Wendy Moten
With pandemic lockdown a fading memory, Nashville’s jazz and blues fans and artists saw a lot of revival and celebration throughout 2023. Nashville Jazz Workshop, a vital part of the North Nashville community in its Buchanan Street headquarters, featured Wendy Moten in its annual Jazzmania celebration at The Factory at Franklin. The Workshop continues to garner national and international recognition both in the jazz and mainstream press. The institution boasts an expanded list of classes that attract students from around the globe, as well as a faculty that rivals any similar institution anywhere. The same holds true at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, whose jazz program is headed by Ryan Middagh, also head of the world-class Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra.
Another local jazz milestone was the release of the superb trio record Coffin/Perlson/Krauss, issued on dynamic multi-instrumentalist Jeff Coffin’s Ear Up label. It was one of three 2023 Ear Up releases this year, alongside Growth by saxophonist and MTSU educator Don Aliquo, and Coffin’s solo outing Look for Water.
Rudy’s Jazz Room is again operational six nights a week — dark only on Tuesdays — and both Rudy’s and the NJW’s Jazz Cave venue feature not only top local and regional talent but major national touring acts as well. Notable jazz shows happened across the city, including guitar legend Pat Metheny at the Ryman, vocalist Tierney Sutton at the Workshop, and Meshell Ndegeocello at City Winery.
Music City remains among an ever-shrinking minority of major cities with a full-time terrestrial jazz station in Fisk University’s WFSK, better known as Jazzy FM, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. The station also spearheaded the return of the Fisk Food and Jazz Music Festival live on campus in June. Meanwhile, the Jefferson Street Jazz and Blues Festival was held at Tennessee State University’s Edward Temple Track in July.
The Nashville Blues and Roots Alliance officially aligned this year with the Blues Foundation in Memphis, and coordinated the local version of the foundation’s International Blues Challenge. This year’s winners were Piper & The Hard Times in the Band category and The Deltaz in the Solo/Duo category. In January, they’ll join in the annual IBC competition that fills some 20 clubs on Beale Street with challengers. Our local blues scene includes such places as Papa Turney’s, which recently presented the incomparable Bobby Rush in concert; 3rd and Lindsley, which hosted a 21st-century version of hokum blues courtesy of Chris “BadNews” Barnes; as well as longtime downtown staples Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar and B.B. King’s Blues Club, among others.
Robert Finley at the release party for 'Tell Everybody!' at Brooklyn Bowl, 8/9/2023
The great Buddy Guy included Nashville among his stops on his final national tour, while Kenny Wayne Shepherd celebrated the 25th anniversary of his breakthrough LP Trouble Is… in Nashville. Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound followed its release of Korean American bluesman Nat Myers’ debut Yellow Peril with Tell Everybody!, a killer anthology highlighting the label’s recent blues recordings from such artists as Robert Finley, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and Gabe Carter. Those three performed alongside Auerbach’s band The Black Keys at Brooklyn Bowl during a dynamic release party for the compilation; as if that weren’t enough, the label also released Black Bayou, an even stronger solo effort from Finley.
Other noteworthy related events included the first national tour of the marvelous Wooten Brothers in more than a decade, which included a sensational stop at Riverside Revival. Tennessee State University’s Aristocrat of Bands, which appeared everywhere in 2023 — from the Tournament of Roses parade to NFL and major college football games to the Chicago Thanksgiving Parade — took home two Grammys as well.
As always, those who insist on making illogical and foolish comparisons with New York City or Chicago might declare Nashville’s jazz and blues community lacking. But each year the level of talent, activism and participation keeps growing, making these idioms very much a vital part of our identity as Music City.
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