Tonight under a fat moon, folks of all walks enjoyed Stanley Clarke as the sun went down and after dark, enjoyed views of the city from the Mall C as we listened to a magnificent Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood.

Clarke blew us away with his band of youngsters. Three of the players were in their Twenties! From his bio: “The opportunity to state melody and to propel the bass to the front of the concert stage came to fruition when Clarke and Corea formed the seminal electric jazz/fusion band Return to Forever.  RTF was a showcase for each of the quartet’s strong musical personalities, composing prowess, and instrumental voices.  Clarke surmised, “we really didn’t realize how much of an impact we were having on people at the time.  We were touring so much then, we would just make a record and go back on the road.” The band recorded eight albums, two of which were certified gold (the wildly successful Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy and the classic Romantic Warrior), won a Grammy award (No Mystery) and received numerous nominations while touring incessantly.  And this was a jazz band!”

John Scofield may be familiar from his stint with Miles Davis. Another old guy like Clarke, he was aptly paired with the younger Medeski Martin and Wood. Here’s why: "I wanted to make a real jazz-improvising statement in a live situation with two of my favorite musicians," Scofield says. "It’s really challenging. You don’t rely on arrangements as much as on the way the group plays together. You don’t rely on anything other than good playing, and you know there’s no lifejacket or safety net involved. That doesn’t happen as often in a studio setting: I think the big difference is the audience. There is a symbiotic affinity between the artists and the audience that makes for something special."

That’s’ what Medeski Martin and Wood are all about – improvising, feelin’ it. We were all feelin’ the love down on Mall C Tonight as a seriously diverse and happy group of jazz fanatics and just plain groovers of all ages came together to enjoy a beautiful evening on the gorgeous Mall. We were enjoying the beauty of the city at night and the city beautifulness of the Burnham Plan – may the Burnham Plan -- the City Beautiful live on with folks gathered for free stunning music, a cool breeze off the lake and the lights of the city interacting with the moon.

There’s more tomorrow if you get a chance to hop down there on the Rapid…

SATURDAY
Noon Test of Time (cover band)
12:45 p.m. Word Church Choir (gospel)
1:45 p.m. Lisa Parrot Trio (jazz)
3 p.m. Stefon Harris (jazz/funk)
4:15 p.m. Freekbass (funk)
5:30 p.m. D.A. Funkified (jazz/funk)
7 p.m. Miri Ben-Ari (hip-hop)
8:15 p.m. "Cleveland Blues Guitar Summit" with Butch Armstrong, Michael Calzone, Bob Frank, Alan Greene, Frank "Silk" Smith and Frankie Starr (blues)