Trish Andrews, a local talent, brought it all together. Music fans have been asking promoters for years to bring her to town, and I applaud Charles Whitfield for listening to the fans and the audience. I’ve seen both of these guys several times and have yet to see the same set list twice. Gerald Albright is a big artist, but he has been in and out of the area several times over the years and Brian Culbertson just closed the festival a year ago. When I first saw the lineup I was a little nervous of the sophomore jinx. The real question was can ‘the Queen City Jazz Fest come on just as strong a second year in a row?” I remember saying, “With so many young acts that have jazz as a connection, there could be something similar to the AOC brewing right here in Charlotte.” The Art of Cool festival is making noise in conversations with bigger festivals like South by Southwest. I made some bold statements about the first Queen City Jazz Fest. What’s next for Queen City Jazz Fest? More musicians? An additional day? I’m excited to see. We should rename the stage the Brian Culbertson Stage, since he has owned it at this festival for three straight years. For those familiar with Culbertson’s intensity, last night didn’t disappoint – if anything, it raised the bar of expectation. For anybody new to a live Culbertson performance, last night was a powerful introduction to an eclectic musician. It was my fourth time shooting Culbertson, and it’s the fourth show I’ve seen because he keeps his energetic performances fresh, even as he rotates crowd favorites and standards with newer work. He took his music into the crowd, dancing and playing his way up one aisle, through a row of seats, and down the opposite aisle – for one long note. Mike Phillips isn’t one to stick to the stage. From classic jazz riffs to a tribute R&B greats like Stevie Wonder and the late Prince.
2nd annual queen city jazz fest full#
The musical range of the pair was on full display. It was great seeing the pair of Mike Phillips and Jeff Bradshaw together. They could have easily been the headliner, and the same could be said about Mike Phillips and Jeff Bradshaw. This line up of Jazz Funk Soul is just as strong as the original with Chuck Loeb. and Everette Harp and now you got some Serious Business that’s hotter than the 88 degree weather during their performance. Jeff Lorber has to be one of the coolest people ever to sit behind a set of keyboards. By the way, Chapters is a must-have for your music collection. After hearing cuts like “Best Love” and “Crush” that features Usher, I realized her music has been on my radio for a while. I have to admit when I first saw the line up for the festival, I had to check out Yuna’s music. Fresh off her recent release Chapters, her trio got the crowd in the mood for an evening of great music. Mike Phillips put it best when he said, “If I played the wrong notes, would I still get paid?” What was supposed to be a day, according to local weather reports, filled with rain, actually turned out to be a sunny day. For the third year in a row, Charles Whitfield and his team have put together a show that ranged from smooth jazz to R&B to serious funk. The Queen City Jazz Fest has slowly become a Father’s Day weekend tradition.
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