Savannah Music Festival delightful this year

I spent three days at the Savannah Music Festival last week and had the time of my life.

I have rich, rewarding music experiences all the time, but this one ranks up there with the best of them.

I rolled down Highway 17 with Quentin Baxter on Wednesday last week to the jewel of Georgia, anticipating the good time I was going to have. The Charleston drummer had a rehearsal for a festival gig the next day.

All the omens were good. The weather was gorgeous and there was no sign it would change while I was there. My sumptuous digs at the Bay Street Bohemian Hotel had me close to the heart of SMF events, maximizing the potential number of events I could see.

It was so intense, I was checking out my feelings when I was reminded of a rhetorical question I grew up hearing: "Are you working hard or hardly working?" My mother would ask me that when she saw me standing idle when I should have been doing something productive.

Oftentimes, I couldn't figure it out this time around in Savannah.

Working hard

I dove right in.

That evening I unleashed what ended up being a torrent of music-listening and note-taking that lasted through late Friday night/early Saturday morning.

The first act I caught was traditional pianist Dick Hyman tickling the ivories like he's been doing for decades now. He played everything from Jelly Roll Morton to chestnuts from the American Songbook. The versatile virtuoso, who turned 83 on March 8, is still stylish in his approach. He was joined by guitarist Howard Alden and clarinet giant Ken Peplowski.

On the same bill was a trio led by piano phenom Gerald Clayton. In stark contrast to Dick's trio, Gerald, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown offered up more modern fare while exploring the form of their music through their individual and group improvisations.

The two bands were polar opposites. This kind of programming is typical of executive and artistic director Rob Gibson, and it's a feature that distinguishes the festival from many others.

SMF entertains and it challenges, all at the same time. You're nudged toward checking out something you might not otherwise have done.

I started Thursday on River Street listening to the 12 high school bands at SMF for its Swing Central program, an effort to teach students over the course of the year with SMF clinicians, then showcase them at the festival.

That night, I went to see the new band led by rock 'n' roll guitarists Derek Trucks and his wife, Susan Tedeschi. It was amazing. After the first set, I made it across town to hear eclectic guitarist Bill Frisell.

The next day, I really turned into marathon man.

With breaks for dining and short walks for physical relief, I immersed myself in jazz music for about 15 hours.

The Swing Central competition took place at the beautiful Lucas Theater. All the bands performed the same three songs to determine a winner. I can now hum chorus after chorus of "Moten's Swing," "Stolen Moments" and "Black Bottom Stomp."

That night, also at the Lucas, I joyously endured five hours of the All Star Swing Summit.

Hardly working

Working the festival was a grind, but it was so good, I'd do it again and again.

While in the beverage line at the Johnny Mercer Theater for the Trucks-Tedeschi show, I bumped, literally, into Charlestonians Teresa Whims and Gary Hutchison. We shared a beer before start time. Teresa, one of Charleston's finest mixologists, takes care of me at the Charleston Grill.

After the Bill Frisell show later that night, I bumped into Teresa and Gary again, this time at the rooftop bar at the Bohemian. We had a nightcap in the gorgeous bar, talking music, Charleston, Savannah, all manner of things with regard to food, beverage and entertainment.

The next day I had an excellent dinner of ginger carrot tilapia at Ruan, a Thai restaurant they had recommended.

By dinnertime that day, I was buoyed by what I saw and heard at Swing Central. What SMF is doing with jazz education is unbelievable. Space doesn't allow a full treatment here, but I'm going to write about it later.

I was looking at the future of jazz on that stage. And the future is now. It was indeed a pleasure to listen and to talk with the kids and their bandleaders and the clinicians.

For instance, it was great to kick it there with the highly regarded trumpeter Marcus Printup, who, it turns out, is friendly with Charleston trumpeter Charlton Singleton.

I swelled with pride last Thursday night at the 80th birthday party for Savannah native and bassist Ben Tucker, one of the most heartwarming SMF shows. Quentin was the drummer and he represented South Carolina spectacularly among the Georgians in the band: trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, Marcus and pianist Kevin Bales.

All in all, it was a whirlwind for me. I worked my tail off but I had a great time.

Savannah is a hip town. The cabbies, bartenders, servers and other service people are cool.

SMF is one of the best music festivals in the country. It's original, well designed and executed, and it goes a very long way toward keeping the world safe for good, live music.

Jack McCray, author of "Charleston Jazz," can be reached at jackjmccray@aol.com.