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Sitting on 11-day-old sod and looking at a bandstand shaded by a locally-produced copper bandshell, a smiling, but reserved capacity crowd of about 2,000 was on hand for Friday's re-opening of Salt Lake City's Red Butte Garden featuring nine-time Grammy winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.
Huntsville resident Connie Castleton said that before the renovation audience members didn't have clear vantage points and sightlines offered by the new elevated lawn area. "It's just very pleasant to come here," she said. "You can't beat the view."
STF Electric Foreman Jay Campbell, who worked on the project much of this year, said his crew worked until 12:30 a.m. Friday preparing for the opening. Campbell said he still wondered whether the event could take place as late as 1:30 p.m. Friday, as he again worked at the site.
Campbell said Red Butte's permanent power source wasn't activated until Thursday. The grass-covered hillside also impressed Campbell, who said he still more readily pictured a muddy bog that occupied the site until mid-June than the new turf.
Salt Lake resident Kim Wirthlin who's attended Red Butte concerts each of the past five summers said she liked the new stage, which now keeps performers from staring into the sun.
"It's wonderful," she said and added that the addition of "real restrooms" in place of portable toilets is also a big improvement.
Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra took to the stage just before 7:30 p.m. dressed in matching brown suits and seated behind music stands. While the band's performance seemed note-perfect and constituted a virtual nirvana for fans of brass-soaked jazz, the crowd never matched the band's energy or enthusiasm.
Marsalis took time to introduce almost every song by name and the crowd chuckled at the jazz legend's light-hearted stage banter. Aside from a few solos, it was the only time Marsalis drew attention to himself. After the opening "Blues in F," Marsalis told the crowd that blues "should be America's national anthem."
Songs by Billy Strayhorn, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Wayne Shorter were among the standouts of the band's nearly two-hour concert.
The first set was highlighted by an up-tempo rendition of Benny Carter's classic "Doozy" featuring a machine-gun paced trombone part. The 15-piece band seemed most at home on Marsalis' compositions "Bamboula Dance," and second-set opener, "Number 10."
Some of the night's biggest applause went for the mellow first-set closer of Basie's "Lil' Darlin'.
For whatever the reason, the largely quiet crowd seemed more energized for the second set. Although the latter set's selections were shorter, applause was more enthusiastic, particularly for the atmospheric "Appointment in Ghana," which featured Marsalis, standing in the band's back row, taking a dissonant, edgy solo.
The band then played two relatively short, but lilting, songs by Strayhorn and Ellington: "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing," and "Concerto for Cootie," respectively.
Then, many concert-goers took Marsalis' introduction of set finale "Un Poco Loco" as an invitation to leave.
It's too bad folks began packing, because the blazing 15-minute work featured some of the ensemble's most spirited and furious playing as city lights twinkled off to the southwest, including drummer Ali Jackson's fiery solo that had band members hooting and cheering onstage.
The group encored with a well-known Ellington number called "C Jam Blues" to a half-empty, yet new and improved, ampitheatre.
Raitt adds second date
Red Butte officials used Friday's re-opening to announce Bonnie Raitt has added a second Red Butte Garden concert date. The veteran blues-rock guitarist and singer will now play a get-out-the vote style fund-raiser Aug. 25. Opening the event will be guitarist Leo Kotke. Tickets for the Aug. 25 show go on sale Thursday.Raitt's Aug. 26 concert sold out in less than 36 hours.