Sure, most Memphians have heard of the Sunset Symphony. There will likely be a big turnout for this year’s iteration of the traditional spring concert, centered on the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s “MSO Big Band,” playing everything from swing to samba. That alone shows there’s a growing audience here that’s hungry for jazz. But not as many music fans know of that other great outdoor experience, Sunset Jazz.
Starting as a pop-up concert in 2018 in that historical downtown gem, Court Square Park, it had become an annual event by the next year at the request of Downtown Memphis, with series curator Deborah Swiney receiving a Downtown Memphis Vision Award that year.
This weekend, the annual free series is upon us once more, and there’s no better artist to champion the city’s jazz heritage than Joyce Cobb, who’ll perform with her band from 6-8 p.m., Sunday, May 14th, as the sun sinks in the west.
Those who attended the Stax Museum of American Soul Music’s Night Train gala on April 29th were treated to a performance by Cobb, and it revealed how her truly eclectic and passionate approach remains firmly rooted in jazz. Indeed, between songs she reeled off a list of the jazz greats who’ve emerged from Memphis — Jimmie Lunceford, George Coleman, Phineas Newborn, Jr., Charles Lloyd, etc. — by way of calling out the need for a Memphis Jazz Museum.
Yet despite her mastery of both the history and the artistry of jazz, she remains as stylistically diverse as ever. That’s only fitting for a singer who first came to Memphis from Nashville in the mid-seventies to record country music for Stax Records. After that fell through amid the label’s financial demise, she stayed here, becoming a Memphis institution in her own right. And she finally did get a Top 40 single, 1979’s “Dig the Gold” on Cream Records, a politically charged jam that borders on Afro-Pop, recorded at the now-legendary Shoe Productions Studio.
The same venturesome spirit that led to her genre hopping in the ’70s persists today, as was well in evidence during her Night Train set. Calling out the Miles Davis classic “All Blues,” she gave us a heads up to listen to some lyrics she was adding to the typically instrumental piece. But we had to wait for that, as she proceeded to wail beautifully on the blues harp. Anyone who thought of Cobb as only a singer should certainly take note of this performance. And if you thought of her as strictly a jazz artist, listen to the lyrics that follow.
As an encore, Cobb took to the harp again, this time letting her ace band’s funky flag fly high. Expect more of this vibe, or vibes — from classic jazz to who knows what? — this coming Sunday evening at Court Square Park.
Sunset Jazz at Court Square takes place the second Sunday of each month, May through October, 6-8 p.m. Free.
May 14: Joyce Cobb
June 11: Gary Topper
July 9: Deborah Swiney
August 13: Paul McKinney
September 10: Cequita Monique
October 8: Southern Comfort Band (Univ. of Memphis)