What live music are you going to see tonight?

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Billy Hart often plays very loud. He's the loudest drummer I've seen in recent years and not just with The Cookers. I think it's his style.

[tranemonk]

On 11/19/2023 at 11:15 AM, mjazzg said:

Really, I wasn't aware. Thank you. Do you know the label? I can't find any reference online.

I heard it on Apple Music. Artwork Records.  I enjoyed it except for the last two tracks. I don't like too much self-promotion of new "geniuses."

https://www.amazon.com/Solo-Game-Sullivan-Fortner/dp/B0CJK4T6Z2

3 hours ago, bresna said:

Billy Hart often plays very loud. He's the loudest drummer I've seen in recent years and not just with The Cookers. I think it's his style.

I agree 100%. I can't see him live for that reason. Even when I saw Simon Phillips (who had a massive drum kit) with Hiromi's trio, he wasn't as loud as Billy Hart. It's kinda ridiculous, especially in a small club.

[mjazzg]

40 minutes ago, tranemonk said:

I heard it on Apple Music. Artwork Records.  I enjoyed it except for the last two tracks. I don't like too much self-promotion of new "geniuses."

https://www.amazon.com/Solo-Game-Sullivan-Fortner/dp/B0CJK4T6Z2

 

Thanks but we're discussing Tyshawn Sorey not Sullivan Fortner whoever he is.

[jlhoots]

16 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Thanks but we're discussing Tyshawn Sorey not Sullivan Fortner whoever he is.

Nothing wrong with Sullivan Fortner (even though it wasn't what the discussion was about).

[david weiss]

Always interesting to see this sort of feedback.

I can answer the following from what was mentioned above.....

No one in the band heard the introduction of the band so we had no idea a name was omitted in the introductions. 

I assume he was also the one who mentioned our travel day. I didn't hear it though and did not mention it myself on stage but yes, it was a long travel day. We did leave Szeged, Hungary at 7:00 am (so yes, I guess we were up at 6:00) and drove around 3 hours to Belgrade, Serbia to fly to London. Getting through customs and such meant we had to go straight to the venue from the airport and right to sound check. We had a full sound check. We never hear how things sound in the house but we could hear each other well on stage. We had some food bought to us so we could quickly eat and do our best to pull clothes out of our luggage and change for the concert. 

I don't think anyone was angry but perhaps we had our game faces on. I guess we take this stuff seriously and try to do our best. If Billy Hart was too loud in a concert hall, this to me is more of a balance issue. Billy definitely plays with a wide range of dynamics but he is accompanying the soloists and bringing the energy usually required for doing this. If you can't hear the horns in a big venue, then they needed to be bought up. Billy's drums were mic'ed but once the sound engineers heard the group, those mics should not have been on. They were definitely not needed. 

I do remember an audience member calling out something like who is the drummer or give the drummer some and a little,  when I announced Biily's name before his drum feature, I did deliberately turn in the direction of the person who had shouted out earlier when I announced Billy's name. This is how things are usually announced and over 16 years, no one has taken issue with this so there is nothing to read into this.

I thought it was a nice night. If anyone was tired, they didn't show it at all as is the norm with these guys. I thought the audience was wonderful and very receptive. To me, this is a special band playing music in a way that is rarely heard these days and I, at the very least, cherish the experience. 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by david weiss

[Gheorghe]

7 hours ago, david weiss said:

Always interesting to see this sort of feedback.

I can answer the following from what was mentioned above.....

No one in the band heard the introduction of the band so we had no idea a name was omitted in the introductions. 

I assume he was also the one who mentioned our travel day. I didn't hear it though and did not mention it myself on stage but yes, it was a long travel day. We did leave Szeged, Hungary at 7:00 am (so yes, I guess we were up at 6:00) and drove around 3 hours to Belgrade, Serbia to fly to London. Getting through customs and such meant we had to go straight to the venue from the airport and right to sound check. We had a full sound check. We never hear how things sound in the house but we could hear each other well on stage. We had some food bought to us so we could quickly eat and do our best to pull clothes out of our luggage and change for the concert. 

I don't think anyone was angry but perhaps we had our game faces on. I guess we take this stuff seriously and try to do our best. If Billy Hart was too loud in a concert hall, this to me is more of a balance issue. Billy definitely plays with a wide range of dynamics but he is accompanying the soloists and bringing the energy usually required for doing this. If you can't hear the horns in a big venue, then they needed to be bought up. Billy's drums were mic'ed but once the sound engineers heard the group, those mics should not have been on. They were definitely not needed. 

I do remember an audience member calling out something like who is the drummer or give the drummer some and a little,  when I announced Biily's name before his drum feature, I did deliberately turn in the direction of the person who had shouted out earlier when I announced Billy's name. This is how things are usually announced and over 16 years, no one has taken issue with this so there is nothing to read into this.

I thought it was a nice night. If anyone was tired, they didn't show it at all as is the norm with these guys. I thought the audience was wonderful and very receptive. To me, this is a special band playing music in a way that is rarely heard these days and I, at the very least, cherish the experience. 

 

Thanks for this great input !

Szeged is a beautiful town yeah. Not far from the Romanian borderline. 

Billy Hart is a wonderful drummer and I always say I want to HEAR the drummer. And I want to hear them on studio records, where sometimes I have the feeling that I don´t hear each kit in the proper manner, especially the cymbals. 
I talked to Mr. Peter Pullman (the author of the book about Bud) when he was in Viena this year in springtime when I invited him to a jazzclub and he was quite astonished that a piano player loves more powerful drummers, which is the case. I think he mentioned that most pianists are supposed to prefer drummers that are not very loud, but in my case if I play and check out a drummer he must be a quite powerful guy. We have some very good drummers here. 

And of course Billy Hart is one of my favourites. 

[sidewinder]

8 hours ago, david weiss said:

Always interesting to see this sort of feedback.

I can answer the following from what was mentioned above.....

No one in the band heard the introduction of the band so we had no idea a name was omitted in the introductions. 

I assume he was also the one who mentioned our travel day. I didn't hear it though and did not mention it myself on stage but yes, it was a long travel day. We did leave Szeged, Hungary at 7:00 am (so yes, I guess we were up at 6:00) and drove around 3 hours to Belgrade, Serbia to fly to London. Getting through customs and such meant we had to go straight to the venue from the airport and right to sound check. We had a full sound check. We never hear how things sound in the house but we could hear each other well on stage. We had some food bought to us so we could quickly eat and do our best to pull clothes out of our luggage and change for the concert. 

I don't think anyone was angry but perhaps we had our game faces on. I guess we take this stuff seriously and try to do our best. If Billy Hart was too loud in a concert hall, this to me is more of a balance issue. Billy definitely plays with a wide range of dynamics but he is accompanying the soloists and bringing the energy usually required for doing this. If you can't hear the horns in a big venue, then they needed to be bought up. Billy's drums were mic'ed but once the sound engineers heard the group, those mics should not have been on. They were definitely not needed. 

I do remember an audience member calling out something like who is the drummer or give the drummer some and a little,  when I announced Biily's name before his drum feature, I did deliberately turn in the direction of the person who had shouted out earlier when I announced Billy's name. This is how things are usually announced and over 16 years, no one has taken issue with this so there is nothing to read into this.

I thought it was a nice night. If anyone was tired, they didn't show it at all as is the norm with these guys. I thought the audience was wonderful and very receptive. To me, this is a special band playing music in a way that is rarely heard these days and I, at the very least, cherish the experience. 

 

Thanks for those thoughts, David. It was indeed a really nice night and the standing ovation well earned for a band which, as you say, is pretty special. Yes, the guy doing the intro mentioned the 6am bit.

Sounds like one heck of a day to get to the gig - respect and thanks to you all. Hope you come back over here to tour again soon. Hopefully also beyond London !

Edited November 21, 2023 by sidewinder

[paulfromcamden]

Just to add my impressions. This was the fourth time I've seen The Cookers play over the past few years and quite possibly the best I've heard them.

Can't comment on the sound balance as we were front row and mostly hearing stage sound with the piano reinforced through the fill speakers on the front of the stage. From where we were sitting the sound was superb and Billy's drums were in no way overpowering.

I didn't pick up on any tension in the band. There was a lot of interaction with the audience and a great moment when Donald took a seat after one of his solos and Eddie turned and congratulated him. The whole evening had a really nice vibe.

The introduction at the start struck me as weird and kinda disrespectful "please welcome x who has played with y and z etc etc.." No one ever introduced Bill Evans as "here's a guy who once played with Miles..." This is a band consisting of absolute legends. Surely everyone in the room knows who they're about to see.

Everyone played superbly but the revelation for me was Donald Harrison who absolutely killed it. I walked past him in the street afterwards and wish now I'd gone up to him and told him how much I'd enjoyed his playing.

Thanks for playing David - we cherish the experience too. Come back soon!

Edited November 21, 2023 by paulfromcamden

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I've seen The Cookers more times than I can remember at this point & I never left feeling like I didn't see a great performance by such a killer band.

11 hours ago, david weiss said:

I don't think anyone was angry but perhaps we had our game faces on. I guess we take this stuff seriously and try to do our best. If Billy Hart was too loud in a concert hall, this to me is more of a balance issue. Billy definitely plays with a wide range of dynamics but he is accompanying the soloists and bringing the energy usually required for doing this. If you can't hear the horns in a big venue, then they needed to be bought up. Billy's drums were mic'ed but once the sound engineers heard the group, those mics should not have been on. They were definitely not needed.

You really got me to laugh here... I've never seen/heard Billy perform where he needed microphones!

[adh1907]

Good for David Weiss to comment at length on the Cadogan Hall concert. Sounds a challenging travel schedule! I did enjoy last year’s concert at the Church of Sound. Craig Taborn replaced Donald Harrison. Now there is a venue where it must be difficult to get a good balanced sound. High ceilinged Victorian church. 

[kh1958]

46 minutes ago, adh1907 said:

Good for David Weiss to comment at length on the Cadogan Hall concert. Sounds a challenging travel schedule! I did enjoy last year’s concert at the Church of Sound. Craig Taborn replaced Donald Harrison. Now there is a venue where it must be difficult to get a good balanced sound. High ceilinged Victorian church. 

Craig Handy?

[adh1907]

Whoops, yes you are right. Sorry. Craig Handy! 

[ejp626]

I saw the Cowboy Junkies last night at the Danforth Music Hall.  Last night of the tour, but they'll be back in the road in Feb.  This was a rescheduled show, as 3 of the band members came down with COVID in Oct.  Glad that they seemed back in good form.  Not a huge, huge fan, but they are more or less a local group, and I thought I should check them out.  I actually saw them in 1989 or 1990 when they were just coming up the charts and they just tore it up back then.  They generally are a bit more raucous live than on their albums...

I think I saw Scofield is coming back to Toronto soon, but I was pretty underwhelmed the last time I saw him, so I will likely pass.

Pat LaBarbera has been coming through The Rex fairly regularly lately.  Neil Swainson is supposed to be in the group in mid-Dec., and I'll make an effort to get out to see them at least once.

[tranemonk]

This past weekend went back to the Regattabar (Cambridge MA) and saw Immanuel Wilkins and his quartet. The place reopened a few months ago. I forgot how outstanding the acoustics were there. He was outstanding. Very spiritual and understated. Highly recommended.

[jlhoots]

42 minutes ago, tranemonk said:

This past weekend went back to the Regattabar (Cambridge MA) and saw Immanuel Wilkins and his quartet. The place reopened a few months ago. I forgot how outstanding the acoustics were there. He was outstanding. Very spiritual and understated. Highly recommended.

I heard him in person earlier this year in Albuquerque. He & his quartet were excellent.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

1 hour ago, tranemonk said:

This past weekend went back to the Regattabar (Cambridge MA) and saw Immanuel Wilkins and his quartet. The place reopened a few months ago. I forgot how outstanding the acoustics were there. He was outstanding. Very spiritual and understated. Highly recommended.

It was closed for a long time. Did they renovate the club at all? Maybe put in some comfortable seats?

My first show isn't until next March 9th (Danilo Perez).

[tranemonk]

23 hours ago, bresna said:

It was closed for a long time. Did they renovate the club at all? Maybe put in some comfortable seats?

My first show isn't until next March 9th (Danilo Perez).

No renovation. It looks and feels the exact same... Really crowded. Some of the same waitresses even. But I still love the acoustics and the sight lines.

[BFrank]

Monday: Mingus Big Band at DROM, NYC
Tuesday: The 8 Nights Of Hanukkah With Yo La Tengo - Day 6, at the Bowery Ballroom, NYC

[Steve Reynolds]

Yo La Tengo at Bowery Ballroom

they just posted as I’m about 10th in line / opening band is the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen!!!

Edited December 8, 2023 by Steve Reynolds

[BFrank]

5 hours ago, Steve Reynolds said:

Yo La Tengo at Bowery Ballroom

they just posted as I’m about 10th in line / opening band is the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen!!!

Wow! That's wild!

Can't wait until Tuesday! I like surprises.

[colinmce]

Taking in the second annual Molten Plains festival tonight and tomorrow in Denton, TX. 

12/8 lineup:
-Wendy Eisenberg/Damon Smith/Stefan Gonzalez
-Louise Fristensky/Kory Reeder/Ernesto Montiel
-Joe McPhee/Zoh Amba
-Tamarisk (Christina Carter/David Menestres/Andrew Weathers)
-Spirit Plate

12/9 lineup:
-Mattie/Melanie Little Smith
-Colin Andrew Sheffield
-Patrick Shiroishi/Aaron Gonzalez/Damon Smith
-Sandy Ewen/Rebecca Novak/Sarah Ruth Alexander/Wendy Eisenberg
-Sean Meehan
-Joe McPhee/Carmina Escobar/Dave Dove
-Trio Glossia
-Water Damage

Should be a great weekend!

[adh1907]

Anyone going to Simon Spillett’s big band Tubby thing on Monday?

[Steve Reynolds]

10 hours ago, colinmce said:

Taking in the second annual Molten Plains festival tonight and tomorrow in Denton, TX. 

12/8 lineup:
-Wendy Eisenberg/Damon Smith/Stefan Gonzalez
-Louise Fristensky/Kory Reeder/Ernesto Montiel
-Joe McPhee/Zoh Amba
-Tamarisk (Christina Carter/David Menestres/Andrew Weathers)
-Spirit Plate

12/9 lineup:
-Mattie/Melanie Little Smith
-Colin Andrew Sheffield
-Patrick Shiroishi/Aaron Gonzalez/Damon Smith
-Sandy Ewen/Rebecca Novak/Sarah Ruth Alexander/Wendy Eisenberg
-Sean Meehan
-Joe McPhee/Carmina Escobar/Dave Dove
-Trio Glossia
-Water Damage

Should be a great weekend!

So glad you are seeing this. Especially with the *great* Joe McPhee right in the middle of the lineup!!

Tomorrow night Mary Halvorson & Sylvie Courvoisier @ Jazz Gallery. Front table:)

[colinmce]

9 hours ago, Steve Reynolds said:

So glad you are seeing this. Especially with the *great* Joe McPhee right in the middle of the lineup!!

Tomorrow night Mary Halvorson & Sylvie Courvoisier @ Jazz Gallery. Front table:)

Joe's duet with Zoh was otherworldly. I knew she would do a good job but I was in awe. As good as, if not better than, any saxophone duet I've ever heard him do. 

[ejp626]

Just back from seeing Terence Blanchard's E-Collective with Turtle Island Quartet.  I know Blanchard is an artist in residence with the DSO, and I caught one or two of his shows with them as livestreams.  Those concerts were pretty short, so I wasn't entirely sure what we would get tonight, but it was a full concert (two hours!).  I'd describe it as sounding a lot like a live version of Panthalassa with string accompaniment.  They performed many of the tracks off their recent BN album Absence.  The Turtle Island Quartet had one tune all to themselves -- The Second Wave -- while the band rested.  Overall, a very interesting concert.