Women In Jazz: A Beat Not to Be Missed

If the 12th edition of the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center had been televised live, dozens of professional seat-fillers might be cashing their paychecks right about now.

The prestigious annual event had no problem drawing crowds Thursday through Saturday at the Terrace Theater, but there were waves of early departures. Indeed, a large exodus on opening night prompted singer Flora Purim to note that closing out a jazz concert isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

As it turned out, there were lots of reasons to stay put during each of the three-hour concerts, a showcase for newcomers and veterans alike. But Purim's performance didn't offer much of an incentive. The veteran Brazilian-born vocalist was not in good voice, especially early on when she had difficulty with high notes. As she moved from songs she recorded with Chick Corea's Return to Forever to the guitar-scorched "20 Year Blues," her voice became stronger and more supple. Yet the performance was mostly notable for the sensuous and stirring support provided by a quartet featuring husband Airto Moreira on drums.

Fans of acoustic jazz enjoyed numerous treats this year. For starters, there was Lynne Arriale's trio performance. After imaginatively reharmonizing "What Is This Thing Called Love," the pianist so playfully deconstructed Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You" that one couldn't help but imagine the late pianist being delighted with the result. A quartet led by Anat Cohen offered additional pleasures, beginning with an arrangement of "Jitterbug Waltz" that found Cohen, on clarinet, gliding down the corkscrew melody with cheerful aplomb. Nothing, though, proved more evocative and absorbing than her own compositions, "The Purple Piece" and "La Casa del Llano," or her band's textured interpretation of Egberto Gismonti's "Frevo."

Also contributing intimate and thoroughly enjoyable interludes were pianist Mayuko Katakura, a student at the Juilliard School who won the festival's piano competition last year, and New Orleans-bred vocalist Stephanie Jordan, who performed with a quartet that featured her brother Marlon on trumpet. A poised, soulfully articulate vocalist, Jordan turned in a performance that warmly evoked the influence of Abbey Lincoln, Shirley Horn, Carmen McRae and other jazz greats. A festival slot is usually reserved for a veteran artist with a distinct flair for the blues, and certainly singer-pianist Jeannie Cheatham filled the bill. Because she performed with her back to the audience, listeners could see her hands traverse the keyboard -- and generations of blues-based piano styles -- with two-fisted authority. Though boogie-woogie is Cheatham's specialty, the comparatively sleek sounds of Basie and Ellington peeked through a series of arrangements enlivened by the playful and brassy Sweet Baby Blues Band, featuring alto saxophonist Jeff Clayton.

Not surprisingly, two of the biggest crowd-pleasers -- violinist Karen Briggs and keyboardist Hiromi -- favored an amped-up blend of jazz, funk and rock in their respective sets. Both musicians have technique to spare and aren't the least bit shy about showing it off. Suffice to say that Briggs's performance, laced with a vibrant, sweeping arrangements, wouldn't have sounded out of place at Cirque du Soleil. The ever-animated Hiromi, playing electric and acoustic keyboards and trading riffs with the similarly quick-fingered guitarist David Fiuczynski, brought the crowd to its feet with a performance that was flamboyantly over the top.

Several performers and jazz great Billy Taylor, the festival's founder, spoke of Mary Lou Williams's profound legacy, but her compositions were conspicuously absent from the program. Offering compensation was the festival's closing performance by Ann Patterson's Maiden Voyage big band, which was dedicated to the late trombonist and arranger Melba Liston. The orchestra colorfully illustrated Liston's pivotal associations with Dizzy Gillespie and Randy Weston, and unveiled a lovely, Ellington-hued arrangement of her seldom-heard ballad "Just Waiting." Fortunately, Saturday night's crowd stayed long enough to hear it.

Two awards were bestowed: Helen Sung won the festival's annual piano competition, plus a place on next year's program. Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Jane Ira Bloom received the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award, joining the distinguished ranks of Liston, Marian McPartland, Toshiko Akiyoshi and others.