- [Narrator] Coming up on "One Detroit," it's all about jazz.

We'll preview the annual Detroit Jazz Festival, taking place this weekend, plus this year's jazz festival poster artist talks about the inspiration behind her design.

Also ahead, a conversation with the artist in residence, drummer and hip hop producer, Karriem Riggins, plus a performance by the Detroit native.

And we'll tell you what else is happening in metro Detroit over the holiday weekend.

It's all coming up next on "One Detroit."

- [Narrator 2] From Delta faucets to Behr paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support for this program is provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV.

- [Narrator 3] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit dtefoundation.com to learn more.

- [Narrator 2] Nissan Foundation, and viewers like you.

(mellow music) - [Narrator] Just ahead on this week's "One Detroit," Detroit Jazz Festival artist in residence, drummer and producer Karriem Riggins, sits down for a one-on-one conversation about his career and unique sound.

Plus, we'll get you ready for the jazz festival with a performance by the Detroit born Riggins.

And Cecelia Sharpe and Dave Wagner of 90.9 WRCJ have some more ideas on what you can do in Metro Detroit over the long holiday weekend.

But we'll start with a preview of one of the biggest Labor Day traditions in Detroit.

The 44th annual Detroit Jazz Festival will bring thousands of music lovers downtown to enjoy some of the best jazz artists in the world from September first through the fourth.

"One Detroit" contributor and American Black Journal host, Stephen Henderson, got a preview from the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation President, Chris Collins, and a look at this year's official poster by artist Brittini Ward.

(relaxing music) - Now that we're back to life as it kind of was before the pandemic or at least a close simulation of that, you know, the festival is as big as it ever was.

It is in person.

It is this incredible institution and marker in Detroit.

The hair stands up on the back of my neck when I think about JazzFest every year.

- Oh, thanks Stephen.

You know, 44th year, this year, what an amazing tradition of the city and a tradition that's so connected.

The art is so connected to our citizenry and reflects in the visual arts and the narrative arts and everything else.

It really speaks to us all and it's a joyous time.

It's a time to celebrate and to come together and meet new people and hear some music from some of the most significant creative artists in the field right now.

So I'm equally thrilled and thank you for your ongoing support and enthusiasm.

- I just wanna have you talk just a little about the rest of this year and the festival, what's going on, the people that we have coming, the people who we are featuring who are already part of Detroit and the Detroit music scene.

But let's start with Karriem Riggins, this year's artist and resident.

- Yeah, it's a wonderful thing.

Karriem Riggins, we've talked for a number of years about this, and of course he's been involved along the way in a number of our year round educational and outreach programs throughout the years and no doubt this year he was as well.

And like so many things, you'll see the culmination of his work at the Detroit Jazz Festival, like so many other year-round, Detroit Jazz Fest Foundation projects.

So, you know, he brings something new as you'll see through the entire festival lineup role, he's looking for artists that are bringing something new to the genre, the art and, you know, the dimensions of evolution that the art is going through.

And Karriem brings something special, this highly respected drummer in the jazz world by all accounts.

And then he has this whole other life in the hip hop and electronic music scene.

He has a new label that's under his name coming out.

And it represents someone who can truly bring together, artistically, these two worlds in a way no one's been quite able to do before and he'll be doing that over three different performances throughout the festival.

It's going to the trajectory and I'm sure cause a lot of talk.

- Yeah.

Brittini Ward, I wanna bring you into the conversation now and that's because we wanna talk about this year's JazzFest poster and you are the poster artist for that.

It really is a stunning work of art but it also, you know, each year I say this as well, really does capture the sense of who we are as Detroiters and the fact that this is the Detroit Jazz Festival.

But Brittini, talk about how you came up with the imagery and the idea that you have in this year's poster.

- [Brittini] Yeah, thank you for that, and so grateful to be here.

I created the poster to give reverence to my granddad and my father who were the introducers of jazz in my own life.

I remember, you know, just traveling in the backseat then the front seat with my dad, listening to all types of jazz, him making up stories to Pat Methenys, like music, you know, like this little boy traveling, like telling stories to jazz.

My granddad and his, da, da, da, da, da, da, you know, like going downtown, I mean, going down south for family reunion.

So anyway, all of that was in my brain plus more as I'm creating this poster because, you know, my dad, he recently transitioned and so did my granddad and I wanted to give reverence to them, you know, just to find another way to channel my own grief into a work of art.

- Yeah.

So there are two figures in the poster this year.

That also makes me feel right at home.

I'm like, they look like Detroiters.

(laughs) Who are you drawing on for those figures?

Is that also a reflection of the people who introduced you to jazz, your family?

- [Brittini] Yeah so I would say on the left, that represents me.

- [Stephen] Yeah.

- [Brittini] Woman.

And then, right, there's a male that represents both my dad and my granddad.

And my granddad always wore those hats like, you know, hats, you know?

It's not like that's a barbecuing hat.

I don't know.

But yeah, you see there's no one else in the same like, physical structure on there because that was just like this bringing together of me and my father, me and my granddad, this intimacy between both of us articulated through the poster.

- Yeah, yeah.

You know, it's really interesting to hear you talk about the poster and the inspiration for it.

Same story for me, my dad listened to jazz all day, every day on the radio and on the record player, and there was no other music in his house.

And so that's how I came to be the fan that I am of jazz as well.

WJZZ of course played a huge role in all that.

That's maybe a little older than what you would remember, Brittini, but.

(laughs) - I heard about it on a tour.

(laughs) - There you go.

- Yeah.

- So Chris, again, a big hit, another year with the poster.

Talk about how important that poster is to the legacy of the festival.

- I was immediately touched, you know, we had an open call for artists as we've done in the past and I was immediately touched by the emotion and sentimentality that was represented and these two figures that are alone, but at a major jazz festival, hundred thousands of people.

And yet, their sphere of existence is quite intimate between the two of them and it speaks to something artists and patrons go through in jazz which is this passing on of the language and the stories and the history of this music.

And Brittini captured that so beautifully in such a personal way and yet, in a way as you said, that touches all of us.

I too, it was my father and his old record collection and talking about, you know, Art Blakey and Coleman Hawkins that got me hooked.

And before I knew it, I was begging to buy a saxophone and try to copy those records, you know, and you'll get a sense of that throughout the festival as a patron and the artists on the stage.

You know, we talked about Karriem, but you know, the mix of artists this year, Samara Joy, NEA Jazz Masters series, you know, three of the four NEA Jazz Masters this year are from Detroit.

Kenny Garrett and Louis Hayes, they'll all be with us at the festival with John Scofield, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jason Moran, Daniel Perez, goes on and on.

We have some wonderful women leaders, Beol Azama Melissa Aldana, Alexa Tarantino, Linda (indistinct), these are up and coming important, important musicians in the jazz world.

And then we have all our Detroiters, you know, that lives in the world that Brittini lives in where it's about a family experience, a community experience.

Our trip to Gretchen Velarde, an opening night, one of the most, you know, important figures, a great angel of jazz here that'll feature a bunch of Detroiters and national artists altogether to pay tribute to her.

And then also we have the Detroit Piano Legacy tribute.

You know, with the passing of Barry two years ago, it was quite emotional for all of us but we wanted to prepare and do something special.

So throughout the festival, you'll see performances by current Detroit pianists celebrating the continuation of that legacy along with artists that knew and others in a very particular way.

So a lot of Detroit presence right up to our artists and residence who's a Detroit native and of course Brittini who has captured so beautifully the message of jazz, the message of Detroit and the message of the Detroit Jazz Festival.

- [Narrator] Now, more on this year's Detroit Jazz Festival artist in residence, Detroit native Karriem Riggins.

He has spent the year taking part in educational and community engagement activities.

He also hosted a masterclass for university and high school students on the campus of Wayne State University.

That's where contributor John Penney, host of Jazz Fest Detroit on 90.9 WRCJ, caught up with Riggins to talk about his music and his role as artist in residence for his hometown jazz festival.

(mellow music) (smooth jazz music) (audience applauding) - Great job, Melody.

Great job.

One thing I will say about this is, I learned from playing with Ray Brown, when you don't know it, when in doubt, lay out.

Like if you don't know the changes, just lay out.

If you know the roots, you know, you just play the roots until it can gel.

You know what I'm saying?

- Karriem, I'm just so thrilled that you're here.

Welcome home.

- Thank you.

- And I'm really excited that you're sitting in this chair this year for the Detroit Jazz Festival.

What is your earliest recollection of the jazz festival?

- I would frequently come to the festival every year.

My dad had some kind of show so I just remember as early as maybe seven, eight years old, I got a chance to just run from stage to stage to kinda peek in on what was going on.

- [John] Jazz, if you're gonna talk about a genre, I think is the broadest and most inclusive tent because it's always evolving.

And I think a lot of that evolution follows technology.

- [Karriem] Yeah.

- [John] I'm curious, how are you gonna put all this together?

What are your thoughts for the festival this year?

- [Karriem] Well, one thing I wanna speak on is talking about the jazz people, jazz police, like, I really can care less about what people think is jazz or not because it's what comes from here.

And sometimes what comes from here, you can't put a label on, you know?

It's something from the heart.

So that is something that was just instilled in me from the beginning is having my background in roots and hip hop, you know, and I grew up listening to jazz.

So all these different genres, I feel like the more you read, the more articulate you are in expressing yourself and I feel like listening to music is the same thing.

And the more you listen to different things, you can bridge those gaps and it becomes one thing, you know?

But for me, I feel like, you know integrating all these different instruments, it's my voice, you know, loops, finding different loops.

It's a starting point and sometimes we arrive at a different place from it just being a loop.

So that's where everything is kinda in a melting pot together.

It's like a gumbo, a soup that you make and there's so many different elements in there that makes it special.

- I found it really interesting.

In one interview, you were talking about how with Common, working on his record, it was all beats that, I mean, take a lot to put together but then with August Greene, which is you, Common and Robert Glasper, you were playing all that live.

So, you know, there's that kind of interaction, - [Karriem] Yeah.

- [John] Back and forth.

You know, so who are you gonna be bringing to the festival?

- It's gonna be quite a surprise.

- Oh, you aren't gonna tell us?

- I don't really have anything to say now at this point but I will say that, you know, it will be some of the people that I've been collaborating with over the years.

- I would be surprised if August Greene doesn't make it, let's just put it that way.

- Hey, hey.

I wanna definitely do something that I haven't done before and that takes a little more effort and work, you know, so that's what I wanna bring to the city, something special.

And it's not just the city because, you know, there's millions of people who get to watch this festival and I just wanna make such a huge statement.

(upbeat jazz music) Much better.

I feel like, you know, just that little space makes a big difference.

- How do you feel you were working with kids today, here?

How are they evolving and how do you think the music is evolving for that generation?

- [Karriem] Well I could just hear, you know, it's becoming more of a thing now because people listen to so much different kind of music, you know?

Spotify and Title and all these digital streaming platforms have so much that you could just jump from here.

You can listen to Maurice Ravel and you can go to Phineas Newborn and then you can go to (indistinct) or Mad Lib or myself, you know, and I feel like you can hear those influences in the youth playing now.

- You went out with Betty Carter when you were 17.

What did you learn playing with Betty and what was it like?

- Well what I did with Betty Carter was a jazz ahead where she flew out, I think it was like five musicians from Detroit and I think like seven other cities, she had a lot of musicians come in and we all wrote music and we all had to interpret each other's music.

And I think that she was looking for us to play and be original and not be cliche.

So if she heard us or seen anything that was cliche, she would like, "No, do your thing," you know?

And I feel like that kind of pushed me to be original and not to follow any kind of cliches, you know?

- [John] Yeah.

- [Karriem] No copying.

Playing that last tune, when you went into those feels, you should definitely like, zone in on those feels and play you, be you, you know, throughout all of that.

- About the first two?

- Yeah, the first two.

- Okay.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Okay.

- Throughout like, setting up those feels and your specific setting up certain feels but I know you can do it in your own way where you're speaking with your voice.

- And that's hard to do, I mean, if you're just playing with the notes and the scale.

But the way you can express them, - [Karriem] Right.

- With all the different sounds and combinations of sounds.

- I think now it's a lot easier creatively, you know, to see the sound wave on the screen.

You can find the downbeat because it's a big bubble and you say, oh, that's something there.

Instead of using numbers, I think back when the MPC3000 was around, using those numbers will kinda take up the space of you and the flow of being creative.

So I feel like there's more room for creativity now because your workflow is faster.

So it's all about getting the idea out and being prolific and move on to the next.

And that's why I really want to achieve just being prolific and creating as much as I can while I'm here on this earth.

- You're my favorite kind of drummer.

- Oh, thank you man.

Thank you.

- It's like the right lick in the right place.

I mean, I love Art Blakey but he's out front.

- Yeah.

- You've been described as skeletal, and I think that's a positive thing.

I mean it's the bone against which all the, you know, flesh can be grown.

- [Karriem] Mhm, that's what I strive to achieve through practicing is trying to find that right thing to play to make people feel.

The drummer's supposed to make you dance and feel something and that is what I want to achieve every time I play.

I think I've just learned just from being around great musicians is that less is more.

Like the simplicity in it, it speaks more.

You set more by leaving room, leaving space and just playing the groove.

So I've worked so much, I think, by just being simple and playing the groove.

- [Narrator] And stay tuned for a performance by Karriem Riggins in just a few minutes.

Let's turn now to some other events happening over the Labor Day weekend.

It's always a busy time in metro Detroit as we approach the unofficial end of summer.

Dave Wagner and Cecelia Sharpe of 90.9 WRCJ have a list of events for you and your family to enjoy in today's "One Detroit" weekend.

- Hey Dave.

It's good to be with you to talk about events that are going on in and around Detroit as Labor Day unofficially brings the summer to a close.

- Yes Cecelia.

Summer may unofficially be ending but you know, there's a ton of great things still to come.

So let's begin with the Michigan State Fair at the Suburban Collection showplace in Novi which goes through Sunday.

Folks will be entertained with all sorts of things from carnival rides to live music, great food and so much more.

- Well the Shrine Circus will also be performing daily through the fourth.

And, you know, one of my favorite things to do annually, and I think David's, one of your favorite things as well, the Detroit Jazz Festival comes to Campus Martius and Hart Plaza tomorrow through Labor Day.

- [David] You are absolutely right.

I love heading to downtown to take in really the incredible musicians who come to our city during the weekend.

Now another festival going on at the same time with fantastic live music is Arts, Beats and Eats in Royal Oak.

Perhaps our viewers can, you know, bop around to the different festivals and, you know, make it a music weekend.

- Dave, I think you might be on to something.

Now if you're looking for some visual art, you can go to the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit for an exhibition by artist Sydney G. James titled "Girl Raised in Detroit."

Sydney is one of those iconic Detroit artists whose work can be seen in many places, including the murals down in the eastern market.

- Oh yes, I've seen Sydney's work in the Eastern market and it's beautiful and it also makes a great statement.

Then if you're one of our viewers who heads up north for the Labor Day weekend and maybe you want to get in some exercise while gazing out on the straits of Mackinac, well, the Mackinac Bridge will be closed to car traffic for its annual Labor Day walk.

People can start walking from either end of the bridge, between seven and 11:30 AM.

- So many ways to enjoy the end of summer, and of course there's so much happening in and around Detroit.

So here are a few more events for you to explore.

Have a great weekend.

(mellow music) - [Narrator] That will do it for this week's "One Detroit."

Thanks for watching.

We're going to leave you now with a performance by the Detroit Jazz Festival's 2023 artist in residence, Karriem Riggins and his band during a preview event earlier this year.

(upbeat jazz music) (upbeat jazz music continues) (upbeat jazz music continues) (upbeat jazz music continues) (upbeat jazz music continues) (upbeat jazz music continues) - [Narrator 2] From Delta faucets to Behr paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support for this program is provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV.

- [Narrator 3] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit dtefoundation.com to learn more.

- [Narrator 2] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

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