Savassi Jazz Festival 2010: Guitars Galore

By: Dr. Matt Warnock

Almost by pure coincidence I found myself in Belo Horizonte, Brazil during the first week of August, 2010, just as the city’s annual Savassi Jazz Festival was fully under way. I was in the country for two weeks teaching and performing at the Inverno Cultural festival in neighboring Sao Joao Del Rei, before heading over to Belo to teach at the Pro Music Academy and gig in local clubs during the first week of the month. I can tell you that after I took a look at the roster of performers, as a guitarist I was glad that my travels and fate had landed me in Belo during the Savassi Festival weekend.

Arriving in town on a Sunday, as my teaching duties began on Monday morning, I walked right off the bus and into the Belo neighborhood of Savassi, where the festival was being held. The neighborhood is characterized by a giant roundabout intersection that leads off onto the city’s main boulevards and streets. It was here that festival organizers decided to throw up a half-dozen stages and turn the streets into a soundscape of modern, traditional and Brazilian jazz.

With so many artists and events to choose from most people had to make tough choices as to where they were going to be and when, but as a guitarist those decisions were already made for me. I spent the day walking from stage to stage, and restaurant to restaurant, enjoying wonderful Brazilian food and taking in three great concerts by three of biggest names in jazz guitar today, John Stein, Dave Stryker and Mike Moreno.

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John Stein Quartet

John Stein took the stage to play a set of original tunes, arrangements of classic jazz-standards and inventive interpretations of Brazilian bossa-nova pieces. The quartet, featuring long-time Stein compatriot Frank Herzberg, was in fine form on this sunny, warm Brazilian winter afternoon. Their strong focus on melody, audience engagement through rhythmic interaction and entertaining choice of tunes kept the crowd wanting more from the quartet long after their set had finished. Definitely one of the highlights of the festival.

One a side note: I’ve corresponded with John Stein for over a year now, as GI has reviewed several of his albums and recently released method books, but it took both of us traveling half-way across the world to finally meet up in person. The music scene is a funny place sometimes.

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The John Stein Quartet in Action

John Stein Surveying the Crowd

John Stein with Holly Holmes and GI Editor in Chief Matt Warnock

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Dave Stryker Trio

Next to take the stage was New York based jazz guitarist Dave Stryker, who some of you may know from his work with the Stryker/Slagel band. Putting a heavy emphasis on groove and energy, Stryker and his trio channeled a Blue Note vibe in their playing as they interjected their own unique musical personalities into the classic organ-guitar trio lineup.

One of the highlights of the set, and one of the most energetic and highly entertaining performances of the day, was the trio’s rendition of the John Coltrane classic “Impressions.” Stryker drew upon what seemed like an endless well of inspiration as he churned our chorus after chorus of captivating improvisation.

Quoting Miles’ solo from “So What” and the melody to “Summertime” in his solo, Stryker took the audience on a musical journey through traditional repertoire up through his own, personalized approach to jazz-guitar improvisation.

Stryker proved yet again why he is one of the biggest names on the jazz guitar scene today, and someone who you should definitely catch live if you get the chance. You won’t be disappointed.

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Dave Stryker and his Trio Performing

The Dave Stryker Trio Laying it Down

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Leonardo Cioglia Quinteto Featuring Mike Moreno

The final guitarist to take the stage that evening was young, up and coming guitarist extraordinaire Mike Moreno. Playing in Leonardo Cioglia’s Quinteto, Moreno proved to be a subtle, yet highly effective and entertaining member of the ensemble.

Performing music that was written by musicians from Minas Gerais, the ensemble mixed music from the Clube da Esquina and other local musical movements with modern jazz and even Radiohead inspired grooves and reharmonizations. The resulting arrangements and performance was one of the most personalized and creative sets of the day.

Being the only harmonic instrument in the group, which featured sax, bass, drums and a harmonica player that literally blew the roof off the joint, Moreno took this opportunity to showcase his talents as a comper. Though he has chops to spare, and can blow for days without running out of ideas, what made the set compelling for me was his chord work. Breaking up block chords with arpeggiated ideas, open strings and single lines allowed Moreno to continuously change the timbre and texture of his chord work, providing streams of inspiration to the soloists as they soloed over his harmonic padding.

If you haven’t checked out Moreno’s work before, do it. As a young player on the New York scene, he’s already proved himself to be one of the young lions of the 21st century jazz scene, and a name to look out for as a possible contender to lead jazz guitar into a new and exciting era of creativity.

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Mike Moreno and Company in Action

Jazz Guitarist Mike Moreno in Action