Warren Wolf, one of the headliners at this weekend’s Summer Solstice Jazz Festival in East Lansing, remembers the schedule his father had for him when he came home from school as he was growing up in Baltimore.
He was to practice 90 minutes each day – 30 on the vibraphone, 30 on the drum and 30 on the piano.
“It taught me patience and humility and an appreciation for all the instruments and multiple styles,” Wolf said.
In the early days, Wolf was strictly a classical musician, and he attended the Baltimore School for the Arts and Peabody Institute’s preparatory program, where he was the principal timpanist.
It was in high school when Wolf discovered jazz.
“It was difficult for me to improvise at first, and I had to work hard at it,” Wolf said. “By the time I entered the Berklee College of Music I was fully into jazz. Now, I don’t play much classical anymore.”
Wolf pretty much limits himself to the vibraphone (“vibes”) these days. He travels the world playing with various groups and artists, has made several recordings and is an adjunct professor at the Peabody Conservatory.
And on Saturday, June 27, he’ll be in downtown East Lansing performing at the 30th Summer Solstice Jazz Festival. The event is a collaboration between Michigan State’s College of Music Jazz Program and the City of Lansing, with an early summer date that annually ushers in the season of outdoor music festivals and concerts in mid-Michigan.
The featured artists are a mix of MSU jazz profs, visiting world-class musicians and local talent. Downtown East Lansing has gone through many major changes over the years, but the Jazz Fest has adapted.
Wolf has not performed in East Lansing before, but he is very familiar with the MSU Jazz program. He has a long relationship with Rodney Whitaker, MSU’s jazz studies director, and knows many of the professors.
“I remember hearing a Roy Hargrove CD and wondering who the great bass player was in the band,” Wolf said. “It was Rodney and I found a way to meet him. And now we play together on a regular basis.”
Wolf will perform at the festival in a unique instrumental pairing with another vibist (Chuck Reed), along with a rhythm section (Paul Keller, bass; Michael Reed, drums; and Rick Roe, piano).
Randy Napoleon, artistic director of the festival, came up with unusual ensemble of a two-vibraphone quintet and Wolf jumped on it. The group has never played together before, and they won’t even have a rehearsal before the concert.
“During the sound check we’ll talk about the set list and how the music will go, but we are all pros and we all know how to do this,” Wolf said.
“It’s the beauty of jazz.”
Summer Solstice Jazz Festival
When: June 26-27
Where: Downtown East Lansing
Friday: Two stages with performance beginning at 6 p.m; Saturday: Both stages have performances beginning at 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. and will go through the evening.
More information: Go to eljazzfest.com
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: ‘The beauty of jazz’: Warren Wolf among headliners for Summer Solstice Jazz Festival
Reporting by Ken Glickman, For the Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ken Glickman, For the Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
