Nestled into a cozy corner of a shopping center high in the Hollywood hills, Herb Alpert’s jazz club Vibrato Grill was the site of a coronation Sunday for not one but three musical luminaries. The Jazz Foundation of America honored 10-time Grammy-winning composer and pianist Dave Grusin, saxophonist Charles Lloyd and trailblazing music executive Clarence Avant at a benefit to raise proceeds for jazz, blues and R&B musicians facing financial hardship due to unemployment, illness or old age. Though host Quincy Jones was unable to attend due to unspecified health issues of his own, he and the JFA assembled a program of speakers and performers for an evening of celebration and song that the phrase “star-studded” barely does adequate justice.
After an introduction to the evening by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Daveed Frazier, charity auctioneer Vinny Zapien and music journalist Rona Elliot led the first of multiple rounds of auctions throughout the evening, where they offered framed photos of artists like Joni Mitchell and the late Tina Turner. Zapien later sold original Japanese ink washes by artist Jim Watt, whose process of creating them during the pandemic was documented by director Danny Clinch in the short film “1000 Watts.”
A short video biography detailed the life and just a few of the accomplishments of Avant, the first of the evening’s honorees, before Davell Crawford and Kori Withers performed tributes to the exec. Withers, daughter of soul singer Bill Withers, whom Avant gave early inroads into the music industry, performed two of her father’s songs, “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands.” Avant was unable to accept the award in person, so James Harris III, better known as Jimmy Jam, received it on his behalf. Jam recalled how, early in his 50-year partnership with Terry Lewis, Avant was uncommonly fair in compensating the duo even before they had become the proven hitmakers they are considered today.
“He said, ‘What’s your manager asking for your fee?’ We said, ‘Oh, Clarence, we can get it down, man. We can do less,’” Jam recalled. “He said, ‘Less? You’re not asking for enough.’ … Nobody would know who we were if it wasn’t for Clarence and the path that he gave us and the things that he taught us and, to this day, continues to teach us.”
Former Doors drummer John Densmore introduced performances by saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Patrice Rushen, bassist Alex Al and drummer Steve Jordan to celebrate Charles Lloyd. Declared massively influential to the world of jazz upon his appointment to drummer Chico Hamilton’s band in 1960, Lloyd withdrew virtually altogether from the musical community until 1981, but he rekindled his career and maintains an active schedule even today, releasing five albums for jazz label Blue Note since 2020.
Accepting his award from singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, 85-year-old Lloyd remained as sharp and playful as he was on his breakthrough 1967 album “Forest Flower.” “I still have a beginner’s mind,” Lloyd said. “I never got good enough to quit.”
Guitarist Lee Ritenour led the tribute to Grusin, composer of the Oscar-winning score for “The Milagro Beanfield War” and dozens of other films, such as “The Graduate, “Tootsie” and “The Goonies.” “Dave and I just finished a brand new album that we recorded in Brazil,” said Ritenour. “My engineer, Don Murray, who’s worked with Dave on almost all our stuff, would comment, ‘You know, the guy who sounds the best on this album is goddamn Dave Grusin?’ He’s just so consistent throughout his career, whether it’s jazz or film music or classical. And he’s my best buddy.”
Jordan, the event’s musical director, joked about assembling a stage full of piano and keyboard players (“instead of people with real instruments”) before beautifully orchestrating a medley of Grusin’s film scores, including “The Firm” and “It Might Be You,” the theme from “Tootsie.” Ritenour and another longtime Grusin collaborator, Tom Scott, took the stage to perform “Condor!,” the main theme from “Three Days of the Condor.” And then 97-year-old songwriter Alan Bergman followed them in a surprise appearance on Grusin’s behalf, performing an original song paying tribute to his friend and creative partner.
Finally Grusin took the stage himself, first performing a short medley of his songs and then playing a soulful rendition of “Happy Birthday” for Toto cofounder David Paich. His version of the standard was immediately followed by a video recording of keyboardist Greg Phillanganes performing it for Grusin, who turned 89 on June 26. Despite all of his accomplishments — so many of which were contemporaneously recreated on the Vibrato stage — Grusin demurred about his worthiness for the honor he was receiving.
“I had a sinking feeling part of the evening, when I was thinking about some of the stuff I’m doing not having all that much to do with jazz,” Grusin said. “But we do what we do, and whatever we call it, that’s OK with me. This is the Jazz Foundation, and we can rest easy knowing that we don’t necessarily have to be classical musicians in order to survive as music makers. So thank you guys for supporting everybody that wants it.”