The 16th annual Montclair Jazz Festival was in full swing on Tuesday August 26 in the Wellmont Arts Plaza, as percussionist Pedrito Martinez and his band delivered a blend of salsa, jazz, and space funk to an enthusiastic audience ahead of the festival’s free Downtown Jamboree on September 13. “We just want to get some great artists who are representing the best of what we call ‘jazz,’” said artistic director and Grammy award winning bassist Christian McBride to the AmNews in an exclusive onsite interview. “We have Lakecia Benjamin, Luisito Quintero, Ursa Major, Jazzmeia Horn — it’s going to be a fantastic day.”
The festival is hosted by Jazz House Kids, a Montclair based non-profit that provides artistic and educational resources to children, and was founded by vocalist Melissa Walker, who is also McBride’s wife. The organization is well known for community engagements including this summer’s “Soundcheck Series,” which featured free performances ahead of the festival’s flagship Jamboree.
The final soundcheck series, Afro-Cuban night, showcased percussionist Pedrito Martinez, who has worked with artists that include McBride, Ruben Blades, and Wynton Marsalis. Martinez and his group kept the audience on their feet, dancing past the setting of the sun and further into the night as his group delivered a unique blend of salsa and funk that utilized spacey sounds from the trombone and keyboards, and lots of sporadic improvisational exploration. “I have never seen him, or heard him, where some part of my body wasn’t moving,” McBride said of Martinez ahead of his performance. “That dude is powerful.”
Martinez performs alongside former “The Police” members Sting and Andy Summers on McBride’s forthcoming release, “Without Further Ado, Vol. 1,” covering the track “Murder by Numbers,” which originally appeared on the group’s landmark album, “Synchronicity,” released in 1983. “He was the one who suggested, ‘Hey if we do “Murder by Numbers” we should get Andy Summers,” McBride said on getting the mini-reunion together ahead of a recently publicized lawsuit between the two collaborators surrounding the hit song, “Every Breath You Take.” But Sting said, “I would feel weird doing that song without Andy since he’s one of the co-writers.” McBride will hit the stage twice on September 13, first with his group Ursa Major, and at the festival’s conclusion, spinning tracks as DJ Brother Mister.
If Martinez’s performance at Afro-Cuban night is in any way indicative of the fun, danceable pathways to cultural connection available through Montclair Jazz Fest, the jamboree is surely not to be missed.
For more info about the Downtown Jamboree and Jazz House Kids, visit montclairjazzfestival.org and jazzhousekids.org.