Winter Jazzfest Celebrates 20 Years of Improvised Music in Manhattan and Brooklyn
by Dan Lehner and Pete Matthews
As was stated multiple times throughout the weekend, the now-20-year-old Winter Jazzfest started as a one-venue, one-night series at the old Knitting Factory on Leonard Street and has now exploded in ways that the founders could never have anticipated. The original Manhattan Marathon, itself larger and more spread out than marathons past, is now coupled with a separate Brooklyn Marathon, as well as additional stand-alone concerts and talks. But, the energy and ethos has remained the same, as local and worldwide artists gather and beckon people to come in from the cold to hear both old and new projects, ensembles and compositions.
At City Winery, violinist Jenny Scheinman paid homage to the inhabitants of the natural world with her All Species Parade band. Scheinman’s music managed to evoke flora and fauna in both texture and style: tunes like “Ornette Goes Home” skittered and danced like woodland creatures; the melodies in “House of Flowers” lazily turned and dovetailed like orchids towards the sun, and pieces like “Every Bear That Ever There Was” (referencing a lyric from the early 20th century nursery rhyme “Teddy Bear’s Picnic”) jaunted along in a haughty, lilting swing, showcasing a Fats Waller-ian solo from pianist Carmen Staaf. The ecosystem of ASP was as rich as the biodiversity it honored: the suite at the center of the album ambled from the gentle to the funky, while not losing any of its elegance.