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Miles
Electric
Band
delivered
the
night’s
most
immediate
jolt,
channeling
the
amplified,
rhythm-driven
legacy
associated
with
Miles
Davis’
electric-period
music
into a
set
built
for an
outdoor
festival
crowd.
(Photos
by
Montez
Miller/Tell
Us USA
News
Network) |
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Joe
Lovano,
Miles
Electric
Band Set
the Tone
for
Detroit
Jazz
Festival
Ron
Carter,
Bob
James,
Ravi
Coltrane,
Kurt
Elling
with
Yellowjackets
and Joe
Lovano
Lead
Detroit
Jazz
Festival
Lineup
Claudia
Lugo - Entertainment
Tell Us
USA News
Network
DETROIT
- The
2026
Detroit
Jazz
Festival
opened
Friday
night at
Hart
Plaza
with a
high-voltage
set by
the
Miles
Electric
Band and
a more
exploratory
closing
performance
from
Artist-in-Residence
Joe
Lovano’s
Paramount
Quartet.
The free
Labor
Day
weekend
festival
began
its
main-stage
programming
with the
Miles
Electric
Band,
followed
by
Lovano’s
Paramount
Quartet.
Lovano
was
joined
by
guitarist
Julian
Lage,
bassist
Asante
Santi
Debriano
and
drummer
Will
Calhoun.
Miles
Electric
Band
delivered
the
night’s
most
immediate
jolt,
channeling
the
amplified,
rhythm-driven
legacy
associated
with
Miles
Davis’
electric-period
music
into a
set
built
for an
outdoor
festival
crowd.
The
group’s
sound
emphasized
dense
grooves,
electric
textures
and a
strong
backbeat
rather
than a
conventional
straight-ahead
jazz
approach.
The
performance
worked
particularly
well as
an
opening-night
statement:
forceful,
accessible
and
energetic
enough
to draw
listeners
toward
the main
stage.
The band
showed
how jazz
fusion
can
retain
its
improvisational
core
while
drawing
power
from
rock,
funk and
contemporary
electric
instrumentation.
Lovano’s
Paramount
Quartet
provided
a
sharply
different,
more
conversational
finish
to the
Hart
Plaza
program.
The
Grammy-winning
tenor
saxophonist
led an
ensemble
whose
strengths
lie in
patient
development,
open
space
and
close
interaction
among
four
accomplished
improvisers.
Lovano’s
saxophone
lines
moved
between
muscular,
full-bodied
phrases
and
quieter,
searching
passages,
while
Lage
supplied
nimble
guitar
work
that
often
served
as both
harmony
and
counterpoint.
Debriano
and
Calhoun
kept the
music in
motion
without
forcing
it,
giving
the
quartet
room to
build
tension
gradually
and
shift
direction
naturally.
Rather
than
treating
the
closing
set as a
show of
nonstop
virtuosity,
Lovano
and his
band
created
an
atmosphere
of
collective
discovery.
The
result
was an
absorbing
close to
opening
night —
music
that
rewarded
close
listening
while
still
carrying
enough
momentum
for the
large
festival
setting.
The
contrast
underscored
the
Detroit
Jazz
Festival’s
enduring
appeal,
making
room in
one
evening
for the
amplified
influence
of Miles
Davis’
electric
era and
the
searching,
acoustic
modern
jazz of
Lovano’s
quartet.
Bob
James
and Ravi
Coltrane
Lead
Saturday
Lineup
at
Detroit
Jazz
Festival.
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