On June 10, the River to River Festival returned to downtown Manhattan for the launch of its 20th edition (which runs through Sunday, June 27), and Wayne Shorter was very much on everyone’s mind. Kicking off the festivities, bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding, keyboardist Leo Genovese, and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington performed an outdoor concert in honor of the great saxophonist and composer at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center on the Lower East Side. Following the performance, there was a screening of WS, a longer super nova, a new film on Shorter directed by Arthur Jafa, and a filmed conversation between Spalding and Shorter, moderated by Greg Tate and Craig Street, focusing on the two musicians’ new jointly composed opera Iphigenia. (If you’re interested in seeing Jafa’s film, there will be further digital-only screenings on June 17, 19, 24, and 26; visit the River to River Festival website for more information.)
Regular JazzTimes photographer Alan Nahigian was present at the concert, capturing images both before and after Spalding, Genovese, and Carrington took the stage. Check out a few of his images in the slideshow below.
Social Science Becomes Social Art for Terri Lyne Carrington’s New Band
