Cult of SOC

Marlon Brando's Conga Drum - LA Weekly

2012-02-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

"It was 1976. I had been with [legendary vibraphonist] Cal Tjader for about a year and Cal told me Marlon Brando and Merv Griffin were coming to our matinee set,'" recalls Sanchez, calling from his Whittier home. "Marlon used to sit in with Cal out in East L.A. at a place called the M Club back in the early '60s. He'd come in, have some drinks and play the bongos. So I told Cal 'introduce me, introduce me.'"

Sanchez's brief conversation with Brando revealed more than a passing familiarity latin percussionists. "He knew everybody! Mongo Santamaria! Tito Puente!"

A few years later Sanchez received a phone call. "Brando got my number from the union and he wanted to tell me about this conga drum he had invented. It was a drum with a handle on the side that could tighten the head and make the pitch go up. It was something different. We talked for about an hour. I told him he was one of the world's greatest actors but he insisted he wanted to be an inventor."

That first phone call led to several more, but Sanchez never got to test the drum out. That is, until last year. "I got a call from my friend DJ Felix Contreras that they had found the drum in a storage space and he wanted me to try it. There were all these pictures of Marlon in there, old contracts, a bird cage. This was Marlon Brando's shit! It was like being in his garage."

Alas, the likelihood of seeing the Brando conga in Guitar Center is fairly slim. "It sounded pretty good. I was playing it and turning it with the other hand. I forget how he did it but there was a lot of mechanical work in there so it also made the drum heavier. It was a cool idea for a conga drum but I was scared when I was tightening that thing. I didn't want to go too tight or something might give."

Was it a marketable product? "It'd be too expensive to make and people would be sending it back all the time. You'd be fixing more products than selling them. But it was a cool idea."

Although Brando never got his own line of conga drums, Sanchez did. The self-taught drummer plays a colorful set of Remo conga drums of his own design with his name emblazoned on the side.

"Nowadays, the younger guys have learned the new technique," says Sanchez. "They're really fast. It's like wow, I can't even think as fast as they play. But speed is not everything. It's not what you play that makes it happen. It's what you don't play. I'm from the old school. I'm one of the heavy hitters. I lift my arms and my hands and I smack the thing!"

Marlon & Poncho @ LA Weekly

Christian McBride - A Veteran Nearly 40

2012-02-10T09:42:00.003-08:00

Christian McBride - A Veteran At 40 - LA Weekly

Since the late '80s Philly-bred bassist Christian McBride has been a low end powerhouse for artists including Milt Jackson, Diana Krall and Questlove. He spent the most time in our fair city between 2006 and 2010 when he was the "Creative Chair for Jazz" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and this Saturday he'll bring his straight ahead trio -- including pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens -- to share a bill with Ravi Coltrane's quartet at UCLA's Royce Hall.

It's fair to say that, like Randy Newman, he loves L.A. "L.A. has always got a bad rap," he says, calling from his New Jersey home. "It's so spread out. It's hard to get a sense of the jazz community. I always felt Los Angeles has one of the tightest jazz communities in the sense that people who really love the music are going to go out and find it. Wherever it may be they are going to go find it."

Socially, however, McBride has more than enough on his plate. "When I come to L.A., I go into managing mode. I have so many friends in L.A. that it becomes a matter of trying to not make people mad if I don't call them. I'm only gonna be there for one day!"

For a man as busy as McBride it's no wonder he's got to screen his phone calls. Last year he released his first big band album The Good Feeling. His dynamic charts and unstoppable band (Nicholas Payton, Ron Blake, Xavier Davis) earned him a Grammy nomination. If that wasn't enough he released a second album last year entitled Conversations with Christian that found him paired with legends, including the late Dr. Billy Taylor, and Chick Corea, not to mention friends including Dee Dee Bridgewater and Gina Gershon, of all people.

Diversity has been a hallmark of McBride's career. He has worked for jazz heroes like Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Watson but is just as comfortable with an electric bass, having held it down behind R&B masters like Isaac Hayes and James Brown. "I feel lucky that everyone I've had on my bucket list I've gotten to play with," says McBride.

Although not yet 40, McBride has been playing the bass professionally since Ronald Reagan was in office. "I never thought of it like trying to make a living," he says looking back on his career. "For me, playing bass was just something I really wanted to do. As long as I had that focus I never thought I'd make a living. I always knew it would come to me."

"But am I veteran?" he asks, somewhat surprised. "I've always admired Roy Haynes and Sonny Rollins. Roy Haynes still plays with the same vigor of his 20's and 30's. As we progress in life you still have to play hard. I can only hope that I get to my 80's. If I do, I still want to sweat. I still want to come off the bandstand puffing."

Christian McBride @ LA Weekly

Ben Wendel - NYC Jazz Record

2012-02-01T12:18:00.001-08:00

Ben Wendel - Frame

Eclectic saxophonist Ben Wendel has lent his distinct
tenor to countless records from coast to coast but has
solidified his reputation with his band Kneebody. For
his second solo release Wendel has amassed a first-rate
band (which includes two members of Kneebody) that
tackles his eight original compositions (and one
standard) with a refreshing, youthful ferocity.

The album opens with the crashing “Chorale”, full
of driving, clustered harmonies. The first solo of the
album is offered up to pianist Gerald Clayton’s assured
swing. It is only after guitarist Nir Felder’s flickering
solo that Wendel steps forward to deliver an angular
solo of his own. Wendel’s winding duet on Dizzy
Gillespie’s “Con Alma” pits him against Clayton.
Through a deft reharmonization and a beautiful closing
unison line (that ends on an oblique “Giant Steps”
reference) the duo take Gillespie’s minimalist melody
into the 21st century. “Backbou” finds Wendel honking
on bassoon. Pianist Tigran Hamasyan pounds out a
solo alongside drummer Nate Wood’s pummeling pots
and pans but Wendel soon takes the reins, placing a
subdued solo over the slightly less subdued rhythm
section. The shifting “Blocks” gets a plunking solo
from bassist Ben Street. Wendel takes a long-toned solo
over another track in which Hamasyan provides
heavy-handed accompaniment. The title track is a fast
moving tune that finds the propulsive rhythm section
leaving ample space for Wendel’s furious weaving
lines. His breathless attack covers the entire range of
his horn, leaving little doubt as to why he might name
the album after this particular performance. The album
closes gently with “Julia”. Over the quiet rumbling of
the album’s third pianist (Adam Benjamin) Wendel
weaves a delicate solo while closing with an orchestral
hum from his bassoon over his overdubbed tenor.

Wendel has created an engaging album, brimming
with unique instrumentation and ample space for all
the musicians involved. His compositional talents
assure his presence even when he is relinquishing the
sound to his bandmates.

Ben Wendel @ NYC Jazz Record

Bernstein, Goldings, Stewart - NYC Jazz Record

2012-02-01T12:14:00.001-08:00

Bernstein, Goldings, Stewart - Live at Smalls

For guitarist Peter Bernstein’s second release on
smallsLIVE, he ropes in his old bandmates, organist
Larry Goldings and drummer Bill Stewart, for a classic
organ trio set. Recorded in January 2011 in the tight
basement club (how did they get that B3 down there?)
the band is in fine form, swinging through a grab bag
of standards and a couple of originals.

The album opens with the laidback Duke Pearson
standard “Chant”. Bernstein spirals out of the gate,
drawing quivering vibratos from his guitar while
Goldings finds a deliberate pace and stretches out
nicely. The Cole Porter ballad “Everytime We Say
Goodbye” opens with humming B3 serving up a quiet
mass while Bernstein, with limited frills, takes on the
melody. With no particular urgency the guitarist works
his way in and out of the extended song form, placing
tasteful phrases over Stewart’s subtle brushes.
Goldings is equally controlled, building slightly louder
before stepping back for Bernstein’s melodic return.

The bandleader’s original “Just a Thought” raises the
pulse with a harder swinging approach that features
the guitarist letting loose over Goldings’ syncopated
punch. The Miles classic “Milestones” opens with
interstellar meandering by Goldings that summons
both the ghost of Sputnik and an 8-bit video game
before launching into a hard-driving, 12-minute chase.
Bernstein and Goldings both take frenetic solos
peppered with pinpoint phrasing before making way
for Stewart, who begins his solo by winding down the
band to a crawl before slowly splashing his way across
the kit, artfully drawing the band back with a
percussive approach to the theme. The band rides out
on snippets of the melody, briefly changing key as
Bernstein sputters to a close over driving cymbals. The
album ends with the obscure Percy Mayfield blues
“The Danger Zone”. Bernstein bends his way through
the crawling melody before stretching out in his solo.
Goldings jumps with an equally slow pace, extracting
intensity from his drawbars.

For fans of classic organ trios (Jimmy Smith/
Kenny Burrell, Mel Rhyne/Wes Montgomery) this
album is a perfect throwback. The repertoire and style
is firmly rooted in classic ‘60s soul and the band is in
top form, playing to a full but unobtrusive crowd, just
what one might hope for from three masters of the
genre spending a weekend in a New York basement.

Bernstein, Goldings, Stewart @ NYC Jazz Record

Merry Clayton Live - LA Weekly

2012-02-01T12:10:00.001-08:00

Merry Clayton
The Mint
1-31-12

Better than...getting stomped at Altamont.

Merry Clayton is a soul legend. With over 40 years since her appearance on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" Clayton has solidified herself as a top-notch belter, tackling anything and everything in between. Last night before a sizable crowd at the Mint, Clayton and her eight-piece band turned on the charm and recruited a few more members to her fanclub.

After her five instrumentalists and three back-up vocalists churned out driving blues, Clayton sauntered out to rapturous applause. Throughout the night countless "we love you!" shouts emanated from the crowd.

After promising the audience "some sweetness," Clayton brought the band to a simmer with her take on Carole King's "After All This Time." The chatty but adoring crowd responded enthusiastically to Clayton's question: "Got your liquor on?"

Clayton continued the parade of hits with her Dirty Dancing contribution "Yes," full of '80s soul-ballad resplendence. Leon Russell's "A Song For You" created a hush as saxophonist Joe Vasquez played, before Clayton instigated a sing-along, imploring the audience "Y'all can do better." And they did. By the end of the song most of the audience had caught on to Clayton's call and response.

Clayton introduced the next song, "The Times They Are A-Changing", by highlighting her connections to Bob Dylan. "I consider him to be a friend," she said after explaining her appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival. Clayton took a slow-burning tour through Dylan's anthem accompanied only by the guitar. When she finished, the rapt audience shouted for a little "Mighty Quinn" and she indulged them with an a cappella chorus.

Barely forty minutes into the show, Clayton announced she was wrapping up. "Mother needs to go home and get some rest," she said. "This is not 1970 and I'm not 19." Several members of the audience shouted for her to close with Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands" and she playfully sang a chorus of that too. "None of that is in the show" she promised before launching into her signature song: "Gimme Shelter."

Clayton is the original singer on the Rolling Stone's menacing classic. Her harrowing cries are surrounded by rock and roll lore and she happily embraces her role. "'We need you to come down and sing with these English guys,'" she recounted as the band vamped over the intro. "Me and these two children ... He [Mick Jagger] is not black. Where did he get these lips from?"

Although she didn't belt out "rape and murder" with the same ferocity of forty years ago Clayton gave it her all and then slowly introduced each band member. When all was said and done their rendition lasted nearly 20 minutes before Clayton walked off the stage leaving the audience satisfied but wanting more.

Personal Bias: Clayton's contribution to "Gimme Shelter" is probably the best vocal performance ever released on a Rolling Stones record.

The Crowd: Diverse and looking to party. Plus Lou Adler.

Random Notebook Dump: The unidentified back-up vocalist who looked like a psychedelic Cornel West needs his own show.

Merry Clayton @ LA Weekly

Just a New York Conversation: Lou Reed - LA Weekly

2012-01-31T00:45:00.000-08:00

Lou Reed is a rock and roll legend. That is an indisputable fact. And he doesn't bless Southern California with his downtown swagger very often. So when he takes part in a staged conversation it is only fair that he gets to pick the subjects.

Unfortunately for many who paid $45 bucks to hear Reed's deadpan drawl on CSULB's Carpenter Performing Arts Center stage Friday, he was mostly interested in discussing his 1975 attempt at career suicide, Metal Machine Music, which is also the focus of the art show Reed was there to promote. The topics of the Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol, Laurie Anderson, even Metallica, were ignored in favor of Cartesian coordinates and pressure gradients.

Based on the few dozen walk-outs it is safe to say that some people were disappointed to not hear about David Bowie but more surprisingly Reed and moderator Bob Ezrin seemed disappointed that many in the audience didn't share their enthusiasm for $400 dollar headphones.

The evening started out promising. Reed, weeks from 70, ambled across the stage, wearing an ensemble of faded black with red socks, greeted by a standing ovation. Ezrin, a man with many multi-platinum production credits (Pink Floyd's The Wall, Kiss' Destroyer, Alice Cooper's School's Out), promised a "public conversation between two dear friends." And that conversation seemed pretty relaxed.

Reed addressed the Occupy Wall Street movement ("everyone is wondering where the fuck are the students these days?"), Newt Gingrich ("three wives and conservative values. Maybe he knows something we don't.") and even the contributions of African-Americans to popular song ("if we didn't have black people, we'd be fucked. We'd still be doing jigs...nevermind R&B and the dunk-shot.") And then things took a turn.

After a fairly lengthy discussion about the greatness of a particular brand of earbuds, a member of the audience expressed his disinterest in the topic. "You guys are talking about headphones?" yelled the surly, hirsute audience member. To which Reed challenged him to stand up and identify himself and another member of the audience shouted at the heckler "stand up, asshole!" The uninhibited man did stand up and escorted himself out of the theater after a brief fist-pump. From there on out the evening was dedicated to Metal Machine Music and the art show.

A mere ten-minute hike from the theater, a darkened room in the University Art Museum already emitting the dense smell of body heat houses the art show, a $80,000 dollar sound-immersion project. The twelve-speaker project attempts to recreate the spatial sensation of standing on stage amid Reed's harrowing feedback, which was re-recorded in 2009 in New York. If you can withstand the aural assault ("loud" was probably the most popular word of the evening), the project is impressive. Anytime there is more than one adult lying on the floor, you know you are in for an interesting time.

At the event, Reed and Ezrin were eventually joined by members of Reed's band (Ulrich Krieger, Sarth Calhoun) and the tech-heads who helped make it possible. The rest of the evening was then dedicated to the discussion of sines and cosines and at that point the walk-outs accelerated.

An agonizing question and answer session, which sometimes had two or three people asking a question at the same time, only helped to insure that little else would be discussed on stage.

Reed even admitted that the biggest mistake he made about Metal Machine Music was "putting it out." So it was curious to see him baffled by some of the audience's disinterest in the subject.

Ezrin closed the evening by essentially apologizing for their passionate gear-talk. "I want to thank everyone for indulging us," he said. "This is how our brain's work. It's not a show."

And with that the house lights got a little brighter, the remaining audience applauded and "Walk on the Wild Side" started playing over the house speakers.

Come back soon, Lou!

Lou Reed @ LA Weekly

Top Ten Best Live Music Venues - LA Weekly

2012-01-30T12:01:00.000-08:00

Here's my contribution to the ten best venues list for LA Weekly. Pretty good list.

8. Blue Whale

Located in a corner of Little Tokyo that sees the least amount of foot traffic, the Blue Whale is a jazz sanctuary. The sound system is perfect, the house piano is a jewel and the bar staff takes care of you. Whether you want to hear avant-noise from serious-looking Europeans or soak up some straight-ahead sounds from our vast collection of local talent, the Blue Whale is always a worthwhile bet.

Top Ten Best Live Music Venues (#10 - #6) @ LA Weekly

LA Jazz Clubs Need More Loud Drunks - LA Weekly

2012-01-26T10:07:00.000-08:00

A little heckling never hurt...

Over the summer I was at the Blue Whale jam session when a handful of drunken girls were asked to leave for being too chatty. Set aside the miracle of a bunch of drunken girls actually being at a jazz club; the fact that they booted on a night when literally anyone can play is absurd. And probably not too good for business, either.

Regardless of what snotty musicians might think, jazz clubs could use a few more noisy drunks, girls or otherwise, because not only do they pay the bills, they bring a bit of energy to a sometimes-sullen genre.

Before long jazz will be as bad as classical. The Los Angeles Philharmonic's website says that if you're not sure when to applaud, "the safest course is to wait until the conductor has turned around to face the audience and everyone is clapping." The message seems to be that people with unbridled enthusiasm should go somewhere else, somewhere where they're not as strict with the rules to their music.

But second only to classical snobs are jazz snobs. For a genre based largely on improvisation, it's odd that they take pride in applauding at just the right time , and pity those unfamiliar with the genre's increasingly rigid code of conduct.

Jazz got its start in brothels and bars. Somewhere around the time Miles turned his back on the audience and suburban kids started studying it in college, jazz transformed from entertainment to "art," and nowadays rarely looks back. Over-educated musicians expect silence and awe at their increasingly inaccessible sounds, whether it is deserved or not. The threat of a slurred heckle could do a lot to put that pretension aside.

Jazz players have long complained that they don't make any money. Could that perhaps be because they've seemingly pushed away anyone who might be casually interested, leaving little more than a few scattered intellectuals and their own family members? Why would anyone but the most devoted go out with friends to a jazz club when the experience is more akin to a church service?

At New York's Winter Jazzfest earlier this month, there were 65 bands over two nights, and over 4000 people showed up. The crowds were diverse and the drinks were flowing. The solution to combat the noise was to turn the bands up even louder, and most everyone seemed to be having a good time. Why can't we do that here? Sometimes, we can: Jax in Glendale is like that on good nights, and no one seems to mind. After all, people are there, first and foremost, to be entertained.

So I've come up with a simple solution: put a double-sided sign in front of every "jazz" club. If the sign reads "entertainment" that means we can bring our friends and have a good time. If the sign reads "art" that means we can show up alone, nurse a single beer and furrow our brows in silent reverie. That way everybody's happy. Right?

Loud Drunks @ LA Weekly

Brian Charette - LA Weekly

2012-01-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

Brian Charette - Road Warrior

The last time I was here, I was chased out of my agent's place in West Hollywood with a baseball bat...Long story short, out comes the bat and I had to pack up my things in Trader Joe's bags and split. Halfway down the strip to my friend Samsonic's house, I passed a few other LA bums with their stuff in bags just like me. We looked each other up and down for a moment, then kept walking. I'm hoping this [L.A.] outing has a little less drama. -Brian Chrette's email pitch to LA Weekly

"Feel it," says the New York-based organist Charette, offering his pinky finger. "It's fused." We are standing at the bar of a small French bistro in Manhattan, having just met five minutes prior. His pinky finger is fixed into a permanent crook due to an amp falling on it ten years ago. "I can't play classical anymore" says Charette examining his damaged digit. "But I can still play jazz!"

Charette is the consummate road-warrior, and he has the scars to prove it. His pulpy organ sound has backed such disparate artists as soul-jazz legend Lou Donaldson and scarf-draped dandy Rufus Wainwright. This Tuesday Charette plays the first of three gigs in Los Angeles at the Mint alongside guitarist Greg Erba and drummer Andy Sanesi.

The night before we met, Charette played a gig in Boston. The next day, he was bound for Prague. After Los Angeles comes a couple of weeks in Southeast Asia. This dedication to gigging, although not much for his social life, has brought him before a lot of crowds. "I play about 330 gigs a year. In New York in the '90s, I'd play ten or eleven gigs a week!" He adds wistfully: "Those days are long gone."

To make up for it Charette has taken to what many stability-craving musicians do: he's teaching. "I just started writing these master class articles for Keyboard magazine. They're a lot of fun and the response has been great." Tackling subjects like orchestration and chord voicings, Charette has found a forum for his techniques, and he offers private lessons via Skype.

Charette has a controlled sound on the organ, taking a classic approach to both technique and instrumentation with his bands. His nimble lines follow in the footsteps of B3 masters like Jimmy Smith and Dr. Lonnie Smith. His patience and deliberation led WBGO tastemaker Josh Jackson to declare Charette a "master of space and time."

But Charette isn't just master of musical battles. As his website kungfugue.com attests, Charette could probably beat the shit out of you too; after all, he holds a "black sash" in White Crane kung fu, whatever that is. After ten years of study with a few less-than-stable mentors, Charette could probably do some damage, crooked pinky and all. He is even embarking on a project to bring his passions together, incorporating kung fu into his music like modern dance.

For now, Charette is focused on playing as many gigs as it takes to pay the rent. Despite being warmly embraced by the people of the Czech Republic finding an audience in sunnier domestic climates has proven difficult. "I have put more time into booking Los Angeles than anywhere else," says Charette. "I've made three trips to L.A. in the last year and a half. What's interesting is the crowd but I love it in L.A. I especially like walking there."

Brian Charette @ LA Weekly

Portlandia: The Tour - LA Weekly

2012-01-19T09:33:00.001-08:00

Portlandia: The Tour
The Echoplex
1-17-12

Portlandia, the Pacific Northwest-skewering IFC comedy show now in its second season, has run less than ten episodes. But SNL'er Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney rocker Carrie Brownstein have clearly captured a devoted following. Last night, for an hour and a half, Portlandia: the Tour -- featuring Armisen, Brownstein and a handful of special guests -- presented their second sold-out night at the Echoplex, to an audience of hardcore fans.

The evening turned out to be neither rock concert nor comedy show, but more of an interactive convention for devotees of dumpster diving and homemade crafts. After a brief video introduction from the show's fictional mayor, Kyle MacLachlan, Armisen and Brownstein emerged for a 21st century Burns & Allen routine, sharing Armisen's increasingly clingy text messages, like "Your birth was not a birth but the death of all others."

The duo then strapped on some instruments (Armisen - bass/vocals, Brownstein - guitar/vocals) and were joined for several songs by Telekinesis mastermind Michael Lerner on drums and Brownstein's Wild Flag bandmate, keyboardist Rebecca Cole. "The Dream of the 90s," which appeared in the first episode, succinctly summed up the demographic of the audience ("In Portland, you can put a bird on something and call it art.") and drew supportive swaying.

The in-jokes continued. Between clips of the new season, Aubrey Plaza appeared in a skit that had her helping the show's feminist bookstore owners find a Los Angeles outpost. Comedian Kumail Nanjiani appeared as a car rental clerk.

The audience shouted comments at the stage, often receiving replies from the performers. At one point a moderator-free microphone was passed through the crowd for a question and answer session. Considering how awful those kind of things can be, this one was mercifully concise. But pity for anyone who had not seen the show at this point because the real nerd questions were handed out in droves (Tom Hulce is their dream guest. Beloved extra Ellen Bloodworth has some good Jerry Orbach stories.)

The evening closed with two songs aided by ageless Bangle Susanna Hoffs. The band opened with a loose but poppy version of the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" and closed with a Velvet-y version of "Manic Monday," complete with feedback and thrashing windmills from Brownstein that resulted in a broken string.

And then, much like a Portlandia sketch, it was abruptly over. Brownstein, licking the frosting off a cupcake, said a clipped thanks and the piped-in reggae music that had started the evening returned.

Personal Bias: I miss Flight of the Conchords.

The Crowd: SNL fans, Sleater-Kinney fans and cat lovers.

Random Notebook Dump: Someone could have made a lot of money selling food (or pitchforks and torches) to the hundreds of ticket holders waiting in line a half hour after the supposed showtime.

Portlandia @ LA Weekly

LA Jazz Collective Residency - LA Weekly

2012-01-12T09:14:00.000-08:00

Matt Otto Duo
Ariel Alexander Group
Matt Otto Quintet
Blue Whale
1-11-12

Better than...watching the People's Choice Awards

Last night, after a few technical difficulties and a strict adherence to "jazz time," the second of four residency performances by the LA Jazz Collective got underway at Little Tokyo's Blue Whale. The evening featured three bands presented by two leaders (saxophonists Matt Otto and Ariel Alexander) creating what Alexander cheekily referred to as a "Matt Otto sandwich."

The evening opened with tenor-man Otto working through a demure set alongside pianist Leonard Thompson. The two share a long history together and it was evident in their playing. For much of the set Otto hovered around his breathy lower register while Thompson laid down an impressionistic pillow of support. After a slight foray into the outer realms Otto returned with "All The Things You Are," giving it an airy swing that stopped one chord short of resolution. It was a pleasant set but a little sleepy, prompting the man next to me to get himself a cup of coffee.

The second set was led by alto saxophonist Ariel Alexander. Alexander, backed by a solid quintet that included mountainous bassist Tim Lefbrve, played a handful of originals composed by her and her guitarist (and husband), Jon Bremen. Alexander has a tight, controlled sound on the alto but it was often marred by needless and sometimes maddening effects. Nonetheless, within seconds of their opener, drummer Chaun Horton taught the house drum kit who was in charge, pounding with a relentless precision that never let up whether he was using sticks or brushes. The band even got the beanies in the crowd bobbing with their furious backbeat. But throughout the set only Lefbrve appeared to be having any fun, getting so funky on the last tune he had to sit down. Only when speaking did Alexander display a playful personality that could have been put to good use had it been channeled through her horn.

The final set of the evening featured the return of Otto with an instrumentation identical to Alexander's group, but in a more straight-ahead setting. In lieu of Horton's thunder we got the solid rhythm and Keith Moon-esque grimaces of drummer Jason Harnell and the equally stoic guitar work of Jamie Rosenn. Otto's democratic dispensing of solos led to some great turns from keyboardist Gary Fukushima -- who drew sharp yelps from his worn Wurlitzer -- and fearless bassist Ryan McGilliccuddy, who took the only four-stringed solos of the night. Towards the end of the set, nearly four hours after the start of the concert, Thompson returned to sit in with the quintet, literally sharing a piano bench with Fukushima. The band burned through Otto's obscure homage to George Shearing, creating a chordal wall that Otto had little trouble climbing.

Now halfway through their residency, the LA Jazz Collective has proven themselves worthy representatives of this sprawling city, with the ability to fill a room and keep them there. Their adventurous programming is a great testament to the vitality of the Los Angeles jazz scene.

Personal Bias: I attended the first ever meeting of the LA Jazz Collective. I said very little and enjoyed my breakfast.

The Crowd: Young people doubled up on little chairs. Old people doubled over them.

Random Notebook Dump: With all the feet moving around and all the drinks placed on the floor it was pretty impressive that only three glasses were broken.

LA Jazz Collective @ LA Weekly

Best of...2011

2012-01-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

I contributed to two larger "Best of" lists for LA Weekly.

Books:

Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music
by Ellen Willis

This compilation of The New Yorker's first pop critic pulses with unbridled passion for artists as diverse as the Who, Bowie and the Boss. The unsung Willis had a keen eye for the importance of her subjects that helped to elevate the status of both the artists she wrote about and the genre of criticism she helped to create.

Best Books of 2011 @ LA Weekly

LA Jazz shows:

Walter Smith III
Blue Whale, December 17

Joon Lee, the modest personality behind Little Tokyo's Blue Whale, is an indispensible part of the local jazz community who books some of the most daring acts in Los Angeles. Saxophonist Walter Smith III, a hard-swinging transplant, was one such act earlier this month. His band of ringers put on an powerhouse set before a standing-room only crowd that reminded everyone that there is a sizable (and bar-patronizing!) jazz community in Los Angeles.

Best LA Jazz Shows @ LA Weekly

Mary Halvorson/Jessica Pavone - NYC Jazz Record

2012-01-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

Departure of Reason - Halvorson/Pavone

Since the early aughts, guitarist Mary Halvorson has
built a sturdy reputation from behind her hollowbodied
guitar. Her bending lines and precise phrasing,
even in the midst of chaos, can be found throughout
poorly ventilated rooms around the city. The equally
prolific violist Jessica Pavone can often be found
bowing right alongside her. For their newest release,
armed with just two voices and ten strings, the pair
have woven together an hour’s worth of original
material (five compositions apiece) that oscillates
between swaying folk and churning avant garde,
sometimes within the same measure.

“That Other Things” opens the album with
Halvorson playing a chunky oom-pah behind Pavone’s
spacious melody for three slowly building minutes
before Halvorson kicks out a staccato phrase that
quickly escapes into one of her signature jagged lines.
“Hyphen” starts with a promising dissonant Santo &
Johnny strum until halfway through when Pavone
starts repeating the same scale over and over to
aggravating effect. The song eventually dissolves into
a distorted display of flickering guitar and swaying
viola that lurches towards a demure conclusion. The
chamber bounce of the curiously titled “Onslaught”
balances intricately woven lines with lighthearted
aplomb while the give-and-take of penultimate “Ruin”
delves into a harsher realm with Halvorson’s eight-bit
bends and distorted barre chords diving around
Pavone’s jagged downstrokes.

The three songs that feature vocals are quite
different, almost pop-like in tone. “The Object of
Tuesday” has a choppy beat that finds Halvorson and
Pavone in extremely tight harmonies, often sounding
vocally and instrumentally reminiscent of the Haden
sisters. The repeated phrases (the word ‘city’ appears
20 times in the first four lines) add a hypnotic lull
whereas the dirgey vibe of “Saturn” uses the lyrics
more spaciously, revealing that “belief” is the
“departure of reason”. Album closer “Why Should You
Surrender?” meanwhile finds both women in plucked
synchronization. The vocals are also sparser and
contain a sort of lecturey Ooompa Loompa-esque
repetition that is eventually demolished by Halvorson’s
spidery guitar.

Although this album has its charms amid the stark
instrumentation it would be great to hear these same
compositions backed by a hard-rocking rhythm section.
In the meantime these bare performances stand as a
winning testament to their complex partnership.

Halvorson/Pavone @ NYC Jazz Record

Kris Bowers - LA Weekly

2012-01-03T16:33:00.001-08:00

Kris Bowers - "Keeping the Young People Aware"

When most college students return home for winter break, they watch TV in the den and get drunk with high school friends.

Pianist Kris Bowers, a 22-year old-graduate student at Julliard, however, has come home to Los Angeles with some big prizes, and will perform at Catalina Bar & Grill tomorrow night, January 4th. The awards? After winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in September, he now possesses a recording contract and a $25,000 scholarship.

"Last time the Monk competition featured the piano was five years ago," says Bowers. "I knew a lot of people that were doing it then. All three people that placed I looked up to. I was determined that next time it was piano that I was going to apply myself."

So Bowers buckled down to perform in front of a judging panel that included piano greats like Ellis Marsalis, Danilo Perez and Herbie Hancock. His subtle command of the instrument -- both tasteful and deliberate with little of the flash that can mar a musician his age -- beat out the international array of contestants.

"Since the competition I've been having a lot of conversations with Jason Moran," says Bowers. "He's given me some good advice. He says I should really play in the sound of today, and make sure I'm incorporating that and all the things that are affecting me musically."

Julliard Jazz Studies director Carl Allen secured Bowers' talents early with an undergraduate scholarship. "The biggest challenge for him will be to keep balance," says Allen. "What to say yes to and what to say no to. I think if he's got that balance and keeps great mentors close by, he'll do a lot of wonderful things."

It hasn't all been swing and studies for Bowers -- he did a gig with Q-Tip at the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, and it just so happened that Kanye West was a guest. From that serendipitous meeting, Bowers found himself in the enviable position of playing on a few tracks for West and Jay-Z's ode to obscene wealth Watch the Throne.

For most of his career Bowers has worked as a sideman, picking up gigs with friends and classmates. But a part of the Monk prize is a recording contract for Concord Records, which will put him directly in the spotlight. "I've been trying to write a lot more now that I'm thinking about the album. I'm focusing on forming my music and my musical identity and trying to take make sure I do it the way I want. It's definitely new for me, but exciting."

For his homecoming show at Catalina's Bowers promises something unexpected. "It's not just going to be jazz standards," he says. "I'm trying to reflect all the things I'm in to - from indie rock to old school R&B to film scoring. I just want to keep the young people aware of what jazz music sounds like now."

Kris Bowers @ LA Weekly

Woody Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band - LA Weekly

2011-12-30T12:24:00.000-08:00

Woody Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band
Royce Hall
12/29/11

Better than...Francis Ford Coppola playing the tuba.

Before the start of the European tour documented in the 1997 Woody Allen documentary Wild Man Blues, Allen tells his bandmates, "Theoretically this should be fun for us." Last night, before a sold out house at UCLA's Royce Hall, Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band concluded their six date tour with a night of old-timey jazz that, at the very least, certainly seemed to be somewhat amusing to them.

As pianist Conal Fowkes began a solo introduction to "It Had to Be You," Allen strode onto the stage to wild applause, clarinet cases in hand. After the remaining members joined in, they proceeded to play almost nonstop for over two hours.

Following the first tune, Allen briefly addressed the crowd, promising them a night of "church music and whorehouse music." Midway through "When You Wore a Tulip" drummer John Gill got up from his kit and sauntered up to the microphone to sing a chorus, before resuming his percussive duties.

"Girl of My Dreams" drew impassioned growls from Allen, and he briefly uncrossed his legs in order to fully project his sound. A rousing "Down By the Riverside" featured trumpeter Simon Wettenhall taking a vocal turn and bassist Greg Cohen's lone solo for the evening. This drew loud roars from the audience as he slid and slapped across the strings. The band closed with a gentle "Til We Meet Again" before returning for two more encores and a total of seven more songs.

To start the first encore Allen took the lead on "Swinging on a Star," inspiring a sea of cell-phone pictures from the foot of the stage. With little resistance from the ushers, a crowd of about fifty remained there to get a better look at the 76-year-old film legend. Twenty-five minutes after initially leaving the stage they closed with a slow blues that featured a collective improvisation from the horns as Cohen's bowed bass held things down.

Allen's clipped clarinet croak stayed comfortably in the center of his more accomplished bandmates throughout the night. Banjoist Eddy Davis, who Allen referred to as the "heart and soul of the group" counted off most of the songs. Allen didn't shy away from the solo spotlight, but was also one of only two band members who didn't sing a song. The other two horns, which also included trombonist Jerry Zigmont, used every trick in the Dixieland bag from brash honks to wah-wah-ing derby hats.

Allen has repeatedly stressed that he is not playing this music as a preservationist but merely as an appreciator. The fact that people show up to hear him continues to surprise him, but if he chose to play an evening of free jazz he would probably draw just as large a crowd. And there would probably be just as many baffled ticket-holders after the first downbeat. Because of that, there is no greater living ambassador for the genre.

Personal Bias: I regularly wear a Woody Allen t-shirt.

The Crowd: People who solve crossword puzzles. In pen.

Random Notebook Dump: The seven graying white guys on the stage could probably have starred in a pretty good Viagra commercial.

Woody Allen @ LA Weekly

Dwight Trible Cosmic Band - LA Weekly

2011-12-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

Dwight Trible Cosmic Band
The World Stage
12-28-11

It began shortly after midnight, where the Los Angeles grid unravels into Leimert Park. At the World Stage, vocalist Dwight Trible oversaw a tight band and a rapt, full congregation, delivering a nearly two-hour concert of ecstatic positivity and consummate musicianship.

The band, featuring pianist Mark de Clive-Lowe, bassist Trevor Ware, drummer Dexter Story, violist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, and harpist Radha Botofasina, opened with a mid-tempo tune that featured a particularly authoritative bass solo from Ware. His solid notes rose over Atwood-Ferguson's tense accompaniment.

Without pausing, the band segued into a pentatonic flutter that summoned Trible to the stage, percussion in hand. His pulled-taffy baritone bubbled up and spread across the room, taking command of the band and his audience. The band continued to build as Trible sermonized before leaving the stage and allowing the instrumentalists room to solo. When he re-emerged, he was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the face of drummer Billy Higgins locked in mid-performance abandon. Trible would make the same expression throughout the set.

Midway through, de Clive-Lowe played a gentle piano intro to Trible's biblical chant. "In the beginning" wafted over both Ware and Atwood-Ferguson's slow bowing. With a quick "1-2-3-4" Trible launched the band into a hard-swinging turn that pushed Atwood-Ferguson into four-stringed shrieks. Trible pounded his tambourine, controlling each step of the band's crescendo, leaving them wide-eyed and breathless by the end.

Trible followed with an original entitled "Then I'll Be Tired of You." De Clive-Lowe's block chord intro established the straight-ahead ballad, while Atwood-Ferguson's solo summoned Stephane Grappelli's economic flights. This tune proved to be merely a breather.

Ware kicked off the next song with a propulsive vamp that inspired a brief bout of clapping from the audience. Trible erupted with vocal explosions, sometimes clutching the microphone to his chest but belting high above the frenetic band. After a series of hard-driving solos, Trible drew the song to a close with a devolving repetition of "be there brother. Be there sister." Each reiteration was longer and less decipherable.

Following an emotive ballad with just the pianist, Trible returned to testifying. After a slow start he began to accelerate the band with his clapping. Within minutes the audience joined him, sweating and swaying to every pummeling note. Atwood-Ferguson gave a wild solo while de Clive-Lowe reached deep into the hard-bop bag.

The band closed with a gentle Ahmad Jamal propulsion. Story's mallets helped usher in Trible's slow burn on the Five Stairsteps' "Ooh Child," reducing it to molasses with his long, low tones. His closing, whispered sermon left the crowd believing that perhaps things were in fact going to get easier.

Personal Bias: Ten years after his passing, Billy Higgins' store-front jazz church still thrives under the careful watch of his disciples. It is reassuring that his legacy continues just as he left it.

The Crowd: A living Benetton ad with a sense of swing.

Random Notebook Dump: Instead of a cover charge they should have passed a collection plate.

Dwight Trible @ LA Weekly

Five Great LA-affiliated Jazz Records from 2011 - LA Weekly

2011-12-20T17:24:00.001-08:00

Note: This article, understandably, pissed some people off. All five of these artists are Los Angeles educated and I think it's in the city and jazz community's interest to hold them as our own. In lieu of hate-tweets, please send me your LA jazz albums.

Despite what some may believe, Los Angeles has a rich jazz history. From Central Avenue to Hermosa Beach, early innovators like Hampton Hawes, Charles Mingus and Dexter Gordon honed their chops in this town before attaining global recognition. Thankfully that tradition continues today. Los Angeles is not lacking in young jazz talent. Want proof? In no particular order, here are our top five Angeleno-affiliated "jazz" albums of 2011.

Gretchen Parlato
The Lost and Found (Obliqsound)
Oftentimes becoming a "jazz vocalist" doesn't take much more than picking up a microphone and saying "shoo be doo be." Gretchen Parlato isn't a vocalist. She's a musician. Her vocals on her newest release purr over a great, reserved rhythm section that tackles songs as varied as Wayne Shorter's "Ju-Ju" and Simply Red's "Holding Back the Years." Parlato's rich, soulful blend should tip off a lot of vocalists that there are other ways to sing a song than chest-pounding melismas.

Thundercat
The Golden Age of Apocalypse (Brainfeeder)
Considering that Flying Lotus is jazz royalty (Alice Coltrane is his great aunt) it is not surprising to see him making room for jazzbos in his cosmic corner of the record bin, Brainfeeder. Bassist Stephen Bruner's label debut is a fuzzy album of '70s-indebted jazz and R&B, aided by vintage oscillating keyboard sounds and enough intricate production work to fry a dispensary-addled brain. Bruner wields his bass like a child's toy, drawing fleet-fingered lines at every turn. Good luck transcribing that stuff, jazz nerds.

Austin Peralta
Endless Planets (Brainfeeder)
Austin Peralta, tow-headed son of Z-boy Stacy, has been playing around Los Angeles since middle school. At that time George W. Bush was already in his second term. For his Brainfeeder debut, the 21-year-old Peralta made a sweeping album of space-jazz, deeply rooted in the strength of his McCoy Tyner-indebted hammer hands. With help from saxophonists Ben Wendel and Zane Musa, Peralta presents a hard-driving album of original material whose celestial reach knows no bounds.

Gerald Clayton
Bond: The Paris Sessions (Emarcy)
For those who like to sit around complaining that "it just doesn't swing," there is pianist Gerald Clayton. The son of local educator and bandleader John Clayton, Gerald displays a nuanced touch on the piano that effortlessly swings. His original compositions fit in right alongside jam session standards like "If I Were a Bell" and "All the Things You Are" but are uniquely tailored to Clayton's voice. This album even earned Clayton a Grammy nomination for "Best Instrumental Jazz Album." Those things can be melted down in exchange for a fair amount of cash.

Ambrose Akinmusire
When the Heart Emerges Glistening (Blue Note)
Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is from Oakland, California. But luckily for us, he spent a few vital years here at USC and the Monk Institute. Those years of study paid off with his fiery and complex debut. Akinmusire's powerful trumpet skills exude tremendous creativity and a lithe playfulness. With help from producer Jason Moran, he has created a landmark jazz album for the 21st century: original, accessible, and most importantly, entertaining.

Five Jazz @ LA Weekly

Why the Beach Boys' Reunion is a Terrible Idea - LA Weekly

2011-12-19T15:49:00.001-08:00

"Brian, No" - An Argument Against the Beach Boys Reunion

"A lot of people are thinking that Mike Love is crazy but they've been saying that for years. Ain't nothing new about that." -Mike Love at the Beach Boys' 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction

On Friday, the remaining Beach Boys announced that they would be reuniting to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The band has promised an album of new material and a 50 date tour starting in April at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. For many nostalgic music fans this is good news. For fans of Brian Wilson -- the guiding musical force behind the Beach Boys -- however, this is terrible news.

Let's take a quick step backwards: For the band's first five years together in the early '60s, things were all sunshine and hot rods. They helped to mythologize southern California as a paradise for teenagers. Before Brian Wilson turned 24 they'd already released ten albums, and he was worn out, retiring from touring to focus on the recording studio.

Driven by existential and chemical discoveries, 1966's Pet Sounds was creatively leaps and bounds beyond what had come before. Lush orchestrations and a partnership with lyricist Tony Asher ushered in a new maturity. The girls took off their bikinis and put on wedding dresses. For Love, all of this was trouble.

"We were touring a lot and we'd come back in and do an album like Pet Sounds, for instance, and some of the words were so totally offensive to me that I wouldn't even sing 'em because I thought it was too nauseating," said Love in 1992.

His mantra was "don't fuck with the formula," and no one was more detrimental to the musical progress of Brian Wilson than he. Had it been up to him, they'd still to this day be singing about surfboards and teenage lust. Indeed, without input from Wilson, the remaining Beach Boys' most notable hit was 1988's "Kokomo," a soulless ditty about sunny retirement destinations.

But history quickly sorted out the brilliant from the bullshit. Rolling Stone called Pet Sounds the second greatest album of all time, and the finally-unearthed follow-up SMiLE is a treasure trove of pop artistry. Meanwhile, Love and Al Jardine were separately working the casino and state fair circuit, rehashing the old chestnuts.

After being sued by Love three times in the last twenty years it is hard to fathom why Brian Wilson would want to continue to work with him.

Like a person who returns time and again to an abusive relationship, Wilson has brought Love back in to his professional life and has allowed him to celebrate fifty years of piggy-backing on his brilliance.

It is unlikely that this new tour will feature many of Wilson's "acid alliteration" songs. It is sure to be a bunch of 70-year-old boys singing about girls and beaches.

"What holds us together as a team is the music...and greed," Love once said. It's hard to know what Wilson's true motivations are for doing this, but it's hard not to suspect cashing in to be one of them. It seems likely that, in the end, Love's influence was as strong as we all feared.

Beach Boys Reunion @ LA Weekly

Walter Smith III Quintet - LA Weekly

2011-12-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

Walter Smith III Quintet
Blue Whale
12-17-11

Better than...a set by Thurston Howell III

Houston-born saxophonist Walter Smith III is a busy man. His first-call tenor frequently shares the stage with some of the best young musicians out there, finding a particular affinity with trumpet players, like Terence Blanchard, Sean Jones, Christian Scott, and Ambrose Akinmusire. But for the first set of his second night at Little Tokyo's Blue Whale on Saturday, Smith chose to be the only horn on stage, highlighting his talents as a composer, bandleader and modest MC.

After a lengthy delay, the quintet picked up their instruments before a standing-room only crowd. The rest of the band - pianist Josh Nelson, guitarist Larry Koonse, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Kendrick Scott - stood back as Smith opened with a wandering solo flight.

They slowly joined him, with Raghavan busily working alongside Scott's patient build. Koonse, no stranger to the LA jazz scene, took a brisk solo highlighting his clean tone. He spent the entire night functioning more as a second horn than as a member of the rhythm section, rarely playing more than two notes at a time throughout the set.

A heavier original entitled "Apollo" featured Scott's deliberately clattering drum set, driving both Koonse and Smith into frantic solos before taking his own extended, tom-tom-heavy solo. Without pause, the band launched into another upbeat original with Nelson drawing whoops of approval following his rapid-fire solo. Smith then seamlessly segued into the next song with a breathy take on Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now." Koonse and Nelson took fluttering solos over Scott's delicate brushwork before Smith drew the song to a close, swirling around one of Monk's more sensitive melodic lines.

The band closed the set with a furious sax/guitar melody that found Smith at his most pugilistic, battling for dominance over Scott's well-timed explosions. It also featured Raghavan's only solo for the set, a rumbling and fitful jaunt that highlighted his consummate technique.

It was reassuring to see a full-house in a jazz club in Los Angeles. Those are hard to come by these days. (Both crowds and clubs, actually!) On top of that, the audience was respectful. Smith, playing without a microphone, was able to flow cleanly over his amplified bandmates, further emphasizing his controlled toned and succinctly stating his case for why he is such an in-demand performer.

Personal Bias: If I'm going to sit on a small leather cube for more than twenty minutes, you'd better be good.

The Crowd: Cats, man.

Random Notebook Dump: I'm pretty sure the guy sitting next to me had at least half a pound of marijuana in his jacket.

Walter Smith III @ LA Weekly

Jason Moran - LA Weekly

2011-12-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

Jason Moran - Hammer Museum - 12/15/11

Jazz pianist Jason Moran is a certified genius. It's true. He has a half million dollar check from the MacArthur Foundation to prove it. But Jason Moran isn't one of those brooding, can't-cook-ramen-but-can-write-a-tune kind of geniuses. He's actually a very charming man who happens to be able to play the hell out of a piano.

For just over an hour last night on the Billy Wilder stage at the Hammer Museum, Moran's solo concert at times bordered on a relaxed college lecture. But it never strayed far from the 88-keyed behemoth occupying the stage.

With his boots, knit cap and vest, Moran looked fresh off the ski slopes and ready to entertain. Curiously he opened with Gladys Knight's recording of "No One Could Love You More," allowing it to float around the crowd as he noodled on the piano along with it. As the recording faded he began a rumination of clustered resonance that, over the course of ten minutes, spiraled into dissonant runs and a soft, soulful pulse.

Moran followed by playing alongside a sample of a tap-dancing Thelonious Monk while segueing into a crawling blues instigated by a Mississippi Fred McDowell recording. His blues evoked a Keith Jarrett-like spaciousness, drawing mostly from pulsating lower tones.

The piece that garnered awed chuckles was a musical interpretation of a Turkish woman's phone call. Ebbing and flowing with her patter, Moran harmonized her chatter into a beguiling tug of war that found him incorporating every sound from a background video game, to a hearty laugh. It was an amazing display of painstaking study that revealed the inherent musicality of conversation when stripped of meaning.

Eventually Moran was joined by a flute-playing in-law, Sara Johnson. Together they performed a piece from Moran's recent ballet, as well as a Johnson original. The first featured Moran in delicate tremolos behind Johnson's long tones, while the second brought a more animated performance from both musicians. Moran's staccato bursts highlighted the duo's delicate interplay.

The evening closed with a piece by the late pianist Jaki Byard. Moran's left-handed command of stride and boogie-woogie kept things grounded, while his right-handed flights launched things into the stratosphere and brought the evening to an upbeat close.

Personal Bias: Last time I went to see Jason Moran, at a midnight show, he was a no-show. I guess geniuses don't have to play midnight shows if they don't want to.

The Crowd: Collegiate, with many scarves. And Charles Lloyd.

Random Notebook Dump: We don't get a lot of living jazz geniuses visiting Los Angeles, so it was rather disappointing to see such a small turn-out for the performance. Recently LA Times jazzbo Chris Barton lamented the fact that Los Angeles does not get much love from the jazz touring circuit. When one of the biggest names in the genre shows up (for free!) and so few people fill the seats, it is understandable why artists might rather just visit the Bay Area and then head back to New York.

Jason Moran @ LA Weekly

They Will Get By - OC Weekly

2011-12-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

Five Questionable 80s Comebacks from 60s Rock Artists

Rock and roll is a tough and fickle business. One minute you’re on top of the world and the next you’re on top of a float, blowing kisses to strangers in Branson, Missouri. In between, anything goes. Tonight, Eddie Money, a singer no stranger to the ups and downs of the music business presents a holiday show at the Grove of Anaheim, alongside Lou Gramm of Foreigner and Mickey Thomas of Starship. In honor of their bumpy but persistent road we present a list of five artists who proved in the 1980s that it is never too late for a second act.

Centerfield (1985) – John Fogerty

With a bandana-ed Springsteen reaping in balefuls of cash singing to the people and a lack of demand for good songs about swamps, John Fogerty had hit a quiet patch. For his first solo album with Warner Bros., he offered up his own homage to baseball glories with “Centerfield.” Thirteen years after Creedence Clearwater Revival had disbanded, Fogerty found himself back on the charts. With its twangy “La Bamba” like intro and lyrics that reference Chuck Berry, ”Centerfield” was knee deep in nostalgia and luckily for him that translated to the biggest record sales of his career.

You Got It (1989) – Roy Orbison

Twenty-four years after his last charting solo appearance Roy Orbison hit it big with “You Got It.” Unfortunately he had died the month before. The song was written by fellow Wilbury’s Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne but one might argue that the formula had been written decades before. With its thundering timpanis and fluttering strings “You Got It” was classic Orbison that could have fit on any set-list of his career – except he didn’t get any of the songwriting royalties for it.

Touch of Grey (1987)– Grateful Dead

Curiously “Touch of Grey” is the Grateful Dead’s only real radio hit. It was also their first attempt at a music video. It would appear that the best way for the Dead to “get by” was for them to become the Dire Straits. With plucky 80s synths and a bare minimum of guitar noodling this was the Dead at their commercial peak and creative low.

Take Me Home Tonight (1986)– Eddie Money feat. Ronnie Spector

By 1986 Eddie Money was looking for a comeback of his own. After striking it big with his debut a decade earlier the boy from Levittown was having little luck on the charts. “Take Me Home Tonight,” which pairs Money with Phil Spector’s muse Ronnie Spector, was just the ticket. The song features Spector singing the chorus to the Ronnette’s 1963 hit “Be My Baby” as the chorus to “Take Me Home Tonight.” It proved to be Money’s biggest hit, charting almost as well as the original, and relaunched both of singers’ careers for the rest of the 80s.

Kokomo (1988) – Beach Boys

Oh, brother. Al Jardine is wearing a Beach Boys hat. Mike Love is wearing a saxophone. And John fucking Stamos is playing the steel drum. It is important to know that when this song was written there was no such place as Kokomo. The success of the song led to Sandals naming one of their resorts after it. In a national moment of weakness the song, a breezy innocuous return to the old surfing days, was embraced making it the only Beach Boys #1 not written by Brian Wilson. Eighteen years later Mike Love tried to catch another Hawaiian shirt in a bottle by recording “Santa’s Goin’ to Kokomo.” We’ll spare you the link.

80s Comebacks @ OC Weekly

Ambrose Akinmusire Live - DownBeat

2011-12-10T12:19:00.001-08:00

LA Experiences Miles Through Ambrose

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire's quintet performed an achingly subdued tribute to Miles Davis' most publicly accessible period on Oct. 22 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa, Calif. Over the course of 75 minutes, with the aid of three projection screens, a handful of raspy audio clips and a live narrator, the band addressed Davis' transition from bop-soaked youth to swaggering king of cool - while working hard to resist the expectation of a tribute.

Akinmusire quickly established himself as more than capable but was disinterested in filling Davis' shoes, opening the show with a solo workout that highlighted his impeccable precision. He evoked tea kettle whistles and tube radio hues, and was later joined by the rest of his young band: Walter Smith III on tenor saxophone, Sam Harris on piano, Marcus Shelby on bass and Justin Brown on drums.

During an early performance of Sonny Rollins' "Airegin," Akinmusire and Smith drove hard over the propulsive rhythm section. Their momentum was derailed by narrator Donald Lacy Jr.'s forced beatnik patter and a slideshow that highlighted available merchandise in the lobby. It was unfortunate that all the bells and whistles distracted from the music.

Members of the band rarely raised their sound above a whisper, leaning heavily on atmospheric ballads and contemplative solos. In a more characteristic Davis move, Akinmusire, aside from the occasional nod or smile, never communicated with the audience through anything but his trumpet.

One of Akinmusire's many talents as a leader is his willingness to relinquish the spotlight. Smith evoked Bach and Coltrane during a brief solo turn, and Brown got a moment to display his funky thunder following an audio clip of Davis linking James Brown and Kind of Blue. Harris offered a wandering solo and a run through "'Round Midnight" in a piano trio, adhering to the casual cool that dominated the evening. The band reconvened for a gentle spin on "Flamenco Sketches." Akinmusire provided his own delicate take on Davis' modal swirls, but the evening ended abruptly with Akinmusire and Harris intertwined in a meditative duet.

Akinmusire and his band are a wonderfully talented collection of musicians who were unable to unleash their full fiery potential. Their professional sheen only allowed a few windows for genuine spontaneity. It would be interesting to see them tackle the next decade of Davis' life and raise the pulse.

Akinmusire @ DownBeat

Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner" - OC Weekly

2011-12-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

The Only Song Johnny Rotten Likes - OC Weekly

Countless American streets have been memorialized in song (Route 66, Highway 61, Tenth Avenue) but few are as passionately remembered as Jonathan Richman's beloved Route 128.

Tonight, Massachusetts-born Richman will make a stop at Santa Ana's Galaxy Theatre as part of his West Coast tour. Although his performances have drifted far from those youthful rocking days, he will always be known for "Roadrunner" - his ode to the joys of driving under the watchful eyes of teenage lust and AM radio.

Richman got his start in the early 1970s fronting his band the Modern Lovers. Alongside future Talking Head Jerry Harrison and future Car David Robinson, Richman was a proto-punk singing simply-constructed songs about girlfriends and Picasso with a blasé tone and an awkward stance. Of the dozen songs on their 1976 debut, opening track "Roadrunner" immediately defined the band's sound: loose, goofy and in love with "modern girls and modern rock and roll."

Route 128 stretches through 60 miles of suburban Boston landscape, from Paul Revere's old stomping grounds in Canton to the lobster trap-strewn beaches of Gloucester. Bouncing between two simple chords Richman sings a lyrical homage to the sights along that two-lane stretch: trees, factories and the ubiquitous supermarket Stop & Shop.

Richman has said the song was largely influenced by the Velvet Underground's 15 minute-long primitive stomping squeal "Sister Ray." So it is only appropriate that former Velvet John Cale produced the recording in 1972. Once it was finally released four years later, it didn't take long to catch on. Across the pond, and without even knowing the lyrics, the Sex Pistols attempted their own take on the song. As simple as it is to play, it unsurprisingly proved a little difficult for the gob-soaked quartet.

Starting in the 1980s, Richman drifted off into more acoustic forays (including a couple of appearances in Farrelly Brothers movies in the late 1990s) but "Roadrunner" has lived on in countless garages and the occasional Letterman appearance.

Johnny Rotten once told Spin magazine that he "hates all music." "Not one song?" asked the interviewer. "Oh yeah," he responded. "'Roadrunner' by the Modern Lovers." How's that for an endorsement?

Jonathan Richman @ OC Weekly

Hesitation Blues #6 - LA Record

2011-12-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

Author's Note: This column ran last month in Issue 105 of LA Record

Hesitation Blues

The sad thing about writing this column is that I have to sit back four times a year and remind myself that the jazz scene in Los Angeles is severely lacking in high-profile jazz bookings. Some venues try harder than others but few can actually offer a season's worth of jazz programming and even fewer offer anything more than a rotating selection of artists that float by as frequently as leap years. As the LA Times' Chris Barton eloquently goaded the LA Philharmonic last summer, regarding their staid jazz bookings, "There' s terrific potential here to showcase the music as every bit the same vibrant, still-evolving organism as any other genre, to say nothing for the potential of drawing new fans." Obviously, vibrant music is being created and performed in Los Angeles every day. The hard part is finding it.

The ever-tasteful Kenny Burrell will be celebrating his 80th birthday at UCLA's Royce Hall on November 12. Helping to celebrate will be Dee Dee Bridgewater, Lalo Schifrin and B.B. King. It's hard to resist two of the most economic guitar legends of the last 60 years sharing a stage.

Disney Hall, usually a venue for high-quality jazz legends, will be offering up the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on November 22. For those who dig the old-timey shit, these guys do it well and are celebrating their 50th year of actively preserving the roots of New Orleans jazz.

Amid the one-off cabaret acts at Catalina's in Hollywood, the most promising band of heavy-hitters booked looks to be pianist Kenny Werner's all star band from December 9 through 11. With saxophonist David Sanchez, trumpeter Randy Brecker and drummer Antonio Sanchez, the band is poised to blow the roof off that club in a way that few other bands could and certainly no moonlighting television actor with delusions of artistry ever will.

So where does one go for the remaining days of the year? One venue consistently booking the most adventurous bands in our fair city is the Blue Whale in Little Tokyo. The location, obviously chosen for its rent rather than its accessibiltiy, features some of the most progressive bands willing to schelp their instruments up the stairs, whether they are members of the Los Angeles Jazz Collective or chain-smoking intellectuals from the farthest corners of Brooklyn. You can never go wrong dropping into their darkly lit, metallic treehouse for an inexpensive night of boundary-pushing music that would make any jazzbo proud.

Hesitation Blues @ LA Record

Houston Person - NYC Jazz Record

2011-12-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

Houston Person - So Nice

Since the mid ‘90s honey-toned tenor saxophonist
Houston Person has been doling out swinging discs for
the High Note label with stunning regularity. On this,
his 16th record since the beginning of that relationship,
he is in fine form with an acoustic ensemble guided by
a rock-solid rhythm section (pianist John Di Martino,
bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Lewis Nash).

The album opens with Shirley Scott’s “Blues
Everywhere” serving as a meet-and-greet for the
album’s featured soloists. Aside from the bass and
drums everyone gets a couple choruses of blues to
introduce themselves before segueing into the
Ellington ballad “All Too Soon”, which features gentle
prodding from guitarist Howard Alden behind Warren
Vaché’s languid cornet. Much like his take on the other
ballads (“Kiss and Run”, “Easy Living”) Person
delivers a solo full of whispered patience and simple
elegance. The title track opens with a brief statement
from Di Martino before trombonist Mark Patterson
steps in to drop an articulate and rousing solo over
Elmo Hope’s changes. Burt Bacharach’s “Close to You”
goes in a completely different direction from the
Carpenters hit. The track opens with just Person and
Drummond before the rest of the rhythm section jumps
in with Nash’s cymbal driving everyone towards a
swinging take on what is usually a rather sappy radio
staple. The album closes with Di Martino and Person
quietly tying together a Sondheim medley: Di Martino
tackles “Small World” alone and with great restraint
before Person steps in with a breathy “Anyone Can
Whistle” that floats to a gentle close.

With 12 songs in just under an hour Person
provides exactly what the title offers - a solid outing
from a musician with no score to settle, just a desire to
play a subdued set with a handful of indispensable
friends, as nicely as promised.

Houston Person @ NYC Jazz Record

Why So Blue Note? - LA Weekly

2011-12-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

Author's Note: The title and photo of this blog entry appear differently on the LA Weekly site.

Few genres are as protective of their past as jazz. Some might say it's all they've got.

The discipline is largely defined by the classic record labels that brought the sounds to the masses. Jazz nerds will argue the superiority of one golden recording era versus another just as stubbornly as basketball fans argue Kobe vs. LeBron.

So when, in early 2002, inoffensive songstress Norah Jones won the multi-platinum sweepstakes with her debut album Come Away With Me, it was a little surprising to see Blue Note Records -- easily one of the greatest jazz labels ever -- stamped on the back of those millions of CDs. Although Jones is hardly the only one to blame for diverting Blue Note's legacy, nearly a decade later it appears that the road has been permanently forked.

Tomorrow, December 2, adopted-Angeleno and current Blue Note artist Priscilla Ahn will provide her brand of low-key pop/folk for an evening at the El Rey. Her demure songs, aided on record by other sun-dappled six-stringers like Eleni Mandell and Charlie Wadhams, float by on whispered optimism and barefoot promises. She is a gentle and talented songwriter with a pure voice that would never have lasted a minute on Blue Note, had it not been for Norah Jones.

Started in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, the imprint hit its stride following World War II by recording some of the most significant jazz musicians of the era in a no-frills environment. Entire albums were often recorded in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey over the course of an afternoon with a carton of cigarettes. Theirs was a "good enough" approach, that succeeded largely because of the artists involved, including Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, John Coltrane, and Art Blakey.

In the mid-'90s the label released the work of mainstream hip-hop troupe Us3, who used the imprint's back catalog as source material. They were also Blue Note's first million selling act. Before long saw the emergence of Jones, who had dabbled in the New York jazz scene. She included standards like "The Nearness of You" on her debut, but the work was still a bit of a fluke for Blue Note. When that fluke went on to sell more records than their entire catalog -- combined -- she became the centerpoint of a unfortunate re-branding. This has led management to redirect much of the focus of a great jazz history towards radio hits and soccer moms.

These days Blue Note is equally divided between young jazz musicians like trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist Robert Glasper and dusty coffeehouse strummers like Amos Lee. (Not to mention a moonlighting Jeff Bridges.) Former CEO Bruce Lundvall was recently replaced by Don Was, who has made more of a name for himself producing records for the B-52s and Garth Brooks than for preserving the legacy of jazz.

Thus, performers like Jones and Ahn have been tasked with revitalizing a record label that they have very little historical connection to. Their recordings make it fairly clear that they are not looking to follow in the footsteps of Thelonious Monk.

This is not their fault, of course, but it's a distressing sign of the times, and goes against the principles that have long buoyed jazz. Pianist/songwriter Mose Allison once said in an interview that he refused to record an album with the famed Muscle Shoals rhythm section in the mid 60s. "If it was a hit I would have to keep doing them. If it failed I'd probably lose my recording contract. So I passed."

Now that Blue Note has had a hit they have been forced to decide between making jazz or making money. Is there any question about which goal is winning?

Blue Note Records @ LA Weekly

Five Funky Covers of "Feelin' Alright" - OC Weekly

2011-12-04T16:39:00.001-08:00

Five Funky Covers...

Guitar slinger Dave Mason first found fame as a member of British rock group Traffic. In the half-decade that followed, he popped up on Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower" and George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, but his most lasting legacy has been his song "Feelin' Alright." Although initially recorded by Traffic in 1968, the song began paying his bills when Joe Cocker covered it the following year. In honor of Mason's appearance at the Coach House tonight, we present five undeniably funky covers of "Feelin' Alright" that don't involve Joe Cocker.

Chairmen of the Board

Not to be confused with Frank Sinatra, this band had their biggest hit, "Give Me Just a Little More Time," with Motown's expatriated production staff Holland/Dozier/Holland. This version is a slow grind aided by harmonica and a nice squealing guitar at the end.

Jackson 5

Is it the tambourine, or what? Those Motown kids sure knew how to make you move. "Twee twiddle ee deet deet twiddle ee dee!"

Fifth Dimension

What is it with quintets and this song? This version is pretty well-indebted to the Cocker cover, with its conga drums and the vibraslap, but the horn section more than makes up for it.

West Coast Revival

This song is all about the bass part. Piano glissandos are cool and all, but if they had released only that bass track, it still would have made the list.

Orquestra Hnos Flores - "Estoy en Onda"

Saved the best for last. I don't know who these guys are or what they are singing about, but this is clearly "Feelin' Alright." Supposedly recorded in 1970, this party jam can do no wrong.

"Feelin' Alright" @ OC Weekly

Guitar Center - OC Weekly

2011-11-30T16:09:00.000-08:00

Author's Note: I do not refuse work.

Another Guitar Center is Opening

Orange County has a lot of garages but only a select few of them are used for actually storing cars. Most of them function as what Marc Maron once referred to as the "museum of forgotten hobbies." But for every dusty treadmill or beer brewing kit that lies neglected there are hundreds of determined bands strumming and drumming towards their dreams of stardom. And those bands need equipment. And probably some sound proofing.

Just in time for gift-giving season, Guitar Center will open their newest location at the Block in Orange this weekend. But this isn't just your average music store. This place is looking like the supergranddaddyCostcomegawarehouse of sound.

Aside from offering the usual necessities (instruments, amps, strobe lights, ear plugs) the facility will include a learning center that will offer not only instrument lessons but also recording studio lessons and a space dedicated solely to repairing instruments. (There's no excuse for that 5-string guitar of yours now!)

For their opening weekend blowout, Guitar Center will be offering up a truckload of giveaways, a very slim chance of recording with Travis Barker, discounted lessons (up to 89% off means you don't have to practice as hard) as well as clinics by Guitar Hero's Marcus Henderson (Friday) a music production class with the makers of Pro Tools (Saturday) and a performance by Devo and Puscifer stickman Jeff Friedl (Sunday).

So take advantage of the great musical blowout and do your part to help another generation of hopefuls learn the opening riff to "Smoke on the Water."

Guitar Center @ OC Weekly

Raunchy Food Blues - OC Weekly

2011-11-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

Five Platters of Raunchy Food Blues

As we discovered in an earlier post, many songs about food are mostly about trying to get laid but it would appear for a lot of early blues musicians every song about food was about sex.

Now perhaps it's just my prurient imagination and I'm misinterpreting these great blues classics but when a man sings "I tasted last night, the night before. If I keep this appetite I'm going to taste a little more," he is probably not referring to sitting at the dinner table.

Here are five raunchy blues classics that might inspire you to put on a bib of your own.

Tampa Red, "What is that Tastes Like Gravy"

"Now the gal that let me taste it, they put her in jail but she didn't need nothing to go her bail. She had stuff tastes like gravy and I bet you don't know." Tampa Red, who confusingly made a name for himself in Chicago, not only sang this little ditty but also gave us "Tight Like That" and "Let Me Play With Your Poodle." It is not likely he's singing about putting things on mashed potatoes.

Blind Boy Fuller & Sonny Terry, "I Want Some of Your Pie"

"You got to give me some of it 'fore you give it all away." As a blind, blues-slinging jailbird Fuller had limited options for a career. In just five years in the mid 30s he recorded over 120 songs including this sly ode to a rather popular lady with an assist from fellow blind blues legend Sonny Terry.

Bessie Smith, "Nobody Can Bake A Sweet Jelly Roll Like Mine"

"It's worth lots of dough, the boys tell me so. It's fresh every day, you'll hear 'em all say." The double entendres weren't limited to dirty old men. There was also room for dirty old women. Blues shouter Bessie Smith was one of the most influential early female vocalists and this slow jam proves she could wink and nod as well as any of her male counterparts.

Memphis Minnie, "My Butcher Man"

"Butcher man, in the morning, won't you please stop by my house. I've got enough butcherin' for you to do if you promise me you just only hush your mouth." Memphis Minnie could not only sing but she could wield a mean guitar. Here she makes a convincing argument for shopping local.

Bo Carter, "Banana in your Fruit Basket"

"Now I got the dasher, my baby got the churn. We gonna churn, churn, churn until the butter come." This one is just dirty, dirty, dirty. Carter, born Armenter Chatmon, also gave the world "Your Biscuits are Big Enough for Me" and the less than subtle "Please Warm My Weiner." In retrospect "Banana..." is probably one of his more tasteful tributes.

Five Platters of Raunchy Food Blues @ OC Weekly

Leftover Blues - OC Weekly

2011-11-29T11:16:00.000-08:00

Five Songs to Help Defeat the Leftover Blues - OC Weekly

Although Black Friday is known for shopping, it is also known as the beginning of the leftover parade. If you want to make room for non-gravy doused foods in your fridge, you'll need all the help you can get.

Here are five golden oldies that can help lessen the blow of a week's worth of leftovers.

Nick Lowe & Rockpile, "Let's Eat"

"Let's eat! Let's eat! Let's eat!" Impresario and man-about-town Nick Lowe recorded this little ditty with help from professional super-grouper Dave Edmunds in the late 70s. Although they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in England, they do eat food.

The Beach Boys, "Getting' Hungry"

Despite the fact that the Boys are singing about getting hungry for "my kind of woman," it is no secret that in 1967, Brian Wilson was hungry for pretty much anything he could get his hands on.

The Kinks, "Maximum Consumption"

"Don't you know you gotta eat food? Don't you know you gotta refuel?" Although the four members of the Kinks probably weighed less than 500lbs between them, they certainly had a grasp on the importance of eating.

Paul Revere & the Raiders, "Hungry"

"I can almost taste it, baby." Okay, so most songs about hunger are probably just as much about lust. Nonetheless, lead singer Paul Revere Dick (no kidding!) once owned several restaurants in his native Idaho. How's that for credibility?

Paul & Linda McCartney, "Eat At Home"

Although John Lennon's "Cold Turkey" may have been an instinctual choice, that song has nothing to do with refrigerated birds and everything to do with hypodermic needles. But Macca, with the help of his lady Linda, highlights the finer points of both staying at home and eating -- two much more satisfying activities than buying a flat-screen television at 4am.
Defeat the Leftover Blues @ OC Weekly

Great Guitarists with Less Digits - OC Weekly

2011-11-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

A Brief History of Great Guitarists with Less Digits - OC Weekly

This Friday and Saturday evening at Segerstrom Hall, guitarist Dorado Schmitt will present an evening dedicated to Django Reinhardt.

In the 1940s Reinhardt created and perfected the "gypsy jazz" genre leaving most anyone else playing that style of music to sit in his immense shadow, performing what amounts to a jazz cover band. Reinhardt's unmistakable drummer-less quintet featured the rhythm guitar work of his brother Joseph and the swinging strings of Stephane Grappelli's violin. Their unique sound laid the foundation for Reinhardt's inimitable acoustic guitar work.

What makes Reinhardt all the more incredible was the fact that he only had three functioning fingers on his left hand. While in his late teens Reinhardt was badly burned during a fire in his home. Although he did not lose his fingers, they were essentially useless. Reinhardt managed to pluck his fluid runs without the use of his middle and ring finger. Few men equipped with all ten of their fingers can create the sounds he made but he was not alone in his handicap.

Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia, epic Grateful Dead noodler and failed heroin hobbyist, was missing the middle finger of his right hand. At the age of four, much like a disinterested Margot Tennebaum, Garcia lost two-thirds of his finger to an axe while holding a piece of wood steady for his older brother. His tender nubbin rarely prevented him from carrying on for hours at a time but perhaps that was his only way of giving the finger to those who objected to his lifestyle.

Tony Iommi
Black Sabbath riff master Tony Iommi is also missing a few fingerprints. In the most Dickensian way possible he lost the middle and ring fingertips on his right hand to a sheet metal factory at the age of 17. Curiously Iommi plays the guitar left-handed forcing him to wear small caps on his fingertips. Since this happened long before his reign with Black Sabbath it is unlikely to prevent him from sparing us the impending reunion cash-in.

Hound Dog Taylor
Bonus! To balance out this rather morbid post it is important to recognize blues strummer Hound Dog Taylor. Unlike the aforementioned slingers, Taylor was born with an extra finger on his left hand! Unfortunately this did not result in any super-human strengths or even new chord formations but it did make his paws more memorable than his songs.
Django Reinhardt @ OC Weekly

Lisa Mezzacappa Review - LA Weekly

2011-11-18T17:04:00.000-08:00

Lisa Mezzacappa's Bait & Switch
Blue Whale
11-17-11

Better than...trying to play those tunes myself.

Last night, long after many of Little Tokyo's residents had gone to sleep, bassist LIsa Mezzacappa presented her band Bait & Switch to a small but appreciative audience at the Blue Whale. The quartet consisted of the same folks she recorded her award-winning debut with last year: saxophonist Aaron Bennett, guitarist John Finkbeiner and drummer Vijay Anderson.

The band opened with a loping composition that eventually gave way to Bennett's fiery tenor, embodying the switch aspect of the band's name. His breathless jaunts could stop on a dime, often giving way to a more subtle groove before the band devolved into a tempo-less crawl.

The tune that followed, inspired by drumming legend Tony Williams, was also a saxophone feature. With Anderson's cymbal riding alongside Finkbeiner's sputtering guitar, Bennett launched into another jaunt that eventually found him blowing alone, interjecting subtle hard-bop riffs into an otherwise cacophonous assault.

With Mezzacappa and Anderson refraining from any direct solos, all of that work was handled by Finkbeiner and Bennett. Finkbeiner remained the stoic guitarist, summoning fractured phrases from his small axe while Bennett parried with an invisible opponent, fencing his way through Mezzacappa's complicated compositions. There were times when I considered the location of the nearest hospital, should his brain explode in the middle of one of his more breathless passages.

An homage to a South American ant invasion opened and closed with Mezzacappa's otherworldly bowed bass sounds. Her long tones were driven by Finkbeiner's chunky march, before leading to a spidery solo by the axe-man himself.

The only composition not written by Mezzcappa was a performance of an Art Ensemble of Chicago piece that felt old-timey in relation to the rest of the set. The band adopted a laidback strut that included touches of swing and a quieter pulse that was briefly interrupted by another Bennett assault.

The band closed out with a tune that had the subtlest of backbeats and a beautiful bowed bass line supported by the saxophone. A jagged guitar solo led to demure pizzicato riffs from everyone while Anderson's drums clattered like the sound of a thousand fidgety drummers.

By the time the band had finished, the number of paying attendees had quadrupled and everyone in the room had quiet reverence for Mezzacappa's ability to wield the bass and a pen. Her unimposing stage presence only worked to hide her natural command of the four-stringed beast that she would inevitably have to carry down three flights of stairs at the end of the night.

Personal Bias: I like dinner party music.

The Crowd: Wine sippers.

Random Notebook Dump: Perhaps there would have been a bigger crowd had they not been arrested for occupying buildings down the street.

Lisa Mezzacappa Review @ LA Weekly

Lisa Mezzacappa Preview - LA Weekly

2011-11-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

Lisa Mezzacappa Does Not Make Dinner Music

Upright bassist Lisa Mezzacappa has been building a steady reputation in northern California for the last decade. Her nimble basslines and arresting compositions have brought her beyond the Bay Area, where she lives, including a rare tour through Los Angeles. Her band the Bait & Switch performs at Little Tokyo's Blue Whale tonight.

Although she doesn't perform here much, she serves as curator for the Hammer Museum JazzPop series. "That's a good excuse to stay connected to the scene," says Mezzacappa, calling from her home in San Francisco. "Keeping that exchange between the Bay Area and L.A. is important. There is so much wonderful stuff out there beyond New York. It's like, 'Oh my god we have a jazz festival without it being all New Yorkers!'"

That said, Mezzacappa does have some experience in the Big Apple. She grew up in Staten island, before moving out to California for grad school at UC Berkeley. "I was intending to stay only for a little while. Then I got completely pulled into the Bay Area scene."

Part of more than a dozen ensembles, Mezzacappa is finally making waves with her own compositions. Aided by frenetic saxophonist Aaron Bennett and a rhythm section that includes guitarist John Finkbeiner and drummer Vijay Anderson, she released her debut album last year, What is Known, and won the Best Debut award in the Village Voice jazz poll.

"I think it's just nice to be part of a conversation," she says. "But as a New Yorker it was pretty fun to be on that list. I used to wait for that list every year."

The album is definitely not dinner party music. From the first downbeat, the band attacks with a stuttering honk that explodes into elastic guitar lines and relentless drive. The music commands attention, drawing its influences from some of the avant garde slingers of the 1970s, including Terry Riley, Sun Ra and Henry Threadgill.

"I met Henry at UC Berkeley," Mezzacappa says. "I was mostly focused on academia, but after working with him I knew what I wanted to do." But despite all the intellectual heaviness, the band can be funny, too. A propulsive take on Captain Beefheart's "Lick My Decals Off, Baby" could rattle a listener's dental work out if they aren't careful.

Out of the top fifty records on last year's Village Voice poll, only seven of them were led or co-led by women, but Mezzacappa doesn't see this as much of an obstacle. "I feel like it is becoming less and less of an issue," she says. "Now it seems like there is so much more going on and I've gotten more support because of it - playing this crazy instrument in particular. I feel more supported than thwarted."

With that powerhouse band, her compositional chops and an album to back it up, she shouldn't feel any other way.

Lisa Mezzacappa @ LA Weekly

Kenny Burrell 80th Birthday - LA Weekly

2011-11-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

Kenny Burrell: 80 Years Young with BB King, Stevie Wonder and more

On Saturday night guitarist and UCLA jazz studies director Kenny Burrell celebrated his 80th birthday alongside his colleagues, his students and some legends at Royce Hall. The concert, which lasted over five hours, saw Burrell working as an emcee, composer, bandleader, soundman, stagehand and, occasionally, guitarist.

The evening opened with a brief set by Burrell's "Jazz Heritage All Stars," a group that included UCLA staffers, including bassist Roberto Miranda, and trombonist George Bohannon, pianist Llew Matthews. The band worked their way through a couple of tight workouts before relinquishing the stage to a frail Lalo Schifrin, who scuttled through a handful of disorienting licks on the piano before being joined by Burrell for a run through their former employer Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma." Flashes of Schifrin's Argentinean stride and drummer Clayton Cameron's youthful brushwork redeemed what had been a rather shaky set.

After a few muffled compliments, Schifrin made way for UCLA's vocal ensemble - a 19 piece choir and a very timid rhythm section comprised of a few gangly student instrumentalists. Burrell, ever the master, commanded the group as they sang his lyrics of "helping the little children," providing a brief glimpse of the program's works in progress.

As the choir exited, Burrell enlightened the crowd for ten minutes as the overworked stagehands set up for what would be the highlight of the night. Looking like the Roots crew celebrating Mos Def's 80th birthday, B.B. King and his eight piece band of tuxedoed, eye-patched professionals hit the stage looking to entertain.

Although seated -- and six years older than Burrell -- King who made the evening actually feel like a party. The thrill was there with a boisterous set of crowd pleasers that had the audience giving a standing ovation before King played his first note. Following their solid set, Burrell joined the band for a couple of blues jams, providing a rare opportunity to see two of the most economical guitarists of their genres trade licks.

As if that wasn't enough, Stevie Wonder strode out, unannounced, harmonica in hand, to wish Burrell a happy birthday and enjoy his time on stage as one of the young guns. Naturally Dee Dee Bridgewater had to be a part of the celebration and joined them to improvise some blues lyrics behind the masters' guitars and Wonder's bending chromatics. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that had the crowd on their feet repeatedly. Unfortunately, then came the intermission.

Following the 55 (!) minute intermission, Burrell returned to fulfill a few of his dreams. With a full jazz orchestra and the UCLA Philharmonia crowding the stage, there were nearly 200 people at Burrell's disposable, many of them stone-faced classical students up way past their bedtime.

The final two hours consisted of newly commissioned pieces both relevant and completely irrelevant to Burrell's birthday. Bridgewater traded some soulful riffs with Burrell on "Soulero" while the man of the honor had nothing to do with Neal Stulberg's "Pax Humana." It was a strange and exhausting set made worse by the fact that the house lights remained on for the second half, making it glaringly obvious how many people had left after the fourth hour and how those who remained were unable to respectfully sleep in peace.

Prior to the show there had been rumblings in the audience about the duration of Burrell's 75th birthday celebration. For his 80th, between the over-programming (the concert should have been spread out over a weekend) and the absurd amount of set-up time required for each new performer, the show went two hours later than scheduled and left many audience members in a daze.

But Burrell still sounds as good as ever. His elegant tone and his ability to not waste a note sounds as great as when he debuted sixty years ago. His boundless enthusiasm and willingness to run everywhere for everyone made me wish I could be at least half as active when I enter my 80th year.

Personal Bias: I stayed awake through all of Kenny Burrell's Ellingtonia classes.

The Crowd: Split evenly between those planning their own 80th birthday party and their 18th.

Random Notebook Dump: Only an 80-year-old man would start a jazz show at 7 at night.

Kenny Burrell @ LA Weekly

Van Dyke Parks/Inara George - LA Weekly

2011-11-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

Van Dyke Parks/Inara George - Getty - 11/5/11 - LA Weekly

Better than...listening to Shelley Duvall sing for an hour and a half.

High above the 405, in a theater as steep as the mountain it's built upon, composer/lyricist/raconteur Van Dyke Parks offered a personal career retrospective. Before a full house of graying beards and fedoras -- and as part of Pacific Standard Time -- Parks was joined by pixie vocalist Inara George for much of the concert, including a complete performance of their 2008 collaboration "An Invitation."

Parks and George were supported by a fourteen piece chamber orchestra that was stocked exclusively with swaying strings and mellow woodwinds. Without the benefit of drums, much of the rhythmic work was carried by Parks' heavy-fisted piano and the lone soloist of the evening, guitarist Grant Geissman. The orchestra was placed on one half of the stage, with Parks loosely conducting from his score-draped piano. George occupied the other half, occasionally supported by three limber dancers in tattered, sleeveless formal wear.

The first half of the performance was as much about George as it was Parks. She stood out among the entirely black-clad orchestra in a white dress with a long train. It had the look of folded wings during her nearly motionless performance. Her impossibly pure soprano was nimbly supported by Parks' unmistakable arrangements of see-sawing violins and syncopated basslines. The delicate tango of "Idaho" was matched by the subdued lust of "Dirty White," which featured a breathtaking (and slightly nerve-wracking) dance that had choreographer Lexi Pearl dangling nearly 40 feet above the stage.

The second half focused on the rest of Parks' career, visiting songs like "The All Golden" from his late-'60s masterwork Song Cycle, and "Orange Crate Art," his mid-'90s collaboration with Brian Wilson. George returned for a few barefoot duets including a close-harmonied "Opportunity for Two." Through it all Parks was as entertaining between songs as he was in the midst of them, touching upon everything from Qantas to Darwinism and referring to the concert itself as "a testament to durable goods."

The encore featured a bouncing performance of the Nilsson-penned, Popeye classic "He Needs Me." George gave a smiling and earnest reading that put Shelley Duval to shame.

Impressively, the orchestra only had one rehearsal and had never played any of the evening's repertoire before an audience. Clearly the group had been loaded with ringers, though, because they ebbed and flowed effortlessly, responding to every one of Parks' hasty gestures with amazing precision. At 68, Parks still has the energy of a schoolboy, even kneeling and bowing towards the end of his concert in one of countless humble acknowledgements of the audience. It was an excellent performance by an unsung master of popular song whose way with words is as sharp as ever.

Personal Bias: "Columnated ruins domino" is one of the greatest song lyrics ever.

The Crowd: Out of 600 seats, seemingly the great majority were on the guest list.

Random Notebook Dump: Eric Idle held the men's room door open for me.

Van Dyke/Inara @ LA Weekly

Beach Boys' Tour of Hawthorne - LA Weekly

2011-11-02T23:37:00.000-07:00

The Beach Boys' Hawthorne

Today Capitol Records releases one of the greatest lost albums of all time -- the Beach Boys' Smile. Brian Wilson intended this "teenage symphony to God" as a follow-up to Pet Sounds and countless tapes were recorded. But owing to a hazy blitz of paranoia and group in-fighting, the work has never seen official release until now. (Although Wilson re-recorded a solo version of Smile five years ago, this new box set features the rest of the group, and the original recordings.)

But allow us to go back in time. Before they broke big, the Beach Boys were just a clean-cut bunch of boys from the tiny suburb of Hawthorne, California, a tract home community that connects the South Bay, South Central and the Westside. Brian Wilson and his brothers, Carl and Dennis, lived there until their teens, shaping many of the suburban fantasies that would make them a household name. On the occasion of the unearthing of their lost classic, here's our tour of spots in the town that loom large in Beach Boys lore.

Hawthorne High School
4859 West El Segundo Boulevard

Long before they recorded songs by Charles Manson, the Beach Boys stressed the importance of being "true to your school." Hawthorne High educated all three Wilson brothers as well as Al Jardine. The band lived up to their commitment by returning to perform for the school prom in 1969.

Fosters Freeze
11969 Hawthorne Boulevard

This small hamburger stand on Hawthorne Boulevard was a regular hang-out for the Wilson family. It was amid the ketchup-stained picnic tables that the boys saw the T-bird they would lust over in "Fun, Fun, Fun." It is unclear though where they first heard the Chuck Berry riff they would marry it to.

Pizza Show
13344 Hawthorne Boulevard

It is unlikely that Pizza Show has changed a single fixture since opening 55 years ago. With murals of Italian villas, cozy booths and a walk-up window, the restaurant has been one of the few constants in an evolving town. Brian often ate here.

Beach Boys Historical Landmark
3701 West 119th Street

Out of the nearly 1050 historical landmarks scattered across California, only one of them was erected in the name of rock n' roll. California historical landmark #1041 roughly marks the spot where the Wilson brothers grew up. (Their house was demolished to make way for the 105 freeway.) The spot is six miles from the ocean, and it commemorates hardship as much as success because the three brothers spent most of their time their cowering from their tyrant father. Still, it is where, on Labor Day weekend 1961, the boys recorded their first song, "Surfin'," along with cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine.

The sculpture on the landmark is an homage to the band's Surfer Girl album. It depicts both original member David Marks and Al Jardine, even though Jardine is not in the original photo. Although the Beach Boys famously declared "everybody's going surfing" only Dennis had any interest in even putting a toe into the Pacific.

The landmark was erected in 2005 with help from public donations and the extended Beach Boys family. Brian Wilson not only attended the unveiling but also performed. Mike Love was noticeably absent.

Beach Boys @ LA Weekly

Blanchard & Sanchez - NYC Jazz Record

2011-11-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

Terence Blanchard & Poncho Sanchez - Chano y Dizzy!

Chano Pozo passed away at the age of 33 over 60 years
ago but his legacy as a conguero is still strong today.
Despite his brief tenure with Dizzy Gillespie, Pozo’s
influence on the bebop trumpeter was immeasurable,
resulting in a fascination with Cuban rhythms that
would last a lifetime and influence countless other
musicians. For his new album, percussionist Poncho
Sanchez has brought in trumpeter Terence Blanchard
not necessarily to fill Dizzy’s shoes but certainly wear
them for an hour and pay homage to their brief but
pioneering partnership. Thankfully Blanchard does
not often reach for the Gillespie pyrotechnics but
instead focuses on honoring the tunes and legacy in his
own more economical style.

The album opens with a medley of Gillespieassociated,
Pozo-penned tunes: “Tin Tin Deo”,
“Manteca” and “Guachi Guaro”. Sanchez’ vocals and
Blanchard’s trumpet dance around each other before
the full band jumps in with forceful montunos and a
wall of percussion. “Con Alma” and the Blanchardpenned
“Wandering Wonder” find the trumpeter
hopping around the changes before giving way to
Sanchez’ grizzled palms while “Siboney” displays
Blanchard’s drippy take on the cha-cha until the band
joins in with an upbeat chanting of the title. Bop
standard “Groovin’ High” gets a medium tempo and
infectious rhythmic battle that closes by summoning
the ghost of another trumpeter, Miles Davis, with a
short riff on “Four”. The album closes with Pozo’s
“Arinanara” - an upbeat tune that can’t help but fill the
dancefloor. Sanchez and bassist Tony Banda’s vocals
propel the intro into an all-out percussive assault over
which Blanchard blares with ease.

Sanchez is a prolific bandleader who never slows
down. His infectious rhythms are on full display with
this recording, a charming homage to a vital jazz
crossroads.

Blanchard & Sanchez @ NYC Jazz Record

Junior Mance - NYC Jazz Record

2011-11-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Junior Mance Quintet - Letter From Home

Pianist Junior Mance can trace his career back to the
late ‘40s playing alongside Gene Ammons. His soulful
hands have accompanied everyone from Lester Young
to Buddy Guy. Mance has been swinging weekly at
Greenwich Village’s Café Loup for the last few years.
The crowd can vary wildly from pin-drop attention to
cackling oblivion but Mance’s swinging blues always
purrs alongside tasteful bassist Hide Tanaka. Once a
month Mance gets to bring in a full band and Letter
From Home documents a quintet before an appreciative
audience.

The band jumps out of the gate with an uptempo
6/8 strut called “Holy Mama” - the first of three tunes
to stretch over ten minutes, capturing the free-blowing
nature of the gig. Everyone chimes in with a few
choruses, Mance contributing an elegant, two-fisted
bout that shows why he is the boss. A dirge-y “Home
on the Range” finds Mance strolling solo before the
band kicks in with a throaty turn through that campfire
classic. The stop-start “Jubilation” and title song find
the horns in tight unison with tenor saxophonist Ryan
Anselmi wailing recklessly over the hard-driving
band. The dual saxophone lineup tackles Mance’s
compositions with just the right amount of soul-jazz
vigor, Andrew Hadro’s baritone proving a great
guttural counterpoint to Tanaka’s confident bass lines.
The album closes with an Ellington medley that
consists only of “Sunset and the Mockingbird” and “A
Flower is a Lovesome Thing”. The quintet slowly
rumbles through the two tunes, barely tying them
together with a lulled decrescendo.

Mance is a legend who is perhaps neglected
because he is so easily accessible. His refined touch is a
direct link to a history of long-passed pioneers. He
carries that flame well and this recording is a fine
example of his years of swinging experience.

Junior Mance @ NYC Jazz Record

25th Anniversary Catalina Jazz - LA Weekly

2011-10-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

Alex Acuna, Barbara Morrison, Marcus Miller @ Catalina - October 17, 2011

Better than...watching half of Ken Burns' Jazz in one sitting.

Even in the heyday of jazz clubs (a day long since past) a venue was lucky if it stayed afloat for a few years. Last night, Hollywood's Catalina Bar & Grill celebrated two and a half decades as one of Los Angeles' most significant jazz clubs. It's still vibrant and swinging, but most of the attendees and performers were old enough to have been sitting at the bar back in 1986. The room was sold-out for a nearly four hour marathon of music and memories, presented by a crackerjack roster of over two dozen first-call jazzbos.

Jazz clubs, unlike most other genres, are often defined by their owners. Trying to make a living out of presenting jazz is a hands-on career that requires a physical presence few people are willing to commit to. Catalina Popescu, the club's namesake, was as much an honoree last night with every performer on stage extending their gratitude for a quarter century of service to Los Angeles' diminishing jazz community. Originally nestled on a seedy strip of Cahuenga, Catalina moved eight years ago to a cavernous business complex on Sunset Boulevard that even the biggest name has a hard time filling. With over 300 seats it is a rare treat to see the room even a quarter full, let alone standing room only on a Monday night.

The show was MC'd by KKJZ's Bubba Jackson who, along with musical director John Beasley, managed to keep the show moving fairly briskly considering the number of egos waiting for the spotlight.

A rotating rhythm section saw pianists George Kahn and David Benoit tackle a few swinging standards before flutist Hubert Laws engaged in a couple of smokey collaborations with vocalist Tierney Sutton. Fusion mainstays the Yellowjackets followed, making the audience understandably wary of six-stringed basses.

Between raffles and remembrances, the crowd began to squirm and chatter before finally being silenced by the latin contigent - saxophonist Justo Almario, pianist Otmario Ruiz, trumpeter Bobby Rodriguez and percussionist Alex Acuna. They helped to rejuvenate the crowd with a rousing version of the bop standard "A Night in Tunisia" with Rodriguez doing his best to summon the ghost of Dizzy Gillespie.

Shortly afterward, electric bassist Marcus Miller took the stage to presumably test the limits of the club's sound system. His glass rattling pyrotechnics were aided by drummer Ndugu Chanceler, keyboardist Patrice Rushen and guitar shredder Lee Ritenour, who brought the energy to an undeniable peak. The evening closed with a short set by vocalist Barbara Morrison who, despite her recent health setbacks, showed that her inimitable vocal chords and stage presence were still very much intact. After a couple of tunes, her contemplative take on "That's All" wasn't enough for the crowd, as they demanded an encore. She obliged by belting out "Swhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifeet Home Chicago" with help from another vocal legend - Bill Henderson.

Each performer, a headliner in their own right, came together in a display of camaraderie and respect that testifies to the significance of a venue like Catalina to the Los Angeles jazz community. Here's hoping for another twenty-five years.

Personal Bias: I like the old club better.

Random Notebook Dump: If a performer in a wheelchair demands that you "stand up and dance!" then you stand up and dance.

Catalina's 25th @ LA Weekly

Jazzbos & Presidents - LA Weekly

2011-10-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

Duke Ellington and Richard Nixon spend some QT

Sonny Rollins is one of the greatest living jazz musicians. Since his first recording session with trombonist J.J. Johnson in 1949, he has relentlessly dedicated himself to discovering the limits of the honking beast. This Thursday he's at UCLA as part of a powerhouse quintet that will likely send shivers down your spine.

That's all well and good, but has he had his picture taken with any presidents? Absolutely! Earlier this year, President Obama awkwardly bestowed the National Medal of Arts upon him. Despite jazz's origins in back alleys and brothels, the genre has worked its way into white houses and other official venues. Thus, we now present you a new feature, albeit one you will never see here again: Pictures Of Jazz Players With Presidents!

Jimmy Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, drummer Max Roach
No matter how many times Dizzy makes a "Salt Peanuts" joke, you have to laugh.

Cab Calloway, Ladybird Johnson, Lyndon Johnson, vocalist Pearl Bailey
Lyndon Johnson is relieved to learn that the Hi De Ho Man and Ho Chi Minh are two very different people.

Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton and George W. Bush
Bush goes in for the forehead kiss.

Ronald Reagan and Ray Charles
Reagan introduces his newest Secretary of Transportation.

Sonny Rollins and Barack Obama
Obama ponders how gray his hair will be in a year.

Bill Clinton and bassist Ron Carter
After countless impassioned requests, bassist Ron Carter finally lets Clinton do his Stan Getz impression.

Jazz and Presidents @ LA Weekly

Gerald Wilson - NYC Jazz Record

2011-10-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Gerald Wilson - Legacy

In regards to jazz textbooks, Gerald Wilson used to tell
his students, “If I’m not in it, it’s not worth buying.”
That may be boastful but it is also entirely true. Since
the late ‘30s Gerald Wilson has played, written,
arranged and conducted with some of the most
important large ensembles in jazz, from Jimmie
Lunceford to Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Charles but he has
kept some of his best material for his own orchestra.

At 92 years old Wilson is a living legend who
practically defines the sound of West Coast big band.
He could easily rest on those accolades. Instead Wilson
has released Legacy, his fifth album of original material
since turning 80. The title is an apt one but Dynasty
might be even better considering the performance and
composing contributions from Wilson’s son Anthony
and grandson Eric Otis. Armed with some of the best
session musicians from both coasts (drummer Lewis
Nash, bassist Peter Washington, saxophonist Antonio
Hart), Wilson presents a set of lush compositions that
manages to address everyone from Claude Debussy
(“Variations On Clair De Lune”) to Michael Jordan
(“Cubs, Bears, Bulls and White Sox” from his 15 minute
suite dedicated to Chicago). The album opens with
Wilson’s tribute to Stravinsky by way of Ian Fleming,
injecting a brassy swing into a “Firebird” theme to
pleasant effect. Anthony Wilson’s contribution,
“Virgo”, features meditative small combo interplay
with nice unison lines between pianist Renee Rosnes
and Anthony’s guitar while Otis’ “September Sky” fits
in with the rest of the family, sensuously gliding
through a series of descending phrases.

The second half of the album “Yes Chicago Is...” is
a set of short movements that gives the horn players a
little room to shine before returning to Wilson’s dense
cloud of brass and swing. Wilson’s graceful homage to
the Windy City is a concise display of his great writing
and bandleading talents, with punctual brass and
imaginative progressions immaculately executed by an
allstar orchestra. It is always a pleasure to hear Gerald
Wilson at work. His passion seeps from every note and
this new album only further solidifies his status.

Gerald Wilson @ NYC Jazz Record

Eugene Marlow - NYC Jazz Record

2011-10-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

Eugene Marlow Heritage Ensemble - A Fresh Take

Although this is the third release by Eugene Marlow’s
Heritage Ensemble, all but one of the nine tunes here
appeared on their debut release five years ago. The
difference on this new album is that pianist Marlow
has equipped himself with the twin attack of drummer
Bobby Sanabria and percussionist Cristian Rivera,
resulting in a cross-cultural collaboration that spins
and grooves briskly throughout.

The “heritage” in question is that of the Israelites.
All of the songs performed by Marlow’s ensemble are
Hebraic melodies - a source that works primarily
because the arrangements simply highlight the band’s
camaraderie. The album introduces itself with a
popping Latin pulse that immediately showcases the
strong interplay between the drummers. Like later
track “Bilbililos”, saxophonist Michael Hashim draws
Middle Eastern-tinged riffs from his shrill soprano,
flickering throughout his range before making way for
a drum solo. “Heine Ma Tov” has a light boogaloo feel
while Marlow’s wandering introduction to “V’Taher
Lebeinu/Yis Ma Chu” evokes a little “My Heart
Belongs to Daddy” before the entire band churns
through a straightahead blast that quietly returns to its
subtle beginnings.

“Adon Olam”, the lone new addition to the
repertoire, features Marlow’s piano in unison with
vocalist Rachel Kara Perez. Singing in Hebrew, Perez’
voice drifts and sighs for most of the song but it never
really builds much and the extended jam ends with a
crash of the cymbals. The album closes with “Avinu
Malkeinu” - a percussive stampede as energetic as the
opener. Hashim wails over an unending barrage of
percussion that pushes everyone else to a frenetic pace
with great support from Marlow.

All of the tracks are tinged by a modal sensibility
that barely dances with the realm of world music.
Marlow’s use of Hebraic melodies is an interesting
idea. It isn’t necessary to know the reference material
to enjoy the album. It may help but most importantly
the album transcends the cultural specificity of the
songs and just sounds like a well-oiled jazz band
working through a set of original arrangements.

Eugene Marlow @ NYC Jazz Record

We Want Miles - NYC Jazz Record

2011-09-08T10:29:00.001-07:00

We Want Miles - Vincent Bessieres and Franck Bergerot

Few would argue that Miles Davis was the most
influential jazz artist of the second half of the 20th
century. His style, both onstage and off, was the
template for countless artists who followed him
whether they plugged in their instruments or
widened their ties. He was at the forefront of each
major change in the genre every time he picked up
his horn. We Want Miles, the book accompanying the
Davis retrospective hosted by Montreal’s Museum
of Fine Arts last year, is an amazing package of
remembrance that includes an unparalleled
collection of photographs and stories that succinctly
sums up the trumpeter’s wild career from the
suburbs of St. Louis to the high-rises of Manhattan.

The intimate photos, of which there are hundreds,
follow Davis from over-sized three-button suits in
the back corner of Eddie Randle’s Rhumboogie
Orchestra to standing outside of his bright yellow,
street-parked Ferrari and employing Andy Warhol
to carry the five-foot train attached to his jacket.
Buried in the images are small details that attest to
the intimacy of these rarely seen images, whether it
is a bottle of Ballantines resting on a studio piano or
a sheet of newspaper separating Davis’ sequined
pants from a grassy British parking lot.

Amid the imagery is a biography gracefully
composed by French journalist Franck Bergerot with
amusing testimonies from Ira Gitler about provoking
Davis into working harder during an early recording
date and Dave Liebman remembering his days
onstage with ‘70s-era Davis, who communicated
almost entirely through sonic hypnosis with his
youthful bandmates. The narrative covers all his
periods from bop to electric and is unbiased about
the importance of each adventurous twist.

20 years to the month after Davis’ passing his
influence has only become stronger. In this one
beautifully designed book, the Montreal Museum of
Fine Arts provides ample evidence for this
lionization. From the biography to the photos to the
color-driven layout, everything is beautifully
presented. This is a great coffee table book for
anyone interested in the image and ego Davis’ music
worked so hard to support.

We Want Miles @ NYC Jazz Record

Dave King Trucking Company - NYC Jazz Record

2011-09-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

Dave King Trucking Company - Good Old Light

Anybody familiar with Dave King’s day job as the
drummer for The Bad Plus knows that he doesn’t so
much play the drums as pummel them. For his first
album under the Dave King Trucking Company
moniker, one of nine bands he works with, King brings
his full spirit but in a quintet that grasps a range of
influences including everything from turtle-necked
chamber music to atmospheric Brit pop.

The album opens with King on a prepared piano,
reedy vibrations popping up from his meditative
exploration. The four-minute track provides an
ominous start to an otherwise vibrant record. The full
band comes in on the second track, “You Can’t Say
‘Poem in Concrete’”, with King providing a heavy
backbeat to guitarist Erik Fratzke’s rigid barre chords
before saxophonist Chris Speed unleashes his fiery
honk over a shifting montuno. The first inklings of
straightahead swing arrive midway through the album
courtesy of the only track King did not write - Fratzke’s
“Night Tram”. The track lurches into an eventual
blowing opportunity that highlights both King and
bassist Adam Linz’ inherent rhythmic compatibility.
The ten-minute long “Hawks over Traffic” finds the
band embracing their inner Mahavishnu Orchestra,
Fratzke as sharp and punchy as John McLaughlin,
until they begin unraveling the same unison riff for
nearly four minutes with aggressively spacious
repetition. The final track, “The Road Leads Home”,
returns to King’s taste for minimalist variations. His
instrumentation, which includes two tenor saxes and
two stringed instruments, allows him to phase riffs in
and out with subtle dissonance. Midway through the
song the band makes a right turn with churning funk
from Fratzke and the bell of King’s cymbal hedging
close to all out rock ‘n’ roll before abruptly stopping.

Good Old Light is an interesting album from a very
busy man that leans as much on rock as it does on jazz.
King’s talents as a composer and arranger are engaging,
with his painstaking use of space and bombast
scattered everywhere. Worthwhile listening, if you are
ready for it.

Dave King Trucking Company @ NYC Jazz Record

Brenda Holloway - LA Weekly

2011-08-24T11:00:00.001-07:00

Brenda Holloway Interview - LA Weekly

Will Sunset Junction happen this weekend? It very well may, and if it does we highly recommend checking out Brenda Holloway, who plays the Hoover Stage on Saturday, August 27th at 6:30.

While still a teenager Holloway, a Watts native, began a promising career as a Motown singer. But despite hits like "Every Little Bit Hurts" and "When I'm Gone," she got lost in the Hitsville USA shuffle and retired from recording at age 25. On Saturday, Holloway will join fellow Motowners Kim Weston and the original Vandellas for a set of classic songs and Diana Ross jokes. Ms. Holloway reminisced with us by phone recently while enjoying an early breakfast.

How did you become a Motown artist?
Hal Davis and Mack Gordon got me an interview with Berry [Gordy] at a disc jockey convention. I was only 16, and singing Mary Wells' "My Guy" from nine in the morning until four o'clock in the afternoon. Eventually I told Hal, "I want to get signed to Motown. That's why we're here right? I've been in the heels for over eight hours." Shortly afterwards a little, short man came in. He said "I'm Berry Gordy, and I like what I see and I like what I hear."

Was the Motown system very competitive?
My problem wasn't with the other girls. It was with me. The ones that were making the money were getting pushed by the label. With me, they were trying to find out, "Is she jazz, gospel? What is she?" Even when I wrote "You've Made Me So Very Happy," Berry wanted to do it one way, I heard it another. So Blood, Sweat & Tears picked it up and did as I would've liked and it's still selling.

Did you tour a lot then?
My one big tour was with the Beatles. 40 days and 40 nights of excitement! Jackie Deshannon was responsible for getting me that tour. I wasn't in awe of them because they were so nice. With the Beatles, they just made you feel like you were a part of them. We used to have pillow fights on the plane. John would come to everybody to ask what they would want to eat. They were crazy wonderful people.

You're first Motown hit "Every Little Bit Hurts" was covered by everyone from The Clash to Aretha Franklin. Why do you think every version sounds just like yours?
The only person that didn't do it justice was a young lady named Alicia Keys. She wouldn't listen to the original. She didn't take time to discuss it. She could have done it a lot better if she had listened to the old school. You have to ask "what's the feel of it?" She never really captured it. You have to know the artist to sing them. I've studied Mary Wells. I've been in her presence. You know what I'm saying? That's the difference. When I sing her songs I can feel her.

You famously retired before the age of 25. Would you recommend it?
I never would recommend for anyone to retire before 25. Try to see the whole picture. Sit down and find out where you are going. Everything isn't going to flow. When people get a hold of you they won't let you go. Work with the moment. Don't just look at the hit value. I recommend retiring at 55. Try every door and facet. Find out where you are going to fit. People like Jimi and Janis were dying. I got afraid of entertainment. I was trying to figure a way to get out. So I retired, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Brenda Holloway @ LA Weekly

Jerry Leiber Remembered - LA Weekly

2011-08-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

Jerry Leiber "Hound Dog" songwriter dead at 78 - LA Weekly

For I know just as well as I'm standing here talking to you,
when that final moment comes and I'm breathing my last breath,
I'll be saying to myself,
Is that all there is? Is that all there is?
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
-"Is That All There Is?"

Lyricist Jerry Leiber passed away earlier today. Alongside his writing partner Mike Stoller, they wrote some of the most enduring hits of the '50s and '60s, including "Jailhouse Rock," "Love Potion #9," "Yakety Yak," and "Stand By Me." He was 78 years old.

Leiber met Stoller in the early '50s when he was a senior at Fairfax high school. Within two years of meeting they had their first hit with Little Willie Littlefield's mid-tempo take on "Kansas City." The song was eventually recorded by over 300 artists ranging from Little Richard to the Beatles to Muddy Waters. They followed that success with "Hound Dog," which sold well for Big Mama Thornton and sold even better for Elvis three years later. "'Hound Dog' took like twelve minutes," Leiber told Rolling Stone magazine. "That's not a complicated piece of work. But the rhyme scheme was difficult. Also the metric structure of the music was not easy. 'Kansas City' was maybe eight minutes, if that. Writing the early blues was spontaneous. You can hear the energy in the work."

Leiber and Stoller quickly grew to become the most successful writing duo in R&B, breaking open the market to white teenagers eager for new 45s. "We lived a black lifestyle as young guys. We had black girlfriends for years," recounted Leiber. "In the general sense, it was extreme. But not in the environment that we moved in. They were amused by us, two white kids doing the blues. They thought it was goofy, a lot of fun." That fun also turned into bundles of royalty checks.

In the mid-'50s, they sold their newly-formed label Spark to Atlantic Records and became hired hands for numerous Atlantic acts like the Drifters, producing "There Goes My Baby" and co-writing "On Broadway" alongside Brill Building songsters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. "Jerry would write in a much more abstract way, kind of throwing out lines. I was always very linear," recalled Cynthia Weil to Taxi.com. " I had to be a good girl and finish verse one before I would allow myself to have the pleasure of verse two. But Jerry said, 'Just loosen up, woman, and let's just write the song. We'll throw out lines that we think are good, and then we'll see where they go and if we can use any of them.' That's the way we kind of approached it. Then it all came together."

Their success continued through the '60s starting with productions for Ben E. King ("Spanish Harlem" and "Stand By Me") and closing with the cabaret-inflected "Is That All There Is?" - a top ten hit for Peggy Lee. The duo's last major hit was as producers of "Stuck in the Middle With You" - the rambling Dylan-esque song performed by Stealers Wheels and immortalized by Quentin Tarantino.

The music industry, from the executives to the consumers, was forever changed because of the contributions of Jerry Leiber. His clever lyrics and straight-forward rhymes were accessible to hundreds of artists and millions of listeners. He broadened the listening base for R&B and helped the lead the charge for countless musical trends for over twenty years, helping to shape the sound of rock and roll. His unparalleled legacy will be revisited for untold generations to come. He will be missed.

Jerry Leiber @ LA Weekly

Terence Blanchard - LA Weekly

2011-08-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

Jazz Trumpeter Terence Blanchard's Five Favorite Film Soundtracks - LA Weekly

Trumpet player and New Orleans native Terence Blanchard is a very busy man, but when he isn't blasting his fiery, post-bop horn on a recording date or scoring the latest Hollywood drama, he always makes time for the stage. From August 19th through the 21st, Blanchard will bring his band to Hollywood's Catalina Bar & Grill for a display of chops and experience only a veteran can provide.

In the early '80s, at the age of 20, Blanchard joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and has been working tirelessly ever since as a performer, educator (over 10 years as head of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz) and, for the last 20 years, film composer. Starting with the soundtrack for Jungle Fever, Blanchard has become Spike Lee's John Williams, composing every score since, as well as composing for over 20 other films (Barbershop,Original Sin, Cadillac Records). We reached Blanchard by phone while he was reclining on his front porch to discuss his 5 favorite soundtracks of the last 25 years.

5. James Horner
Glory (1989)
"That particular score just emotionally captured something very unique. It created a sense of drama that was very heroic. It was a period piece. James Horner's use of choir along with orchestra sometimes that stuff can go a little over the top but that wasn't the case with that score. Very tastefully done."

4. Thomas Newman
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
"One of the things that amazed me about that soundtrack was that Thomas Newman had such a unique ability to create interesting sonic palettes. It's become a staple of the film industry. He is probably the most temped composer in L.A. It's pretty brilliant if you think about it. The harmonic motions he uses can basically be used in anything. I don't mean this to be disrespectful but it might sound like it: his scores create motion without going anywhere. It's so universal and so uniquely beautiful that it really caught my intention. Definitely one of my all-time favorites."

3. Cliff Martinez
Traffic (2000)
"I love that thing. It's mostly synth-based but the approach that he took to action I thought was off the chain. The natural tendency is to go in a totally different direction. I thought his choice was very brilliant. I love that score."

2. Harry Gregson-Williams
Man on Fire (2004)
"Man on Fire is one of those scores where every time I listen to it I hear something new. I'd hate to be a molecule on Harry's brain. That score dips and dives, ducks and turns. How did he even think of that stuff? It makes sense musically on its own but he was very brave in how he would introduce very drastically opposed ideas. In a way the score defines the film."

1. Harry Gregson-Williams
Narnia: The Lion, the With & the Wardrobe (2005)
"Awesome. Awesome. Harry is so versatile. The thing I love about Narnia is that it proves the range of a composer that some people don't get. If you go from Man on Fire to Narniayou see a wide range. We all get typecast for certain kinds of scores. Although we only get offered certain things all composers would like to branch out."

Terence Blanchard @ LA Weekly

Larry Graham - LA Weekly

2011-08-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

Top Five Most Embarassing Early-'80s Soul Sell-Outs - LA Weekly

This Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl you'll be able to catch Larry Graham, wedged between performances by sand-swept Spyro Gyra and saxophone loverboy Dave Koz. But, Graham is a pioneering funk bassist, so why the heck is he a part of the Bowl's Smooth Summer Jazz concert?

Here's the story, in brief: As the original bassist for Sly & the Family Stone -- and the leader of Graham Central Station -- Graham invented an entirely new style of playing. He calls it "thumpin' and pluckin,'" everyone else calls it "slapping," but no matter: it's a percussive technique that defined funk bass for much of the '60s and '70s. Without him there would be no Bootsy Collins, no Flea, no Les Claypool and no Seinfeld theme song.

Unfortunately, during the '80s, Graham became one of many middle-aged music veterans to make some decidedly-unfunky career choices, which led him to Sunday's (now quite appropriate) appearance before the Kenny G-appreciative chardonnay crowd. And so, in remembrance of Graham's transformation from funk master to smooth crooner, we present the top five soul artists who embarrassed themselves trying to cash in.

5. Larry Graham - "One in a Million You"
From: 1980's One in a Million You

Just three years after releasing Graham Central Station's exhilirating album Now Do U Wanta Dance, Graham made his solo debut with a slow, sappy ballad that focused more on his baritone voice and synthesizer collection than on his bass skills. It was also his only #1 chart hit. He spent the rest of the decade trying to match that success, before returning to the funk with Prince's New Power Generation in the '90s.

4. Isley Brothers - "Belly Dancer, Parts I & II"
From: 1980's Go All The Way

Twenty years after "Shout," the Isley brothers seemed to be uncomfortably lusty. Forty-year-old Ronald Isley's breathy moan -- punctuated by his brothers' constant refrain of "dance for me" -- crawls for a creepy six minutes over a chunky guitar and slapped bassline. Michael Jackson's success was clearly having an effect on everyone. It should also be noted that, for some ridiculous reason, every track on the album is labeled "Parts I & II."

3. Billy Preston & Syreeta - "Love"
From: 1981's Billy and Syreeta

Less than ten years after becoming the "Fifth Beatle," keyboard prodigy Billy Preston was already making a last ditch effort on the R&B charts, with help from Stevie Wonder's ex-wife Syreeta. Together they recorded an album of treacly duets that sounded like every bad Disney ballad of the last thirty years. "Love" manages to change key every thirty seconds, taking one cheap gimmick and making an entire song out of it.

2. James Brown - "That's Sweet Music"
From: 1980's People

Sure, Brown is ripping off Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music." But this pseudo-disco track's greater crime is that it features Brown attempting to scat Louis Armstrong-style. There's a reason it was the first and last time he ever tried this. The vapid background vocals and generically-produced instrumental track are a far cry from "Sex Machine." Somehow, he manages to name drop Sinatra, Nat King Cole and new wave rock, to nobody's advantage.

1. Aretha Franklin - "What a Fool Believes"
From: 1980's Aretha

Aretha's take on Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins' aesthetic starts off promisingly enough, with multiple keyboards vibrating below her legato introduction. Unfortunately, after the first twenty seconds the track becomes a note-for-note cover of the Doobie Brothers' original, only with less personality and facial hair. The Queen of Soul covering the kings of yacht rock just feels wrong. Five years later Franklin would release another album entitled Aretha, which features a grinding duet with none other than Larry Graham.

Larry Graham @ LA Weekly

Madeleine Peyroux - NYC Jazz Record

2011-08-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

Madeleine Peyroux - Standing on the Rooftop

Vocalist Madeleine Peyroux, with her Eleanora Fagan
croon and marquee-ready name, is the perfect
songstress for quiet rooms and even quieter thoughts.
Since her debut 15 years ago Peyroux has built a
comfortable niche that peaked in 2004 with the millionselling
album Careless Love. Peyroux’ fifth album,
Standing on the Rooftop, contains a balance of original
songs and covers that should easily satisfy her fanbase
and record label, with A-list contributions from
guitarist Marc Ribot, drummer Charley Drayton,
pianist Allen Toussaint and violinist Jenny Scheinman.

The album opens with a sedate, countrified cover
of The Beatles’ “Martha My Dear”. The only thing
missing is the sound of crickets to capture that frontporch
feel. Considering that she sold millions of
records by singing other people’s songs it is curious
that the album’s sequencing is set up to put the hit first
and pray that listeners stick around. Should the listener
invest they will be treated to a solid collection of tunes
that rarely raises the blood pressure. “Fickle Dove”,
her first of back-to-back co-writes with Scheinman,
finds Peyroux channeling Santo & Johnny while the
title song and closer “The Way of All Things” adopt an
ethereal boogie that provide the most uptempo
moments of the album. Dylan’s “I Threw It All Away”
gets a choppy reading while the original “Don’t Pick a
Fight with a Poet” has a nice bouncy refrain with Peyroux’ lilting
vibrato carrying the weight.

Looking as barefoot and bemused on the cover of
this record as she was on Careless Love can’t be a
mistake. Although she is often referred to as a jazz
vocalist, Peyroux rarely swings on this record and the
soloing space is fairly limited. She is simply an
excellent vocalist who can be a country singer, a cabaret
chanteuse or a misty-eyed crooner. It is not a wide
range but it is always well done - whether she sells a
million records or not.

Madeleine Peyroux @ NYC Jazz Record

David Gibson - NYC Jazz Record

2011-08-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

David Gibson - End of the Tunnel

Any group that employs an organist, regardless of the
bandleader’s instrument, becomes an organ band. In a
way that no other instrument can dominate, except
perhaps for a set of bagpipes, the Hammond B3
possesses the power of a freight train that can be hard
to tone down. On his newest album End of the Tunnel
trombonist David Gibson, along with saxophonist
Julius Tolentino and drummer Quincy Davis, give
ample room to organist Jared Gold, who provides two
of his own tunes and plenty of soul.

The album opens with Herbie Hancock’s “Blind
Man, Blind Man”, quickly setting the tone for a
straightforward blowing date with Gibson taking the
first of several gurgling solos. The following track,
“Wasabi”, one of five Gibson compositions on the
album, takes a stylistic Hancock leap ten years forward
with a more Headhunters-ish feel - punctual horn
unisons ride over Davis’ popping drum line. Davis
also carries Gibson’s title track to its abrupt ending,
which features the horns in fluttering harmonies before
they rocket off into a pair of impassioned solos.
Gibson’s “The In-Whim” is decidedly out. What starts
slow and modal grows as Tolentino wails away over
Gold’s sharp chordal jabs, growing more manic with
each passing measure. “Preachin’”, Gold’s bluesinflected
contribution, finds Gibson loping through a
building solo while the organist does his best to
summon the spirits of the chicken shack. The last track,
a take on Jackie McLean’s “Blue Rondo”, brings the
album back to where Gibson started: Englewood Cliffs,
1963. The horns exchange 12-bar bouts while Davis’
cymbal drives the battle into a solo of his own.

Over nine tunes Gibson and his cohorts display
their love of a solid groove, rarely straying too far from
the center of the pocket. The soloists swing hard with a
dominating organ presence looming just behind them
at all times. Gibson has taken the classic organ quartet
and injected just enough dissonance to create a fingersnapping
dose of 21st century soul-jazz.

David Gibson @ NYC Jazz Record

Barbara Morrison - LA Weekly

2011-07-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

Barbara Morrison - LA Weekly

Barbara has been a friend of mine since I started accompanying her private vocal lessons on piano a dozen years ago. She is a vital part of the jazz community in Los Angeles and can use our help.

Anybody who has ever heard vocalist Barbara Morrison command a stage knows that she possesses an effervescent singing style that drips with soul and a ribald sense of humor. The Michigan-bred Angeleno has been belting out her brand of blues for over three decades in any venue with enough room to accommodate at least a dozen people doing the electric slide. She has shouted behind bandleaders like Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Charles, and has strutted alongside Tony Bennett and Buddy Guy.

Unfortunately, this summer, due to complications from diabetes, Morrison had to have one of her legs amputated. With the loss of work and mounting medical bills Morrison is in a difficult financial bind. Find out how to help her below.

"Barbara is one of the finest human beings that I have ever known in my life" says local jazz DJ James Janisse. "Her devotion to her craft and her consideration of those coming behind her are worthy of the praise given to saints."

Morrison, aside from performing over a hundred gigs a year, has also been a tireless educator. "She is a radiant and positive energy. Barbara made me feel strong and understood," recalls former student Gretchen Parlato. "She encouraged me to think about the story behind the song. As passionate and focused as she was, she also just got me to lighten up and smile, laugh and find pure joy with singing."

Due to extensive rehabilitation Morrison is looking at a few months of difficult recovery. She has had to cancel future tour dates, including a two week appearance at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

A Paypal account has been set up to help her during this difficult time, which you can access here. Hopefully Morrison will be back leading the electric slide sooner than later, as her powerful pipes and unmatched sense of humor are sorely missed.

Barbara Morrison @ LA Weekly

Hesitation Blues #5 - LA Record

2011-07-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

There are 17,376 seats in the Hollywood Bowl. Sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough jazz fans in Los Angeles to staff the theater let alone pay for a show. Thus the annual Playboy Jazz Festival appeals to the widest swath of jazz fans imaginable. Over two days (June 11th and 12th) the rotating stage will host late night television’s best house band the Roots, elegant pianist Geri Allen, saxophone legend Lee Konitz, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire’s quintet and the SF Jazz Collective featuring bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland whose contributions to the new James Farm record helped make it one of the more impressive mainstream releases of the year. A little someone for everything. Plus you get to see Bill Cosby dance.

Later in the summer the Bowl will be hosting a jazz tribute to everybody’s favorite chain-smoking Canyon muse Joni Mitchell (August 17th). With a lineup that includes Chaka Khan and Aimee Mann they’ve cast a wide net. Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter balance out the jazz billing with arrangements by drummer Brian Blade. Bound to be a great night of high-quality collaboration or the most pretentious show you’ll see all summer.

For those who like their jazz with less sunburns, Gerald Wilson (still swinging at 92 years old!) will be bringing his orchestra to Catalina Bar & Grill on the Playboy weekend (June 12th). The history of jazz resides in Wilson’s fingertips from his earliest days with Jimmie Lunceford’s band to his arrangements for Ray Charles to his immeasurable influence as a lecturer for five decades. Wilson’s rich harmonies are unmistakable as is his limitless enthusiasm for the sound of music.

In that hellish tourist trap of a mall/church of celebrity known as Hollywood & Highland, KJAZZ will be hosting a free show every Tuesday evening. Amid some of the confident local fare (Barbara Morrison – July 19th, Poncho Sanchez – August 9th) is an appearance by British jazz-rock keyboardist Brian Auger on July 12th. Auger found immense success with the Oblivion Express in the UK but was never able to sell it back to the US at the same exchange rate. A limey legend.

Meanwhile downtown Grand Performances continues its wide-reaching programming with two much deserved tributes. On July 23rd the scattered veterans of Horace Tapscott’s Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra will convene at the head of Angels Flight to recognize the 50 year anniversary of the bands formation. Expect plenty of soul from a cross-generational collection of musicians that stretches back to Central Avenue. On August 26th drummer Ndugu Chanceler and pianist Patrice Rushen will pay tribute to Quincy Jones – one of many men that owe a fair amount to Gerald Wilson. Chanceler, a regular fixture on the Los Angeles jazz scene, was the man who laid down the drums on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” while Rushen, who receives a sizable check each year compliments of Will Smith for his use of her 1982 hit “Forget Me Nots”, is an expressive instrumentalist who can swing with the best of them.

(What am I missing here? Hip me to your gig. cultofsoc@gmail.com)

LA Record Issue 104

Juini Booth - NYC Jazz Record

2011-07-05T09:51:00.001-07:00

Juini Booth - Encore

A lot can be said about a musician by looking at his employers. By the time bassist Juini Booth was 30 his resume included experience alongside some of the most significant jazz artists of the 60s and 70s with an emphasis on some of the greatest drummers of all time: Art Blakey, Shelly Manne, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones. His innate sense of time and reliability as a role player has given Booth a career that most people could only dream of.

Born in Buffalo, New York in the late 1940s, Booth began skipping school to make dates with Chuck Mangione and his brother Gap while he was still a teenager. Inevitably Booth broke off for Manhattan where he befriended drummer JC Moses at the East Village club Slug’s. Moses, who lived only lived a few blocks from the venue, introduced Booth to some of his friends: Hank Mobley, Paul Chambers, Kenny Dorham, Philly Joe Jones. “Here’s this little young guy hanging around. So they found a use for me,” recalls Booth. That use turned out to encompass everything from Ron Carter’s castoff gig catching curveballs from Coleman Hawkins at the Village Vanguard to a lifelong affiliation with the Sun Ra Arkestra. “Sun Ra was an amazement. It was not a band for the faint hearted. And it still isn’t.”

While still a teenager Booth received his greatest education by replacing Reggie Johnson in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. For two years he criss-crossed the country, five to a car, with every instrument case strapped to the roof, playing every night alongside Blakey’s thunderous high-hat. “He taught me something,” says Booth. “He gave me some muscles.” Unfortunately, due to a little problem with the IRS, Blakey was dealing strictly in cash during Booth’s tenure and no recordings were ever made of that band.

Eventually Booth left the group to join Messenger alum Freddie Hubbard – a band he would subsequently quit and rejoin three times. Following his first stint Booth set out for a change of pace in California where he befriended drummer Shelly Manne and was never at a loss for work. “I got to play with all the West Coast guys – Bud Shank, Buddy Collette, Harold Land, Gerald Wilson.” While enjoying the Pacific air Booth landed two life-changing gigs in a week: a night outside San Francisco with Cannonball Adderly’s quintet and a set with Thelonious Monk at the 1969 Monterey Jazz Festival. “It was an incredible week,” recalls Booth. “I could have died and gone to heaven. I didn’t really know any of Monk’s songs but Monk liked it.”

After a year of fun and sun Booth returned to New York debunking a rumor that had spread quickly. “Milt Jackson said to me ‘Juini, there’s a rumor you’re dead.’ I came back and everybody’s doing a double take, like they’d seen a ghost.” In New York, Booth played on Gary Bartz’s Harlem Bush Music albums, participated in the avant-garde loft scene and rejoined Hubbard’s band for another few paychecks before joining up with Tony Williams’ Lifetime. “Things were changing. I started playing electric bass. My ears rang for ten years after that.” This unit also went regrettably unrecorded but there are a few bootlegs circulating of the Lifetime band in Europe with Booth hiding in the shadow of his amplification with organist Larry Young in a keffiyeh seated behind him – a far cry from that week in a West Village basement with the Bean.

His time with Tony Williams, like many of his other gigs, was short-lived and Booth returned again to New York picking up work with McCoy Tyner, who had spent 9-months as a Messenger. “I was off and on with McCoy for five years. We did some duo gigs and trio gigs,” says Booth. “His left hand. It would break the thickest strings on the piano. Way down at the bottom. I had to get out of the way sometimes.” After a few recordings Booth’s restless bass led to work with Elvin Jones. “It was loud but it was musical.” He appeared on the aptly titled Time Capsule alongside Kenny Barron and George Coleman before striking out on his own again.

Starting in the early 80s Booth began focusing on solo bass work, earning recognition from the International Society of Bassists and National Endowment for the Arts. Although he still occasionally performs solo Booth can often be found on the fringes of Alphabet City playing an electric bass with his band I Led 3 Lives at ambient space-lounge Nublu. Despite forty-plus years in the business Booth still looks like the youngest guy in the room playing a blend of house, reggae and swing well into the morning. But for all his accomplishments Booth is not just sitting around talking about the good old days. He is focused on the future with plans for a solo record and numerous other projects that will take him around the world but always, inevitably, back to New York. “I’m a loft session Wildflower. I’m a Sun Ra satellite. I’m a Coltrane-ite. I’m a Jazz Messenger. I’m a Tony Williams Lifetimer. I’m all these things. I look at it and I say ‘Well, that’s wonderful’ but it also says that I never did something of my own. And this I’m trying to change.”

Recommended Listening:
-Gary Bartz – Harlem Bush Music (Milestone, 1970)
-McCoy Tyner – Song of the New World (Milestone, 1973)
-McCoy Tyner – Englightenment (Milestone, 1973)
-Larry Young – Lawrence of Newark (Sanctuary, 1973)
-Elvin Jones – Time Capsule (Vanguard 1977)
-Charles Gayle – Ancient of Days (Knitting Factory Works, 2000)

Juini Booth @ NYC Jazz Record

Red Hot + Rio 2 - LA Weekly

2011-06-28T14:05:00.001-07:00

Don't Call it a Comeback: Red Hot + Rio's Paul Heck - LA Weekly

Since the late 1980s the Red Hot Organization has released over a dozen music compilations to help raise funds for AIDS research with help from artists as varied as George Michael, Wu-Tang Clan, Nirvana and Alice Coltrane. This year the Organization will be releasing Red Hot + Rio 2 - a star-studded return to Brazilian shores focusing exclusively on the Tropicalia sounds of the late 1960s. The double disc collection features songs and appearances by most of the major players of that psychedelic revolt - Os Mutantes, Tom Ze, Caetano Veloso - as well as current marquee names like Beck, of Montreal, John Legend and Beirut. With over 30 songs the album took longer to compile than the movement actually lasted. Producer Paul Heck, who has been with the organization since he spearheaded their No Alternative release in 1993, sheds a little light on the project.
LA WEEKLY: How do you go about picking artists for these releases?

Paul Heck: Just people we love. People who are making great music now. Some of it comes indirectly thru suggestions from other artists or producers. There's so much excitement now about discovering new bands -- we didn't shy away from approaching artists who've barely released any music like Cults, Quadron, Superhuman Happiness. I think people have come to know and trust that they'll find out about new artists on Red Hot albums.

What has changed since the first Red Hot + Rio was released in 1997?

Brazil seems to be a bit more ascendant now as an interesting kind of world power, especially with the next World Cup and Olympics scheduled to be held there in 2014 and 2016. The whole music industry has obviously changed since 1997. RIO2 focuses on the songs of the Tropicalia era, instead of Jobim and Bossa Nova. The way artists make music now is more self-contained, so the whole recording process is opening to more tinkering and transforming, instead of just getting people together for a day or two in the studio. But great songs are great songs. That never changes. I think there are some really successful re-interpretations on RIO2. That always makes me happy to hear a song in a whole new way.

How familiar were you with Tropicalia before going into this project?

I've been a fan of the music and cultural movement for years. I read Caetano Veloso's great book Tropical Truth when it came out a few years ago. One of the best books ever written about music. Fellow producer Beco Dranoff grew up in Sao Paulo so music and the Tropicalia movement were huge parts of his life. He is always an incredible source of information that you might not get from books or records

How do you decide on the sequencing?

John Carlin of Red Hot kind of obsesses over that the most, listening to the tracks for months leading up to release. Beco and myself, we kind of kick it around and tell him what we like and don't like until it feels right. I don't like to over-listen to the songs until most of them have been submitted.

What's the next project for Red Hot?

Many new projects are in development including a new album that will focus on the music of Fela Kuti -- a kind of follow up to Red Hot + RIOT. But don't call it a sequel.

Red Hot + Rio 2 @ LA Weekly

Dr John - LA Weekly

2011-06-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Dr John, God Among New Orleans Piano Gods - LA Weekly

"Around the time I began sitting in on my aunties' jam sessions and hanging around in the clubs, I began to get hipped in a little more to reality: There were an awful lot of good piano players, and not nearly enough jobs to go around. How was I ever going to compete with killer players like Tuts Washington? Salvador Doucette? Herbert Santina? Professor Longhair himself? And the list only began there."
--Dr. John, Under a Hoodoo Moon

Of all the great musicians to come out of New Orleans it seems like a large number of them were piano players. Mac Rebennack--or Dr. John as he would be billed starting in the late 1960s--was destined to become part of that history. Although he had built a sturdy reputation as a teenage A&R man and guitarist, fate stepped in. On Christmas Eve 1961 Dr. John was involved in a fight between his bandmate Ronnie Barron and the owner of the Florida hotel they were staying in. As he recalls in his autobiography:

"I went to get the gun out of the guy's hand. We wrestled for it. I thought my left hand was over the handle, but I was actually grabbing the barrel. I beat the guy's hand against the bricks trying to get the gun away from him, and the gun went off. I looked down and saw the ring finger of my left hand, my fretting hand, hanging by a thread."

Now fifty years later--and stitched together and as good as ever--Dr. John and his piano will headline both nights of this weekend's Long Beach Bayou Festival. Let's explore some of his inspirations within.

JELLY ROLL MORTON

The New Orleans piano tradition stretches back well over 100 years starting with Jelly Roll Morton, the flashy pimp and self-proclaimed "inventor of jazz," who set the bar pretty high for those who dared to follow. He had a good nickname, a great voice, a penchant for recreational drugs and a powerhouse left hand that could demolish any song he felt like playing. That template proved flawless.

PROFESSOR LONGHAIR

Although they were northerners, pianists like Meade Lux Lewis and Fats Waller followed Morton's lead and turned the piano into a rollicking piece of furniture. Fats Domino and Professor Longhair emerged from mid-century New Orleans equipped with the ability to take the music even further. Domino, the hulking showman, got all the record sales but it is generally acknowledged by other musicians that the more influential pianist was Professor Longhair.

"Professor Longhair was the guardian angel of the roots of New Orleans music," wrote Dr. John. "He was a one-of-a-kind musician and man, and he defined a certain style of rhumba-boogie funk that was New Orleans R&B from the late 1940s all the way through to his death in 1980. All New Orleans pianists today owe Fess. He was the guru, godfather and spiritual root doctor of all that came under him."

Fess' spidery right hand and driving left could move at any pace. Each note sliding effortlessly into the next. In the above clip, with a little help from the Meters, Fess shows off his glistening fills and unmistakable yodel.

JAMES BOOKER

What James Booker lacked in clever nicknames he more than made up for in flash. Although only a couple of years older than Dr John, Booker, with his bedazzled eye patch and mouthful of shark's teeth, was the ultimate dandy with the skills to back it up.

Dr. John couldn't have been more in awe: "Booker could play it all - stride piano, butterfly, boogie, all the other New Orleans styles, the Chicago styles, the Memphis styles, the Texas styles, the California styles, bebop, avant-garde jazz, classical, even pop! I consider him to be a genius."

Despite his hard living, Booker had a graceful touch on the piano. His photographic memory could summon anything on a whim adding a playful quality that few others could match. In the above clip, he is more than ready for his closeup.

DR. JOHN (OF COURSE!)

Dr. John's style falls somewhere in the middle of these piano gods. For the last thirty years, alongside Allen Toussaint, he has carried the torch for the Crescent City sound. His barrelhouse hands, ring finger or not, can play virtually anything you throw at him and his smoky growl is one of the most distinctive voices in popular music. In this clip, despite looking a little dope-sick and disoriented, Dr. John still manages to slay Ray Charles' hit "Mess Around."

"The hardest thing to do is let the spirituality flow and turn the meat on," advises Dr. John. "Doing that is creating art, radiating the 88s. When you do that, you've achieved something."

Dr John @ LA Weekly

Clarence Clemons Remembered - LA Weekly

2011-06-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

"I've Seen the Future" Clarence Clemons' Career in Video - LA Weekly

There is a concert photograph from the early 1950s of saxophonist Big Jay McNeely lying flat on his back with a mouth full of wind, wailing at a crowd full of feral greasers. The all-white audience, with their eyes and fists both clenched, seem to be trying to capture rock and roll saxophone at its height, anticipating the impending arrival of the electric guitar in all its amplified glory. Within five years of that photograph the saxophone was relegated to the occasional eight bars and showmen like McNeely, Louis Jordan and Illinois Jacquet had to look for work elsewhere.

Nonetheless, tenor saxophonist Clarence Clemons--who passed away Saturday at the age of 69--was able to make a pretty good living out of his eight bar allotment, playing to the children of those clenched-fist fans for over forty years.

Clemons teamed up with Bruce Springsteen early in the formation of the E Street Band, contributing a fluttering saxophone line to "Blinded By the Light" on Springsteen's debut Greetings From Asbury Park. From there he was a regular fixture of the band, adding short, articulate blasts to tracks like "Rosalita" and "The E Street Shuffle" or honking solos on suburban epics "Born to Run" and "Badlands." Aside from his physical contribution to the band (his six and a half foot frame easily dwarfed all his underfed bandmates) Clemons could create the illusion of an entire horn section by blending his sax with the organ's oscillating chords. He lent credibility to the band both musically and racially, drawing a direct link to the 1950s rock sound that dominated Springsteen's first few records and added a diversity that was remarkably absent of most rock bands.

Clemons found solo success in 1985 with a vocal duet featuring Jackson Browne. (The inclusion of Browne's then-girlfriend Darryl Hannah on the song and in the video probably didn't hurt.)

That same year he paid homage to King Curtis by performing on Aretha Franklin's big hit "Freeway of Love."

Although Clemons never topped the commercial success he found in the 1980s he was in demand until his death, even appearing on Lady Gaga's Born This Way and in her video for "Edge of Glory."

Clemons' oversized tone and outrageous stage presence helped maintain a career that many assumed was no longer available to saxophonists. He stuck pretty close to tradition and made a nice fortune and great legacy out of it. Clemons was a sideman, frontman and most importantly the Big Man. He will be missed.

Clarence Clemons Remembered @ LA Weekly

James Farm - NYC Jazz Record

2011-06-09T21:06:00.001-07:00

James Farm - self-titled

James Farm, a jazz ‘supergroup’ saddled with an
unmemorable name but impeccable musicianship,
originally formed under the direction of Joshua
Redman for the 2009 Montreal Jazz Festival. The oneoff
quartet with pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt
Penman and omnipresent drummer Eric Harland has
ended up, two years later, capturing an impressive set
of originals - each a portrait of their creator. The selftitled
album is coated in a layer of studio wizardry that
only a slightly-above-average jazz budget can afford
but is, at its core, an acoustic recording that draws
from a diverse assortment of influences.

The album is bookended by two Penman
compositions. “Coax” is the propulsive opener,
anchored by prepared piano and a militaristic snare
drum that highlights Redman’s breathless flights over
controlled cacophony. With its spacious arrangement
and jangly percussion, closer “Low Fives” is a muchneeded
reprieve from the intensity found throughout
the record. Redman’s “Polliwog”, in all its pop-styled
splendor, rides out like an ‘80s radio hit featuring a
theremin-esque whistle from Penman. With a sullen
decay and modal melody Parks’ “Chronos” features a
series of rapid-fire solos from Redman and Harland.
“Star Crossed” finds Redman slow-roasting his tenor
while the rest of the trio couldn’t be more relaxed but
“I-10”, Harland’s contribution, does not so much
reflect driving down that transcontinental interstate as
it does running across it. The furious unison lines,
effects-laden drums and abrupt tape cuts will get
anyone’s heart racing. The following track, Parks’
“Unravel”, cools everybody off by giving Penman a
bossa beat and the spotlight.

Every member plays with an unrelenting urgency,
each note driven to the edge of sonic purity. Despite
the studio polish, the compositions, interplay and
production combine to make for a compelling album
that lives up to expectations. It will be interesting to
see where they take it from here.

James Farm @ New York City Jazz Record

Matthew Rybicki - NYC Jazz Record

2011-06-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

Matthew Rybicki - Driven

Bassist Matthew Rybicki has been providing keen
support for some of the biggest names in New York
since the late ‘90s. Now, for the first time, Rybicki is
front and center, releasing a straightahead collection of
mostly originals under the determinedly-titled Driven,
presenting a well-rounded portrait of himself as
bassist, composer and soloist.

The album opens with the unsurprisingly sedate
“The Slow Stride”. Starting with a fluttering trumpet
run by Freddie Hendrix the song quickly settles into
that titular stride with a Messengers-esque melody
and plenty of swing. The next two tracks are midtempo
trio features with Rybicki making a coy Michael
Jackson reference to close out his busy solo on “Seventh
Sun” while he and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. trade
odd-numbered phrases on “A Mean Lean”.
“Lowcountry Boil” finds the band casually stretching
out with just Rybicki backing saxophonist Ron Blake
for a chorus before the whole band is back and
swinging hard. Pianist Gerald Clayton drops atonal
clumps amid his otherwise straightforward solo before
Rybicki takes his chance to solo in bite-sized phrases.

There are two self-penned ballads in the set, both
led by Hendrix’ misty flugelhorn. “Lisa’s Song”
weaves over gentle horn harmonies and subdued
drums. Most of the band contributes demure solos
before leaving as softly as they came in. “Someday I
May Be Far Away” is a little more vibrant with splashy
cymbals and a nicely constructed solo from Hendrix.

Of the 11 tracks on the album only two are non-originals.
The first, calypso standard “Yellow Bird”, is
led by Blake’s soprano saxophone, which leaps amid
the almost reggae/swing background while “Secret
Love”, the Doris Day hit, is drastically sped up with
the horn-less band flying through the melody to set up
a display of immaculate brush work by Owens.

It may have taken awhile for Rybicki to release his
first work as a leader but the results reap the benefits
of his patience. With the help of a great backing band
and a nimble pen, he has proven he is more than ready
for the spotlight.

Matthew Rybicki @ New York City Jazz Record

Elliot Sharp - Undead Jazz Review

2011-06-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

Undead Jazz Review - Issue #1

Downtown guitar guru Elliott Sharp has been displaying his mastery of the 6-string for decades. His style, which leaves no part of the fretboard safe from his incomparable wingspan, reaches into the deepest wells of the guitar, pulling out sounds and phrases previously unproduced. Leaping through a dozen genres in a single chord change, Sharp has the history of the instrument under his fingers. Here he presents his ideas through the framework of Thelonious Monk-a more spiritual than melodic homage - with ample space for interpretation.

Elliott Sharp @ Undead Jazz Review

The Clayton Brothers - NYC Jazz Record

2011-05-08T20:11:00.000-07:00

The Clayton Brothers - The New Song and Dance

Los Angeles-based brothers John and Jeff Clayton
formed the powerhouse Clayton-Hamilton Jazz
Orchestra in 1985 - only a year after the birth of John’s
son, Gerald – while also maintaining sturdy reputations
in the academic scene and both of their careers are still
thriving. This quintet album continues the family
tradition with all three Claytons contributing wellcrafted
tunes and tasteful, hard-swinging solos.

Despite its title, opening track “Cha Cha
Charleston” is about as far from James P. Johnson as
one can get. Soft-focus cymbals offer an ethereal mood
before John Clayton kicks in with a driving bassline
that underscores the bright horn lines from Jeff Clayton
on alto and Terell Stafford on trumpet. Drummer Obed
Calvaire closes the tune with a precise yet opposing
solo over a herky-jerky horn line. “Battle Circle”,
pianist Gerald Clayton’s contribution to the album, is
anchored by John’s Morse code-like thump. Stafford
takes a measured but passionate approach over the
busy rhythm section while Gerald’s solo, which starts
out on the actual strings of the piano, is equally
controlled amid the turbulence. “Smarty Pants Dance”
is a quick-fire tune whose melody veers seamlessly
through starts and stops. Gerald takes off first with
each briskly articulated note flying by while Stafford
playfully jumps through the changes.

The sole cover of the set, Stevie Wonder’s “They
Won’t Go When I Go”, starts with John’s aching bowed
melody backed by Stafford and Jeff on flute, turning
Wonder’s song into a chamber piece only lightly
accented by a pair of brushes; except for a brief bout of
swing, the band keeps it cool throughout. The group
closes with the second-line-infused “Street Dance”,
Gerald’s bouncy block chords and Calvaire’s
propulsive drumming anchoring the tune. The band
finishes in style, strutting hard with a little cowbell
thrown in for good measure.

The theme of the artwork and titles is all about
dancing but few moments on the recording actually
summon the desire to cut a rug. Instead the quintet has
created an album that highlights the composing talents
of two generations of Claytons, further solidifying
John and Jeff’s status while also showcasing Gerald as
the recipient of all those enviably hard-swinging genes.

Clayton Brothers @ New York City Jazz Record

Life - LA Record

2011-04-04T14:35:00.001-07:00

Life - Keith Richards

Keith Richards claims to have been awake for more hours than any man but he has also probably been asleep while standing up more than any other man too. Through 550 large-type pages Keef stumbles his way around drug busts and overdosing friends to set the record straight about all the shenanigans he has been accredited with – there was no blood transfusion, he wasn’t concussed by a coconut and he has yet to snort the ashes of any of his family members. After shelling out nearly seven and a half million dollars for half the Glimmer Twins’ spotty memories it is understandable that Little, Brown and Co. may want a book they can sell to Costco by the pallet. Thus albums like Between the Buttons and Their Satanic Majesties Request are almost entirely ignored in exchange for extensive discussions of the potency of Merck cocaine and Mick Jagger’s diva needs while people like Brian Jones seem only slightly more significant than Gene Pitney to the history of the Rolling Stones. Nonetheless the book is charming. He survived, stitched together with bandanas and skull rings, and has the stories to prove it. For those interested in entertaining tales of excess and jokes about Mick’s dick should look no further. For those interested in, say, the music the man created, it might be better to check out Victor Bockris’ biography, an equally substantial door-stopper that addresses the music that afforded Keith the ability to own a speed-boat named Mandrax.

LA Record Issue 103

If By Yes - LA Record

2011-04-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

If By Yes - LA Record

If By Yes is a transcontinental collaboration between vocalist/violinist/triplet Petra Haden and Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto and the recently reformed Plastic Ono Band. Haden’s melismatic trembles swirl amid a symphony of pulpy bass, electronics and subtly pulsing dance beats nimbly produced by Honda. Together they have created an album of effortless movement where the vocals ride like a sedate passenger on a high-speed train – spidery guitar lines and shifting keyboards fly by like small towns, each with their own characters and conflicts, appearing and disappearing just as quickly. Amid the ethereal charm David Byrne sings a few choruses and Nels Cline drops in with his banshee-ax to make inimitable waves. The rest of the instrumental work is done by members of pop maestro Cornelius’ band: Yuko Araki on drums and Hirotaka “Shimmy” Shimizu on guitar. The result is exactly what one might expect from all those musicians in cahoots: pop structures wrapped in velvet reverb, snug multi-layered vocals and space-lounge gauze.

LA Record Issue 103

Elliott Caine - LA Record

2011-04-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Elliott Caine Sextet - Hippie Chicks on Acid

One look at those classic Reid Miles designed album covers adorning countless Blue Note records of the 50s and 60s and it’s generally assumed that those guys were hopped up on Chesterfields and more than a few pulls off a cheap pint of whiskey. Nonetheless local trumpeter Elliott Caine has summoned the hard-bop gods with his propulsive sextet and saddled them with a title and cover evoking some rather horrible flower power imagery. Recorded live at Alva’s Showroom in San Pedro, Caine leads his band through over a half dozen straight-ahead swingers aided by great local instrumentalists like vibist Nick Mancini who pummels each note with his lightning-quick mallets, particularly on the simmering “No Way Out” and spacious “Little Rio”, while saxophonist Carl Randall provides a raspy-toned boast over driving waltz “Paying the Price”. Caine, who has been tearing up southern California stages for decades, displays his refined sense of swing and grounded writing skills throughout the record with articulate Lee Morgan-esque passages over the disjointed harmonies of “Defiance” and crisp ballad work on the deliberate “A Different Beauty”. Caine’s sextet has recorded a confident set of hard-bop, highlighting a great venue and some of the more captivating sidemen in town but, seriously, who chose that cover?

LA Record Issue 103