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LWayne
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Posts posted by LWayne
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Any clubs to recommend in Seattle? I have neem to Jazz Alley before (saw a terrible set by Jimmy Smith) and Tula's. At first glance, I wasn't attracted by the schedule for either club for next week.
Any other alternatives? Any CD/ book stores to recommend as well.
Thanks..as always..
LWayne
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While the Jazz Showcase and Jazz Record Mart (prices are way too high) are "sure things", don't be afraid to venture to the Hot House. I caught the Tomasz Stanko quartet there in March and it is still te best quartet show I have seen so far this year.
The place has a neat, bohemian, artsy vibe; although there is a little bit of smoke wafting through the air.
LWayne -
As far as exact recording dates, the CD booklet is vague:
"Recorded live November 2002-April 2004, North America, Europe and Asia"
I have only listened through the whole CD once and find it....challenging. It is not as immediately accessable as "Footprints Live" and will be harder to embrace.
I caught the group's live performance a couple of years ago playing at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. While I always find it easier to understand a subsequent live CD if you have has the opportunity to hear the work performed live beforehand, I am not sure if that axiom will prove true with this new CD "Beyond the Sound Barrier".
LWayne
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Anybody know the names of her touring band?
LWayne
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Last night my wife and I caught Lizz Wright and her band perform a 1.5 hour set at the Club Cafe in Pittsburgh. This was only the second time that we have been in the club, which is a warm, cozy, smaller venue with excellent acoustics.
I will admit up front that I am not typically a big fan of jazz vocals (a decleration that I have heard from Joe Segal of the Jazz Showcase in Chicago as well). Having stated that; this show was an absolute thrill!
Lizz has a captivating, sultry, gospel-influenced voice and projects herself with great ease. Her tour manager told us that she was raised in the church in the south and that discipline shows through in her singing.
Most of the set was culled from her recent (this week) release "Dreaming Wide Awake" on Verve. Surprisingly, her jazzy interpretation of "Old Man" by Neil Young and the Youngblood's "Get Together" were highlights.
What a voice! She was recommended to me by Greg Davis of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band who books the talent for the Jazz Stage for the Jazz Fest in New Orleans. Don't miss her if she comes through your town.
LWayne
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Thanks Ron. I still might give Dazzle a go on Sunday night as I am free.
LWayne
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I will be in Denver for a trade show on nights of June 19-20, leaving June 21.
Any clubs to recommend for live shows?
Thx,
LWayne -_-
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I was fortunate to attend two shows last week (the late set on Tuesday night and the early set on Tursday) and really enjoyed hearing Bobby Hutcherson. It was great to hear him play some of the standards. In particular, I enjoyed hearing "Little B's Poem" as well as the numerous ballads that he has recorded.
Personal highlight was talking to Bobby between sets. He is quite a story-teller and entertained his audience with some great gems. He related that he recorded some 45 albums for Blue Note during his career, and that there will be plans to release all of them at some point in the future. Sounds like a Mosaic project.
One other entertaining story involved his sister, who worked with Ray Charles as a Raylette during the 1960's. Apparently, the band used to travel from gig to gig on their own chartered plane. On one flight Bobby's sister brought a new recruit to the cockpit to meet the crew. Imagine their surprise when they found that Ray Charles was sitting in the pilot's seat flying the plane!
Ray advised the girls that the crew let him "fly" the plane when it was on auto-pilot, and added, with some humor, that he was looking forward to learning how to land the plane at some point. Apparently this revelation was too much for the young dancer who promptly resigned the band when the plane landed.
One of the many great stories related by Bobby Hutcherson. He is a truly warm person who seems to really appreciated connecting with his audience. Here's to wishing him continued success and best of luck going forward.
LWayne
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I was there at the 8:00 PM show on Thursday night as well. Really enjoyed the personal touch of hearing Bobby playing happy birthday for his son!
You must have been the gentleman in the front row snapping away! I was with a friend from Chicago who also enjoyed the show. Apparently the Chicago Trib had some nice things to say the next morning.
LWayne
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On Saturday May 8th, my wife and I drove north to Erie, Pa. to attend a concert by Bill Frisell and the Unspeakable Orchestra. The band was the same lineup as the group on the grammy award winning "Unspeakable" CD released last year.
Bill Frisell-guitar, Tony Scherr-bass, Kenny Wollesen-drums (his regular east coast trio) supplemented with the "858 Strings" trio of Jenny Scheinman-violin, Eyvind Kang-viola, and Hank Roberts-cello.
The addition of a string section intersecting with the angular tone and harmonics of Frisell's guitar, complete with some of his trademark distortion and delayed effects, proved to be quite intoxicating. While I certainly enjoyed the album, the songs really took shape and became much more vital when played live. While the string section played together harmoniously marking the rhythm on most songs, Frisell's guitar was free to soar above the tunes, intersecting the melody at will and floating off to great effect.
I have seen Bill Frisell perform live three other times in a number of differing groups:the Bill Frisell trio, the "Blues Dream" group, and his shared trio with Paul Motian and Joe Lovano; but have never enjoyed his unique style and voicing as much as with this group. There was something about the dynamics of guitar, bass, drums and a string section that really complemented the music.
While the CD is certainly evocative of 60's soul and R&B records- complete with over the top keyboards, special effects, and great production- the live performance of these same songs sounded notably different played stripped down. The band really seemed to enjoy themselves and Bill was smiling throughout the performance.
One of the best concerts of the year so far. Don't miss this group!
LWayne B-)
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Since I will be back in town on business, I probably will be attendind an early show in the week (most likely Tuesday or Wednesday). Anybody know the band with whom Bobby Hutcherson will be playing?
I know that he has a CD with the SF Jazz Collective coming out soon (probably the same week that he is in Chicago). I guess he does not record his own groups any more. I believe the last release under his name was about six-seven years ago on Verve. I think it was entitled "Skyline".
Any insight as to his recording future?
LWayne
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I also bought this album last year, mainly because Jason Moran and Jack DeJohnette were playing on it. The CD leaves me cold-one of my bigger disappointmets of last year-but I did enjoy hearing Don Byron play live a couple of years ago. It was a program of "Jungle Music" saluting Duke Ellington.
Maybe it's just a matter of the material.
LWayne
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Does anyone know whether he played with his brothers last Friday in their scheduled gig for the Tri-C JazzFest in Cleveland?
I had circled this date on my calendar and had planned on attending. However, I was in New Orleans on vacation last week and never made the date. Now it looks like a missed opportunity as I never got to see Percy perform live.
Can't add any more plaudits than what has been cited already. His recorded accomplishments will certainly stand the test of time.
RIP to one of the greats.
LWayne
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Earlier this week at the beginning of a business trip in Atlanta, I had the chance to catch the double bill of the Brad Mehldau Trio and John Scofield Trio at the Variety Playhouse in the Little Five Points section of Atlanta, not far from Emory University.
The Variety is an old converted movie theater. One of those charming venues with velvet fold-down movie seats and a lot of nostalgic atmosphere. Despite how interesting the decor was, the acoustics left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, the sound clarity and resonance proved to be a challenge with the opening acoustic set of the Brad Mehldau Trio.
This was my first time seeing the Brad Mehldau Trio. While I have heard many of their CDs before, and have read the varied posts on this board surrounding their uneven albums, catching the group live was much more rewarding. The trio of Brad Mehldau on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums were evocative of Bill Evans at times; more lyrical at other times.
The group played a set covering selections from many of their CDs, rather than focusing on tracks from their most recent Warner Bros and Nonesuch (solo Brad) recordings. Very intriguing music as Brad definitely draws the audience to his extended improvisations on familiar themes. Only criticism is that some of the tunes went on a little long and seemed to lose momentum after a while. Set listing was as follows:
1. 50 ways to leave your lover (Paul Simon)
2. Grenada (Chris Cheek-a blend of Spanish and African themes. A little more up-tempo and the best song of the trio's performance in my opinion).
3. Untitled (according to Brad Mehldau)
4. Loverville? (Described as 'love theme' from Peter Gunn TV show).
5. Everything in Right Place (Radiohead)
6. Fool on the Hill (Lennon & McCartney-another highlight).
While I was originally attracted to the show by virtue of the Brad Mehldau billing, I have to admit that it was John Scofield and his trio that stole the night. One word: wow!
In contrast to the more reserved, acoustic, set played by the Brad Mehldau Trio, the John Scofield Trio blew the facade off of the old theater. Their set was so energetic that Bill Stewart on drums blew the head off his bass drum after the opening song! What could have been a potentially deflating event turned out to provide an opportunity for John Scofield to have the audience in stitches by crafting a spontaneous monologue. He is a great showman and storyteller.
His electric trio of John Scofield-guitar, Steve Swallow-electric bass, and Bill Stewart-drums were very tight and dynamic. Swallow is simply awesome on electric bass. There might not be a more virtuosi performer in jazz today. His responses to Scofield's electric lead lines were dead-on entertaining.
Likewise, Bill Stewart is becoming an incredible performer in his own right. His muscular drumming style fits in perfectly with the jazz/rock fusion of Scofield.
This was also my first time hearing John Scofield play live and I was simply captivated by the way that he can excite an audience with his distorted fusion of jazz and rock; a very distinctive style. As far as I could tell, the set list was:
1. Unknown
2. Alexander's Rag Time Band (a great take on a classic).
3. Hammock Soliloquy (best number of the night)
4. You Don't Know Me (rendition of the Ray Charles tune)
5. Over the Top
6. (Encore) Georgia (with Brad Mehldau on piano)
7. (Encore) Wee (also with Brad Mehldau on piano)
All told, John Scofield and his trio stole the night. Great show and a wonderful way to start a business trip.
LWayne
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Reference my review of their live show at Lafayette College in Easton in early March. Best concert (along with Tomasz Stanko Quartet) that I have seen this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LWayne
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Last Thursday, my wife and good friend and I checked out the Kurt Rosenwinkel Quartet at a free concert at the Underground, on the Carnegie Mellon University campus in Pittsburgh.
Even though I regularly attend concerts here in my hometown, I was surprised to learn of this new venue. The snack bar/ student union has comfortable overstuffed chairs and a small stage/performance area. The acoustics are perfect for a small jazz ensemble.
My familiarity with Kurt Rosenwinkel was limited to what I had read on the various bulletin boards prior to this performance. I had learned about some groundbreaking performances with Mark Turner. On this basis, I had purchased the "Deep Song" CD while on a business trip in Chicago.
For this night, Kurt's quartet consisted of him playing guitar, Aaron Goldberg on synth, Joe Martin on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums. While this group is not his regular touring lineup, nor the group that performed on his latest CD, they played very well together nonetheless.
His style is almost effortless and the chords from his electric guitar melded well with the other instrumentation. While most of the set had an electronic influence, it was immensely enjoyable. He is a very talented guitar player.
Since I was not familiar with his work, I did not recognize many of the songs but understand that a large portion of the set was drawn from his two most recent CDs on Verve: "Heartcore" and "Deep Song".
Also had the chance to meet Cannonball-Addict between sets. Besides his Thursday morning radio show on WRCT, he is also very involved in trying to bring bringing some exciting and progressive jazz music to Pittsburgh. You will need to contact him directly for details.
Very enjoyable evening listening to some challenging music from a talented, young, player.
LWayne
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Saw the Tomasz Stanko Quartet last Wednesday, March 16th at the HotHouse in Chicago, while I was visiting the town for business.
As previously stated, the set was much more "up tempo" than the group's last two ECM sides "Suspended Nights" and "Soul of Things" I was likewise impressed with Stanko's ability to sustain a tune with his tone and not by resorting to histronics.
Marcin Wasilewski, the piano player, was also impressive as he drove the quartet flawlessly. While this club probably seats 250 max, there must have been twice that number in attendance at the show, with a particularly large concentration of Poles and Eastern Europeans enjoying the show.
Stanko walked quickly through the crowd at the end of the set, giving a couple of cursory autographs to his adoring throng, and seemed like an earnest, if shy, fellow. Altogether a great show and a memorable evening!
LWayne
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Last Wednesday, March 9th, my wife and I traveled eastward across Pennsylvania to Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. to catch a performance by the Dave Holland Big Band. In fact, after checking into our hotel on the outskirts of Easton that afternoon, we ran into Dave himself in the hotel lobby! It was great to get an autograph and chat with him before the show and share our enthusiasm for his music.
The line-up of musicians for the concert was the same as on the great, new, CD "Overtime" save for Greg Tardy substituting for Chris Potter on tenor sax.
Apparently, Chris had a prior commitment touring with his new quartet in Europe.
The Williams Center for the Arts, while a smaller sized auditorium, is an ideal setting for such a concert owing to excellent acoustics and great sight lines. While we had seats in the middle section of the third row, there were truly no bad seats in such a cozy venue.
Particular highlights of the show for me were Robin Eubanks’ funky playing on his rhythmic composition “Mental Images”, Dave Holland’s arco bass introduction on “Shadow Dance”, and both Antonio Hart’s alto sax and flute and Steve Nelson’s vibes and marimba adding color throughout the performance.
The music played at the concert represented an event split of songs from the Grammy-winning "What Goes Around" and recent "Overtime" albums. The format of a big band (13 musicians) is always a treat in that you have the opportunity to experience the majesty and power of a larger ensemble, along with the subtle dynamics of group interplay, the inherent ebb and flow, and formidable presence of a big band. Simply put, the songs come alive!
The band played a continuous set for about 1 hour, 45 minutes without an intermission. While the band did not come back for an encore, the audience rewarded the performance with an enthusiastic standing ovation in reward for a fantastic evening of challenging music played by a group at the top of its game. The set list was as follows:
1. The Razor's Edge (What Goes Around)
2. Ario (Overtime)
3. Mental Images (Overtime)
4. Blues for C.M. (What Goes Around)
5. Triple Dance (What Goes Around)
6. A Time Remembered (Overtime)
7. Shadow Dance (What Goes Around)
It was truly a memorable evening.
LWayne
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I agree with Bev, Henri Texier is a tremendous talent. Wish he would come over to the USA with his sextet sometime.
Two of his last CDs "Strings Spirit" and the new "Vivre" are quite enjoyable.
LWayne
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Picked this CD up last night and have listened to it all the way through twice so far. I am listening to it right now at work.
Being an avid Dave Holland fan I am sure that I am biased in favor of liking the CD, but have nonetheless really enjoyed what I have heard on this killer CD.
In particular, I really enjoy listening to the recorded version of "The Monterey Suite" which I had heard live as an encore performance by the band during their concert at the Symphony Center in Chicago in March 2003. One song in that suite, "Free for All", is a standard that I have always enjoyed from the quintet's live sets. Dave plays a great 2.5 minute intro on this tune, which has also become a trademark of his live performances.
To me, this suite is the highlight of the disc.
The rest of the set is enjoyable as well, with particular plaudits to "Ario" and the Robin Eubanks' composition "Mental Images" (no doubt named in tribute to his own group). Overall a very solid effort from a cohesive, tight, group at the top of its game.
Can't wait to see the group perform live in early March at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa.
Anyone else going to this show?
LWayne
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Not my cup of tea. Brand new, played only twice.
$33 delivered to your door anywhere in USA. Send PM if interested
Thanks,
LWayne B-)
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Have heard various reports that this forthcoming CD by the Dave Holland Big Band will be released on February 22nd. I have even placed a pre-order at my local brick & mortar CD store.
Have not seen any advance publicity on this release; not even on Dave's website www.daveholland.com. Does anyone have info on who was in this version of the group, track listing, advance reviews, and the like?
Anxiously Yours,
LWayne B-)
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Jimmy-Goodbye and God Bless...
I had a chance to catch his group with Mark Whitfield on guitar in Seattle at the Jazz Alley. While he was certainly not in a good mood that night, as he shouted down an over exhuberant fan in the back of the room, the music was transcendent.
You will be missed...
LWayne
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All very good advice.
I was at the Benny Green/ Russell Malone show at Top O' The Senator last January when Russell Malone go so irritated by a fan sitting at a table near the stage talking so much that he stopped playing guitar midway through a song to ask the guy (very kindly) to shut-up.
Refreshing because I, for one, come to the shows to listen, and I also object to all the idle chatter.
LWayne
Criss Cross Jazz Titles
in New Releases
Posted · Edited by LWayne
While in Seattle last week, I was able to pick up three used (promo) Criss Cross Jazz titles at Bud's Jazz Records on South Jackson (great store for older, out of print titles, by the way) as follows:
Edward Simon "Simplicitas"
Adam Rogers "Apparitions"
David Binney "Bastion of Sanity"
Have only listened to each of them once. While none of the three immediately commanded my attention from initial inspection, I would appreciate any feedback/reviews from the group.
Thanks,
LWayne