Last fall, as Jack DeJohnette was nearing the end of his life, he received a visit from two of his closest friends, Pat Metheny and Terri Lyne Carrington. “Pat and Terri Lyne literally arrived at the hospital as Jack was dying,” recalls Lydia DeJohnette, his widow and former manager. “They were there in that moment. I was touched by that.”
Upon his passing in October at 83, DeJohnette was remembered as one of his generation’s most dynamic drummers, and one of its most searching composer-bandleaders. He was also a prodigious collaborator, a longtime resident of New York’s upper Hudson Valley, and a committed advocate for mutual aid and community activism. Each of these attributes will factor in an all-star tribute on his birthday, Aug. 9, at the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston, NY.
All proceeds will benefit Family of Woodstock, which provides emergency housing and crisis intervention to individuals and families in need, and The Table at Woodstock, which addresses food and clothing insecurity. Tickets will be available to UPAC and Bardavon members on Wednesday at 10 a.m., and to the public on Friday at 10 a.m.
The tribute originated with an on-the-spot conversation between Metheny, the master guitarist and composer, and Carrington, DeJohnette’s former protégé and principal heir as a drummer. Along with Lydia DeJohnette and the producer Danny Melnick, they’re co-organizing a concert featuring dozens of musicians from his vast orbit.
Among those participating artists are some of DeJohnette’s earliest associates from Chicago, like multi-reedist Roscoe Mitchell and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith; and fellow Miles Davis alumni, like bassist Dave Holland, guitarist John Scofield, and drummer Billy Hart.
Many of DeJohnette’s old band mates will also appear, including saxophonists David Murray, Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Ravi Coltrane and Rudresh Mahanthappa; pianists Danilo Pérez, Michael Cain, George Colligan and Jason Moran; guitarists Dave Fiuczynski, David Gilmore and Marvin Sewell; and bassists Rufus Reid, Jerome Harris, Lonnie Plaxico, John Patitucci, Larry Grenadier, esperanza spalding, Drew Gress and Linda May Han Oh.
Other luminaries, all bringing different layers of history, include trumpeter Charles Tolliver, clarinetist Don Byron, saxophonist Chris Potter, organist John Medeski, and pianists Bruce Hornsby, Marc Copland and Billy Childs.
And of course there will be no shortage of amazing drummers, all beneficiaries of DeJohnette’s influence to some degree. In addition to Carrington and Hart, that list will include Ra Kalam Bob Moses, Tani Tabbal, Denardo Coleman, Will Calhoun, Nasheet Waits, and Bill Stewart. “He showed us all how the drums can be melodic,” attests Carrington in a written tribute, “how they can heal, how they can lead others, as well as accompany insightfully. He showed us the possibilities of the instrument in a very singular way — a way that’s integrated comprehensively in the fabric of the music.”
As musical directors of the concert, Carrington and Metheny are working to make their own coherent fabric, out of many threads. “Terri Lyne and Pat are putting ensembles together in a logical way, based on cats who played together with Jack over the years,” explains Melnick, the president of Absolutely Live Entertainment and a co-owner of The Local, a venue in Saugerties. “The idea is to try and reassemble some of those groups, and play his tunes from those eras. But there will also be some solos or duets. Some of the artists are going to speak and not play.”
Melnick adds that everyone involved is coming on their own initiative: “No fees, no transportation, no hotel. We’re doing all of this for the love of Jack, and to support these organizations in honor of him.” Even the proprietors of the venue have offered it rent-free, with no charge for sound, lights, or video. (There will be a paid event staff: ushers, security and stagehands, along with a stage manager and sound technician.) “All of the net, every single penny we have left, is going to these organizations here.”
For Lydia DeJohnette, the overwhelming response affirms her late husband’s legacy, both in musical and personal terms. “It was kind of like a family coming together, in a way,” she tells WRTI. “People that we’ve worked with for over 30 years.”
For more information about Celebrating Jack DeJohnette: Sound Travels, visit the Bardavon website.
