An Island of Jazz

The roar of auto traffic came down from New York's Triborough Bridge; airliners thundered overhead on the way out of La Guardia Airport; the loudspeakers squealed and squawked. But at Randall's Island, the East River playground used mostly for track meets and soccer matches, the disturbances did not seem to matter. In three days, 60,000 fans packed the stadium for the fourth annual Randall's Island Jazz Festival, and made it the world's biggest jam session, displacing even the famed Newport Festival. The jazz buffs had come (at up to $4.50 a ticket) to hear just about every top combo, including an exciting West Coast-styled group making its first appearance in New York.

There was none of the improvised Dixieland so familiar to festivals; nor were there many personal appearances by such great solo showmen as "Satchmo" Armstrong or Gene Krupa. Instead, classics-minded young jazzmen concentrated on the brassy new progressive jazz and the slightly atonal West Coast styles, and played their well-rehearsed arrangements with the cool elegance of conservatory students. Even Stan Kenton's 18-piece (including bongo drums) orchestra had its own smooth brand of progressive beat. But the real stars of the festival were the small, intimate combos that played jazz with a new maturity and subtlety.

To no one's surprise, the festival's standout was the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Blending classical and jazz traditions with a masterful touch, Milhaud-trained Pianist Brubeck (TIME cover, Nov. 8, 1954) and his mates (Eugene Wright on bass, Joe Morello on drums, Paul Desmond on alto sax) made each number sound like a theme and variations. The quartet usually started with well-known tunes (These Foolish Things, St. Louis Blues), then varied the tempo (from 4/4 to 5/4 and back to 3/4) as it injected its own sometimes loud, sometimes soft designs. The solo lead flew like a badminton bird from one musician to the other.

Most of the groups that followed showed their adherence to the Brubeck style. Among the best:

P: Miles Davis Sextet, a well-established jazz combo that got a big hand and rated it. Trumpeter Miles Davis,* who years ago launched in New York what became known as "West Coast jazz," groups together some of jazzland's most gifted performers (Pianist Wynton Kelly, Alto Saxophonist Julian--"Cannonball"--Adderly, Drummer Jimmy Cobb, Bassist Paul Chambers, Tenor Saxophonist John Coltrane), has rehearsed them to play an original repertory (jazzed-up ballads in classic form) with the cohesiveness of a chamber music ensemble.

P: Ramsey Lewis Trio, a Chicago group fashioned after the Ahmad Jamal Trio (which got top festival billing, but favored too many innovations at the expense of recognizable jazz). The trio played its progressive music with such style that it was the second night's biggest hit.

P: Modern Jazz Quartet, a fine, precise team of arrangement-conscious musicians led by Pianist John Lewis, who make jazz sound like a 19th century tone poem. With a sharp, clear vibes, a versatile piano, a bass and a set of traps, the quartet warmed up with a cool version of I'll Remember April, approached mastery in its last offering, a three-part number (The Singer, Harlequin, Contessa) delivered in a boogie-woogie, bass-led tempo and highlighted by an atonal, polyphonic piano.

These were the sounds that the spectators enjoyed most, and the audience kept its manners within the new tradition--cool and calm. There were no wild cheers, no stomping, no whistles--just a steady, heartfelt applause. Jazz was growing more mature, and so was the audience. When a pair of teen-agers started whooping it up over a Brubeck rendition, yipping "Go man, go!", a well-dressed young Negro sitting in front of them turned and snapped: "Have some respect, won't you, please?"

*Who also made the New York police blotter last week by getting in a scrape in front of Manhattan's Birdland jazz spot. According to the cops, Davis and fans were blocking the sidewalk, refused to heed an order to move on; in the scuffle Davis got blackjacked, was charged with assaulting a policeman, and had his performer's permit suspended.

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