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Big Chief Donald Harrison Keeps It Swinging Free and Nouveau

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by Rose Eggert, Burlington Writers Workshop

Review of Big Chief Donald Harrison and The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group at Burlington Discover Jazz Festival on Friday, June 6.

Big Chief Donald Harrison opens his imaginative but listener-friendly performance by walking quietly onto the Flynn MainStage. He builds a focused yet steady head of steam with “Quantum Leap,” allowing pianist Zaccai Curtis, who is becoming a force in jazz in his own right, to get some serious love early on. (His brother Luques Curtis played bass with Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band at Flynn Center MainStage on Sunday night).

Bassist Max Moran, one of the bright lights of his generation, guitarist Detroit Brookes who Harrison intros as one of the most soulful guitar players in jazz today, and drummer Joe Dyson, let loose as Harrison bops through “Free to Be” in his own brand of Nouveau Swing.

If there’s any doubt that The Big Chief can move a crowd of jazz aficionados, Friday night music freaks and even the merely curious, it ends here, as he takes us now on a song and dance trip to the 60s, where he grew up listening to James Brown, the funky Meters and Motown on the radio. He loves funky music (turns out this audience does, too) but he has this dilemma, he really loves jazz; so suddenly we’re listening to jazz swing beats as drummer Dyson sets off with James Brown’s funky baselines, and bassist Moran gives us even funkier bass rhythm. Dwain Hitchens adds swing to his percussions, while Curtis is killing it on jazz piano, and Detroit Brooks from NOLA gives us that soulful guitar. The Big Chief blows some serious saxophone, too, which he likes to keep free and danceable and swinging. They mix it up with some jazz, and some funky soul for dancing because that’s the realm he loves to explore.

We are catching on to some good feeling here with “Nouveau Swing” (drummer Joe Dyson’s favorite song) and catching a needed breath with one of Charlie Parker’s favorites, “Cherokee.” “Mr. Cool Breeze,” a nickname Lena Horne gave Harrison when he played in her band, takes center stage. BTW: He definitely prefers this nickname to his childhood name of Donald Duck.). Suddenly he’s off on a vocal scat proclamation of Nouveau Swing, which we are totally digging.

This evening just keeps getting cooler. Trumpeter Ray Vega, a veteran of Tito Puente’s band and who has played with the likes of Lionel Hampton (musical creds up the wahzoo folks) also happens to be a UVM faculty member. He joins Harrison center stage for a Coltrane standard, “Mr. P.C.” followed quickly by a brass duet of “Misty,” which is pure poetry.

But it’s time get on our dancing shoes as the spirits of NOLA and Mardi Gras descend upon us in dazzling traditional costume for “Iko Iko.” Jazz aficionados, Friday night music freaks and the merely curious take to the aisles as Big Chief Donald Harrison and the Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group finally bring the house down with Dr. John’s “Find a Levee and Burn it Down.”

Oh, one final musical note: Even before The Big Chief took to the stage, he was busy gob-smacking the amazingly talented Vermont All State Jazz ensemble, who opened for him to a well-deserved standing O. The kids told me he played pretty much every instrument in the ensemble to show them how the music should be played, by ear – and he nearly missed his own sound check. Glad he didn’t.


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