[TR24][OF] Mack Avenue SuperBand (Christian McBride, Gary Burton, Kirk Whalum, Christian Sands, Tia Fuller, Carl Allen) - Live From the Detroit Jazz Festival 2015 - 2016 (Post-Bop, Contemporary Jazz)

One of the great traditions in the jazz realm is the Detroit Jazz Festival, a world-class celebration with free admission that takes place over Labor Day weekend. Over the past few years, a recurring event has become a key element of that fest. Every year since 2012, the Mack Avenue label has assembled a “SuperBand” made up of jazz stars from its roster (plus special guests) to play the festival. Highlights from each year’s show have been issued on a concert album, the latest of which is the straightahead gem Live From The Detroit Jazz Festival–2015. The stellar quality of the music here comes as no surprise, considering the marquee talent involved: Carl Allen (drums), Gary Burton (vibraphone), Tia Fuller (alto and soprano saxophone), Freddie Hendrix (trumpet), Christian Sands (piano), Kirk Whalum (tenor saxophone) and bassist Christian McBride, who served as the ensemble’s music director. There’s a winning formula that makes this album soar: Fill the set list with crowd-pleasing material, highlight the compositional skills of the individual members, write some punchy horn charts and play arrangements that allow plenty of room for a red-hot blowing session. Highlights include compositions by Whalum (“Preach Hank!”), Hendrix (“Sudden Impact”) and Sands (“Up!”). The program’s dynamic solos here are manna for festival attendees. Hendrix offers ascending notes that are positively stratospheric, Sands displays a stunning fluidity and Whalum can flat-out wail. On Burton’s composition “All You Have To Be Is You,” the vibraphonist intertwines his lines with those of Fuller’s soprano sax to create an intoxicating blend. Throughout the set, Allen and McBride ensure that a sturdy sense of swing remains at the core of the band’s approach. A touring version of the Mack Avenue SuperBand (including Allen, Burton, Fuller, McBride, Sands and trumpeter Sean Jones) will play throughout the United States in 2016, including a Jan. 26–30 residency at Birdland in New York City. Fans around the country will have the opportunity to experience the musical fireworks that make Detroit-based fans look forward to Labor Day. (Bobby Reed, DownBeat Magazine)