What live music are you going to see tonight?

[king ubu]

I can understand that reaction, EKE - mine was somewhat similar... though I've known Wertmüller and find him pretty impressive! (I knew what to expect...) Brötz played tenor / alto / alto / clarinet (as far as I could see a normal wooden b flat one, but he played so loud, it could have been a metal one) / tenor (encore).

Anyway, the simple wall of sound was amazing by itself... but as I said, I'm not quite sure how much there is about it... it's music that sort of stands still, it's not developping, rather just a state ("estado" or "estado actual"?) that you stay in while listening, a space (or rather lack of?) that the musicians create, and that you can or cannot stay in... (some people left last night, of course... some just dislocated to the corner that was the farthest from the stage... some went out and came back in...) - it's like it could just go on forever, once it's established... I think it's not necessarily to be judged by common criteria...

[ASNL77]

Glad to hear it went well. I'm dead jelous, of course.

Really a great performance by Sonny on Saturday. Pleasantly surprised with the acoustics although the guitar sounded a bit lost. How was Charles Tolliver? This was also on my list but I couldn't make it? Was that big band stuff? Did he play the tunes on the album that has just been released? The Charles Tolliver Select is a must have in my opinion.

[sidewinder]

Glad to hear it went well. I'm dead jelous, of course.

Really a great performance by Sonny on Saturday. Pleasantly surprised with the acoustics although the guitar sounded a bit lost. How was Charles Tolliver? This was also on my list but I couldn't make it? Was that big band stuff? Did he play the tunes on the album that has just been released? The Charles Tolliver Select is a must have in my opinion.

Yes, the Charles Tolliver was by his US Big Band playing mainly material from the new album. They were an absolute powerhouse - some of the tracks can be heard on latest 'Jazz On 3' at the BBC site. I thought the acoustics in person was better than the BBC managed to get on this recording - was sat right in front of Billy Harper and Howard Johnson on the right hand side so got the full-on sound of this marvellous sax front line. Billy Harper was on fantastic form - his first solo was particularly good (on 'On The Nile'). Toliver too played a reasonable amount of his distinctive solo trumpet - was playing with better lip, in fact, than on the Blue Note/Mosaic disk. He's also a very 'involved' and enthusiastic conductor of the band, with a fantastic sense of timing. Reminded me a lot in that respect of Gerald Wilson.

Fellow O-board member David Weiss by the way was in the trumpet section and nicely featured in at least one solo spot.

One of the nicest things about the concert was hearing bass player Reggie Johnson (sounded great in tandem with Kirk Lightsey). I was pondering who this great bassist was for a while as he sounded so familiar but then I recognised the sound from Bobby Hutcherson Blue Note sessions such as 'Medina' and realised to my delight who it was.

Edited November 26, 2007 by sidewinder

[ASNL77]

Thanks. Glad to hear that was a success. I really dig that album.

[sheldonm]

Roy Hargrove @ the Dakota in Minneapolis.

[king ubu]

I had typed up a long post about last night's concerts at the Unerhört Festival, it got lost after I hit "add reply", effin' sucks! I don't feel like typing up all the b-s again, it's such a pain to tranlate all of these adjectives and stuff about music into merikan, suffice it to repeat from the lost post that Trio 3 & Irene Schweizer definitely were da shit, as they say!

So I'm reconsidering my opinion on Oliver Lake, even though again he failed to convince me completely... he's certainly serious about what he's doing, that I'd never deny, but still, as an instrumentalist, he fails to really blow me away.

This was what I caught yesterday:

Oliver Lake – Christian Weber – Dieter Ulrich

Oliver Lake alto-, sopranino saxophones | Christian Weber bass

Dieter Ulrich drums

Very good - Lake (sticking to alto btw) was excellent in this setting. Weber is a young(ish) local bass player who's up and coming (disc out on hatOLOGY, for instance, very active here), and Ulrich is an older local guy, also pretty active. It was fun to see the three play sort of old-fashioned 60s-ish free jazz, sometimes with changes, sometimes with some kind of fixed beat, sometimes with none of that... Ulrich was fun, even more so compared to the too restrained/controlled Lucas Niggli from the night before... very lose and pretty light drumming, though in the tradition of Elvin and the other great ones. Weber has a beautiful sound on bass and lots of good ideas. And Lake convinced me even more than last night... I'm not a fan yet but this was a mighty fine gig from him. They started out with a tune that I think was by Steve Lacy, but I'm not quite sure.

...

up for Chuck & clem - please consider! thanks

[ejp626]

Saw a concert by the Chicago Symphony today. This was the program:

Ravel - Piano Concerto in G Major

Yundi Li, piano

Shostakovich - Symphony No. 7 (Leningrad)

Don't know how others view Ravel's Piano Concerto but I was not impressed. Even a soloist much better than Mr. Li would still not make me rate this concerto highly. Kind of a poor man's Gershwin (ironically Gershwin asked to study under Ravel but was turned away).

But I thought they did a magnificent job with the 7th Symphony. Really stirring (though the whole symphony could definitely stand to be 10-15 minutes shorter). I'm getting the opportunity this year to see 4 or 5 Shostakovich symphonies live, and am appreciating it.

[LarryCurleyMoe]

Last night - at the Krannert Art Museum in Champaign, IL: as part of the superb "Sudden Sound" concert series of new and improvised music (curated by Jason Finkelman) I grooved to the Josef Ben Israel Ensemble featuring Robert Irving III on piano, Josef on Bass, Avreeayl Ra on drums and Ari Brown on reeds = OUTTA SIGHT!!! The place was packed...the music was excellent, and the entry fee was $0!!!

[ejp626]

But I thought they did a magnificent job with the 7th Symphony. Really stirring (though the whole symphony could definitely stand to be 10-15 minutes shorter). I'm getting the opportunity this year to see 4 or 5 Shostakovich symphonies live, and am appreciating it.

This morning I had a melody running through my head and finally realized it was the theme from the first movement of Shostakovich's 7th. That's fairly remarkable for me (to actually recall a theme I haven't heard dozens of times before). Of course it may simply reflect the fact that the theme is repeated over something like 350 bars (according to the program notes).

[Uncle Skid]

Grand Rapids Art Museum this afternoon: a clarinet-clarinet-bassoon trio, playing music from the Baroque and Renaissance eras. Very interesting!

[HWright]

Reggie Workman/Hal Galper/Rashied Ali Trio

I saw this trio at Twins Jazz on U Street in Washington, DC, on Saturday night (first set). They also played Friday night at the same place.

Set List:

Waiting for Chet (dedicated to Chet Baker, Hal's first big time boss)

Soliloquy (dedicated to Michael Brecker; the Brecker Brothers were in one of Hal's groups)

Catch Me If You Can (title approximate)

Milestones (probably not the tune by Miles Davis)

Valse Cool (variation on Valse Hot played by Max Roach and Sonny Rollins)

Saturn (John Coltrane)

Reggie told the audience that the trio would be releasing an album in February or March.

(This was the second time I saw Reggie, who brought a big band group to DC about 1998;, the first time I saw either Galper or Ali.)

Edited December 3, 2007 by HWright

[Guest Bill Barton]

The Amber Tone at Gallery 1412 tomorrow night. Any Seattle area folks on the board going to be there?

[HolyStitt]

Bettye LaVette tonight at the Dakota

[Niko]

just for the first time made use of the fact that there is live jazz four nights a week just in five minutes walking distance from where i live, mostly locals, some names bigger than others (Simon Nabotov for a bigger name) but really jazz no norah joneses and the like; i caught a very nice set by the Sven Lehmkemper Quartet featuring

Klaus Heidenreich (Trombone)

Nils Tegen (Piano)

Sebastian Klose (Bass)

Sven Lehmkemper (Drums)

and will certainly go there again pretty soon, my first jazz concert in several years (four years with one exception, a Gerd Dudek Frank Wunsch duo concert about two years ago)

Edited December 6, 2007 by Niko

[Guest Bill Barton]

The Amber Tone at Gallery 1412 in Seattle tonight.

I'm looking forward to hearing Dawn Clement again...

[sheldonm]

Fathead Newman this Saturday night, Mel Rhyne next Wednesday and Slide Hampton on the 17th!

m~

[Chuck Nessa]

Fathead Newman this Saturday night, Mel Rhyne next Wednesday and Slide Hampton on the 17th!

m~

Mark, it is Wed night and you be talkin' 'bout the weekend.

Brag later.

[Free For All]

Wow, nice lineup!

Do you know what kind of group Slide is performing with?

[Guest Bill Barton]

I just now returned from checking out The Amber Tone at Gallery 1412. Nice couple of sets. It turned out that Dawn isn't a regular member of the group and the press release had the personnel wrong. No matter... A good show, their first as a band apparently.

Thursday night it's John Butcher, Torsten Muller and Dylan van der Schyff at the Chapel Performance Space. The acoustics there are gorgeous. I'm looking forward to this show. I've read about Butcher for ages but never actually heard him play.

[rachel]

Wow, nice lineup!

Do you know what kind of group Slide is performing with?

Here's some info

December, 17 2007 at Slide Hampton at the Indiana Historical Center

Martin Luther King and New York Streets, Indianapolis,

Cost : $10

A special tribute concert for Slide Hampton’s sister, Aletra Hampton who recently passed away. The hours are 7-10. Admission $10. Proceeds go towards her service expenses. The group is Slide Hampton on trombone, Steve Allee on piano, Frank Smith on bass, Kenny Phelps on drums, Rob Dixon on tenor sax, and Pharez Whitted on trumpet. There will be other performers paying tribute as well.

Not sure if I can get home from work in time for this but I'm going to try.

Edited December 7, 2007 by rachel

[jlhoots]

Oliver Lake Organ Quartet

[GregK]

I wish I could go see the big O tonight, but family needs come first!

[Uncle Skid]

I wish I could go see the big O tonight, but family needs come first!

Caught them last night in GR... well worth the trip. Some heavy snow on the way back.

Live music FOUR times this week for me! I also saw the "Truth in Jazz" orchestra on Tuesday night -- a truly wonderful big band that plays locally. Will be going to a big high school Christmas production on Saturday, my daughter is in the choir, son in orchestra.

It's been a good week!

[Chuck Nessa]

Ann and I saw Organissimo with Skid last night. 'Cause of the 9:30 starting time (and impending snow storm), we had to leave early in the second set. The band sounded great (in spite of new space/acoustics) possibly as a result of not rehearsing lately.

We got home about 1 am. Ann was exhausted (had to be at work at 7:30) and I was really frazzled after driving through "lake effect" snow.

Great time to hear the band.

[theteach]

Tonight I saw Bennie Wallace at the Jazz Standard. It's always great to see Bennie playing in clubs. He needs to do it more often! He was with his Coleman Hawkins tribute group. Adam Rafferty was great on guitar. Great night overall, and Tiki Barber was in the audience. Heard he's a Dizzy's Club Coca Cola regular. Going to see Wynton Marsalis and his orchestra perform Ellington's Nutcracker Suite this Friday at NJPAC. Can't wait.

Lou

Edited December 9, 2007 by theteach