Pharrell Williams and President Bill Clinton Rocked the House at Monk Jazz Institute 2014 All-Star Gala

By Danny R. Johnson

HOLLYWOOD – The hottest ticket in Hollywood on Sunday night, November 9, 2014, was the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Trumpet Competition and All-Star Gala, which was held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, and San Diego County News had a front row seat to all the excitement.

Things started happening right from the get-go with musicians from the Thelonious Monk Jazz College Fellows kicking it off with a swinging rendition of a tune called Anticipation, which was performed with such swinging and liberating resonance that the sold-out and standing room audience were clapping and tapping their feet to jubilation. The list of performers consisted of a list of who’s who in the jazz world – in the house were Jazz Saxophonists: Melissa Aldana, Jimmy Heath, Joshua Redman, Bob Sheppard, and Wayne Shorter; Vocals: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kellylee Evans, Chaka Khan, Queen Latifah, Taj Mahal (guitar), John Mayer (guitar), Dianne Reeves, and Pharrell Williams.

Mixing it up on Piano: John Beasley, Kris Bowers, Billy Childs, and Herbie Hancock; Bass: James Genus, Marcus Miller, and Ben Williams; Trumpet Competition Band: Carl Allen (drums), Reginald Thomas (piano), and Rodney Whitaker (bass); Drums: Vinnie Colaiuta, T.S. Monk, and Jeff “Tain” Watts; Trumpet: Ambrose Akinmusire, Randy Brecker, Theo Croker, Jon Faddis, Roy Hargrove, Arturo Sandoval, Jimmy Owens, and Dontae Winslow; Guitar: Kenny Burrell; Vibes: Stefon Harris.

The evening’s hosts consisted of Academy Award winners and Grammy winners with the likes of actors Don Cheadle, Goldie Hawn, Kevin Spacey, Billy Dee Williams, and Quincy Jones.

Trumpet Competition Highlights

First place winner Marquis Hill of Chicago, Illinois, captured the audience’s attention with his performance of If I Were A Bell and Polka Dots and Moonbeams. Second place winner Billy Buss of Berkeley, California, performed Brownie Speaks and The Quota Blues and third place winner Adam O’ Farrill of Brooklyn, New York, performed The Moon Follows Us Wherever We Go. A dynamic band comprising of pianist Reginald “Reggie” Thomas, bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Carl Allen accompanied each finalist. The distinguished judges included Ambrose Akinmusire (winner of the 2007 Monk Trumpet Competition), Randy Brecker, Roy Hargrove, Quincy Jones, Jimmy Owens and Arturo Sandoval.

There is always an element of anticipation and suspense when the trumpet competition convenes, and this years’ competition lived up to its reputation. The 2014 first place winner Marquis Hill, from the windy city of Chicago, where he earned a master’s degree in jazz pedagogy from DePaul University and now serves on the faculty at the University of Illinois, was the judges’ favorite as indicated by the collected expressions of joy on their faces when Hill performed. A winner of the 2013 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition and the 2012 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Improvisation Competition, Hill began playing trumpet at age 11 and was mentored by top Chicago artists including Bobby Broom, Tito Carrillo and Willie Pickens. He has performed with Benny Golson, Dee Alexander, Antonio Hart, Steve Turre, Brian Lynch and the Ron Carter Big Band, among others.

Hill’s interpretation of If I Were A Bell, a song composed by Frank Loesser for his 1950 musical Guys and Dolls, has become a jazz standard since it was featured by trumpeter Miles Davis, on the 1956 Prestige album Relaxin’ with The Miles Davis Quintet. In his performance, Hill created a stress-free ambiance while simultaneously asserting amazingly skilled control while the band played around the basic melody without addressing it directly which gave Hill the task of conjecturing the piece remarkably well. Absolutely stunning performance!

President Bill Clinton – 2014 Maria Fisher Founder’s Award Recipient

President Bill Clinton, whom Herbie Hancock introduced as “the commander in chief of swing,” received the Thelonious Monk Institute’s Maria Fisher Founder’s Award for his contributions to the perpetuation of jazz music and the global expansion of jazz and music education in schools. President Clinton chronicled his own relationship with jazz as a saxophonist, starting at age 6 and ending around 16 when he decided he could not follow in John Coltrane’s footsteps. In addition to praising the underpaid pioneers of jazz culture, President Clinton said the teamwork learned in jazz education could play out in other areas.

“Sometimes a frustrated jazz musician,” President Clinton said, “winds up in another field and it works out well.” Following the awards presentation and in dedication to President Clinton, the incomparable vocalist Dianne Reeves performed George and Ira Gershwin’s Our Love is Here to Stay alongside saxophone legend Wayne Shorter. Later in the evening, a thrilling blues segment featured Taj Mahal and John Mayer displaying their impressive guitar playing and vocals on late bluesman Robert Johnson’s Dust My Broom.

Pharrell Willams and Herbie Hancock Duke It Out

Pianist, composer and bandleader Herbie Hancock teamed up with the hot songwriter and musician, Pharrell Williams, to a duet of Williams’ hit single Happy. The two engaged in a classic duet that brought the house on its feet for 13 minutes! Undoubtedly this performance was a major highlight of the evening. Chaka Khan added her silky and soulful vocals to another Gershwin classic, I Love You Porgy, from Porgy and Bess an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin.

The entire entourage of performers got together at the end of the show to give a rousing rendition to the 1935 iconic blues song, I Have The Blues, with the audience on its feet singing and clapping happily throughout the 10 minutes standing ovation.

Danny R. Johnson is San Diego County News’ Jazz and Pop Music Critic.