Jazz lovers abuzz about Yellowjackets show at Daytona Beach International Festival

BEACON PHOTO/JEFF SHEPHERD
Quite a show — The Yellowjackets scale musical heights April 18 during their performance in the News-Journal Center at Daytona State College, as part of the Daytona Beach International Festival.

BEACON PHOTO/BARB SHEPHERD
Kind to fans — Following their April 18 concert as part of the Daytona Beach International Festival, Russell Ferrante, Mike Stern, Jimmy Haslip, Marcus Baylor and Bob Mintzer spent a half-hour or more meeting with fans and signing autographs. Here, DeLandite Sims Kline, at right, has a word with some fellow musicians.

BEACON PHOTO/JEFF SHEPHERD
Audience pleased — Audience members in the News-Journal Center for the Yellowjackets' April 18 show may not have been unanimous in their devotion to jazz fusion, but anyone could appreciate this group's skill.

News-Journal Center a great venue

By Jeff Shepherd
BEACON COLUMNIST

posted Apr 18, 2009 - 6:45:52pm

No household names here: Russell Ferrante, piano; Mike Stern, guitar; Jimmy Haslip, bass; Marcus Baylor, drums; Bob Mintzer, sax. These five instrumentalists are known as the Yellowjackets.

This quintet performed some magic for some 500 concertgoers April 18 in the main theater of the News-Journal Center at Daytona State College.

Musicians accomplish greater and greater heights as they study, practice and perform their art form. They must attain the technical skills to play, then they need to apply musical abilities; finally, they attain an artistic sensibility.

The Yellowjackets have all this down.

There were moments in last night's show, which was part of the Daytona Beach International Festival, when the Yellowjackets ascended to the next level. They were not merely musicians; they were magicians!

This level of performance is about more than just sounds emanating from instruments; it is about the feeling in the room. The audience is part of the magic. There was a good deal of evidence the show reached such a height.

The fluency with which Stern and Mintzer played in unison melodic phrases from the Mintzer composition "Yahoo," a track from the band's most recent CD Lifecycle, was phenomenal.

"The energy is incredible," Deb Degaetano of DeLand said.

Some parts of Stern's composition "Wishing Well" sounded like the soundtrack for an albatross in graceful flight. The ethereal nature of Stern's subtle attack on his guitar was like that usually attained by a bow on a string.

"Spiritual," said Lea MacQuarrie, a concertgoer from Daytona Beach.

Yelps of approval punctuated Baylor's amazing drum solos.

There were 200 or 300 empty seats in the house. The theater is an outstanding venue for music. It has flawless acoustics, and every seat has a good sight line. After the concert, I spoke with some whose response was lukewarm.

They ask valid questions: Are they playing those notes so fast just because they can? What is the musical value of rhythms so complex you can't tap your foot?

But this is not pop music.

It happens both Degaetano and MacQuarrie are musicians.

"Jazz is musicians' music," Barb Shepherd of DeLand said.

Perhaps it's the physical nature of drumming that caused me to focus on Baylor, even when Ferrante was soloing, but the percussion was sometimes a little too loud or too busy.

The positive aspects of the performance clearly overcome any lingering doubts. Especially when, after the concert, the five band members met with fans in the lobby to sign autographs, pose for photos and talk about their art.

These guys were really genuinely appreciative of their audience. If the Yellowjackets didn't win over a throng of new devotees to their kind of music, few left the venue without a sense of their magic.

WEST VOLUSIA SHOWS STILL TO COME IN THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL:

Thursday, April 23, London Symphony Orchestra Sound Explorers at 3 p.m. at DeBary Hall, 210 Sunrise Blvd., DeBary. One in a series of concerts designed for families, to help people of all ages learn about orchestra music.

Thursday, April 23, Tiempo Libre at 8 p.m. in the Athens Theatre, 124 N. Florida Ave., DeLand. A seven-piece high voltage Cuban band from Miami that will have you dancing in the aisles to Latin jazz.

Friday, April 24, Project at 3 p.m. in Elizabeth Hall, 421 N. Woodland Blvd. on the Stetson University campus in DeLand. One of the International Festival's free community events. This passionate trio has more than 40 million hits on YouTube. High-energy chamber music.

Tuesday, April 28, London Symphony Orchestra Ensemble in Mozart's Letters at 7 p.m. at the Athens Theatre, 124 N. Florida Ave. Letters Mozart wrote to his friends and family are read aloud to his music.

Friday, May 1, Chuchito Valdes and His Latin Jazz Trio, 7 p.m. at the Athens Theatre, 124 N. Florida Ave.

For ticket information, call (386) 257-7790 or visit the International Festival online at www.dbif.com.

— shepz@mpinet.net

Comment on this article

Commenting is closed for this article.

If you would like to contribute a letter to the editor, please click here.

Did you find this story interesting or informative? Subscribe to The DeLand-Deltona Beacon to read more stories by Jeff Shepherd, along with others from our award-winning writers. Subscribe now!