Free Jazz in the Park returns to Las Vegas with sweet lineup
When you make a wish list, you don’t expect to get everything on it.
That’s certainly been the case with program supervisor Brian Saliba’s wish list for the free Jazz in the Park concert series at the Clark County Amphitheater, which he’s been booking for the past 15 seasons.
But a serendipitous thing happened on the way to the 29th annual series: For a change, all his wishes came true.
The concert series kicks off Saturday with Ghost-Note. Led by percussionist Nate Werth and drummer Robert “Sput” Searight of the Grammy-winning group Snarky Puppy, they’ll perform music influenced by everyone and everything from James Brown and the Beastie Boys to West African, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian samba grooves.
Other headliners in the series, which continues through June 16, include singer and pianist Diane Schuur and blues-rock saxophonist Mindi Abair.
“We have been trying to book Diane Schuur and Mindi Abair for years,” Saliba notes, but “their schedules never seemed to line up with our series.” Until this year, that is.
Guitarist and composer Bill Frisell, who’s previously played the series, returns this year.
“We tried last season” to bring him back to Las Vegas, “but his schedule didn’t permit,” Saliba explains. “The timing this year worked out great, as his new album just topped the charts.” (That would be “Music IS,” Frisell’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s Jazz Albums chart, which also hit the top spot on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, marking his fourth No. 1 on that listing.)
Groove Project “was also a great addition to this year’s lineup,” Saliba adds, because “you essentially get three well-known jazz performers” — saxophonist Marcus Anderson, keyboardist Oli Silk and guitarist JJ Sansaverino — in one show.
This weekend’s Ghost-Note concert — which marks the group’s Las Vegas debut — should bring “a much younger demographic” to the series, according to Saliba, “but they are an amazing group of musicians.” (Ghost-Note’s name comes from a musical term for a note that has a rhythmic value but no discernible pitch.)
The group’s inspiration “came from the evolution of the solos we used to take as a percussion/drum duo” in Snarky Puppy, Searight says. Starting with the Searight-Werth team, “we have now evolved to seven core band members and three amazing sub additions,” he adds.
Making music brings the same joy for Searight whether he’s playing in Ghost-Note or Snarky Puppy, he says, “but we definitely understand the difference in being band leaders versus band members a little bit better.”
Through the years, the talent budget for Jazz in the Park, presented by Clark County Parks and Recreation, has remained consistent: about $50,000 annually to program four or five free concerts per season, according to Saliba.
The goal for the series also has remained constant: “to assemble a well-rounded assortment of touring performers,” he says.
The annual booking process begins in early November and typically wraps up three months later; county staffers devise a list of potential headliners and consider feedback from concert attendees.
“Based on all the input, we then see who is routing through and available,” Saliba says, “and hope they fit the allocated budget so we can extend the offer.”
As for the performers, “playing for a crowd with great energy and excitement … makes for a better performance as we are inspired on greater levels when an audience is super-engaged,” Searight says.
But even when they’re not, “we love sharing our music (with) everyone old and new. It’s our art, (our) voice and we worked hard on it, so this moment is one of pure joy and gratitude for the chance to present it to the world.”
Coming soon
Ghost-Note leads off the 29th annual Jazz in the Park concert series Saturday at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater. Here’s a list of the series’ other headliners:
■May 19: Guitarist and composer Bill Frisell, featuring bassist Tony Scherr and drummer and percussionist Kenny Wollesen.
■May 26: Singer and pianist Diane Schuur
■June 2: The Groove Project, featuring saxophonist Marcus Anderson, keyboardist Oli Silk and guitarist JJ Sansaverino
■June 16: Saxophonist Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers
In addition to the marquee names, the jazz series also makes room for local jazz programs. This year’s lineup includes students from UNLV’s award-winning jazz studies program, along with Las Vegas Academy and Bishop Gorman High School, opening for the headliners.
Contact Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.
