What live music are you going to see tonight?

[BillF]

Duo by piano masters Rossano Sportiello and David Newton at a private party in Cheadle, Cheshire. Great session!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWk1mHSP6rE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d1IUfvszwI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8g6CsAcER0

Edited May 4, 2015 by BillF

[BFrank]

Saw Sleater-Kinney tonight ... HIGH energy!

[colinmce]

Saw Sleater-Kinney tonight ... HIGH energy!

I saw them but once in '02. It was indeed a great show. Love them to pieces.

[Chuck Nessa]

This afternoon the Harrison Bankhead Quartet with Edward Wilkerson, Mars Williams and Avreeayl Ra.

[kh1958]

Yesterday, I was lucky to attend the second Saturday of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The facility was overwhelmed by the enormous crowd--beautiful weather and Elton John is very popular it appears. Fortunately, I am indifferent and was able to enjoy a very full day of excellent music, despite some difficulty moving about the fair grounds.

 

Commencing in the Blues Tent with 90 year old Howlin' Wolf sideman (1956-1968), pianist Henry Gray. Unfortunately he's on electric piano. An okay set.

 

Next up, Chris Thomas King, who starts with a fine acoustic version of Hard Time Killing Floor. His set is pretty diverse, with excellent high energy blues guitar work, a piano feature, and perhaps best of all, a song dedicated to King Oliver featuring guitar and clarinet.

 

Next, to the NOCCA Pavilion for the Calvin Johnson Quintet, which proved to be a really good group (Tenor sax, trombone, piano, bass guitar and drums). All players are first rate. Saxophonist Calvin Johnson is my favorite discovery from attending this festival.

 

Now was the time to settle into the Jazz Tent for the rest of the day.

 

First up, Astral Project, a New Orleans group featuring Tony Dagradi on tenor sax, Steve Masakowski on guitar, James Singleton on bass and John Vidacovitch on drums. The usual quartet was expanded to a septet on this occasion, adding trumpet (Jamil Sharif--saw him with two different groups at the festival, a really excellent trumpet player), alto sax, piano (Michael Palerra), and percussion (Bill Summers). Another good group.

 

Next, the big event, Charles Lloyd Quartet (Joe Sanders bass, Kendrick Scott on drums, Gerald Clayton piano). Really enjoyed this set.

 

Finally, to conclude the day, Terance Blanchard's E-Collective. Not smooth jazz, rather a crunching fusion group. Very good set.

 

It then took a mere two hours in line to get transportation out of the fairgrounds. Oh well, it was worth it.

Edited June 30, 2020 by kh1958

[BFrank]

Saw Sleater-Kinney tonight ... HIGH energy!

I saw them but once in '02. It was indeed a great show. Love them to pieces.

[Larry Kart]

ICP Orchestra members in spontaneous small group settings at Elastic in Chicago. Superb work from everyone. Han Bennik sure hasn't slowed down. Guus Janssen, taking Misha's place at the piano, was excellent. Each of the two sets ended with a group performance, the second set's was "Black and Tan Fantasy." Bought a lot of CDs of the various band members and one of ICP itself because when will I ever see those discs again?

[Steve Reynolds]

ICP Orchestra members in spontaneous small group settings at Elastic in Chicago. Superb work from everyone. Han Bennik sure hasn't slowed down. Guus Janssen, taking Misha's place at the piano, was excellent. Each of the two sets ended with a group performance, the second set's was "Black and Tan Fantasy." Bought a lot of CDs of the various band members and one of ICP itself because when will I ever see those discs again?

I do the same. I hope you may have stumbled upon either or both of the Avaialble Jelly Live in Nassau discs. Michael Moore has many nice recordings floating around but for me, these two are desert island material.

I picked up a nice Toby Delius trio disc called Booklet last time I saw the band. I'll be looking for a few Ab Baars discs this Thursday!!!

[Larry Kart]

ICP Orchestra members in spontaneous small group settings at Elastic in Chicago. Superb work from everyone. Han Bennik sure hasn't slowed down. Guus Janssen, taking Misha's place at the piano, was excellent. Each of the two sets ended with a group performance, the second set's was "Black and Tan Fantasy." Bought a lot of CDs of the various band members and one of ICP itself because when will I ever see those discs again?

I do the same. I hope you may have stumbled upon either or both of the Avaialble Jelly Live in Nassau discs. Michael Moore has many nice recordings floating around but for me, these two are desert island material.

I picked up a nice Toby Delius trio disc called Booklet last time I saw the band. I'll be looking for a few Ab Baars discs this Thursday!!!

Don't know those two Available Jelly discs; they weren't on sale. Bought Moore's "Easter Sunday" and another by the same quartet, plus several by Delius, Baars, a Heberer, a Guus Janssen ("Matrix") that it turns out I already have, Etc. BTW, Heberer was in superb form Sunday night. In addition to everything else, what a fine player per se of the cornet he is.

[sonnyhill]

Tyshawn Sorey Double Trio at Roulette. Tonight.

[Justin V]

On Saturday, I saw Maria Schneider with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, which opened up with a few tunes led by their director, Byron Stripling. The orchestra performed some old and new Schneider compositions. It was evident throughout the night how much respect and admiration the members of the orchestra had for Schneider. In a talk afterward, Stripling spoke of how inspired the band was by her music and how high her standards are as a leader. Other than Stripling, trumpeter Dwight Adams, who often appears with different groups at the Detroit Jazz Fest, saxophonist Pete Mills, who was Schneider's classmate at Eastman, flugelhornist Jim Powell, a veteran of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band, and the effervescent saxophonist Hal Melia were some of the featured soloists. Melia, who has to be one of the happiest guys to grace a bandstand, had a particularly lovely ballad feature that drew Schneider's praise and a long round of applause.

Although Maria Schneider's music has been described as hard to play, and this must certainly true for an orchestra that was working with limited rehearsal time, it has a graceful, flowing quality that belies its complexity. Schneider confirmed that she had a dance and figure-skating background as a child, which comes across in the fluidity of her music and the way she conducts an orchestra. In between songs and during the talk afterward, she was charming, erudite and clear in explaining her approach to music. I almost didn't make the concert due to a family emergency, but I'm glad that I did. I came away with an even greater appreciation for Schneider as a composer and person, and I was very impressed with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, which rose to the occasion and did Schneider's music justice.

---------------

Earlier tonight, I saw Steve Coleman and the Five Elements at a free show in Oberlin. I'd never seen any of the band in person, and I only found out about the show on Saturday or Sunday. It was at a student-run bar that was packed with an enthusiastic crowd. I listened to the group's Alternate Dimension Series, Vol. 1 earlier today; I was surprised to find that all of the group members other than guitarist Miles Okazaki were on that 2002 recording.

Given the length of time that the group has worked together, it should come as no surprise how tight they are as a unit. They were locked in to some tricky, shifting grooves throughout the night. Although the grooves were relentless, there was still a flexibility and a looseness built into the band's execution that prevented the music from stagnating or seeming heavy-handed.

Coleman and trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson often played cowbell when they weren't playing their primary instruments, and the entire band chanted at one point behind a drum solo by Sean Rickman, who also beat-boxed at one point. In a shrewd form of marketing, Rickman wore a t-shirt bearing the url of his lesson site, which will surely be getting some hits from those in attendance. Coleman probably had a greater share of the solo space than any other individual member, but Finlayson and Ozazaki weren't far behind in what is a pretty democratic group sound-wise. Rickman was integral to the group's emphasis on rhythm, and he was a tireless force of nature behind the kit. I don't believe that bassist Anthony Tidd was featured as a soloist, but his assertive, rock-solid playing served as a bridge between Rickman's restless drums and the front-line work of the horns and guitar. The overall sound of the group was focused and trance-like.

Although Coleman jokingly apologized at the beginning of the set for killing the nightclub vibe when he had the lighting adjusted to make the sheet music legible, the audience responded to what was accessible--and engagingly idiosyncratic--music. The set included three or four very short pieces as an encore (and Coleman's nod to Cinco de Mayo as he played 'The Mexican Hat Dance' while a student plugged Coleman's upcoming workshop). I ended picking up both Synovial Joints and Functional Arrhythmias after the set, and I'm looking forward to hearing both albums and more of Coleman's other recordings.

As a side note, it was cool spotting the ever-dapper Gary Bartz, who is an Oberlin professor, in the audience after the show. I also saw him last year at a Ron Carter show. I like seeing a musician of Bartz's stature out supporting other musicians.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Justin V

[jlhoots]

Snakeoil tonight.

ICP Orchestra next week.

[colinmce]

[Steve Reynolds]

Just arrived in Brooklyn. Traffic insane. Just said hello to Han Bennink & Mary Oliver.

Life is beautiful

[Steve Reynolds]

Front row center.

Fired up

[Steve Reynolds]

A couple of us said after the second set, "they can play whatever they want to play"

Sleep on that line just a little bit......

All Misha compositions all night interspersed with magic.

Save for the encore - Caravan

Ernst Glerum was tonight's MC/director

Prayers for the great man - word is he can't talk any longer so he whistles. His spirit was in the room tonight (last night as it is 5 past midnight). Yes they may be ditties (I very much like the visual) but some of them are a bit more - a little bit of genius at play. 2 or 3 minute slices of a afternoon carnival.

And that horn section with Marcus Rojas. And when he stands up. And when he shakes the foundation. Forget the horn section. The fucking brass?!?!?

Is Heberer human?

More later

Peace and Blessings

Edited May 8, 2015 by Steve Reynolds

[mjazzg]

On Saturday, I saw Maria Schneider with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, which opened up with a few tunes led by their director, Byron Stripling. The orchestra performed some old and new Schneider compositions. It was evident throughout the night how much respect and admiration the members of the orchestra had for Schneider. In a talk afterward, Stripling spoke of how inspired the band was by her music and how high her standards are as a leader. Other than Stripling, trumpeter Dwight Adams, who often appears with different groups at the Detroit Jazz Fest, saxophonist Pete Mills, who was Schneider's classmate at Eastman, flugelhornist Jim Powell, a veteran of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band, and the effervescent saxophonist Hal Melia were some of the featured soloists. Melia, who has to be one of the happiest guys to grace a bandstand, had a particularly lovely ballad feature that drew Schneider's praise and a long round of applause.

Although Maria Schneider's music has been described as hard to play, and this must certainly true for an orchestra that was working with limited rehearsal time, it has a graceful, flowing quality that belies its complexity. Schneider confirmed that she had a dance and figure-skating background as a child, which comes across in the fluidity of her music and the way she conducts an orchestra. In between songs and during the talk afterward, she was charming, erudite and clear in explaining her approach to music. I almost didn't make the concert due to a family emergency, but I'm glad that I did. I came away with an even greater appreciation for Schneider as a composer and person, and I was very impressed with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, which rose to the occasion and did Schneider's music justice.

---------------

Earlier tonight, I saw Steve Coleman and the Five Elements at a free show in Oberlin. I'd never seen any of the band in person, and I only found out about the show on Saturday or Sunday. It was at a student-run bar that was packed with an enthusiastic crowd. I listened to the group's Alternate Dimension Series, Vol. 1 earlier today; I was surprised to find that all of the group members other than guitarist Miles Okazaki were on that 2002 recording.

Given the length of time that the group has worked together, it should come as no surprise how tight they are as a unit. They were locked in to some tricky, shifting grooves throughout the night. Although the grooves were relentless, there was still a flexibility and a looseness built into the band's execution that prevented the music from stagnating or seeming heavy-handed.

Coleman and trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson often played cowbell when they weren't playing their primary instruments, and the entire band chanted at one point behind a drum solo by Sean Rickman, who also beat-boxed at one point. In a shrewd form of marketing, Rickman wore a t-shirt bearing the url of his lesson site, which will surely be getting some hits from those in attendance. Coleman probably had a greater share of the solo space than any other individual member, but Finlayson and Ozazaki weren't far behind in what is a pretty democratic group sound-wise. Rickman was integral to the group's emphasis on rhythm, and he was a tireless force of nature behind the kit. I don't believe that bassist Anthony Tidd was featured as a soloist, but his assertive, rock-solid playing served as a bridge between Rickman's restless drums and the front-line work of the horns and guitar. The overall sound of the group was focused and trance-like.

Although Coleman jokingly apologized at the beginning of the set for killing the nightclub vibe when he had the lighting adjusted to make the sheet music legible, the audience responded to what was accessible--and engagingly idiosyncratic--music. The set included three or four very short pieces as an encore (and Coleman's nod to Cinco de Mayo as he played 'The Mexican Hat Dance' while a student plugged Coleman's upcoming workshop). I ended picking up both Synovial Joints and Functional Arrhythmias after the set, and I'm looking forward to hearing both albums and more of Coleman's other recordings.

As a side note, it was cool spotting the ever-dapper Gary Bartz, who is an Oberlin professor, in the audience after the show. I also saw him last year at a Ron Carter show. I like seeing a musician of Bartz's stature out supporting other musicians.

Thanks forposting that Coleman review. Sounds a great show indeed, glad you enjoyed it so much. Coleman doesn't make it to UK often but each time he has he's been tremendous

[BFrank]

Sunday: Peter Brotzmann, Hamid Drake, William Parker Trio

Should be INTENSE!

[Leeway]

Thursday past at the Kennedy Center:

National Symphony Orchestra: Christoph Eschenbach, conductor: Mahler's Symphony No. 5 / Leonidas Kavakos, violin, plays Sibelius's Violin Concerto

Gotta change it up every once in a while

[Chuck Nessa]

Snakeoil tonight.

[Larry Kart]

THE ANAGRAM SERIES PRESENTS MERIDIAN TRIO AND MATT ULERY'S LOOM

MONDAY, MAY 11
9 PM • $10

AT ELASTIC ARTS FOUNDATION
3429 W DIVERSEY AVENUE, 2ND FLOOR

SET 1: MERIDIAN TRIO
Nick Mazzarella – alto and C melody saxophones
Matt Ulery – bass
Jeremy Cunningham – drums

SET 2: MATT ULERY'S LOOM
Geof Bradfield – tenor saxophone and bass clarinet
Russ Johnson – trumpet
Rob Clearfield – piano
Matt Ulery – bass and compositions
Jon Deitemyer – drums

Pre-gig expectations:

Nick on C melody is a trip -- he's just taken it up after Tim Daisy gave him a battered horn from the '20s that Nick then refurbished (he works in a reed instruments shop) -- and on alto he just keeps getting better/stronger. Looking forward to hearing Russ Johnson again. It's been a while. Ulery's Loom should be a good setting for him and vice versa.

[jeffcrom]

SET 1: MERIDIAN TRIO

Nick Mazzarella – alto and C melody saxophones

Matt Ulery – bass

Jeremy Cunningham – drums

Nick on C melody is a trip -- he's just taken it up after Tim Daisy gave him a battered horn from the '20s that Nick then refurbished (he works in a reed instruments shop) -- and on alto he just keeps getting better/stronger.

I haven't heard him on C melody, but was very impressed with his alto playing at a recent gig in Atlanta and on the CDs I've heard - beautiful sound and lots of imagination. Nice guy, too.

[Chuck Nessa]

Joshua Abrams' Natural Information Society at Hallwalls in Buffalo on the 19th. Two nights later at the same venue I will hear Dave Rempis, Darren Johnson and Larry Ochs.

Saxophonist/presenter Steve Baczkowski has a great series going.

Baczkowski

Dave Rempis (saxophones)
Darren Johnston (trumpet)
Larry Ochs (saxophones) - See more at: http://www.hallwalls.org/music/#sthash.2vPOiB8f.dpuf

[jlhoots]

Joshua Abrams' Natural Information Society at Hallwalls in Buffalo on the 19th. Two nights later at the same venue I will hear Dave Rempis, Darren Johnson and Larry Ochs.

Saxophonist/presenter Steve Baczkowski has a great series going.

Baczkowski

Dave Rempis (saxophones)

Darren Johnston (trumpet)

Larry Ochs (saxophones) - See more at: http://www.hallwalls.org/music/#sthash.2vPOiB8f.dpuf

I like the Rempis / Johnson / Ochs Aerophonic CD!!

Edited May 11, 2015 by jlhoots

[HutchFan]

My wife and I are heading up to NYC on Thursday for a long weekend.

On Saturday night, we're planning to go see the Dave Liebman / Bobby Avey duo @ the Concert Space at Beethoven Piano.

I'm sure we'll catch some other shows too. Maybe Guillermo Klein at the Vanguard. Maybe Odean Pope at the Blue Note. Maybe Tim Hagans at Kitano. Not sure yet.