What live music are you going to see tonight?

[Steve Reynolds]

Last Sunday:

Tony Malaby, Ben Monder, Angelica Sanchez & Tom Rainey / second set incredible / nobody playing soprano saxophone like this. His tenor playing was great as always. Both sets fully improvised. Tom Rainey remains among the greatest drummers on the planet. As Kevin Reilly says in his low key manner, “he’s the best” 

Last Night:

James Paul Nadian solo followed by a trio adding Tom Wall and the *great* Fred Lonberg-Holm. Amazing

Tonight:

Tim Berne with David Torn, Trevor Dunn & Tom Rainey

Will be a nice long improvised set and as always I’ll be a few feet from the band. 

 

 

[mjazzg]

Just back from Oto

Fred Frith and Susana Santos Silva, top level improv

[Steve Reynolds]

A few great gigs last week including an amazing trio with Sandy Ewen, Tim Dahl & Brian Chase

Tonight thru Saturday night Brandon Lopez at The Stone

tonight with Michael Foster, Webb Crawford, T.J. Borden & Joey Sullivan 

fired up

[mikeweil]

A friend invited me to join him to see Salvador Sobral on Thursday. The samples sound interesting ...

[Gheorghe]

3 hours ago, mikeweil said:

A friend invited me to join him to see Salvador Sobral on Thursday. The samples sound interesting ...

Always great to go out. Much better than listening at home. 

Have slipped on icy sidewalk last week and fell very bad on my left hand, had to go to urgent spital, but with all that bad luck I still was lucky it happened after the studio sessions for our CD. 
Having my left hand in a cast and unable to play with my left hand, I went out to see some of my colleages yesterday at zwe, among them the great Roman Schwaller with some of my very favourite fellow musicians. 
They did a fast version of "If I were a Bell" at a brisk tempo, "Fire Waltz" one of my favourite waltzes on my own gigs, a Kenny Barron tune which title I don´t remember, a very very fast version of "The Man I love" (I play it usually as a ballad, sometimes switching into  double time in the solos), and "Have You Met Miss Jones" an alltime favourite of mine. 

Got a lot of wellwishes from the guys, the staff and the audience and will be back soon......

Next week I´ll listen to some fine vocal jazz by "Sweet Emma Band" featuring my old friend Paul Zauner, who runs the famous jazz festival "Inntöne" each year, near the German border line......, lookin forward to that. 

[Chuck Nessa]

Monday night - Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble

[tranemonk]

I saw Mary Halvorson and Amaryllis quintet last night in Cambridge MA. I was interested as to why she gets so much praise. I had two of her records and was primarily curious. The place was packed, surprisingly with 90% of the people over 50. I expected her audience would be the much younger Berklee College of Music crowd, especially since the tickets weren't that expensive. After a 90-minute set, I wasn't particularly impressed. It was fine. As my college daughter often says - it was meh... Excellent technical proficiency. One tune I liked a lot - sounded like Miles at the Cellar Door. But overall I wasn't moved. I didn't feel anything. Based on her records, it was largely what I expected.

[Steve Reynolds]

4 nights of Brandon Lopez in various improvising ensembles from last Wednesday thru Saturday night

highlights were the trio with Chuck Roth & Dennis Sullivan on Friday night and then the duo with Fred Moten on Saturday night which was sublime and emotionally devastating. Brilliant. 

Chuck Roth is a genius level improvisor. 27 years old and beyond creative and totally unlike any guitarist I’ve ever heard. 

Also the quintet with T.J. Borden, Michael Foster, Webb Crawford & Joey Sullivan was great. Webb Crawford is a brilliant young guitarist. 

I can’t tell anyone here how great Brandon Lopez is as a bassist and creative inventive force but I will say the 4 day experience will be a lasting one. Certainly I don’t know another bassist who is improvising at this level that I’ve seen live. Plus for my ears, mind and heart he’s pursuing a muse that is in a very powerful oblique and abstract direction and more power to him.

also fit in a trio set with Tony Malaby, Ben Monder & Alan Mednard @ Barbes. Tony stuck with his tenor for this set and had to overcome a slightly too loud Monder but this is a minor quibble. Monder was really bringing it with his effects and Tony mixed his long tones with some elbow flapping high energy classic Malaby playing. The dude is as great as ever. Look forward to 2/17 with Open Loose (with Helias & Rainey) plus Tim Berne. I think the first Open Loose show in 8 or 9 years. 

Edited February 5, 2024 by Steve Reynolds

[jlhoots]

11 hours ago, tranemonk said:

I saw Mary Halvorson and Amaryllis quintet last night in Cambridge MA. I was interested as to why she gets so much praise. I had two of her records and was primarily curious. The place was packed, surprisingly with 90% of the people over 50. I expected her audience would be the much younger Berklee College of Music crowd, especially since the tickets weren't that expensive. After a 90-minute set, I wasn't particularly impressed. It was fine. As my college daughter often says - it was meh... Excellent technical proficiency. One tune I liked a lot - sounded like Miles at the Cellar Door. But overall I wasn't moved. I didn't feel anything. Based on her records, it was largely what I expected.

FWIW, I like her more than that. And (yes) I have seen her live.

[Steve Reynolds]

18 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

FWIW, I like her more than that. And (yes) I have seen her live.

Seeing Mary in more preferred settings for me 3 times this month. This week in an improvising trio with Nick Jozwiak & Ches Smith. Later this month with Tomeka Reid’s great quartet. In between a trio with Henry Fraser & Tomas Fujiwara.

as an aside, this is a golden age for live left leaning music in NYC/Brooklyn. Much of it is way under the radar but “the gold is where you find it”.

retirement is glorious:)

Edited February 5, 2024 by Steve Reynolds

[BFrank]

15 hours ago, tranemonk said:

I saw Mary Halvorson and Amaryllis quintet last night in Cambridge MA. I was interested as to why she gets so much praise. I had two of her records and was primarily curious. The place was packed, surprisingly with 90% of the people over 50. I expected her audience would be the much younger Berklee College of Music crowd, especially since the tickets weren't that expensive. After a 90-minute set, I wasn't particularly impressed. It was fine. As my college daughter often says - it was meh... Excellent technical proficiency. One tune I liked a lot - sounded like Miles at the Cellar Door. But overall I wasn't moved. I didn't feel anything. Based on her records, it was largely what I expected.

I've probably seen her more than anyone else over the last 5 years or so. Either with her own groups or with others like Zorn, Melford or Formanek. She's extremely prolific and seems to be everywhere. I like her but even if I'm not moved by a performance, she always seems to be trying something different. Will no doubt see her in at least one setting at Big Ears next month, too.

[ejp626]

Don Byron is up in Toronto this week at The Rex, sitting in with a group fronted by Michael Occhipinti on guitar.  I'm not really sure what to expect.  I saw Byron years and years ago at the Village Vanguard with his own group, but I'm not expecting it to be at all the same.  Anyway, I am definitely going on Thurs., and if I am really into it, I may come back on Sat.

[sidewinder]

1 hour ago, ejp626 said:

Don Byron is up in Toronto this week at The Rex, sitting in with a group fronted by Michael Occhipinti on guitar.  I'm not really sure what to expect.  I saw Byron years and years ago at the Village Vanguard with his own group, but I'm not expecting it to be at all the same.  Anyway, I am definitely going on Thurs., and if I am really into it, I may come back on Sat.

The only times I've ever seen Byron have been in Canada and enjoyed those gigs, which were around the 'Tuskeegee' period and band lineups. Sounds good at The Rex.

[Gheorghe]

Goin to see "Sweet Emma and Band" on Friday at Porgy´s especially because my old friend Paul Zauner (tb and bookings) plays with them and I wanna see him again .

[tranemonk]

10 hours ago, BFrank said:

I've probably seen her more than anyone else over the last 5 years or so. Either with her own groups or with others like Zorn, Melford or Formanek. She's extremely prolific and seems to be everywhere. I like her but even if I'm not moved by a performance, she always seems to be trying something different. Will no doubt see her in at least one setting at Big Ears next month, too.

Clearly I’m in the minority…but that’s why we listen… We can’t all like the same thing and we’d be in trouble if we did. 

[Steve Reynolds]

The gig this Wednesday is an improv set with Mary, Nick Jozwiak & the *great* Ches Smith. In a tiny room in Brooklyn. The small groups are the place to really “hear” Mary Halvorson. I strongly recommend Hotel Grief on Intakt by the Tom Rainey, Ingrid Laubrock & Mary Halvorson. Freely improvised MUCH different than the overly composed larger ensemble music. 
 

to my ears it’s much more exciting as well as I tend not to be moved by more academic structured music. Not just with Mary either.

Edited February 6, 2024 by Steve Reynolds

[BFrank]

1 hour ago, Steve Reynolds said:

The gig this Wednesday is an improv set with Mary, Nick Jozwiak & the *great* Ches Smith. In a tiny room in Brooklyn. The small groups are the place to really “hear” Mary Halvorson. I strongly recommend Hotel Grief on Intakt by the Tom Rainey, Ingrid Laubrock & Mary Halvorson. Freely improvised MUCH different than the overly composed larger ensemble music. 
 

to my ears it’s much more exciting as well as I tend not to be moved by more academic structured music. Not just with Mary either.

A lot of good music coming out on INTAKT these days.

[Steve Reynolds]

9 hours ago, BFrank said:

A lot of good music coming out on INTAKT these days.

The new Tim Berne with Hoff, Ducret, Torn & Ches Smith is incredible 

[cliffpeterson]

Tonight: Nels Cline, Chris Lightcap, Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey at the Falcon in Marlboro, NY. Just got back. great concert

[BFrank]

1 hour ago, cliffpeterson said:

Tonight: Nels Cline, Chris Lightcap, Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey at the Falcon in Marlboro, NY. Just got back. great concert

Saw that listing. Too bad I'm 3,000 miles away.

On 2/6/2024 at 7:24 AM, Steve Reynolds said:

The new Tim Berne with Hoff, Ducret, Torn & Ches Smith is incredible 

I'll look for it!

[Steve Reynolds]

10 hours ago, cliffpeterson said:

Tonight: Nels Cline, Chris Lightcap, Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey at the Falcon in Marlboro, NY. Just got back. great concert

I’ll be seeing them tonight at Le Poisson Rouge

[mjazzg]

Looking forward to Saturday and this line up as part of Oto's memorial weekend for Peter Brotzmann

- Joe McPhee / Jason Adasiewicz - Duo

- Han Bennink / Pat Thomas - Duo

- Joe McPhee / Paal Nilssen-Love - Duo

- Paal Nilssen-Love / Ken Vandermark / Mats Gustafsson / Farida Amadou - Quartet

- Caspar Brötzmann - Solo

- Caspar Brötzmann / Farida Amadou - Duo

- Large ensemble

[Steve Reynolds]

1 hour ago, mjazzg said:

Looking forward to Saturday and this line up as part of Oto's memorial weekend for Peter Brotzmann

- Joe McPhee / Jason Adasiewicz - Duo

- Han Bennink / Pat Thomas - Duo

- Joe McPhee / Paal Nilssen-Love - Duo

- Paal Nilssen-Love / Ken Vandermark / Mats Gustafsson / Farida Amadou - Quartet

- Caspar Brötzmann - Solo

- Caspar Brötzmann / Farida Amadou - Duo

- Large ensemble

Awesome! Try to find Matt Vernon & Hope. Ask around. Tell them Steve says hello. 
 

Hope was Peter’s tour manager for the US for a couple of decades.

[mjazzg]

13 minutes ago, Steve Reynolds said:

Awesome! Try to find Matt Vernon & Hope. Ask around. Tell them Steve says hello. 
 

Hope was Peter’s tour manager for the US for a couple of decades.

I'll see what I can do

[Steve Reynolds]

On 2/7/2024 at 10:30 PM, cliffpeterson said:

Tonight: Nels Cline, Chris Lightcap, Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey at the Falcon in Marlboro, NY. Just got back. great concert

2 great sets tonight in NYC. My friend and I were 10 feet from Tom Rainey. Will see him again twice next week. I can never get enough of the *great* Tom Rainey. Peaking madly. Next Thursday with Tim Berne’s group then Saturday 2/17 with Open Loose (Helias & Malaby) with Berne as a guest.