On Thursday, November 17, an enthusiastic crowd filled the NJPAC’s stunning Prudential Hall to welcome an assortment of artists associated with the performer-centric label GRP Records, founded by the late drummer and sound engineer Larry Rosen, the illustrious honoree of this show, and the pianist and producer Dave Grusin, who at the age of 82, performed with his usual brio. The concert was part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival The American jazz-fusion quartet The Yellowjackets, vindicating 40 years of existence, was summoned to open the show. Besides the pianist/keyboardist Russell Ferrante, a founding member, the band includes Bob Mintzer on saxophone and EWI, Will Kennedy on drums, and the most recent acquisition, the young Australian bass player Dane Alderson. …show more content…
Without surprise, the music slid into a familiar crossover jazz spiced with thick chunks of spirited funk and smooth pop rock. Avid fans of the smooth jazz genre effusively applauded the quartet co-led by the iconic Dave Grusin and the Grammy award-winning guitarist Lee Ritenour. Rounding out the group are the bassist Melvin Lee and the drummer Sonny Emory, two musicians that belong to a much younger generation. This formation gained even more emphasis with the guests David Sanborn, an altoist whose career brought him six Grammy awards, and Phil Perry, a vocalist known for having a remarkable falsetto. The diversified repertoire included a couple of tunes from Wes Bound - Ritenour’s 1993 homage to the colossal jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, a rendition of Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen Moments”, a pair of Sanborn’s numbers that move in a traditional pop-jazz meets R&B, Grusin’s “Punta Del Sol” and a solo interpretation of Jobim’s “Retrato em Branco e Preto”, and Phil Perry singing in a weird Portuguese the fantastic song “Arlequim Desconhecido” by the Brazilian Ivan