R. Mitchell, G. Lewis, M.R. Abrams

[Bol]

This trio is playing in Ann Arbor in mid-October as a part of the Edgefest. The ticket is $30. Any opinion as to whether this group is worth checking out live? I have not gotten their recent Pi recording. I understand that it is a mixed bag -- at times interesting, at times boring as hell.

[rostasi]

This trio is playing in Ann Arbor in mid-October as a part of the Edgefest. The ticket is $30. Any opinion as to whether this group is worth checking out live? I have not gotten their recent Pi recording. I understand that it is a mixed bag -- at times interesting, at times boring as hell.

My 2 cents is that the recording - Streaming is anything but boring. The interplay is astounding - especially with what could've happened which is the overuse of electronics, but in this trio setting, George Lewis does an excellent job listening - they all do really. You wanna hear any of it, just drop me a line and I'll rodcast it to you.

[JSngry]

I'd think that even an "unsuccessful" outing by this combination would be worth checking out.

Musicians of this caliber aren't found in every corner bar, if you get my drift...

In other words, carpe diem.

[GregK]

also discussed here when it was announced:

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...roscoe+mitchell

[RDK]

I'd recommend going even if you aren't a fan of the recent album or of freer, more a-g jazz in general. I've often found freer performances of this type far more interesting and enjoyable in person than on disc. Heck, it's worth it just to experience seeing Roscoe do his circular breathing thing in person.

[Kalo]

I'd jump at the chance to see any one of these guys. But all three together? I would not miss it.

[Indestructible!]

I'd easily shell out $30 to see this group in action! Roscoe and George together... magic!

Cheers,

Shane

[Bol]

Just made a reservation. Thanks everyone! Hope it's good!!

What I am really eager to see/hear is BassDrumBone, which is one of my favorite groups.

Edited September 21, 2007 by Bol

[Kalo]

Let us know what happens!

[B. Clugston]

I'd go see them even if John Tesh was the pianist.

[GregK]

Just made a reservation. Thanks everyone! Hope it's good!!

early or late show? Don't forget the seminar George Lewis will be giving from 3-5 that afternoon in the Thayer Building at the U of M.

[Chuck Nessa]

I hope to be there for the whole deal. If it completely sucks, I still win.

[Bol]

Just made a reservation. Thanks everyone! Hope it's good!!

early or late show? Don't forget the seminar George Lewis will be giving from 3-5 that afternoon in the Thayer Building at the U of M.

Late show. I don't think I will be attending the lecture. I have some of my own work to do!!

[JSngry]

I hope to be there for the whole deal. If it completely sucks, I still win.

Exactly.

[Bol]

I hope to be there for the whole deal. If it completely sucks, I still win.

Exactly.

I'm not sure about that. If the shows are completely boring or even excruciating, and you guys are $60 plus the traveling expenses out, I'm not sure if there is any plausible sense in which you guys "win"!

[JSngry]

Summer of 1973 - I'm 17, still in high school, and we're in the Houston area for a weekend to visit an uncle. The old man's sprung for 6 seats - good seats - to the Astrodome to see the Astros play. The old man probably spent just a little bit more than he wanted to for those tickets, but the old man was a pretty cool guy.

So -we pull into my uncle's house on Friday afternoon, and he's got a copy of the Houston Post(?) out on the coffee table. I go straight for the entertainment section, because Houston then had a jazz club (La Bastille) that booked national acts. We had seen Kenny Burrell there last year, the family & I had. But there was no Astros game that year either. Alas.

Anyway, I'm looking to see who's at La Bastille, and...something else catches my eye. The Duke Ellington Orchestra is appearing at some posh hotel in downtown Houston. Might've been a Fairmont, or something like that. Well...well...well....Dad...do we have any money left over?...can I pay you back...can you drop me off at this hotel while y'all go to the Astros game...is there any way in hell to make this happen?

Well, dad was really cool about it (the man always supported my interest in music and my decision to pursue it professionally, in part because he himself had had such a painfully stiff upbringing that it kinda did him glad to see his son doing something that he genuinely enjoyed...), but dad just couldn't make it happen, even though he repeatedly told me how he wished he could, and how that he wished he could go too. But the money had been spent, and the logistics were just not possible. I understood.

Now, this was summer of 1973. And this wasn't a concert gig, this was a weeklong stint at a hotel, not in NYC, but in Houston. I'd be willing to bet that the band was pretty raggedy, the sets pretty predictable (mostly), the filler ratio uncomfortably high (Nell Brookshire, anybody?), and overall, it would have objectively sucked far more likely than not. The review in the Post talked more about the "legend" than the gig itself, so...

But still it was Ellington. And it was Ellington's band. Live. In person. Right there it three-fucking dimenional reality in the flesh. Even if it sucked harder than anything had ever sucked in the history of the world, it was still Ellington. And it was Ellington's band. Live. In person. Right there it three-fucking dimenional reality in the flesh. And I was going to have to miss it.

Less than a year later, Duke was dead, Gonzalves was dead, Mercver was leading the band, it was full of younger cats, and it was "good, but it was not ever again going to be Ellington's band. Live. In person. Right there it three-fucking dimenional reality in the flesh. I had my chance to have that experience, and it was just not to be. And I still have deep regrets over that. You that the likelihood of it being a fairly crappy show that I missed enters into this at all? Ther is so more to life than just "a good show".

You think $60 and some time spent is too much to risk to see some shit you should never forget (just because), with the chance that it might end up being something you might never be able to forget, hey, it's your life. But I can tell you this, and mean it like I mean few things - money comes around far, far more often than do chances.

[Hot Ptah]

It strikes me that it would be virtually impossible for Muhal Richard Abrams to be on a stage without music of interest and enjoyment being created, for virtually anyone who likes any form of jazz.

I have seen Roscoe Mitchell live several times, in a solo alto sax concert, and with more than five different types of ensembles. There was always a high ratio of interesting music.

George Lewis once appeared in a solo concert I attended and mostly played minmal synthesizer music. Then he took out his trombone, said, "I feel like swinging", and played an amazing trombone solo.

The point is, the risk of the concert being boring is extremely slim. Most jazz concerts these days, including those of mainstream jazz artists (or perhaps especially those of mainstream jazz artists), are not spellbinding from start to finish. I think the standards being applied here by Bol are just a mite high.

Edited September 21, 2007 by Hot Ptah

[RDK]

Jim's story reminds me of my one-and-only time seeing Miles live. It was 1984 or so, so he wasn't anywhere near the top of his game (imo) and the albums he was producing then weren't quite my cuppa, it was an outdoor concert by the water (this was in san Diego) and wouldn't you know it it was raining. My girlfriend (now wife) was with me and I don't think she was diggin' it all that much - and neither was I truth be told - but looking back on it now I would have gone through that experience ten times over (and paid even more) just to say that I saw Miles at least once before he died.

[Bol]

The point is, the risk of the concert being boring is extremely slim. Most jazz concerts these days, including those of mainstream jazz artists (or perhaps especially those of mainstream jazz artists), are not spellbinding from start to finish. I think the standards being applied here by Bol are just a mite high.

Your first point is well taken. I took from the earlier comments that the show is likely to be good, and that's why I made the reservation. But as to the standards that you assume that I am applying here, well you are putting words in my mouth. My standard is not that the show should be "spellbinding from start to finish", or anything of that sort. The standard is rather would $30 and opportunity costs be outweighed by my enjoyment at the show? I am assuming that that would be the case, and that's why I made the reservation. I have gone to many shows that I thought were well worth while. I think I can think of only one jazz show that I've ever been to -- the Tobias Delius Quartet at the Edgefest a couple of years ago -- that I can say was "spellbinding".

As for the ability to say that I had seen some famous musicians in action, I can see why some people may put a great premium on that. But I genuinely don't care much for that. If the show is bad, it is bad, and its badness is not outweighed by my ability later to tell someone that I saw some famous people in action. Or if I am not sophisticated enough to appreciate a particular show, then I can't appreciate it; I don't care whether I can say afterwards that I attended a show with some famous people in action. I guess we have different priorities.

[DTMX]

I hope to be there for the whole deal. If it completely sucks, I still win.

I'm not sure about that. If the shows are completely boring or even excruciating, and you guys are $60 plus the traveling expenses out, I'm not sure if there is any plausible sense in which you guys "win"!

Just $60? I'm flying up from Atlanta and kicking in some extra $$$ to be ringside for all of the shows at the festival! It had better be good!

The following weekend, I'm flying out to the Grand Canyon. Maybe a few extra $$$ to the guide will get me ringside for that as well...

Edit: Also excited about BassDrumBone since I passed on seeing the Gerry Hemingway Quartet in Atlanta the one (and only) time they played there about 10 years ago.

Edited September 21, 2007 by DTMX

[Lazaro Vega]

Helias is recovered from a recent tussel with prostate cancer. "An episode in your life," the doctor told him. He could certainly use your support.

[JSngry]

I don't care whether I can say afterwards that I attended a show with some famous people in action.

It's not about seeing "famous people". It's about seeing great musicians.

[Bol]

I don't care whether I can say afterwards that I attended a show with some famous people in action.

It's not about seeing "famous people". It's about seeing great musicians.

Why would you think that the two descriptions are incompatible? Some famous people are famous for being or having been great musicians; other ones for different reasons. If some great musicians give an awful concert or show, I personally would not care to attend that particular concert or show no matter how great their reputation. I took your long post about Ellington to mean that it is still worth it to attend such a show or concert merely to witness such musicians in action. We differ on that issue. I don't think we were talking past each other.

Edited September 22, 2007 by Bol

[JSngry]

Well, if all that mattered to me was "good performances", I'd just stay home, buy records, & trade live shows. Guaranteed results, and no hassles with parking.

I just think that seeing somebody in person has the potential to give you a better picture of the person behind the music, and therefore possible a better feel for what's going on in the music. Potentially. But definitely, those who only know, say, Ellington from records and videos don't have the same "feel" for him as do those who saw him in the flesh back in the day when he was always out there doing it. Doesn't mean that those who did "get" better than those who didn't, or that those who didn't can't "get" it, just that....it's different. We don't have that chance anymore, but we do have others.

Anybody can "read" history, but not everybody gets to see it as it happens. Now, this may or may not end up being a "great show", but in my mind there's no doubt that historically speaking, these are musicians of historical import, and that an opportunity to see a group such as this is a chance to witness history of one sort ot the other as it happens.

And if it doesn't sound like an "opportunity" to you to see some true giants in the flesh instead of on record, hey, save your money for CDs and shit. They need that income too.

And watch a ballgame on TV while you're at it.

[Bol]

Well, if all that mattered to me was "good performances", I'd just stay home, buy records, & trade live shows. Guaranteed results, and no hassles with parking.

I just think that seeing somebody in person has the potential to give you a better picture of the person behind the music, and therefore possible a better feel for what's going on in the music. Potentially. But definitely, those who only know, say, Ellington from records and videos don't have the same "feel" for him as do those who saw him in the flesh back in the day when he was always out there doing it. Doesn't mean that those who did "get" better than those who didn't, or that those who didn't can't "get" it, just that....it's different. We don't have that chance anymore, but we do have others.

Anybody can "read" history, but not everybody gets to see it as it happens. Now, this may or may not end up being a "great show", but in my mind there's no doubt that historically speaking, these are musicians of historical import, and that an opportunity to see a group such as this is a chance to witness history of one sort ot the other as it happens.

And if it doesn't sound like an "opportunity" to you to see some true giants in the flesh instead of on record, hey, save your money for CDs and shit. They need that income too.

And watch a ballgame on TV while you're at it.

No, I actually will be at the show because I am thinking it may be good and I am curious. If I did not think that, I *would* be home watching a ballgame (which I like to do very much), and scratching the dog's tummy (which she likes very much).