A sunburst of jazz

East Lansing’s Summer Solstice Jazz Festival blends musical excellence with summer fun

You can pack a lot of fun into two of the longest days of the year.

Michigan State University guitar maestro Randy Napoleon, in his first year as artistic director of this weekend’s Summer Solstice Jazz Festival, aimed for a sunny event that would ensnare passers-by as well as passionate jazz lovers, kids as well as connoisseurs.

“I made an effort to have something for everybody at this festival musically, as well as keeping the quality uncompromisingly high,” Napoleon said. “And there are games in the street, a very casual atmosphere. You can come and go as you like.”

As usual in jazz-musclebound East Lansing, the blend of local and MSU-based talents, Midwest stalwarts and national stars is hard to sort out because so many of the artists belong to all these categories.

The festival’s two stages will serve up a wide range of performers, from the swinging hard bop of veteran drummer Randy Gelispie, still going strong at age 90 (7:30 p.m. Friday) to the cutting-edge trombone artistry of Nanami Haruta, a young MSU student from Japan who has already earned international acclaim for her debut album, “The Vibe” (4 p.m. Saturday).

The sonic flavors are diverse, from the bubbling mix of R&B, world music and jazz produced by west Michigan collective Tenth World (3 p.m. Saturday) to the undulating Latin dance rhythms of Orquesta Ritmo (9 p.m. Saturday). There is no shortage of straight-up jazz, from the trumpet wham of MSU’s Anthony Stanco (6 p.m. Friday) to the sophisticated swing of master pianist Rick Roe (6 p.m. Saturday).

To up the ante until you cry “uncle,” Napoleon has organized a saxophone summit featuring a trio of the nation’s top horn masters (9 p.m. Friday; see accompanying story).

Napoleon is a guitarist, so it’s no wonder he jumped at the chance to invite Peter Bernstein as the festival’s big guest star (7:30 p.m. Saturday; see accompanying story). Napoleon called Bernstein “one of the all-time greats” and “the most influential guitarist on the scene today.”

As always, the festival is free and open to the public, but this year, the advisory board is kicking off the festivities with a ticketed fundraiser Thursday evening at Beggar’s Banquet. The three-hour kickoff event will feature incandescent vocalist Tiffany Gridiron and a top-notch band (see accompanying story for details).

There’s another new wrinkle to this year’s festival. To enrich the musical experience at the Education Stage, where student groups usually hold sway, Napoleon is launching a series of Legendary Mentor concerts, each one featuring a leading Michigan-based jazz musician with a distinguished record of teaching and mentoring younger musicians. Ann Arbor bassist, composer, educator and bandleader Paul Keller will lead a student quintet at 5:30 p.m. Friday. (Keller often plays with Napoleon on guitar at Red Cedar Spirits on Sundays.) Consummate Detroit drummer Sean Dobbins will command the Education Stage with a tribute to legendary jazz drummer Art Blakey at 8:30 p.m. Friday.

To close out the Legendary Mentor series, Detroit-based trombonist and composer Vincent Chandler is bringing a suite of all-original music for a nonet featuring top local students at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. These three pairings of veteran jazz masters and talented young students cut to the heart of the festival’s mission: to keep the torch of jazz burning and pass it to younger hands eager to light up realms unknown.

See more:

Another string, another thing: Peter Bernstein brings supreme guitar artistry to SSJF

‘So much sunshine’: Summer Solstice kickoff concert showcases vocalist Tiffany Gridiron

‘Every saxophonist’s dream’: Sax summit puts three fire breathers on one stage