Justin V Posted February 20, 2014 Report Posted February 20, 2014 Spring Quartet - Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding, Leo Genovese Saw this show tonight. Great show - and surprisingly heavy on the free jazz. These guys can PLAY. If they're coming to YOUR town, don't miss them! Spring Quartet - Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding, Leo Genovese Saw this show tonight. Great show - and surprisingly heavy on the free jazz. These guys can PLAY. If they're coming to YOUR town, don't miss them! I had second-row tickets for their Detroit show, but it was postponed. I can only hope that the venue actually does reschedule it. Quote
Head Man Posted February 20, 2014 Report Posted February 20, 2014 Spring Quartet - Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding, Leo Genovese Saw this show tonight. Great show - and surprisingly heavy on the free jazz. These guys can PLAY. If they're coming to YOUR town, don't miss them! Thanks for that...I'm due to see this group at The Sage in Gateshead in April. Quote
Steve Reynolds Posted February 21, 2014 Report Posted February 21, 2014 JASON ROBINSONS JANUS ENSEMBLE Bezanson Recital Hall University of Massachusetts - Amherst, MA We begin our silver anniversary season with a performance by saxophonist, composer and Amherst College Assistant Professor of Music Jason Robinson as he reassembles the nine-piece ensemble featured on his most recent celebrated recording, Tiresian Symmetry (Cuneiform). The group features Robinson, along with Oscar Noriega (reeds), Marty Ehrlich (reeds), Bill Lowe (tuba, bass trombone), Michael Dessen (trombone), Liberty Ellman (guitar), Drew Gress (bass), George Schuller (drums) and Ches Smith (drums). Sounds like it should be great Quote
relyles Posted February 21, 2014 Report Posted February 21, 2014 JASON ROBINSONS JANUS ENSEMBLE Bezanson Recital Hall University of Massachusetts - Amherst, MA We begin our silver anniversary season with a performance by saxophonist, composer and Amherst College Assistant Professor of Music Jason Robinson as he reassembles the nine-piece ensemble featured on his most recent celebrated recording, Tiresian Symmetry (Cuneiform). The group features Robinson, along with Oscar Noriega (reeds), Marty Ehrlich (reeds), Bill Lowe (tuba, bass trombone), Michael Dessen (trombone), Liberty Ellman (guitar), Drew Gress (bass), George Schuller (drums) and Ches Smith (drums). Sounds like it should be great It was! Quote
kh1958 Posted February 24, 2014 Report Posted February 24, 2014 Last night, Charles Lloyd and Gerald Clayton duo at Laurie Auditorium, Trinity University, San Antonio. A really beautiful concert. Quote
JSngry Posted February 24, 2014 Report Posted February 24, 2014 Also made it to the Lloyd gig, and yeah, beautiful. I'm not so much into the whole "magical" and "transported" thing these days, at least not as leading indicators/selling points, but I am into gorgeous tone, masterly phrasing/pacing, playing silence, and subtle-yet-exquisite taste in clothes. Charles Lloyd delivered all of that in abundance, very glad I was there. Did not know Gerald Clayton before last night, but the guy has huge ears, a marvelous touch, and also dresses well. He also seems to be one of these guys who probably plays a lot of different "ways" to meet the need of any given situation, and if you can do that without sounding obvious/derivative/etc. then that's just good old-fashioned skill. So, whoever you are, Gerald Clayton, my bad for not knowing your name or your work. If I had one complaint (and, really, none would be called for in the specifics of this evening), it would be the use of miking. It was a good hall with good sound, a good piano, and a reedist who has mastered the sound of his instruments (he was playing a few flute notes away from the mike, and I heard him just as distinctly as if they were on mike...and never mind the tenor, hey...). With just a duo, in that hall, I really do not think that miking was required...but I understand how it is "expected" these days...world gone wrong from good intentions, perhaps? Also, I had never seen a Chinese oboe until last night. That's one intriguing-looking instrument, that is. Quote
BillF Posted February 24, 2014 Report Posted February 24, 2014 "In Memory of Stan" Was in Southport last night for a gig put on at short notice called "In Memory of Stan". The late Stan Tracey had been booked some months ago and the gig went ahead under the leadership of Clark Tracey, with Steve Melling on piano, Andrew Cleyndert on bass and Art Themen and Simon Allen on saxes. Clark tells me he's writing a biography of his Dad. I promised to read it. Quote
Leeway Posted February 24, 2014 Report Posted February 24, 2014 Took in two concerts this weekend at An Die Musik in Baltimore. On Friday night, I went to see the Michael Formanek Quartet. This was a last minute decision, since I don't much care for Formanek. But Ellery Eskelin was playing with the group, and since I hadn't seen him in quite some time, I decided to go to the second (late) show, and at least avoid the notorious DC Beltway traffic slog. The group consisted of Formanek on bass (of course), Jacob Sacks, piano, Dan Weiss, drums, and Eskelin on tenor. Every time I see a Formanek show, which usually look great on paper, I leave muttering I'm not going to waste my time and money on going to another performance. Odd, since Tim Berne is a protege of Formanek, and I am a fan of Berne, so I should be a fan of MF too, right? No. The syllogism does not hold. I call MF's music MOR (middle of the road) free jazz (more often composed). Sonny Simmons said something once at a concert that has stayed with me. He said the music has to be a little bit scary to be good. Formanek's music is as scary as a Sunday school teacher. Anyway, I got there in time to hear the last two pieces of the first set, and they sounded really good! I thought, this time it's going to be different. I looked forward to the 2nd set. With most of the crowd gone, though, it seemed most of the energy of the first set dissipated too. The set became disjointed. I have not previously seen Sacks or Weiss before. Sacks was playing with a splint on his right pinky finger; despite that, I found his approach interesting. What was off-putting was his constant grinning and smiling, like there was an in-joke no one else was getting. Formanek had already introduced Weiss as someone who never failed to crack him up, and this held true, as Weiss and Sacks looked like two school kids trying not to laugh in church, eventually causing Formanek to start laughing too. Too bad the audience wasn't in on the joke. Oh yeah, Eskelin, he played OK, but seemingly detached from whatever the band behind him was doing. He does have a great tone though. I left, muttering, that next time... Back to An Die on Sunday to see the great Dave Burrell, in a trio with David Tamure (tenor sax) and Joe Chonto, drums. Burrell has a new (?) CD out based on Civil War themes (of all things), but he made it work. His playing was just terrific. Tamura I faintly heard of, but not heard. He plays the tenor almost like it is an alto. Chonto was completely new to me. This guy can play LOUD! I mean, there were times when he made Hamid sound like Paul Motion. Plus he had the largest collection of cymbals (about 10) I've seen on a jazz drum kit, including one very long snakelike contraption that hung on a rod that produced a long set of vibrations. But here's the thing: they were all completely tuned in to each other. They knew the music. No charts in front of them (like so many others do now, as if it was a Berklee seminar room), but they knew the music, and improvised forcefully over the basic songs. I saw both sets, some of the pieces were repeated, similar but not the same. Watching Burrell dig into the music was inspirational...even a bit scary. Quote
Steve Reynolds Posted February 24, 2014 Report Posted February 24, 2014 Took in two concerts this weekend at An Die Musik in Baltimore. On Friday night, I went to see the Michael Formanek Quartet. This was a last minute decision, since I don't much care for Formanek. But Ellery Eskelin was playing with the group, and since I hadn't seen him in quite some time, I decided to go to the second (late) show, and at least avoid the notorious DC Beltway traffic slog. The group consisted of Formanek on bass (of course), Jacob Sacks, piano, Dan Weiss, drums, and Eskelin on tenor. Every time I see a Formanek show, which usually look great on paper, I leave muttering I'm not going to waste my time and money on going to another performance. Odd, since Tim Berne is a protege of Formanek, and I am a fan of Berne, so I should be a fan of MF too, right? No. The syllogism does not hold. I call MF's music MOR (middle of the road) free jazz (more often composed). Sonny Simmons said something once at a concert that has stayed with me. He said the music has to be a little bit scary to be good. Formanek's music is as scary as a Sunday school teacher. Anyway, I got there in time to hear the last two pieces of the first set, and they sounded really good! I thought, this time it's going to be different. I looked forward to the 2nd set. With most of the crowd gone, though, it seemed most of the energy of the first set dissipated too. The set became disjointed. I have not previously seen Sacks or Weiss before. Sacks was playing with a splint on his right pinky finger; despite that, I found his approach interesting. What was off-putting was his constant grinning and smiling, like there was an in-joke no one else was getting. Formanek had already introduced Weiss as someone who never failed to crack him up, and this held true, as Weiss and Sacks looked like two school kids trying not to laugh in church, eventually causing Formanek to start laughing too. Too bad the audience wasn't in on the joke. Oh yeah, Eskelin, he played OK, but seemingly detached from whatever the band behind him was doing. He does have a great tone though. I left, muttering, that next time... Back to An Die on Sunday to see the great Dave Burrell, in a trio with David Tamure (tenor sax) and Joe Chonto, drums. Burrell has a new (?) CD out based on Civil War themes (of all things), but he made it work. His playing was just terrific. Tamura I faintly heard of, but not heard. He plays the tenor almost like it is an alto. Chonto was completely new to me. This guy can play LOUD! I mean, there were times when he made Hamid sound like Paul Motion. Plus he had the largest collection of cymbals (about 10) I've seen on a jazz drum kit, including one very long snakelike contraption that hung on a rod that produced a long set of vibrations. But here's the thing: they were all completely tuned in to each other. They knew the music. No charts in front of them (like so many others do now, as if it was a Berklee seminar room), but they knew the music, and improvised forcefully over the basic songs. I saw both sets, some of the pieces were repeated, similar but not the same. Watching Burrell dig into the music was inspirational...even a bit scary. I saw a band with Sacks and Weiss over a year ago. Sacks is an interesting pianist but Weiss added little with a very predictable rote approach to the kit. Even my wife thought he was stale and she loves most drummers as much as I do. Yes Ellery has a great tone but I've not heard the fire from him over the past few years that used to his normal level. Quote
alankin Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 This Thursday in Philadelphia: Feb 27, 2014 5:30PM – 7:30PM Penn IUR 10th Anniversary Special Event Nick Spitzer, producer of public radio's American Routes and professor of American studies and anthropology at Tulane University in New Orleans will discuss the intersection of cities, music and public culture. With a line-up of special guests, Spitzer will explore how music and musicians express Philadelphia’s cultural identities. Featured speakers and performers include Jimmy Heath, NEA Jazz Master saxophonist and leader of Philadelphia's Heath Brothers; Sam Reed, jazz saxophonist and bandleader at the Uptown Theater in the ‘50s and ‘60s; Elaine Hoffman Watts and Susan Watts, mother-daughter, trumpet-drum klezmer duo; the Budesa Brothers with Lucky Thompson, organ trio; Frankie and the Fashions, four-part, doo-wop harmony group; and introductory remarks by Kathy Peiss, the Roy and Jeanette Nichols Professor of American History, University of Pennsylvania. A reception with live performances will follow. This event is free and open to the public. Space is limited, registration required. Made possible with funding from the Office of the Provost in celebration of the Year of Sound and co-sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences’ Urban Studies Program. http://city-soundscapes.eventbrite.com/ Quote
chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Bennie Maupin: for this 1st time in 12-13 years......... Quote
chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez Posted February 26, 2014 Report Posted February 26, 2014 well heres somethin u dont see every day, just like on tender moments, lonnie smith turning point.....MWANDISHI..... Quote
Hardbopjazz Posted February 27, 2014 Report Posted February 27, 2014 George Cables, Playing the music of Dexter Gordon. Quote
jlhoots Posted February 28, 2014 Report Posted February 28, 2014 Albert "Tootie" Heath Trio - he's now living here in Santa Fe!! Quote
Larry Kart Posted February 28, 2014 Report Posted February 28, 2014 Leo Smith, Douglas Ewart, Mike Reed at Constellation in Chicago Quote
king ubu Posted March 1, 2014 Report Posted March 1, 2014 Monday night was Howe Gelb and band ... great fun, very long concert in an intimate venue Howe has played several times and seems to really enjoy - first off was an acoustic set (Howe and another guy on guitars, third on a weird - seems self-made - double bass), then eventually Howe set down at the piano and played lots of Monkish stuff (with the guitar player changing to drums), and finally it went electric (Howe and bassist on electric instruments, third guy still on drums). Not quite sure what it all was, in the end ... dillentante stuff, genius, dada ... but fun it was!On Tuesday I saw german pianist Lars Vogt - change of pace and scene - doing a solo recital. First off, Bach's Goldberg Variations, played softly and with a wonderful touch, an amazingly rich colour palette, too (and with the roughly 75 minutes it took him, he must have played all or most repetitions). After the break, he closed with Beethoven's final piano sonata, op. 111 - amazing stuff to witness in concert, for sure! No encore - but I found that perfectly alright, I mean after op. 111, what else is there to say?Friday night, another change of scene, this time to free improv at the WIM, a musicians' collective offering rehearsal space and doing these workshop concerts. In front of twenty people (several of whom musicians themselves), Colin Vallon (p), Christian Weber (b) and Alex Huber (d) played a terrific concert. First set was powerful and intense, second took a while to build up steam, but again it was great. Vallon played as much inside of the piano than on its keys, using various devices to "prepare" it, Weber was his usual self, strong as a rock yet extremely fast in reacting to the surroundings, with neverending power and flow of ideas, him too applying various techniques they don't teach you in conservatory (or at jazz school), and Huber, whom I'd not seen before, was doing a great job, too, pushing and embellishing, bowing his cymbals but also driving them on with a free style that would still suck you in, rhythmically.At that concert I bumped into an old friend whom I'd not seen for years ... he tells me tonight Weber would play at his place, in front of some invited friends. So of course I went there too - and wow! Again, a great performance, about an hour of solo bass, much arco playing (his fingers nearly fell off yesterday - he never uses amplification and he really was playing hard for both sets!) and again creating soundscapes that were beautiful and wondrous in many respects. Love this big hungry man on the bass!Next up (hopefully, I caught some bad cold and was hesitant to go tonight already) on Wednesday Colin Vallon with his regular trio on their CD release tour. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 1, 2014 Report Posted March 1, 2014 Tonight Wadada, Douglas Ewart and Mike Reed. Quote
mjazzg Posted March 2, 2014 Report Posted March 2, 2014 Tonight Wadada, Douglas Ewart and Mike Reed. How was that? Dream line up Quote
Larry Kart Posted March 2, 2014 Report Posted March 2, 2014 Tonight Wadada, Douglas Ewart and Mike Reed. How was that? Dream line up Friday night was mostly a damp squib for me. Leo played very well, but I could hear little or no effective group interaction. In fact, I almost fell asleep at times. Some (maybe most) of this response or lack of response may have had to do with me, but that's how it felt. Quote
BillF Posted March 2, 2014 Report Posted March 2, 2014 Not exactly "live music", but today I went to a saxophone masterclass by Dave O'Higgins on the subject of using the pentatonic scale. Referring to the clip below, his subtitle was "From J Lo to Giant Steps". Fascinating! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH9l8KlcuBA Quote
Justin V Posted March 3, 2014 Report Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) Last night it was Terence Blanchard's quintet with special guests Ravi Coltrane and Lionel Loueke. Tonight it was Donny McCaslin's group, with Jason Lindner, Tim Lefebvre and Nate Wood. i almost didn't go due to being exhausted, but I am ecstatic that I did. It was simply one of the best concerts I have ever attended. Wildly inventive, groove-based music from a tight, muscular band. I live for shows like this. Edited March 3, 2014 by Justin V Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 4, 2014 Report Posted March 4, 2014 Tonight Wadada, Douglas Ewart and Mike Reed. How was that? Dream line up Friday night was mostly a damp squib for me. Leo played very well, but I could hear little or no effective group interaction. In fact, I almost fell asleep at times. Some (maybe most) of this response or lack of response may have had to do with me, but that's how it felt. Quote
paul secor Posted March 4, 2014 Report Posted March 4, 2014 Tonight Wadada, Douglas Ewart and Mike Reed. How was that? Dream line up Friday night was mostly a damp squib for me. Leo played very well, but I could hear little or no effective group interaction. In fact, I almost fell asleep at times. Some (maybe most) of this response or lack of response may have had to do with me, but that's how it felt. Obviously a photo of two good friends. Quote
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.