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Kennedy Center Festival

Summer is festival time, so JazzSet presents a three-piece Kennedy Center festival from Washington, D.C.

Makoto Ozone Oscar Peterson's music was a big influence on young Makoto Ozone, who grew up in the Japanese port city of Kobe. An early goal was to play like Oscar, but only faster.

Now his playing and compositions reflect an individual approach, steeped in tradition with an ear for points beyond. Ozone's trio is James Genus on bass and Clarence Penn on drums.

Steve Wilson Then comes a three-generation quartet -- Steve Wilson on sax, Billy Childs on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Ben Riley on drums. Riley was Thelonious Monk's drummer in the 1970s. Leader Wilson went to Virginia Commonwealth University on an oboe scholarship.

In 1987 he joined OTB, Out of the Blue, a group put together by the Blue Note label to boost new talent. His phone began to ring -- Lionel Hampton, the American Jazz Orchestra, and the Smithsonian's jazz orchestra all called. The New York Times did a full piece about Wilson's busy life as a leader in the making. Generations is not a working band, so this is exclusive for JazzSet.

Dave Holland The leader of one of today's most exciting ensembles came from England to play bass with Miles Davis. Now Dave Holland is on the front line of some extraordinary music. In 2000 he premiered his big band. With Steve Nelson on marimba and solos by Chris Potter on saxophone and Robin Eubanks on trombone, they close our festival with "What Goes Around."

Music
Makoto Ozone
"Beginning" by Ozone
"Asian Dream" by Ozone

Steve Wilson's Generations
"Jayne" by Ornette Coleman
"Waltz for Sweetie" by Walter Bishop, Jr.

Dave Holland Big Band
"What Goes Around" by Holland

Resources

Credits
Thanks to Kevin Struthers of the Kennedy Center and Big Mo Recording, Greg Hartman and Chris Weal.
Technical Director Duke Markos
Producer Becca Pulliam
Executive Producer Thurston Briscoe III of Jazz 88 WBGO in Newark, NJ, and wbgo.org

Copyright 2007 NPR