Lisa Mezzacappa Preview - LA Weekly

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

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 disposal, 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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