“Jazz 100” a Fitting Tribute to the Legends

On Oct. 16, pianist, composer, educator, and social activist Danilo Pérez, brought the Jazz 100 ensemble back home to the Greater Boston area, where the program had kicked off earlier in September. The show assembled some of the most accomplished jazz players of our time to celebrate the 100th birthdays of four jazz legends: Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Mongo Santamaria, and Thelonious Monk. In the acoustically impeccable, dimly purple-lit Sanders Theatre, Perez’s ensemble created flawless renditions of some of jazz history’s greatest tunes.

Danilo Perez served as Goodwill Ambassador at the United Nations Children's Fund, and currently serves as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Artist for Peace. His musical works are known for the social-humanitarian overtone they carry, and it was no different at this performance. The program reflected on the role of music to promote solidarity in the collective struggle for peace, the civil rights movement being one of the main focuses. “We shall overcome!” boomed Martin Luther King’s voice before Lizz Wright came on stage to perform Ella Fitzgerald’s “It’s Up to You and Me”—a tribute to King for his lifetime work on human rights. Later that night, Perez narrated a short incident from his time working with Gillespie, asking the latter what he wanted to achieve with his music. “I want to make music that can create a culture of passport, so that through it, all of humanity can come together,” Perez said, quoting Gillespie. This response succinctly captures the philosophy that Perez has followed fervently to the present day.

Realizing Perez’s vision was a carefully chosen ensemble comprising virtuosos playing each instrument, from world-class soloist Chris Potter on the tenor saxophone to SFJAZZ Collective’s Avishai Cohen on the trumpet. Percussionist Roman Diaz, a native of Havana, explored the African origins of jazz music with his loud, powerful chants as he furiously tapped away at the bongo. At several points in the show he was not only commanding the performance with intermittent chants but also involving the audience, who immediately responded to his calls. Wycliffe Gordon on the trombone took the stage with Gillespie’s “Ow!”—the mesmerizing muting-unmuting of his instrument reminding the audience of his work with the legend himself.

Perez gave a generous and well-deserved introduction to Lizz Wright, whose vocal performance was arguably the highlight of the evening. Her rich, majestic voice rose steadily, unwavering as she sang Fitzgerald’s classic “How High the Moon” in a less upbeat, more modern arrangement. When performing “Shiny Stockings,” another Fitzgerald tune, her voice resonated soulfully around the theater and Fitzgerald’s jolly spirit came to life, as Wright even did the signature childish giggle with which the former’s vivacious personality was always associated.

Near the end of the performance, Perez managed to play a witty trick on the audience. After the players bowed and the audience responded with thunderous applause, Perez reappeared on stage just as many got up to leave, grinning, and in an “Aha!” moment, remarked in his Panamanian accent, “So you fell for the trick, I see!” The rest of the ensemble reappeared and presented a masterful rendering of Monk’s “Four in One.” As the standing crowd followed Diaz’s powerful chants, the show finally came to an end—certainly a fitting tribute to the legends.