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Posted
On 30.3.2017 at 4:23 AM, jlhoots said:

Vinny Golia / Bobby Bradford Quartet Thurs. night

Would love to hear about that, as I wanted to catch the band but Bradford had to cancel the tour (due to a fall, as I heard).

(Golia played a mighty fine trio set luckily - other concerts were cancelled ... and I had a nice chat with Golia afterward, too.)

Posted
1 hour ago, king ubu said:

Would love to hear about that, as I wanted to catch the band but Bradford had to cancel the tour (due to a fall, as I heard).

(Golia played a mighty fine trio set luckily - other concerts were cancelled ... and I had a nice chat with Golia afterward, too.)

They were very good. Bradford seemed in good shape. 2 45 minute sets at mile-high altitude (which didn't seem to bother anyone).

Posted
1 hour ago, jlhoots said:

They were very good. Bradford seemed in good shape. 2 45 minute sets at mile-high altitude (which didn't seem to bother anyone).

That's very good to hear indeed! I hope I get another chance to hear Bradford in person!

Posted
4 hours ago, Olie Brice said:

Barry Guy in duos with Maya Homburger and Evan Parker, and trios with Howard Riley, Jürg Wickihalder and Lucas Niggli - excited!

So after all i won't be the only organissim-ite there then ...

Posted

Intakt Records in London - Night 1

SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2017, DOORS 7PM, PERFORMANCE 7.30–11PM


Maya Homburger–Barry Guy
Maya Homburger (v), Barry Guy (b) + Lucas Niggli (d)

A lovely start, including Biber (the Announciation and tenth of the Mystery Sonatas), and pieces by Guy, some in variants: Niggli joined a solo violin piece, improvising ... the following suite for violin and bass was again joined by Niggli towards the end, and then there was a Guy/Niggli duo, ehile Homburger tuned down the E string to d for that Biber. Huge applause in thr packed place.


Howard Riley Trio
Howard Riley (p), Barry Guy (b), Lucas Niggli (d)

Monk they did, in a very unique and oblique manner ... and I kinda hoped Schlipp (who's scheduled to do a Monk set later in the week) was there to listen how this can (and indeed should) be done. Amazing, though a bit on the short side, but Riley is in bad condition and I will cherish this moment I am sure!

The way they mixed grooves and out stuff was really something, and Niggli proved a valuable successor to some mighty good drummers in this trio!


Evan Parker–Barry Guy
Evan Parker (ts), Barry Guy (b)

Afterca break there wasn't really much more air in the place .... I was fried by now and warm ale didn't really help. Either way, this was another short but excellent set. They geared up a few times and it got highly energetic, and Parker's sound on tenor was a marvel, as usual.



Jürg Wickihalder Trio Beyond
Jürg Wickihalder (as, ss), Barry Guy (b), Lucas Niggli (d)

The last set was no slouch either. Chatting with Wickihalder I found out that it had been Niggli who established the relation with Guy (when Trevor Watts failed to play some New Orchestra gigs ... that was discussed here at the time, Wickihalder was an excellent sub!). They played some Lacy, but with a more energetic spin, they played tricky but lotsa fun originals. Wickihalder started out on soprano, later switched to alto (before subbing with Guy he hadn't touched an alto!), then played both simultaneously before returning to soprano again. Another great mixture of broken grooves and free flowing energy. 

In short, a fabulous night indeed. We ended up in a Turkish place ("we" including Gzy and Homburger but they were at the other end of the table, Wickihalder and Niggli and an old and dear friend of mine working for Intakt) for some food ... "my name is Erdogan", the patron said. Go fegh 'em all!

Posted
5 hours ago, king ubu said:

Intakt Records in London - Night 1

SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2017, DOORS 7PM, PERFORMANCE 7.30–11PM


Maya Homburger–Barry Guy
Maya Homburger (v), Barry Guy (b) + Lucas Niggli (d)

A lovely start, including Biber (the Announciation and tenth of the Mystery Sonatas), and pieces by Guy, some in variants: Niggli joined a solo violin piece, improvising ... the following suite for violin and bass was again joined by Niggli towards the end, and then there was a Guy/Niggli duo, ehile Homburger tuned down the E string to d for that Biber. Huge applause in thr packed place.


Howard Riley Trio
Howard Riley (p), Barry Guy (b), Lucas Niggli (d)

Monk they did, in a very unique and oblique manner ... and I kinda hoped Schlipp (who's scheduled to do a Monk set later in the week) was there to listen how this can (and indeed should) be done. Amazing, though a bit on the short side, but Riley is in bad condition and I will cherish this moment I am sure!

The way they mixed grooves and out stuff was really something, and Niggli proved a valuable successor to some mighty good drummers in this trio!


Evan Parker–Barry Guy
Evan Parker (ts), Barry Guy (b)

Afterca break there wasn't really much more air in the place .... I was fried by now and warm ale didn't really help. Either way, this was another short but excellent set. They geared up a few times and it got highly energetic, and Parker's sound on tenor was a marvel, as usual.



Jürg Wickihalder Trio Beyond
Jürg Wickihalder (as, ss), Barry Guy (b), Lucas Niggli (d)

The last set was no slouch either. Chatting with Wickihalder I found out that it had been Niggli who established the relation with Guy (when Trevor Watts failed to play some New Orchestra gigs ... that was discussed here at the time, Wickihalder was an excellent sub!). They played some Lacy, but with a more energetic spin, they played tricky but lotsa fun originals. Wickihalder started out on soprano, later switched to alto (before subbing with Guy he hadn't touched an alto!), then played both simultaneously before returning to soprano again. Another great mixture of broken grooves and free flowing energy. 

In short, a fabulous night indeed. We ended up in a Turkish place ("we" including Gzy and Homburger but they were at the other end of the table, Wickihalder and Niggli and an old and dear friend of mine working for Intakt) for some food ... "my name is Erdogan", the patron said. Go fegh 'em all!

Nice review of a very varied evening's music.

The Homburger/Guy duet to start set a very high bar - such consummate music making that made a mockery of categories. I was taken and surprised by how frail Howard Riley appears. Hopefully the apparent discomfort is more in our eyes than in his experience. It was my first experience of his playing live and I was spellbound. I had been very impressed by Wickihalder when he stood in for the "allegedly" sulking/offended Watts at Oto and it was good to see this trio follow on from that impression. Niggli was a force of nature, both loud and soft, throughout the evening.

It's great to see the venue so full but I do find that they can overlook the comfort levels whilst cramming in those extra twenty or so.

Posted

 

4 hours ago, mjazzg said:

Nice review of a very varied evening's music.

The Homburger/Guy duet to start set a very high bar - such consummate music making that made a mockery of categories. I was taken and surprised by how frail Howard Riley appears. Hopefully the apparent discomfort is more in our eyes than in his experience. It was my first experience of his playing live and I was spellbound. I had been very impressed by Wickihalder when he stood in for the "allegedly" sulking/offended Watts at Oto and it was good to see this trio follow on from that impression. Niggli was a force of nature, both loud and soft, throughout the evening.

It's great to see the venue so full but I do find that they can overlook the comfort levels whilst cramming in those extra twenty or so.

Thanks ... and yes, agree about the packing of the pkace. Also find the system with reserved/allocated seats very weird ... I bought tickets the day the sale began and sat next to the door (some rowdy basterds couldn't shut up during the second half ... had Evan and then Maya on the chair next to me that wasn't even there in the first half, but while first I was disappointed to be so far away, in the end I was happy to have a seat at the side ... guess the big cowd came for Barry, Evan and Howard Riley (Parkinson's, I was told ... too bad really, as his playing was indeed mesmerising and fully absorbing). But let's wait and see ... will you be there again (one of) the next five nights? If so, why not say hi (we can arrange that via private message)?

Posted (edited)

Last night, Terence Blanchard and the E Collective at the School of Arts and Technology of the University of Texas at Dallas. Including Charles Altura on guitar and Fabian Almazan on keyboards, the E Collective performed mostly material from an upcoming album release. The concert featured an interactive visual arts presentation by artist and UTD professor Andrew Scott. The band sounded great and the visual presentation was stunning, my only reservation being that as compared to the last couple of times I've heard him, Mr. Blanchard's playing, while still good, seemed a bit down, not at the prior observed performance levels.

 

Edited by kh1958
Posted
1 hour ago, jlhoots said:

Donny McCaslin Quartet

Let us know your impressions. He's pretty popular for some reason.

I saw him with Enrico Pieranunzi at the Vanguard, and it was the weakest band I've heard there, for sure. Starting with the leader. 

Posted
1 hour ago, Dmitry said:

Let us know your impressions. He's pretty popular for some reason.

I saw him with Enrico Pieranunzi at the Vanguard, and it was the weakest band I've heard there, for sure. Starting with the leader. 

Nothing like the group with Pieranunzi (which I actually didn't think was that bad). Jason Lindner on "keyboards". Several different moods in the playing including a Bowie cover (Lazarus) & a very nice duet with Lindner on acoustic piano. Enjoyed the evening + McCaslin is a very personable presenter.

Posted

Just came back from seeing Charles Gayle, Giovanni Barcella and Manolo Cabras: just great!

I also brought home the record of the three "Live in Belgium" on el Negocito.

Posted

April 29th 2017

SUNY Purchase -

Tribute to Sonny Rollins

Tenors -

Jimmy Heath

Ravi Coltrane

Eric Wyatt

Joe Lovano

James Carter

James Brandon Lewis

David Hazeltine, piano
Todd Coolman, bass
Victor Lewis, drums

https://tickets.artscenter.org/single/eventDetail.aspx?p=6144

A very nice tribute indeed, this was a multi-saxophone blowing session of a very high caliber. 

After that, went to the Knickerbocker Bar & Grill, across the way from NYU. Surprisingly, I'd never been there before.

Michael Weiss, piano

Kenny Davis, bass

???, drums

This place has the worst accoustics. All I heard from the bar was the drum set, nary a piano note. Bizarre. Hasn't anyone ever complained?! So finished my drink, and went to Wo Hop instead. Hot & Sour soup, vegetable chow fun at around 1-30am. Nice. 

 

 

Posted (edited)

The past three days, attending the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Sunday was a bit of a debacle, as storms forced a delayed opening. Otherwise a great experience.

The really good stuff I heard was: Jamil Sharif (fabulous trumpet player) with the also wonderful Louis Ford, Ashlin Parker's Trumpet Mafia (Sixteen trumpets with a six piece rhythm section, this year performing original music by Maurice Brown), Mokoomba (great Afro Rock group from Zimbabwe), Astral Project, Kenny Neal and His Baton Rouge Blues Revue, Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya with Terence Blanchard (now that set was beautiful), Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra (a pleasant surprise to me, but this riff based big band is really enjoyable and swinging with excellent soloists), and Joe Louis Walker (with Murali Coryell on second guitar).

 

 

Edited by kh1958
Posted
19 hours ago, Dmitry said:

After that, went to the Knickerbocker Bar & Grill, across the way from NYU. Surprisingly, I'd never been there before.

Michael Weiss, piano

Kenny Davis, bass

???, drums

This place has the worst accoustics. All I heard from the bar was the drum set, nary a piano note. Bizarre. Hasn't anyone ever complained?! So finished my drink, and went to Wo Hop instead. Hot & Sour soup, vegetable chow fun at around 1-30am. Nice.

Michael posts here under his real name. You could ask him if he knows that the acoustics are that bad. He could also clue you in on the drummer. :)

Posted
1 hour ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

Michael posts here under his real name. You could ask him if he knows that the acoustics are that bad. He could also clue you in on the drummer. :)

Really? Didn't know that. Yeah, I wonder how he feels about the sound in that place, because it's pretty bad from the audience's perspective. 

that Sonny Rollins tribute gig was a killer. Boy, can those cats play. James Carter was killin'. The chops on this guy are something else.

Posted (edited)

The preceding Thursday to Sunday, I attended the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This was the first time I attended the entire festival--6 and one-half days--the first Sunday having a delayed opening due to a violent thunderstorm. In total, I heard 28 complete sets plus two interviews and various partial sets. It was a great experience in every way (the food at the festival is great as well); alas, now a whole year to wait for the next one.

The best sets I heard the second weekend were:

Charlie Gabriel, an interview with short performances. A fascinating career in music and at 84 his clarinet and tenor sax sound great. Unfortunately his set as a leader was at the same time as Lee Konitz.

Cedric Burnside Project: Intense Mississippi Hill country blues from R.L. Burnside's grandson, who is a strong vocalist and drummer. A compact but powerful group (a duo of drums/vocals and guitar).

Lee Konitz Quartet: His alto sounded really beautiful and profound, with Dan Tepfer on piano.

Louis Ford and His New Orleans Flairs (with Jamil Sharif on trumpet). Superb clarinet and tenor sax in traditional New Orleans jazz context. 

The Ron Holloway Band: Jazz/Funk. I knew Ron Holloway was a fine tenor saxophonist, but was skeptical of this band with two pretty, curvaceous singers. In fact, both were good singers, and the band's set was incendiary.

Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet: He's a really nice vibes player, sounding a bit like Milt Jackson.

Terence Blanchard E Collective: I just heard this band in Dallas, and the concert was good. Here in New Orleans, their set was fantastic, one of the best I heard at the festival. Their usual closing song, Cosmic Warrior, was awesome.

Doreen's Jazz New Orleans: Street musician in traditional New Orleans style, she plays a mean clarinet.

Gregory Agid Quartet: Another clarinet led group, this was a fine set by an Alvin Batiste protege.

Jeremy Davenport: A really swinging group, with the leader's pleasing trumpet playing, his vocals not entirely to my tastes.

New Orleans Groovemasters (Shannon Powell, Herlin Riley, Jason Marsalis): A three drummer led cooperative group, with saxophone, bass and drums. A rather fine set.

Kenny Barron Trio: A superlative set with Jonathan Blake on drums.

SF Jazz Collective Plays the Music of Miles Davis: About midway through the Kenny Barron set and into the day-ending SF Jazz Collective set, the Jazz Tent went from packed to a sparser crowd, as throngs went to stand in a massive, jammed together crowds to hear Stevie Wonder perform, by all reports in truly appalling sound and with lots and lots of talking. Glad to not be one of them. Meanwhile, the SF Jazz Collective was performing its final concert for a six week tour, and I would be surprised if this was not the best concert of the tour.

Dayme Arocena: Cuban vocalist with a powerful voice.

Khari Allen Lee and the New Creative Collective: Khari Allen Lee is a New Orleans based alto and soprano saxophonist who turns up frequently as a sideman at Jazz Fest (this year, with Uptown Jazz Orchestra and Leah Chase). He's an excellent player and this group's set derived from his new recording, A New Earth, was quite fine.

Nicholas Payton and Afro-Carribean Mix Tape: This set was a mixed bag--he played keyboards more than trumpet, and the group included a DJ and two dancers. But the last piece, an original composition which added a string quintet to the group and began with a lovely extended trumpet solo with the strings, morphing into a melding of the strings with the larger group, all featuring trumpet, was by far the best of the set.

Chucho Valdes Quintet: This was Chucho Valdes with bass and three percussionists in the final set of the festival. This set was simply thrilling. That Cuban bass player, I don't know his name, but he was incredible. The place was packed, the crowd ecstatic, the encore really unbelievably exciting. A great set.

 

 

Edited by kh1958
Posted

Australian trio The Necks last night in Paris.

Two sets. Was particularly inspired, and especially by the second set, very focused music, great densities, incredible sounds - it felt strange at times to see that there were only three acoustic instruments on stage (piano, double bass, drums), it had me thinking of some things completely different, like an accordeon or strange fridge noises, waves of sound that overlapped. Really wonderful!

Posted
6 hours ago, OliverM said:

Australian trio The Necks last night in Paris.

Two sets. Was particularly inspired, and especially by the second set, very focused music, great densities, incredible sounds - it felt strange at times to see that there were only three acoustic instruments on stage (piano, double bass, drums), it had me thinking of some things completely different, like an accordeon or strange fridge noises, waves of sound that overlapped. Really wonderful!

Wonderful experience each time I've seen them. They really are like no one else out there

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