What live music are you going to see tonight?

[BFrank]

14 hours ago, Steve Reynolds said:

Recently over the past week or so:

Mat Maneri Ash quartet with Lucian Ban, Brandon Lopez & Randy Peterson. Saw them twice over a 10 day span and now 6 times over the last 9-10 months. Best jazz group live I know of. Mat taking it to places unvisited by mere mortals. 

also a nice quartet with a local great young pedal steel guitarist which included Lopez & the fine young drummer Joey Sullivan at the same gig as the Maneri group

Tony Malaby quartet with Angelica Sanchez, Mark Helias & Tom Rainey

Michael Attias’ Renku with John Hebert & Satoshi Takeshi

Ingrid Laubrock, Brandon Lopez & Tom Rainey

tonight:

Patricia Brennan, Noel Brennan with Ingrid Laubrock & Keisuke Matsuno

All 3 of these saxophonists playing at a very high level but Ingrid on soprano especially on Sunday night took it to another level. That trio is incredible with the *great* Brandon Lopez as the linchpin. Rainey is, of course, one of the greatest drummers on the planet. Seeing him very often doesn’t dull his brilliance in any way. Almost new and fresh. Plus seeing him back to back nights from 5-8 feet always doesn’t hurt:)

 

Saw Laubrock with Myra Melford's Fire and Water super group (also Mary Halvorson, Tomeka Reid and Leslie Mok) at Big Ears. What a great performance!

[Steve Reynolds]

On 4/17/2024 at 11:08 PM, Rabshakeh said:

I agree. Too much jumping from wandering around straight into climax.

I can’t listen to him. So derivative.

[T.D.]

There's another Creative Music Studio Improvisors Orchestra event in Kingston next Sunday 4/28

https://creativemusic.org/events/

Not quite as gaudy a lineup as the last one (3/31), but I enjoyed that one so much that I'm going on the 28th.

[jazztrain]

Miguel Zenon and Luis Padermo at the Regattabar in Cambridge, MA. Beautiful set. 

[kh1958]

Jonathan Fisher Quartet with Shelley Carrol, last night the Balcony Club. Highlight for me was the performance of Mingus' Duke Ellington Sound of Love.

[RiRiIII]

Dave Holland Trio in Athens, April 25 2024.

Eric Harland, Jaleel Shaw, Dave Holland.

The end of their one month tour. An amazing set.

 

 

[ejp626]

I saw the Neil Swainson Quartet at the Rex.  He was here 4 nights, but I only managed to get out tonight, and only for the second set.  But it was still quite nice.  The Rex was packed.  In general, it's been quite busy on Friday and Sat. for the 8:30 and 10 pm sets, which is quite good news for them.  I do wish they managed to bring in more out-of-town artists, but that's fairly rare.

My copy of that live Woody Shaw set, Vim 'N' Vigor, showed up, so I brought it in and had Swainson sign it.  He said no one had contacted him and certainly not gotten him a copy or paid him anything.  I said I could try to bring him a burned copy the next time he plays the Rex, which should be in June.

[Rabshakeh]

Saw Zoh Amba at Cafe OTO, with Farida Amadou on bass and Chris Corsano on drums. 

It was a good gig. I am half and half on Amba and a bit sceptical on Corsano, but I really enjoyed it. Amadou, who I didn't know at all, played 80s harmolodic influenced electric bass, which gave the whole performance a gritty punk free jazz edge. 

I went with two civilians, who both really enjoyed it.

[mjazzg]

6 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Saw Zoh Amba at Cafe OTO, with Farida Amadou on bass and Chris Corsano on drums. 

It was a good gig. I am half and half on Amba and a bit sceptical on Corsano, but I really enjoyed it. Amadou, who I didn't know at all, played 80s harmolodic influenced electric bass, which gave the whole performance a gritty punk free jazz edge. 

I went with two civilians, who both really enjoyed it.

I was there for the first set only.

I agree that Amadou was the standout, I liked Corsano a lot and left with some nagging doubts about Amba. Friend I went with identified harmoldics in Amadou too.

Did Amba play flute at all in the second set?

 

[Rabshakeh]

1 hour ago, mjazzg said:

I was there for the first set only.

I agree that Amadou was the standout, I liked Corsano a lot and left with some nagging doubts about Amba. Friend I went with identified harmoldics in Amadou too.

Did Amba play flute at all in the second set?

 

No flute. Very similar to the first set, really.

Do you know Amadou in any other setting? I don't think I have ever heard of her.

[mjazzg]

26 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

No flute. Very similar to the first set, really.

Do you know Amadou in any other setting? I don't think I have ever heard of her.

She plays flute to good effect on an album I enjoy.  I think the sameness is one of my Amba doubts.

I came across Amadou at the Brötzmann memorial concert, she was impressive then too.  I need to look up her recordings

[Rabshakeh]

50 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

She plays flute to good effect on an album I enjoy.  I think the sameness is one of my Amba doubts.

I really came away thinking that she had about five tricks and not much more. Amadou made it good by tying it together and keeping it punky, which meant that I was less concerned by Amba's repeating herself.

[mjazzg]

27 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

I really came away thinking that she had about five tricks and not much more. Amadou made it good by tying it together and keeping it punky, which meant that I was less concerned by Amba's repeating herself.

Yep, the interest for me was largely from Amadou and Corsano. I wanted more variation from Amba definitely, I thought the piano interlude worked to do that.

And, Oto need to do something about their front row photographers, I'm finding them increasingly intrusive but that might be because I'm getting increasingly grumpy.

Edited Monday at 09:55 AM by mjazzg

[Rabshakeh]

22 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Yep, the interest for me was largely from Amadou and Corsano. I wanted more variation from Amba definitely, I thought the piano interlude worked to do that.

And, Oto need to do something about their front row photographers, I'm finding them increasingly intrusive but that might be because I'm getting increasingly grumpy.

What I would say is that it was a hearteningly young audience. Very nice to see.

[mjazzg]

19 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

What I would say is that it was a hearteningly young audience. Very nice to see.

Yes, I feel increasingly old, "enough to be your father" at least, at Oto which is very encouraging...the performers are getting younger too!

Edited 23 hours ago by mjazzg

[kh1958]

First weekend of New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

First Thursday:

Starting off with Mokoomba from Zimbabwe in the intimate Cultural Pavilion. Great band and a thrill to hear them in good sound up close.

Next, Louis Ford and His New Orleans Flairs in Economy Hall. The very fine New Orleans clarinet player and his trumpet playing compatriot, Jamil Sharif, always sound good.

On to the Jazz Tent for Lakecia Benjamin making her festival debut. She is very intense and exuberant. A substantial part of the set consisted of Coltrane associated tunes, passionately performed on alto sax. She has a gospel edge to her sound, as well. My reaction was favorable.

Closing out the day with the Kenny Barron Trio, with Johnathan Blake on drums. It took awhile to get the sound right, as the first part of the set was marred by sound bleed from the Festival Stage. This eventually diminished, and by the time he performed a brilliant version of Sunshower, it all fell into place for the last half of the set.

First Friday:

Starting out the day at the Fais Do Do stage, which is normally reserved for zydeco bands, but for this set featured Leyla McCallas and her excellent band. It was just as good as her set at Big Ears.

Back to Economy Hall for Doreen's Jazz New Orleans. The crowd was huge, spilling out of the tent. I was a little surprised as she normally plays on the street, that is Royal Street, in the French Quarter. Apparently she was just featured on 60 Minutes. One could say about any one of her clarinet solos, "that was mean," to quote Roland Kirk. She makes just about any song sound good, in this case closing with When the Saints Go Marching In, and I'm not ashamed to say I really enjoyed it.

Next, to the Blues Tent, for the exciting Mr. Sipp. He started out in music as a gospel singer, and so sings well; he's pretty good on guitar as well.

Next up, my first time to see Oumou Sangare from Mali, at the Congo Square stage. Surprisingly (based on past experiences with this stage), this time they got the sound right. A very exciting set of music by this fantastic singer and her wonderful band.

Closing out the day back at Economy Hall for the new to me, Jason Danti and the Krewe de Bechet. This was the perfect set to follow the prior two, featuring relaxed and lyrical versions of Sidney Bechet compositions. This set was quite pleasing to the ear.

First Saturday:

The Festival this year is featuring Columbian bands in the Cultural Pavilion. Starting out with Gaita Loop, a one man band from Columbia who plays the gaita, a flute-like instrument, using looping technology. 

Next, Victor Atkins Quintet in the Jazz Tent. A long-time educator and pianist in New Orleans, apparently getting his first leader set at the festival. A solid straight ahead set, also featuring Ashlin Parker on trumpet and tenor saxophonist Derek Douget.

Followed by Jason Marsalis Quartet. With Jason on vibes, playing Lionel Hampton associated songs the first half of the set, then Ellis Marsalis compositions.

After that, a band led by Cuban pianist Victor Campbell appears. He is an amazing pianist. Very exciting set.

Then, the Charles Lloyd Quartet plays a wondrous set. One highlight, as at the Big Ears Festival, was the gorgeous Booker's Garden. This time, some classic material also surfaced, as he ended with Forest Flower and Sombrero Sam. Mr. Lloyd appeared very happy with his band throughout the set--Gerald Clayton, Larry Grenadier and Marcus Gilmore.

Finally, Nicholas Payton and the Nth Power. This was a mis-fire. The Nth Power is a pedestrian fusion band. There were a couple of songs that worked (Fela) and some nice trumpet playing, but not a successful set to my ears.

Night Show: At the 3 Keys, Mahmoud Chouki appears with the Noah Young Band, featuring Ricardo Pascal on saxophones. While not the nominal leader, Mahmoud Chouki dominated the proceedings with his amazing acoustic guitar and oud playing, and his compositions. An absolutely great set. The saxophonist is also impressive.

First Sunday:

For some reason, after three wonderful days, things were off today (or I was off). I wasn't really enjoying the bands (Yusa, followed by a jam session for the Louis Armstrong Camp, with Donald Harrison, Steve Turre and others),  Trumpet Mafia and Toronzo Cannon), even ones I previously enjoyed)  until the final set of the day with folk/blues singer/guitarist Joy Clark, who is quite uplifting.

She definitely restored my equilibrium, which carried over to the wild Nicholas Payton show at the 3 Keys that evening, with Nicholas Payton on bass, keyboards, and trumpet, Sasha Masakowski on looping machines and vocals, and Cliff Hines on guitar and a mysterious looking black box with a whole lot of wires in it. Unlike the prior day's Nicholas Payton set, this one was very interesting and compelling. Ninety minutes quickly passed and my first weekend adventure ended.

 

Edited 16 hours ago by kh1958

[medjuck]

Thanks for the report. Wish I'd been there.