The photo is of Faruq Z. Bey. He is at the heart of creative music and spoken word in Detroit. More than that--Faruq IS its heart! Even with fragile health--he now wears an oxygen tank on his back--Faruq remains active teaching, performing, composing and expressing the political/social/interactive/internal environment in which he so consciously exists. The improvisational music and spoken word performance he and six other Detroit-area musicians gave on Saturday was unique in its raw power and truthtelling edge.
Well, these four days and nights of creative magic are done...at least for this year. And I give Edgefest 2007 an A+ for artistry, inventiveness, variety, hospitality and excitement! There was not a low moment to be found. Saturday alone would have been worth the price of admission.
It started at noon under sunny blue skies with Edgefest performers (BassDrumBone and others), local musicians and everyday people of all ages marching through the Kerrytown Farmers' Market while playing a wonderful variety of instruments in a New Orleans-style parade. Following that, we gathered on the lawn in front of the Kerrytown Concert House to enjoy a delicious picnic lunch donated by Ann Arbor's famous Zingerman's Deli. At 2 p.m. the Faruq Z. Bey project performed inside, and at 7 p.m. The Trio--Edgefest's headline act--put on an improvisational concert that left this musically-experienced audience shaking their heads in wonder. There were two more Edgefest concerts after that--at 9 p.m. the Sonic Liberation Front at the Kerrytown Shops, and at 11 pm. Gutbucket at The Firefly Club--but I chose to stay at the Kerrytown Concert House for the 9 p.m. show by The Trio. I wanted to end my Edgefest 2007 experience on the highest note possible (pun intended).
Muhal Richard Abrams (piano), George Lewis (trombone and laptop), and Roscoe Mitchell (saxophones and flute) have travelled many paths in their 4-5 decades of making/composing/teaching music, but started out together in Chicago at the Association for Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). They define the word "improvisation" and personify musical integrity, originality and commitment. And I thought I was at a loss for words to describe the Edgefest performances on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday!!! Suffice it to say that the two improvisational pieces I heard created by these three masters will go down in my musical listening herstory as the most inventive, soul-stirring and artistically mature experiences of my life.
Within the next few days I'll be posting a gallery of my selected photos from Edgefest 2007. But let me warn you ahead of time, you will not see any photos of The Trio. By the time they performed, my overloaded lithium batteries had given up the ghost! And I now see the gift in that, because it meant I could devote my total attention to listening. Besides, no image could have given any idea of what was happening on that stage. It is written on our hearts.
