Sep 3, 2026 10:44 AM
In Memoriam: Cassandra Wilson, 1955–2026
Cassandra Wilson, a singer, songwriter and producer who was one of the most acclaimed and successful jazz vocalists of…
Herbie Hancock, left, and Ron Carter performed as a duo at this year’s Monterey Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Nic Coury)After two years of flux following the departure of artistic director Tim Jackson, the 2026 Monterey Jazz Festival roared back to its customary heights Sept. 25–27 under the leadership of programmer Jason Olaine and pianist/artistic advisor Gerald Clayton. Celebrating the dual centennials of Miles Davis and John Coltrane as well as offering a fresh panorama of up-to-the-minute fare, the festival highlighted its own exceptionalism with the slogan “only in Monterey,” even as another, darker theme seeped into many performances: a yearning for peace in these politically troubled times.
Back-to-back shows Sunday by the Charles Lloyd Quartet and a first-time-ever duo set by former Davis sidemen bassist Ron Carter and pianist Herbie Hancock transported the central venue, the Jimmy Lyons Stage, back to the innocence and optimism of the 1960s. Playing tenor saxophone and alto flute with an all-star quartet featuring Clayton (piano) Larry Grenadier (bass) and Brian Blade (drums), Lloyd reprised the title track of his million-selling live recording from the 1966 festival, Forest Flower. As always, Lloyd slyly led the crowd to a hypnotic payoff like a wizard beckoning followers to his lair, offering an infectious pas de deux with Grenadier on “Passin’ Through” and rocking the cradle of his classic “Dream Weaver” before finally caressing his familiar anthem.
Hancock and Carter, who followed, started out tentatively with “Autumn Leaves,” perhaps not coincidentally the same tune they opened with at the 1963 festival with Davis. They quickly found their groove on an atmospheric “Footprints” and a defiantly relaxed “Stella By Starlight,” which, Carter noted, “Miles always wanted to play faster and faster till the last man standing.” Carter’s athletic solo performance on his traditional showcase, “You Are My Sunshine,” revealed an 89-year-old bassist still at the top of his game. Herbie’s solo outing on “Maiden Voyage” brought the crowd happily back to the gauzy mood where Lloyd had left them.
That’s how the festival ended. It started on an equally high note, with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the sizzling tribute band The Eddie Palmieri Experience. Opening pointedly with a dazzling arrangement of Jackie McLean’s “Appointment In Gaza,” the JLCO proved once again that it is one of most distinctive, accomplished and colorful orchestras ever. Marsalis himself was on fire. Alto saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, who had joked earlier on the West End Stage that she “felt like Lester Young,” holding her sax out at an angle to navigate seven months of pregnancy, soared on her tune “The Neutralizer.” Cécile McLorin Salvant joined the orchestra, offering a snappy and sharp “Why Don’t You Do Right.”
Latin jazz and salsa pioneer Palmieri would have been tickled by the extravaganza that honored him. Led by alto saxophonist and vocalist Louis Fouché, the group featured Latin jazz aces trumpeter Brian Lynch, trombonists Conrad Herwig and Jimmy Bosch, percussionist Camilo Molina and vocalist Hermán Olivera. When the group lit into the vocal chorus on “Pa’ La Hochá Tambó” — “Ho-chá! Ho-chá!” — the crowd went wild. Molina wiped the plate clean on timbales on Palmieri’s signature song, “Azucar Pa’ Ti,” closing one of the best Friday nights in Monterey history.
Saturday afternoon is boogie time in Monterey, and Mississippi blues man Christone “Kingfish” Ingram did not disappoint, especially when Shemekia Copeland testified beside him on “Black Cat Bone,” though the energy level dipped during David Sanchez’s dark and knotty opus “Tambó.” Saturday night, Salvant rounded out the arena shows with a captivating edition of Kurt Weill’s operetta-like tale “Barbara’s Song” and a surprising performance of “No Love Dying,” the signature song of another Monterey favorite, Gregory Porter. Salvant also touched on the current political mood with a dark piece derived from Aeschylus’ Oresteia. Tellingly, when the lyric repeatedly contrasted the word “batter” (as in attack) and “better,” she landed dramatically on the latter, optimistic choice. Similarly, on Sunday morning, the introspective, gospel-inflected new star from Seattle, singer-pianist Brittany Davis, a folksy rhymester who seems to be delightfully making things up as she goes along, opted for inspirational affirmations when confronted by a world hostile to her blindness, Blackness and body type.
The only real disappointment at the main stage was the commissioned piece, America 250, by the chill, deep-voiced neo-soul singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello. Though Ndegeocello was amusingly wry about the contradictions inherent in a Black woman celebrating an America birthday, her new work consisted of two slight, short and not particularly insightful collaborations with vocalist Justin Hicks.
The Jimmy Lyons Stage is never the whole story at the Monterey Jazz Festival, as four other venues dot the fairgrounds. Some of the best shows happened at the newly named Ray Drummond West End Stage. Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band, with the wonderful Jon Cowherd on piano and pump organ, transmitted the ecstasy of a sanctified church, with Blade dropping signature thunder bombs. Pianist Kris Davis ripped up the keyboard with clusters and punches, yet with every note clear as glass. On “Run The Gauntlet,” bassist Robert Hurst ran his instrument through a Pitchfork effect that created an eerie chorus before Davis began slamming the keyboard with her elbows. Great stuff! On Friday, pianist Steven Feichte, playing with his wife, Tarantino, executed crisp, clean, percussive lines with a delightfully dancing feeling.
Over at the Pacific Jazz Café, tenor and soprano saxophonist Isaiah Collier inhabited the very soul of John Coltrane, and Hammond B-3 ace Atsuko Hashimoto blew the roof off. On a quieter note, Clayton and former festival artistic director Jackson offered an entertaining and informative conversation as they traded shots in a DownBeat “Double Blindfold Test.”
As always, Monterey showcased talented youngsters, many of whom, like Clayton himself and this year’s artist-in-residence, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, once participated as kids in the festival’s education programs. Standouts this year included trumpeters Miri Izenberg, Axel Torres and Lucas Comesana, tenor saxophonist Iris Chen and soprano saxophonist Vinayan Chellappa-Ives.
Bravo to Clayton and Olaine for a job well done. May they continue to prosper. DB
Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.
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Cassandra Wilson, a singer, songwriter and producer who was one of the most acclaimed and successful jazz vocalists of…
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