What live music are you going to see tonight?

[NIS]

Well Bill, what a great line-up of music you have going. Nothing like that out here in the great Midwest.

As far as Bennink goes, he certainly is a great musician, as are the other two guys in my opinion. Michael Moore is a personal favorite for me. I found that I had to focus visually on Moore and Holshouser to really get into the music. My wife (who went to the concert because she loves me, instead of staying in the hotel and watching Grey's Anatomy) thinks that Bennink needs to have his meds adjusted.

They were f$#*ing awesome. Great show. Bennink w/2 sticks, 2 sets of brushes, a snare, and whatever he could find to strike or manipulate. He was sitting on a piano bench and it got the full treatment. Sitting in the front row directly in front of him I began to wonder whether he'd decide to check out the assorted timbres of audience members' heads, but it never happened... Ah, well, maybe next time. Brushes only for me, please, and not metal ones, okay? Personally, I'd say that his medications are JUST RIGHT. First time I'd had a chance to meet and talk with Han, who is about as down-to-earth a guy as you'll ever meet.

The Anne Drummond Quartet at The Triple Door last night (Monday) was superb too. She left Seattle before I moved here and I was totally unfamiliar with her music. Impressive player. Kick-ass band. Saudade. Sorrisos e abraços. Jovino Santos Neto! Compelling young female bassist whose name escaped me but I'll have to research it as she was tha shytt.

Missed the "double duos" show and Hal Galper...

Too much music and too little time (and/or $$$)

Myra Melford Be Bread last Friday was lovely too. Her compositions never fail to reach me.

You get to see more things in a week than I do in a year but the Third Man show was seriously one of the best I've ever seen. I hope they record this group.

[fasstrack]

I treated myself to Phil Woods' Quintet Saturday. It was wonderful and uplifting. The old man still sounds great----wisdom and health issues make him pace himself more these days, but it's vintage Phil Woods----with a great band and top-drawer writing and repertoire.

I can afford to go to the priceier joints maybe 2x yearly----and make sure it's something I'll remember. Last one was Benny Golson. Bless both those guys.

Edited October 27, 2009 by fasstrack

[Larry Kart]

Debut tonight at The Empty Bottle of my son's new band, 1894.

[jeffcrom]

Debut tonight at The Empty Bottle of my son's new band, 1894.

Cool! What kind of stuff do they play?

[clifford_thornton]

Saw Harris Eisenstadt's band Canada Day on Saturday (brief stopover in NYC). They were very good.

[jlhoots]

Claudia Acuna

Edited October 29, 2009 by jlhoots

[Larry Kart]

Last night caught the debut of my son Jacob's new band 1894 (no nepotism allowed, so I can't comment) and a guitar power trio -- the guitarist-vocalist's name I've forgotten but will find out, bassist Toby Summerfield, and drummer Frank Rosaly). Frank was fantastic -- incredible power and cohesiveness. I was told that the last time these guys had played these pieces was seven months ago; it sounded at times like Frank was playing from a score, albeit one co-written by Rodan and Godzilla.

[Larry Kart]

Guitarist-vocalist is Nathaniel Braddock:

http://www.myspace.com/nathanielbraddock

A few years ago, he and three other guys performed his four-guitar arrangement of The Rite of Spring.

[Big Al]

Caught the Greg Waits Quartet featuring Jim Sangrey at the Scat Jazz Lounge last night. These guys were all sortsa in the pocket, grooves so thick you could feel your arteries hardening as they played! And dig their new bass player: right ON the beat! Much better than that last guy they had filling in for 'em last month (although, to be fair, I thought he missed the chance to echo Sangrey on the intro to "In a Mellow Tone" like that last guy did. That was really cool. Wonder whatever happened to him? )

Greg, Jim, you guys need to record this stuff. I'd buy it in a second. In fact, if there was some way I could record you guys at your next Sandaga gig, I'd do it.

[paul secor]

Caught the Greg Waits Quartet featuring Jim Sangrey at the Scat Jazz Lounge last night. These guys were all sortsa in the pocket, grooves so thick you could feel your arteries hardening as they played! And dig their new bass player: right ON the beat! Much better than that last guy they had filling in for 'em last month (although, to be fair, I thought he missed the chance to echo Sangrey on the intro to "In a Mellow Tone" like that last guy did. That was really cool. Wonder whatever happened to him? )

Greg, Jim, you guys need to record this stuff. I'd buy it in a second. In fact, if there was some way I could record you guys at your next Sandaga gig, I'd do it.

Hope a recording happens. I'd buy one too.

[BillF]

Went to a performance tonight of eight numbers from the Birth of the Cool album by a student nonet at Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Great session! Without amplification in an acoustically perfect studio theatre with audience of about sixty. Very high level of musicianship, scores perfectly executed with brief, competent trumpet, alto and baritone solos; swung throughout. I've been listening to this music on record for fifty years and this is the first time I've heard it performed live. The presence of the tuba was much more noticeable than on record. So nice to see this adopted as part of the formal music education curriculum. I recall that when I first bought the album, the playing of jazz on the premises at that college was punishable by instant expulsion from the course! How far we've come!

Edited October 29, 2009 by BillF

[jeffcrom]

Went to a performance tonight of eight numbers from the Birth of the Cool album by a student nonet at Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Great session! Without amplification in an acoustically perfect studio theatre with audience of about sixty. Very high level of musicianship, scores perfectly executed with brief, competent trumpet, alto and baritone solos; swung throughout. I've been listening to this music on record for fifty years and this the first time I've heard it performed live. The presence of the tuba was much more noticeable than on record. So nice to see this adopted as part of the formal music education curriculum. I recall that when I first bought the album, the playing of jazz on the premises at that college was punishable by instant expulsion from the course! How far we've come!

How cool is that! I'd love to hear these charts live. Kudos to these students.

[Chalupa]

Saturday night(Halloween) I'm going to to 2 shows. Early show is the Sun Ra Arkestra and later is the Dead Milkmen.

[Guest Bill Barton]

Last night was:

http://www.earshot.org/Festival/artistinfo...dy_clausen.html

Earshot is on a roll. Another A to A+ concert. Andy Clausen is a name to remember. His laptop and electronic keyboard with trumpet, electric guitar, electric bass and drums painted a landscape in a non-stop set that reminded me of Nils Petter Molvaer, Jon Hassell, and Russell Gunn and Eric Truffaz at their best. He is a talent to WATCH. The preceding players names are provided as reference points only, he has his own take on it all already at an age when I had the attention span of a gnat.

The Tom Varner Tentet has a brand new CD on Omni Tone titled "Heaven and Hell."

http://www.omnitone.com/store/012210.htm

Music from the disc was performed in the second set With a high percentage of Seattle-based players, Varner has recorded perhaps his most adventurous and texturally complex work to date. Music that moans and swings, pulses and meditates, shapeshifts and morphs. There's a deep spirit at work here. This is a very fine CD and the concert was even better. It's really great to have Tom Varner here in Seattle.

[king ubu]

CéU tonight - looking forward a lot, bought her new disc yesterday!

[DukeCity]

Heading out with some buddies to a local casino to hear Tower of Power tonight. They have their original drummer and bass player (Dave Garibaldi and Rocco Prestia) with them these days, so the grooves are extra funky!

[Free For All]

Heading out with some buddies to a local casino to hear Tower of Power tonight. They have their original drummer and bass player (Dave Garibaldi and Rocco Prestia) with them these days, so the grooves are extra funky!

Bump City!

[DukeCity]

Heading out with some buddies to a local casino to hear Tower of Power tonight. They have their original drummer and bass player (Dave Garibaldi and Rocco Prestia) with them these days, so the grooves are extra funky!

Bump City!

Hey...uh...you holdin'?

It was a great show. The band was happening. Fantastic lead singer. And Mic Gillette is back in the horn section after 25 years away from the band. They did some tunes from their new CD of soul covers. Pretty nice.

[kh1958]

Friday: Tom Harrell at the Village Vanguard (with Wayne Escoffery on tenor, Danny Grissett on piano, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums). Two inspiring sets from this dynamic group.

Saturday: Go Home at the Jazz Standard (Charlie Hunter, Ben Goldberg, Curtis Fowlkes, Scott Amendola). I didn't know what to expect, but rather enjoyed this group, especially Charlie Hunter.

Pat Martino at Birdland (with Tony Monoco on organ, Jefftain Watts, and Eric Alexander). This group didn't entirely work; Martino and the organist sounded good, but I don't much care for Jefftain Watts; though I could have tolerated him if the group had been a trio; Eric Alexander was sonic wallpaper as usual.

Sunday:

Ron Carter Trio/Francisco Mela Trio at the Blue Note. The Ron Carter Trio, (Mulgrew Miller and Russell Malone), was very refined and elegant, and in fact very enjoyable. Cuban drummer Mela fronted an excellent latin jazz trio, with Cuban pianist (Arturo Rodriguez(?)).

Finally, back to the Village Vanguard to hear the last set of the week from Tom Harrell--really excellent.

[ejp626]

Well, it was a few days ago, but I saw Vijay Iyer with his new trio at Chicago Symphony Center. Very good. Mostly playing material off of Historicity but also Andrew Hill's Smokestack. (Both Vijay and Jason Moran have always given props to Andrew.) The bass player's string broke right as they were tuning up! Somehow he managed to get through the performance and still sound great. I believe that was why he had to lean over the bass much of the time and play at the very bottom of the strings, trying to get the correct notes.

After the break it was Dave Holland, Jason Moran, Chris Potter and Eric Harland on drums. As you would expect, they were also very good. I'll look over my notes to see what they played, but it was essentially all originals by the various members of the super-group.

[David Gitin]

Tonight TRIO 3 was smoking at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA. Oliver Lake on alto and soprano played Dolphy-ish lines over St. Louis riffs accompanied by the unerring Regge Workman and Andrew Cyrille. The interplay between those two was uncanny. Great night!

[fasstrack]

There's an absolute renaissance going on in NY right now. Last night I heard my colleaugue James Chirillo with the John Bunch Trio (other member being Jay Leonhart). It was a delight. Most Mondays try to hear Howard Williams' big band at the Garage. I highly recommend them. Howard's writing and the players (and Vicki Doney, vocalist) really are worth it. Fat Cat has excellent bands every night for $3 admission! Plus they are great guys and it's my hangout. Super cool joint.

Edited November 4, 2009 by fasstrack

[Guest Bill Barton]

Tonight TRIO 3 was smoking at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA. Oliver Lake on alto and soprano played Dolphy-ish lines over St. Louis riffs accompanied by the unerring Regge Workman and Andrew Cyrille. The interplay between those two was uncanny. Great night!

They're in Seattle Friday! At first I didn't think that I'd be able to make it to this concert, but after reading your review, David, I have to figure out a way to get there.

[king ubu]

double-posting this, for those who don't follow the "gig a month" thread:

On Wednesday (Nov 4th), I caught Dave Douglas' Quintet (Donny McCaslin, Uri Caine, Matt Penman, Clarence Penn). Excellent concert. Great tunes, funny, charming, groovy, from marching band to dixie, from Masada to gypsy, from Monk to Ornette... Douglas and McCaslin were excellent, both with plenty of dirtiness in their sound, and lots of punch. Clarence Penn was terrific as well, very lose in his feel, very relaxed yet very poised and often very busy, sort of a groovier/funkier version of Elvin at some times, it seemed. Penman had some fine spots as well, but they were rather few. He and Penn were excellent in their backing though. Uri Caine was - interestingly enough, as Douglas kept pointing at him "the GREAT Uri Caine on piano, these tunes were written especially for him, and especially for him on grand piano" - pretty superfluous and boring. Of course he has great technical skill, but the piano was totally uncalled for in these tunes. They'd be much more open-ended without a harmonic instrument, and the clean sound of the piano (as Caine played it) was not a good match for McCaslin and Douglas' sonic inflections. Anyway, on top of that, Caine totally lacked humor in his playing...

Still, it was an excellent concert!

[Guest Bill Barton]

I recently returned from hearing Trio 3 at Cornish College's PONCHO Concert Hall. There's no question that these three gentlemen - Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille - are living Masters of adventurous jazz. It had been many years since I'd last heard Cyrille in performance and almost as long since I'd heard Lake. And it was my first time checking out the powerful and imaginative Workman live. All I can say is, WOW. This is a truly volcanic trio. It wasn't all fireworks either. Plenty of lyricism goin' down too. And some POTENT grooves. I'll bet that the ghosts of Eric Dolphy and Julius Hemphill were smiling after Lake's beautiful and searching version of "Gazzelloni" that opened the set. Some fine compositions by all three players as well and one by Curtis Clark. A fine, fine performance. A+