SNOWBIRD JAZZ AND BLUES FESTIVAL, Snowbird resort, Friday-Sunday, July 27-29.
Bo knows Snowbird. So does Jimmie. And Poncho . . . and a lot of other talented musicians, for that matter. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Snowbird pitched its giant tent and hosted the 15th Annual Jazz and Blues Festival.
The festival is traditionally two days but was expanded to three this year, to celebrate Snowbird's 30th anniversary. And what a guest list came to the anniversary party. Blues and jazz greats Bo Diddley, Jimmie Vaughan and Poncho Sanchez each headlined a day for the festival, where more was definitely better.
Each day offered its own sound and feel. Friday got the ball rolling with blues night, as Lone Star Shootout, which consists of longtime blues guitarists Lonnie Brooks, Long John Hunter and Phillip Walker, took center stage. Each bluesman took a turn with the band in what turned out to be a game of one-upmanship. The set ended with the three guitarists together onstage taking turns trying to out-solo each other.
Lone Star Shootout set the bar high, but Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyer — the 1999 and 2000 W.C. Handy Award winners of Blues Band of the Year — came out and raised it another notch. Their infectious up-tempo, swinging blues kept the crowd on its feet through the finale, with Piazza jamming on his harmonica, standing on top of a chair in the middle of the audience while his keyboard-playing wife flew through the keys, then stood up on her stool to pound the ivories with her boots.
Jimmie Vaughan, sporting a slicked-up pompadour and smooth demeanor, closed the evening in a big way. Vaughan got the crowd going with honky-tonk blues like "Dirty Girl" and "Motorhead Baby."
Saturday brought in the jazz, with husband-wife team Jeannie and Jimmy Cheatham and their Sweet Baby Blues Band. Jeannie's soulful voice and the energetic play and antics of band members made things exciting in a hurry. Taking a cue from the day before, the band mingled with the audience, snaking through the aisles and slapping high fives.
The L.A. Jazz All-Star Quintet, led by former "Tonight Show" pianist Ross Thompkins, and the Jim Hall Trio, with saxophonist Joe Levano, followed up. And topping off Saturday evening: the irresistible Latin grooves of Poncho Sanchez. There wasn't a body left in a chair once Sanchez got going with the salsa song "Ven Pa Bailar (Come Here to Dance)," off his Grammy and Billboard award-winning album "Latin Soul." Sanchez and his band kept everyone dancing all the way through his encore tribute to Tito Puente, "Oye Como Va."
Sunday brought the rock and blues of local band Harry Lee and the Back Alley Blues Band, along with rocking guitarists the Smokin' Joe Kubek Band, featuring Bnois King.
Before funk-and-soul legend Les McCann took the stage, he had his granddaughter read an entry from the Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz, which said that McCann had died in 1996. McCann then took the stage decked out in a do-rag and bug-eyed glasses with his band, the Nu Texas Savages, and showed everyone that he was quite alive and well. McCann wowed the audience with his rendition of "Amazing Grace." And his saxophonist Keith Anderson was equally impressive with the acrobatic sound of his solos.
Closing the festival was Bo Diddley, with his patented brand of blues and rock 'n' roll. Diddley got the crowd involved in his set by cracking jokes between songs and having the crowd sing along to such classics as "I'm a Man," "Hey Bo Diddley" and "Who Do You Love?"
Some might have worried that Snowbird would have trouble filling three days of music, but after this past weekend, the only question is whether they should perhaps extend next year's festival to four days.
E-MAIL: pthunell@desnews.com