In spite of the festivities in celebration of their silver anniversary, last year’s Detroit International Jazz Festival looked like it might be the last for the city, with deficits and other financial woes threatening to bring an end to the festival’s long run.  Then at the start of 2005, the powers that be at Mack Avenue Records stepped in to help initiate efforts to save the festival and keep it based principally at Hart Plaza.  By adding additional food areas and a stage at Campus Martius, along with a musical mix that would include blues and contemporary styles, intentions were to bring more folks into the mix even if this meant a jazz line-up that was more modest and conservative than in past years.

While the jury is still out in terms of attendance figures and other numbers, there’s no denying that many musical highlights were there for the taking during the festival’s four-day duration.  Saturday’s line-up was the strongest in terms of variety, with a focus on iconic pianists from the tradition.  Randy Weston offered heady performances of some of his most familiar lines in collaboration with bassist Alex Blake and percussionist Neil Clark.  “African Cookbook,” “Blue Moses,” and “Little Niles” remain vital numbers that Weston energized with fresh interpretations, while demonstrating a continued affinity for the unique harmonic language of Thelonious Monk.  With unorthodox methods such as strumming guitar style, Blake offered both foundation and textural counterpoint and was exciting to watch as well.

While looking somewhat gaunt, McCoy Tyner was nonetheless up for the task at hand and turned in a performance like no other this reviewer has witnessed from the pianist in recent years.  Locking in tight with bassist Charnette Moffet and drummer Eric Gravatt, Tyner ripped through “Samba Lucaya” and “Come Rain or Come Shine” with all the energy that marked his best work of the ‘60s.  Best known for his stint in the ‘70s with Weather Report, Gravatt proved the perfect foil for Tyner and Moffet’s solo work paid off for those who listened closely.

Wrapping up the evening, organist Joey DeFrancesco offered a tribute to the late Jimmy Smith that seemed somewhat perfunctory.  Possibly it’s the fact that Joey has the technical skills to execute every Smith lick with ease or that the tune choices were less than inspired, but much of the music left one with a nagging sense of déjà vu.  Ron Blake sat in and managed to bring something new to the table, especially during a jaunty take on “Got My Mojo Working.”

Sunday proved to be much more of a juggling act, with solid line-ups and overlapping performances at two stages that kept you hopping back and forth, a criticism that has continued to persist over the past few years.  Geri Allen got the afternoon off to a fabulous start, in trio with bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Mark Johnson.  Originals such as “Beautiful Hind legs” and “Unconditional Love” were chock full of hairpin turns and juicy vamps, with Johnson skirting in and out of the shared spotlight.  Charlie Parker’s “Another Hairdo” offered proof that in addition to Allen’s skills in the Tyner/Hancock tradition there could also be found a wellspring of deep feeling for the blues.

Happening simultaneously with Allen’s set, on another stage the party was starting in celebration of Gerald Wilson’s 87th birthday.  All of Detroit’s first call musicians were on hand with the addition of such ringers as Ron Blake and drummer Carl Allen.  With a youthful exuberance that belied his age, Wilson enthusiastically directed his ensemble through familiar numbers such as “You Better Believe It’ and “Milestones” as well as some new numbers, including a suite entitled “The Diminished Triangle.”  A major set change then brought with it a high-octane performance from Ron Blake and his new electric band that featured David Gilmore, Rueben Rogers, Michael Cain, and Terreon Gully.

Meanwhile back at the main stage, Toots Thielemans took part in an inspired combination that offered pianist Kenny Werner, guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, and drummer Airto.  A potpourri of Brazilian favorites offered the afternoon’s fodder, including Jobim’s “Wave” and “The Waters of March,” Luiz Eca’s “The Dolphin,” and numbers by Ivan Lins.  The group had a lot of fun playing together and Werner’s fiery solos were nothing short of brilliant.

Some old school favorites wrapped up the evening as David “Fathead” Newman paid homage to Ray Charles in the company of trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, baritone saxophonist Howard Johnson, pianist Tad Weed, and drummer Yoron Isreal.  Veterans of Charles’ various groups, Belgrave and Newman offered genuine authenticity to numbers such as “Hard Times” and “Georgia.”  Weed’s playing during the set and his own trio spot the next day rivaled that of some of his more familiar peers.  It’s a shame that he chooses to stay in Ann Arbor and its environs instead of jumping into the larger waters of New York, even though the locals obviously benefit from him being on that scene.

Billed as The Soul Survivors, a quartet of players from the fatback school of jazz would include Les McCann, guitarist Cornell Dupree, bassist Stanley Banks, drummer Buddy Williams, and baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber.  It would be Dupree and Cuber who would take the lion’s share of the solo work, with McCann playing somewhat of a limited role for better or worse.  Obligatory to be sure, the crowd insisted on “Compared to What” and was eventually rewarded with a brief, but greasy version of the iconic number.

Winding things down on a quiet note, Monday’s line-up was much less engaging, although Charles McPherson made a rare appearance as a singular purveyor of bebop squarely within the tradition and Sean Jones left one convinced that the future of jazz has been left in very capable hands.  One can only speculate on this festival’s future, but as for this reviewer, this is the only way to spend Labor Day weekend and hopefully bigger and better things are in the offing for next year and beyond.