Living Rootless: Tucson, AZ: International Day of Jazz 2019

Monday, May 6, 2019

Tucson, AZ: International Day of Jazz 2019

Ada Redd Austin, Tucson, Arizona. April 2019.

Being so new to Tucson, the jazz-related organizations here perplex me. Like the Broussards in Abbeville, Louisiana, they share a surname, but not a close familial connection, other than jazz? Families can be so complicated, can't they?

Gospel choir, Tucson, Arizona. April 2019.

Which is a lead-in to my frustration that the marketing for the specific International Jazz Day event at Jacome Plaza, hosted by the (one of?) Tucson Jazz Society, in downtown Tucson, was so dismal, it required assiduous detective work to find it so I could share the details with friends. Which likely contributed to the low turnout despite the excellence of some of the performers.

Jazz trio, Tucson, Arizona. April 2019.

It's only out of appreciation for the same organization's hosting of the Sunday jazz jams at Brother John's that I worked so hard to find the damn information. If not for that, after about 10 minutes of searching, I'd have said fuck it, and sought out one of the other International Jazz Day events in Tucson.

Now that I've spilled my ire, look at this ridiculously delicious sweet-n-spicy hot dog that I gobbled messily while listening to the lovely student performance of classical music that opened up the evening's event.

Sweet 'n spicy hot dog, Tucson, Arizona. April 2019.

If one's gut system devours a low-brow hot dog while one's brain matter sips high-brow music, do the two average out to middle-brow?

Speaking of family, the gentleman who cheffed the food truck at the event is the same man who takes photographs of mellow jazz, beer, and BBQ folks on Sunday afternoons at Brother John's, selling them the prints.

But on to the music.

Hoo-wee, Ada Redd Austin's voice is lush, elastic, muscular. A taste below, which includes not only an example of Ms. Austin's rich voice, but the enthusiastic collaboration of pianist Lamont Arthur and the helpful audience, who knew the words.

A jazz trio put us in a chill zone.

Neamen Lyles closed us out with a wowww set. Mr. Lyles kicked ass with his own strong self, and every single member of Hands and Feet did it up just as fine.