Four Decades in the Motor City
“Reunion” was the watchword for the 40th annual Detroit Jazz Festival, which welcomed back five of its former artists-in-residence for the occasion. But one unwelcome reunion threatened the fest’s culminating performance on Labor Day, as storm clouds once again gathered prior to Stanley Clarke’s final set—as they had in both 2014 and 2017, when the bass great’s sets were canceled.
The festival hedged its bets this year, inviting Clarke to be artist-in-residence with three performances over the long weekend, thus all but ensuring that he’d finally be able to play at some point. As it turned out, the rain did fall that Monday but only delayed
