JAZZ FEST IN MOTOWN
E.E. Bradman’s road diary of a weekend with legends |
Photographs by Takehiko Tokiwa
F
or many bass fanatics, Detroit is synonymous with James Jamerson — but it’s safe to say that without Motor City jazz, there’d be no Motown. Like his fellow Funk Brothers, Jamerson was one of the city’s working jazz musicians, an illustrious group that includes Yusef Lateef, Joe Henderson, Alice Coltrane, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers, as well as brothers Elvin, Thad, and Hank Jones. “The history of jazz and the history of jazz from Detroit are indivisible,” says Mark Stryker in his 2019 book Jazz From Detroit. “You can’t tell one story without the other.” It’s no surprise, then, that the city’s annual Detroit Jazz Fest, held over Labor Day weekend, draws more than 300,000 music lovers to the city’s downtown. For its 40th
birthday, in 2019, festival organizers chose Stanley Clarke to be the Artist in Residence — and invited Bass Magazine to join the party.
FRIDAY NIGHT
The Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center is the tallest of seven skyscrapers at General Motors’ world headquarters, and the view from my room on the 21st floor is sharp: Below me, I can see the festival grounds, the sparkling Detroit River, and on this clear August day, Canada right across the water. The hotel lobby buzzes with excitement, and when I get to Jazz Fest, I see grown men dancing and grandmas drinking Miller Light as hipsters, Japanese tourists, high school kids, and families of every size and color take
Left: Clarke performing with Emilio Modeste. Right: The great Ron Carter
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