listeners a taste of the Gypsy-style swing scene that's spreading across the country, in large part due to the resurgence of popularity of Django Reinhardt's music. The Cook Trio from Cocoa Beach and Impromptu featuring guitarist Larry Camp from St. Petersburg will both play Reinhardt-inspired tunes.
Born in Belgium in 1910 to Gypsy parents, Reinhardt developed a unique sound that made him one of Europe's first prominent jazz musicians. His influential style features no drums, allowing the guitars and bass violin to provide a percussive sound. Liquori, who plays guitar in a local band call The Hot Club, calls Reinhardt one of the most "most important guitar players ever.
" The darling of modern rockers and jazz players alike, former Phish front man Trey Anastasio cites Reinhardt as one of his biggest influences. Sunday's close-out session at the Savannah Grande Reception Hall will give listeners a blend of sounds, including an encore performance from the Harry Allen and Joe Cohn Quartet. Other acts Sunday include the Alex Nguyen Quartet from Jacksonville and the Howard Alden Trio, which will feature the festival's only vocalist, Terrie Richards from New York.
Nguyen is a young trumpeter from Jacksonville, and Alden is a jazz guitarist who can be heard on the soundtrack to Woody Allen's 1999 film, "Sweet and Lowdown." Alden also coached Sean Penn on guitar to prepare him for his role as a fictional jazz guitarist. Liquori, a guitarist himself, assures that the the guitar-heavy line-up of this year's festival was really more of a coincidence than anything else.
Gainesville Friends of Jazz sought out accomplished musicians who happened to be touring around Florida during the time of the festival, and it just so happens some guitar greats were headed to the Sunshine State at the same time, Liquori says. All in all, Liquori says the line up should be enjoyable for newcomers to the music and jazz aficionados alike. "What we promote is really classic jazz or straight-ahead jazz," he says.
"It's not outside playing. It's not experimental jazz, so it has been accessible to a number of people."
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