JAM: February/March 2002 Issue: Folly Jazz News

Doug Tatum

Coming to the Folly:
The Yellowjackets & Regina Carter
Back by popular demand, the Yellowjackets will perform at the historic Folly Theater on Saturday, February 23. For over 20 years, this group has flourished as one of America's most popular contemporary jazz groups. With the current personnel of pianist Russell Ferrante, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, bassist Jimmy Haslip, and drummer Marcus Baylor, the Yellowjackets retain a distinctive sound while they continually explore new material and directions.

The Yellowjackets

Growth, evolution and change have certainly characterized the group's history. Founding members Ferrante and Haslip met in the late 1970s when playing on guitarist Robben Ford's debut album. Ford joined the twosome and the Yellowjackets were born. The group initially featured strong elements of rhythm & blues in their music. After Ford left the band to pursue his solo career, alto saxophonist Marc Russo replaced him and the band began to explore more jazz-oriented material. With drummers William Kennedy and Peter Erskine, the Yellowjackets explored world music, incorporating African and Brazilian elements into their sound. Reedman Bob Mintzer joined group in 1990, adding a more bebopish sensibility to the mix.

Jimmy Haslip states, "Every time a new guy comes into the band, they bring their own sound into the overall concept. We never put any pressure on anyone to sound like somebody else. So, each new member changed the band somewhat and added a different dimension to what we were doing. We've gone through many waves of directions and we've always tried to find a different road, not to avoid what's going on, but to find a different slant to it."

Bob Mintzer says, "One of the most interesting elements of being in the Yellowjackets is being able to implement my ideas compositionally and then, as a group, to fashion them into a sound that is identifiable with the Yellowjackets, yet fresh and different."

Over the years, the band has continued to push the creative envelope, establishing a mixture of group interplay and improvisation within the strong melodic structures that define their sound. Their efforts have brought them numerous Grammy nominations, with two Grammys awarded.

A factor in the Yellowjackets' enduring success is their wide-ranging interests and numerous outside projects. In the past, Ferrante and Haslip co-produced labelmates Michael Franks' and Marilyn Scott's albums. Ferrante co-produced and performed on Bobby McFerrin's recording, Hothouse. Bob Mintzer is busy the year round traveling and appearing as a guest soloist with various big bands. He has had over 150 big band compositions published that are performed around the world. The group has also been heavily involved in jazz and music education around the world.

About the diversity of musical interests each member brings to the group, Ferrante states, "All of us have broad musical tastes. No one's a purist. We're all open to pulling from acoustic and electric jazz, classical music and funk. That's what makes us so different from most jazz bands. We rebel at the idea of being categorized. Some people want to believe that acoustic jazz represents the real jazz tradition. But we feel that jazz is made richer as it takes on different musical influences."

The Regina Carter Quintet will appear at the Folly on Saturday, March 9. One of the most versatile and innovative violinists to emerge on the jazz scene in decades, Regina Carter creates music that has brought cheering fans to their feet at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Hollywood Bowl and has kept the critics marveling.

Formally trained in classical music at the New England Conservatory of Music, Regina became devoted to jazz after hearing the legendary jazz violinists Stephane Grappelli and Jean-Luc Ponty. Regina recalls, "There was a freedom and a possibility in the violin I hadn't understood before. I knew that playing jazz was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life."

Originally from Detroit, Regina says about her hometown, "There's so much music that came from Detroit and it all inspired me. From growing up with the pop tunes of Motown to taking lessons from trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, I was influenced by everything that Detroit offered. In fact, people often wonder why my records are so all over the place stylistically. Well, it's because I'm from Detroit."

Regina first came to the attention of the jazz world as a member of the all-female quintet, Straight Ahead. Her debut recording as a leader, Rhythms of the Heart (Verve), made it onto Time magazine's list of the Top 10 recordings of 1999. Christopher John Farley wrote in Time, "Her violin is her voice -- soaring, sighing, demanding, convincing. Carter creates music that is wonderfully listenable, probingly intelligent and, at times, breathtakingly daring... taking the listener into the future of jazz."

When Regina Carter walks onto the Folly Theater stage, I'm confident she will demonstrate the exuberant virtuosity, rhythmic vitality, and heartfelt lyricism that all combine to make her one of the most dynamic and charismatic young artists in jazz today.