Jazz at The Hacienda
Words by Mollie O’Neal | Photography by Tom O’Neal
“If there were no moon, we would have these notes”
Under clear spring skies, guests and Monterey Jazz Festival patrons gathered on the patio for “Jazz at The Hacienda.” Guests mingled on the patio with wine and appetizers, listening to former Monterey Jazz Festival students David Sanchez on piano, Philip Tuffs on bass, and Skylar Campbell on drums, joined by Paul Contos, the Director of Education for the Monterey Jazz Festival.
Jazz at The Hacienda was the brainchild of Preserve residents Howard & Roz Fisher. When Howard joined the Monterey Jazz Festival board in 2014, he wanted to find a way of introducing Monterey Jazz to The Preserve. One evening Howard and Roz were discussing this with their neighbors, Bob and Allyson Kavner, who frequent the cabaret shows at Café Carlyle in New York. The idea of producing a New York cabaret in the Great Room of The Hacienda was born. This event has been successful for six years because of the collaboration between Monterey Jazz Festival, which can book top named jazz singers and musicians and produce a professional quality show, and The Preserve, which can host a great party with wonderful food and service in a unique and beautiful setting.
Following the patio reception, guests moved into the Great Room and were welcomed by Howard, who introduced and expressed appreciation for the supporters of the Monterey Jazz Festival’s education programs. He then turned the microphone over to Colleen Bailey, Executive Director of the Monterey Jazz Festival. Delight brimming in her voice, she announced an endowed partnership with California State University, Monterey Bay — an example of the Festival’s educational outreach — that will enhance the arts landscape in Monterey County and cultivate a new audience for jazz.
While we heard about eager students and grateful music teachers, the drummer for the evening’s star tapped out beats on the iron handrail in the foyer. I sat thinking how wonderful it must be to be eager to set the beat for Roberta Gambarini, the vocalist many jazz critics consider the rightful successor to Ella Fitzgerald’s song list.
Soon, Ms. Gambarini arrived under the stage light but didn’t need a drum beat to power her a capella interpretation of “Where Is Love.” The clarity of her voice and performance brought the audience up for our first standing appreciation. Howard had warned us we might be surprised by Ms. Gambarini’s “passionate” lyricism. We already felt rewarded.
Born and raised in Turin, Italy, Ms. Gambarini grew up around music. Her father was a saxophonist, and, throughout childhood, she frequented concerts and festivals. At age 12, she began her musical education, on the clarinet! In 1998, at age18, she arrived in America on a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. A few weeks later, she entered the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition and came in third. From an invitation to perform in New York City, she met jazz musicians Benny Carter and James Moody, who became a mentor and friend. Artistry at Ms. Gambarini’s level attracts mentors, especially within the small, collegiate world of jazz musicians.
This night, another highlight of her set was a tribute to Roy Hargrove, a Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter and vocalist, credited with giving jazz a “jolt of youth,” who died last year from cardiac arrest at age 49. To honor a mentor who had sometimes toured with her, Ms. Gambarini changed the closing lines of “I Remember Clifford” to “I know he’ll never be forgotten / Long as there’s still sound / He was a king uncrowned.”
To be fair, Ms. Gambarini also gave us a lighter mood with a string of other jazz favorites, especially her lively version of “The Sunny Side of the Street,” which had the audience tapping toes and bobbing heads with eyes closed. She had wooed us and won.
Accompanying Ms. Gambarini was Eric Gunnison on piano (who toured with and arranged for Carmen McRae until her death and now tours with Ms. Gambarini and plays for her recording sessions), Danton Boller on bass (a Roy Hargrove alum), and Aaron Serfaty on drums (who teaches at the USC Thornton School of Music).
Ms. Gambarini’s career has been fluid and fast. Already twice nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, she received the 2007 Female Jazz Singer of the Year award by the Jazz Journalists Association, and, based on Downbeat Magazine’s Annual Critics Poll, the 2007 Talent Deserving Wider Recognition and the 2008 Rising Star Female Vocalist of the Year. She has toured or performed with Michael Brecker, Dave Brubeck, Ron Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Slide Hampton, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Hank Jones, and many others.
The Boston Globe declared that “Gambarini is a true successor to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Carmen McRae. If you ask her who she is, she’ll simply answer, ‘I am a singer.’” A Dave Brubeck lyric feels like a proper summation of her magic: “In your own sweet way, you turned the world upside down.”
That night, after the encore, the audience did a reverse mingle, sharing smiles and opinions on which was the best as we exited the Great Room to the patio. Many in the happy audience maneuvered over to Howard and Roz to thank them for hosting such a wonderful event. Howard is proud to have had the opportunity again to bring world-class music to The Hacienda and to represent a nonprofit organization started 62 years ago to foster musical education and which reigns today as the longest continuously running jazz festival in the world. MJF’s first scholarship fund totaled $35,000. Its annual investment in jazz education has grown to $600,000.
The Hacienda’s Great Room may be less cozy than the Café Carlyle, but it invites. Set the date and the performers, decide on a sumptuous three-course dinner with wine pairings, dress the tables, and adjust the stage lighting and sound, The MJF supported and helped coordinate, of course, and, on the night of, The Preserve’s professional staff handled execution.
Who benefited the most — the audience or the MJF education program? I call it a win-win.
Watch for news of the next “Jazz at The Hacienda.” Join us for an evening of stellar music and help a program that helps many.
