NYC’s Winter Jazzfest sees Gary Bartz, Billy Hart, David Murray and Shabaka Hutchings salute storied venue The East

New York’s Winter Jazzfest, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, expanding from its first editions on a single night in one venue to now being over a weeklong in nearly two-dozen locations, always has a forward-looking idea of the genre at its core. But looking forward also has a component of celebrating history and both were evident at “A Night at the East”.           

The event took place Sunday, 14 January, at the Crown Hill Theatre. Some cultural and geographical background is needed. The East was a community organisation founded in Brooklyn in 1969, with its activities ranging from education and outreach to housing the Black News gazette and bookstore and hosting weekend concerts; a 2022 documentary details its history (see www.sunrisesintheeast.com). It first location was about a mile away from the recently opened Crown Hill Theatre, which was the former site of the Black Lady Theatre, another local arts and cultural organisation. Several of it concerts were documented and released, including albums by Pharoah Sanders, Rashied Ali and Mtume.

Two players who used to appear at The East, alto saxophonist Gary Bartz and drummer Billy Hart, were tapped for the celebration. Alongside them were two other veterans in tenor saxophonist David Murray and trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah. And filling out the group was a multi-generational cast of Shabaka Hutchings (flutes and clarinet), Nicole Mitchell (flute), Moor Mother and Elucid (vocals), Charles Burnham (violin), Julius Rodriguez (keyboard), Luke Stewart (bass) and Kweku Sumbry (percussion). 

Before the main event were prefatory remarks from Basir Mchawi, editor/publisher of Black News and later a radio producer, and duo set by trumpeter Aquiles Navarro and drummer Tcheser Holmes. The pair’s expansive improvisations expanded out into the industrial, brick-lined space, acting as an invocation, a feeling heightened by vocalizations from both, creating a cosmic, hypnotic dance.      

The second half began with all participants facing stage right and following Abdullah in a long chant frosted with light percussion. This spiritual opening set the tone for what ensued, fanfare-like segments bookending small-group excursions featuring different soloists and shifting textures. While Stewart was introduced as the Musical Director and music stands were on the stage, it was an underlying pulse that drove the music, a swelling and contracting that drew a through-line to ‘60s ecstatic jazz coming out of late-period John Coltrane.

Cohesive, if a bit generic, it was the individuals who stood out, whether Moor Mother’s raspy exhortations, Murray’s exultant squalls or Hutchings’ almost alien musings. And history was briefly made when, at the end of the first piece, Abdullah, Murray, Bartz and Hutchings broke out into a quartet for the ages, melding Sun Ra, World Saxophone Quartet, NTU Troop and Sons of Kemet into a wormhole all the way back to 1969.