As Long As I'm Vertical - The District

From the District - (11/25/09)

Running a jazz club isn’t the easiest way to take home wheelbarrows full of cash. Fortunately, Long Beach has the determined Al Williams—consummate drummer, passionate raconteur, wheelbarrow-less entrepreneur. Starting out in the ’70s drumming with some of the best hard-bop talents to survive the ’50s, Williams toured regularly with titans of the Central Ave. scene: Hampton Hawes and Teddy Edwards, as well as tenor sax heavyweight Eddie Harris. “Eddie was a master,” recalls Williams. “He could do anything he wanted on stage. He could play a saxophone with a trumpet mouthpiece!” After meeting and marrying a local girl, Williams became a permanent resident of Long Beach, choosing the comforts of his new home over the lonely road.

The Jazz Safari, Long Beach’s “first jazz club,” opened in 1978 across the asphalt from the Queen Mary. “Al created and designed a very special listening and performing environment. It was like working in an acoustically correct, intimate, warm and comfortable living room,” recalls vocalist Bev Kelly. Williams successfully ran the club for eight years before packing up the piano and moving to the other side of the ship. In 1987, Williams opened Birdland West in the heart of downtown. Bigger and more ambitious, the club managed to survive seven years of great performances before closing. The same year he started Birdland West, however, Williams decided to resuscitate his idea for a jazz festival.

Last August, Williams’ longest-running venture, the Long Beach Jazz Festival, celebrated its 22nd consecutive year. “I wasn’t even thinking about how long it would last,” he says. “I’m just really pleased that it has gone as well as it has.”

Attracting some of the biggest names in jazz (both smooth and straight-ahead), Williams has managed to find a profitable business plan in something he is passionate about. His work has introduced great jazz to Long Beach for over 30 years, becoming an institution in the process. “I’ve had a great career,” he says. “And I’m looking forward to continuing on this venture as long as I’m vertical.”

AL WILLIAMS JAZZ SOCIETY SPAGHETTINI ROTISSERIE & GRILL • 3005 OLD RANCH PKWY • SEAL BEACH 90740 • 714.960.6002 • SAT 8-11PM •

As Long As I'm Vertical @ the District

Remotely Controlled - The District

From the District - (11/11/09)

Hip-hop MC and Long Beach native LMNO is a slave to the studio, with a bounty of recordings scattered across laptops and iPods just waiting to be unleashed. In the 20 years since he appeared in the video for D.O.C’s “Formula” as a pivotal member of the new hoods on the block, LMNO (aka James Kelly) has stalked the stage, making a name for himself among the West Coast underground, most notably as a member of the Visionaries. His new release, Devilish Dandruff with Holy Shampoo, was recorded entirely online, with French producer Yann Kesz laying the sonic foundation 5,500 miles from where LMNO would drop his lyrics.

The District Weekly: Do you find there is a particular style associated with Long Beach hip-hop?
LMNO: No I don’t. [. . .] As diverse as Long Beach is, it can’t strictly produce “a particular style,” which helps make the city what it is—the International City.

What did you take away from your affiliation with NWA?
Running with DJ Speed was a crazy experience for me as a kid in junior high. At that point in time I wasn’t thinking about anything but getting to high school to graduate and then begin this journey that I’m on now. Business-wise I saw success, and with that success comes a sacrifice that most aren’t willing to pay. Music-wise I saw the power of words, which help manifest my destiny.

Where is hip-hop heading in the ’10s?
I can’t predict where hip-hop is heading, but I know if the world hasn’t crumbled and the order/chaos as we know it is still in effect, then it’s safe to say that hip-hop will continue to grow and be that voice for the less heard.

Are there upsides to producing via e-mail?
One of the upsides of Internet producing is traveling costs are reduced.

And the downsides?
One of the downsides is the lack of human interaction. I, as of early November, still haven’t met or talked with Yann Kesz, and we have been working on Devilish Dandruff for a few years now.

What’s the origin of the album title?
I was getting some ink done by my friend Edgar, and he was telling me about his most recent trip to Mexico and how he heard the border patrol calling cocaine “the devil’s dandruff.” The day before, I recorded a song titled “Cocaine,” so the play on words began. And here we are.

What can we expect from the upcoming release show?
The show has Declaime, who has a new LP out titled Holy Smokes produced by Georgia Anne Muldrow; Kev Brown will be in from Landover, Maryland (he also has a new LP out titled Random Joints); and J.Rocc and Babu bring that Beat Junkie Sound every time! DJ Orator will bless the turntables, as well. The party is hosted by the legendary Mike Nardone. I think it’s safe to say: expect a good time!

What’s next for LMNO?
Touring to promote the record, branding myself and building awareness! Adding more order to my chaotic unreleased catalogue. Also check for Economic Food Chain Music Group (efcmg.com), which is a production company I started with Bixby Knolls native Jon T.

Describe your perfect day in Long Beach.
The Funk Fest was a near-perfect day, but that doesn’t count. Okay, let’s see. Waking up early at the Queen Mary Hotel with my family, then getting a plate of breakfast at the Potholder, then going off to record at the Greenshack studio with EFCMG, then getting some good food at Zephyr. After, I return to the shack and keep tracking ’til it’s time to go to the Rhythm Lounge and rock a live set.

LMNO WITH KEV BROWN AND DECLAIME AND DJS J.ROCC, BABU AND ORATOR THE RHYTHM LOUNGE • 245 PINE AVE • LONG BEACH 90802 • 562.435.4288 • THURS • $10 BEFORE 10PM; $12 AFTER • 21+ •


Remotely Controlled @ the District

Let Go And Be Sweet - The District

From the District - (11/04/09)

Of all the bands that helped define the Los Angeles punk movement of the ’70s and ’80s, only X managed to amicably rock their way into the 21st century to larger crowds and consistent acclaim. With a signature blend of rockabilly strut and relentless thump, X was defined by frontwoman Exene Cervenka’s bedraggled shout and captivating stage presence. Now in her 50s, Cervenka has become a grande dame of the scene, only recently returning from a four-year sojourn to the Midwest in attempt to find a little peace and quiet. Accompanying her return is her first solo album since 1991.

Christine Cervenkova was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1956 but spent her teen years in Florida. Under-stimulated and overly ambitious, Cervenka longed to escape to somewhere more amenable to her desires. New York-based session guitarist RK Watkins, a high-school classmate of hers, recalls that “she never exhibited any musical tendencies in school. It was before punk rock, the tail end of glam. Back then she was just a real fashion queen.” So at the end of high school, with a suitcase full of hair dye and Salvation Army dresses, Cervenka hit the road with a friend bound for Los Angeles—as good a place as any to pursue her wild-eyed dreams.

In Los Angeles she found her calling, befriending bassist/songwriter John Doe, with whom she formed a band—and married. X played the crustier dives of the Sunset Strip before a chance meeting with bespectacled Door Ray Manzarek, who offered to record the band’s first album. “He came to see us play at the Whisky,” Cervenka recalls. “He came backstage and said he wanted to work with us. We were part of musical history just for being in the club, and it made us profoundly thankful to work with him. It was a magical moment.” Their partnership lasted through their first four albums, resulting in classic anthems like “Los Angeles” and “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline.” Although X never reached superstardom, their influence echoes through any band with a twang and a pulse.

After nearly 30 years in Los Angeles, Cervenka needed a change of scenery. In 2005 she left her smog-ridden home for the wilds of Missouri, where she spent her time engulfed in creative pursuits. “That’s pretty much all I did for four years: practice guitar and focus on making art,” she recalls. “I just focused on making stuff.” The result of that sabbatical is Somewhere Gone, recorded sporadically last winter.

A far cry from her throat-thrashing in front of X, Somewhere Gone is a quieter album reflecting her countrified confines. Cervenka strums her way through 14 songs of Americana-drenched instrumentation and tight vocal harmonies touching equally upon love and loss. Acoustic and intimate, the album rings with an honesty no less passionate because of its reduced decibels. To promote the album, Cervenka will be appearing at Alex’s Bar with members of Los Angeles-based alt-country stalwarts Dead Rock West, including silky-voiced crooner Cindy Wasserman, who appears throughout the new album. “[People] are not coming to the shows expecting to hear a loud rock band,” Cervenka says. “They don’t know what to expect at all.”

Despite a recent diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, Cervenka remains upbeat about her health and is focusing on unleashing a newfound sense of creativity. “I am really enjoying being back here. I’ve been doing a lot of recording. It’s extremely rewarding to be back in a community of musicians,” she says. “We’ve recorded two new X songs for Christmas. I’ve recorded some songs just to do it. It’s been great.”

DARTH VATO PRESENTS EXENE CERVENKA, STEVE SOTO AND THE TWISTED HEARTS AND YELLOW RED SPARKS ALEX’S BAR • 2913 E ANAHEIM ST • LONG BEACH 90804 • 562.434.8292 • WED NOV 11 8PM • $10

Let Go and Be Sweet @ the District

Inherit the Groove - The District

From the District - (10/27/09)

In 1973, producer/songwriter/future animated chef Isaac Hayes was at the height of his soul power, appearing regularly in his gold chain blouse, with a shaved head and sporting sunglasses regardless of the weather or time of day. That same year, Patrick “Sleepy” Brown was born, destined to inherit the same chromed dome, shades and effortless soul—and to find himself behind the mixing board and mic for some of the biggest R&B hits of the ’90s and ’00s.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, to Jimmy Brown (lead vocalist for mid-’70s funk band Brick), the younger Brown absorbed his father’s smooth sounds, becoming by his early 20s a regular in the Atlanta scene—keyboard and sampler in hand—and eventually partnering with Rico Wade and Ray Murray to form one of the biggest knob-twirling production teams of the ATL renaissance, Organized Noize. After the birth of hip-hop in New York in the ’70s and ’80s and its move west for the early ’90s, the magnifying glass was looking for something new—and found a wealth of great sounds being recorded among Georgia’s peaches and humidity.

Brown saw his earliest success with Organized Noize producing the debut album by Parliament heirs Outkast. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik introduced a production style that melded elements of Philly soul, 808 beats and rapid-fire rhymes. Not long after, in the midst of producing Goodie Mob’s debut Soul Food, Brown joined the ranks of FM-radio immortals when he co-wrote and produced TLC’s “Waterfalls.”

It would be another eight years before Outkast and the Dirty South defied all odds with a chart-topping, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink self-produced double-album, Speakerboxx/The Love Below. Despite the fact that Brown did not produce it, he was featured prominently on “The Way You Move,” crooning over Big Boi’s hot-buttered beats. Since that dance in the spotlight, Brown has worked toward carving out a niche as a performer, in spite of numerous music-industry roadblocks. Still, his soulful vocals and party vibes make for an interesting heir to the immortal Black Moses. Be sure to wear some gold chains.

THE BROWN FAMILY DIARIES HALLOWEEN BALL THE CELLAR • 201 E BROADWAY • LONG BEACH 90802 • 562.495.9000 • SAT 8PM • $15-20

Inherit the Groove @ the District

Game On - The District

From the District - (09/23/09)

Whenever the phrase “hit jazz single” comes up and the laughter subsides, conversations often turn to the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s recording of “Take Five” before dwindling into more sedate alternatives like Chuck Mangione and Kenny G. Unlike those Costco jazzbos, pianist Dave Brubeck is a straight-ahead practitioner with a thunderous attack and tasteful approach to songwriting. His “In Your Own Sweet Way” and “The Duke” became jazz standards as soon as they were released, with artists like McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans and Pharaoh Sanders taking a crack at his refined progressions. Fifty years after the release of his groundbreaking album Time Out, Brubeck is still swinging for the masses.

Born in 1920 in Concord, California, Brubeck was the first music graduate from the College of the Pacific unable to read sheet music, something that says as much about his innate skills as it did about the college’s curriculum. While serving in the army band during World War II, Brubeck met Paul Desmond, who would become a frequent collaborator until his untimely death in the late ’70s. Following the war, Brubeck studied with composer Darius Milhaud, counter-balancing his jazz education with a wade through more avant-garde waters. By the mid ’50s Brubeck had carved out a successful living mixing the high- and low-brow for malleable minds at college campuses everywhere. His 1954 release, Jazz Goes to College, was a collection of live performances that exemplified Brubeck and Desmond’s effortless timing and smart sense of swing. It was also the beginning of his run of hits with Columbia Records.

In the summer of 1959 Brubeck entered Columbia’s 30th Street studios in Manhattan supported by Desmond (alto sax), Eugene Wright (bass) and Joe Morello (drums) to record what would become a definitive jazz classic, Time Out. Part of the elite class of Columbia releases that included Mingus Ah Um and Kind of Blue, Time Out was a swinging stroll across odd time signatures and distant harmonies that found commercial success with “Take Five,” an off-balance drum feature that was Desmond’s lone contribution, which became a Top 10 pop hit shortly after its release. (In his will, Desmond bequeathed his performance royalties to the American Red Cross.)

As much as Charles Mingus redefined the limits of a horn section and Miles Davis revealed the power of scales, Brubeck and his band rewrote the unspoken limitations of time signatures, branching out into prime-number meters that were inexplicably danceable. The album was a beatnik’s puzzle, featuring Neil Fujita’s abstract cover design and seven original compositions that wound their way through the phonograph into smoke-filled rooms across America. Songs like the Eastern European blues “Blue Rondo a la Turk” and “Kathy’s Waltz” (an ode to Brubeck’s daughter misspelled by the album designer) are memorable melodies that are entertaining and innovative, not relying on rhythmic gimmicks to carry the weight. At the time of its release the album was widely panned by critics but grew in stature, eventually becoming the first million-selling jazz album after reaching No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts.

After Time Out secured his future, Brubeck went on to tour extensively with the quartet before settling to focus on loftier compositions and raise a family. His home-grown troupe of musicians has since their teen years supported their father on stage and in the studio. Now in his late 80s, Brubeck is as busy as ever, with an upcoming itinerary that will find him behind keyboards from Los Angeles to New York before being recognized in December at the Kennedy Center Honors alongside youngbloods Bruce Springsteen and Robert De Niro. Witness a West Coast legend while he still walks the stage.

DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET CERRITOS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS • 12700 CENTER COURT DR • CERRITOS 90703 • 562.916.8501 • THURS 8PM • $27-51


Game On @ the District

More with Cabeza de Vaca Arcestra - The District

From the District website - (09/09/09)

How did you choose to do Faust? The first time I did Faust I had wanted to do the score for Haxan—a silent Scandanavian film from the ’20s about the history of witch-craft—but it doesn’t have a big enough draw. I was given a list of silent films that do well on their own, films that fans enjoy enough to see over and over regardless of live score or not. Faust was on the list and I had been attending a lecture series at the Philisophical Research Society about Alchemy. So it seemed to make sense.

What can we expect from the upcoming show? Thirteen different takes on selling your soul to the devil. Each musician gets to sonically represent Satan at one point or another during the film. It’s interesting to see how they hear that.

How do you hear it? I created a theme that is used as a starting point but most musicians wind up using unpitched sounds at one point or another. Things like string scraping or extended techniques like multiphonics on the horns and winds, as well as effects like delay and distortion. Personally I think a catchy jingle works best. We’ll also have a taxidermy goat with us as well. I’m hoping there will be a lot of people claiming to be Alchemists at the box office to get the student rate.

What’s the best way to prove you’re an alchemist? A conversation about the subject and a jive handshake.

Who did the poster for the show? Owleyes (immortalmortal.com). My favorite contemporary artist. I cannot say enough about how much I like his work and how fortunate I am to be able to work with him. I don’t know if it’s because we are both Virgos AND Dragons but we have really good chemistry. Next summer the Arcestra will be playing some shows in Europe and I want to set up art shows to go along with them. Our music and his art work go extremely well together. The posters that he creates for our shows bring a certain amount of excitement for everyone involved in them; they tie everything together for me.

What have you been reading lately? Kafka on the Shore. I don’t know what I was expecting but I was not expecting this book to be as beautifully far out as it is. It’s my first Murakami book. I’m looking forward to reading more of his work. I bought Vonnegut’s Dead Eye Dick on a trip last month. I got through most of it during that trip but didn’t finish it, I don’t think I will. Maybe I’ll finish it on my next trip. Everywhere I go a copy of Conference of the Birds follows me. It’s Sufi poetry from the 1100s. I think the book gods are trying to tell me something.

What have you been listening to? String Quartets. Ruth Crawford Seeger wrote one of the best. You can do so much with two violins, viola and cello. George Crumbs “Black Angels” is an insane piece. The numerology behind it and the use of God’s number—7—and the devil’s number—13—is the basis for the whole piece. All of the musical material is based on the two numbers. It’s obsessive compulsive genius. I enjoy looking at his scores as much as I do listening to his music. John Fahey, Lee Hazelwood. A mix CD of Macedonian music. I don’t know the names of anyone on the CD but the music is full of so many good times, it comes right through the speakers.


What have you been watching? Recent Youtube searches: Hurdy gurdy videos. Jodorowsky interviews. Jay-Z/freemason conspiracy videos. Harry Partch videos. Giant panda in china rips off mans jacket. Kwele music. Daniel Kachamba. Tom Waits videos. Latarian Milton, 7-year-old badboy videos.

Favorite spot in Long Beach? Acres of Books: genie magazines and maps. Two of my favorite things.

Favorite Dinosaur? It’s a tie between T-rex and Donovan.

More with Cabeza de Vaca Arcestra @ the District

Mind-Benders - the District

From the District - (9/9/09)

With his sturdy cane and no-fly-list facial hair, Jimi Cabeza de Vaca has been a fixture of the South Bay music scene for the last decade, providing ample cushioning for Joel Morales’ finely-tuned pop songs as the keyboardist for psychedelic-pop magnates dios and stringing his banjo over Red Cortez’s hard-shouting rock. Now he fronts his Cabeza de Vaca Arcestra, an auditory barrage of internal-organ-squashing feedback and unprecedented vocal swells that he unleashes upon often-unsuspecting audiences, rendering them speechless and on the verge of a panic attack.

Cabeza de Vaca started his music career crisscrossing America in a van. Dios, occasionally known as dios (malos), rekindled a pop-music love affair between Hawthorne harmonies and solid songcraft, playing loudly in low-ceilinged rooms. But after years of only occasionally sleeping on mattresses and trying to remember where he was, he yearned for a more stable lifestyle.

The sound experiments began at Cal Arts, Walt Disney’s Valencia brain farm, where Cabeza de Vaca pursued a Master’s degree in fine arts. Faced with an impending performance, he called upon a few noise enthusiasts to create a séance for a coffee table involving anointing oil, animal masks and a dream machine. The success of the performance encouraged him to take things even further.

Last spring, Cabeza de Vaca moved his Arcestra off campus to Fairfax’s Silent Movie Theatre, where he accompanied F.W. Murnau’s Faust—a 1920s silent German film depicting the less-pleasant side of dealing with the devil—to a full house and bewildered applause. Since that last performance, Cabeza de Vaca made a trip to the Faust House in Prague while touring with the Arcestra, absorbing strains of mysticism and alchemy to bring back home (alchemists receive 20% off admission!).

The onstage head count for this Friday’s performance may surpass 15, with contributions from sparrow-voiced Nora Keyes and soap-wielding Don Bolles. Among them will be multiple electric guitars, resonant brass, Tuvan throat singers and a theremin, each ebbing and flowing with every fluttering cape in Murnau’s masterpiece. Supported by an army equally educated in the classroom and on the road, the collision of sight and sound will be an intense experience that could threaten to explode into chaos, were it not contained by Cabeza de Vaca’s unflappable countenance. But if it gets to be too much, you can always step outside.

CABEZA DE VACA ARCESTRA SCORES FAUST ART THEATRE 2025 E FOURTH ST LONG BEACH 90814 562.438.5435 ARTTHEATRELONGBEACH.COM FRI 11:30PM CALL FOR TICKET PRICES

Mind-Benders @ the District

The Way I Feel About Cha - The District

From the District - (9/02/09)

There is an autobiography floating around good libraries and better bookstores entitled Bobby Womack: Midnight Mover: The True Story of the Greatest Soul Singer in the World. It is a gripping 300 pages of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. And, according to Womack, “it was a lot of BS.” The book, written in the UK by various biographers, was the Oliver Stone version of Bobby Womack’s life. “When the book came out I wouldn’t promote it,” he says. “Some things were in bad taste. They didn’t get permission from me to release it. It’s not all about getting people’s attention.” A Zelig-like tale of a man who found himself in the just right place at just the right time for over 50 years of musical history, the book was only 90% true.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, 65 years ago, Womack was the third of five brothers. His father, a musician and taskmaster, pushed his sons into the music business. Originally called the Womack Brothers, they were renamed the Valentinos by Sam Cooke, who had met Womack when Womack was only nine years old. Applying the same successful transformation from gospel to soul, Cooke swapped “God” for “girls” and put them on the road with James Brown. One of their first singles, “It’s All Over Now,” became the Rolling Stones’ first number-one UK hit. “The first time I heard the Stones’ version was when Sam Cooke played it for me. He was thrilled they were cutting the song. He was thrilled because he had the publishing. ‘Why don’t they get their own song?’ I asked him. It seemed like it was just getting ready to happen for us. But when the royalty check came around I was real surprised.” Not long after, the Valentinos broke up.

Contributing heavily to the band’s demise was the death of Cooke, murdered at the Hacienda Motel in 1964. Three months later Womack married Cooke’s widow, Barbara, and found himself blacklisted from most record labels. After a few unsuccessful bids for stardom, Womack turned to his guitar, taking a position with Ray Charles. Eventually he landed in Memphis at the recommendation of another mentor, Wilson Pickett. Womack spent several years working as a guitar for hire, turning up on some of the greatest recordings to emerge from Tennessee. “Some songs they say you played on, and I don’t even remember. But I’ll listen to it and say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s me.’ I was an unknown. It’s just what we all did. We all got together and put something in the pot.” Those “pots” just happen to include Aretha’s “Chain of Fools,” Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds,” the Box Tops’ “The Letter” and a couple dozen other pop-radio standards. “I feel fortunate to have been a part of it. Twenty, 30 years later I look back and say, ‘That’s amazing.’ I just happen to have been one of the guys to be invited to the session.”

In 1969, Womack finally achieved solo success with a version of “California Dreamin’” that cracked the US Top 50. Over the next couple decades he charted with a string of hits, including “That’s the Way I Feel About Cha,” “Looking for a Love” and “Across 110th Street,” putting his distinctive growl and guitar style to more personal uses.

Last spring Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the first Clevelander to be so honored. “When I went to Cleveland I really couldn’t believe it, to see how Cleveland had really grown. I was knocked out.” With Ron Wood by his side, Womack soaked up the accolades. But he went right back to work afterwards. A few months ago he lent his pipes to the upcoming Gorillaz album, and this weekend he will be headlining the Long Beach Blues Festival. “C’mon out,” he offers. “It’ll be a Sunday. We’ll be going to church!”

LONG BEACH BLUES FESTIVAL FEATURING BOBBY WOMACK, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD, THE FUNKY METERS, MAVIS STAPLES, JOHNNY WINTER AND MORE RAINBOW LAGOON 400 SHORELINE VILLAGE DR LONG BEACH 90802 JAZZANDBLUES.ORG SAT-SUN (WOMACK PLAYS SUN); SAT 12:30-10:20PM, SUN 12:30-9:45PM $49.50-300

The Way I Feel About Cha @ the District

Go-To Funk - The District

From the District - (8/26/09)

Maybe it’s the humidity, or maybe it’s the crawfish, but there is something in the Crescent City that makes everything undeniably funky. Ever since “Jelly Roll” Morton “invented” jazz behind moist brothel walls in the early 20th century, New Orleans has produced some of the most significant merchants of funk. The Meters, a powerhouse quartet forged by the spirit of Mardi Gras against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, provided inimitable support for many of them.

Originally dubbed the Hawkettes, New Orleans royalty Art Neville (keyboards) formed the Meters in 1966 with session men 10 years younger than he, including George Porter, Jr. (bass), Zigaboo Modeliste (drums) and Leo Nocentelli (guitar). They became the go-to rhythm section for producer Allen Toussaint, who over the next dozen years had them backing definitive voices of New Orleans (Ernie K-Doe, Lee Dorsey, Dr. John, Professor Longhair), as well as a few red-coated members of the pop scene looking to acquire a little bayou authenticity (Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer, Peter Gabriel, Sting). Only 20 years old when he joined the band, Nocentelli was eager to learn as much as he could. “It was a great experience for me because it was a learning experience,” he says. “I learned how to arrange and structure songs. [Toussaint] helped me as a writer.”

Aside from backing some of the greater voices in New Orleans, the Meters were hit-makers in their own right. “We played at a club called the Nightcap,” Nocentelli recalls. “Everybody in those days used to open with a song called ‘Hold It.’ So I wrote a melody and introduced it to the guys. There was a dance at the time called ‘Sophisticated Sissy,’ so we called ours ‘Cissy Strut.’” A surprise instrumental radio hit, 40 years later any kid worth his weight in guitar strings knows the simple riffs by heart. “It was hard to be an instrumental group then. People like to hear lyrics and love songs; songs that deal with emotions. ‘Cissy Strut’ was a phenomenon.”

Pioneering house bands like the Funk Brothers at Motown and Booker T. & the MG’s at Stax paved the way for the Meters’ sound with their signature flair and consistency. What set the Meters apart from their predecessors was an earthiness and unrepentant funk few bands had ever exhibited. The guitar and bass were often doubled up, while the drums laid out a disjointed second-line rhythm that provided a gold mine for hip-hop producers several decades later. “When I was writing back then I didn’t know what the hell I was doing,” says Nocentelli. “It was creating a thing called syncopation. A lot of people used it back then in jazz, where you have the bass playing the melody with the guitar while the drums play something else.”

Not unlike the remaining Beach Boys and their myriad configurations (Family and Friends! Endless Summer Band!), these days everyone is capitalizing on their affiliation with the Meters: the Funky Meters, the Meter Men, the Original Meters, the Meters’ Experience. All these bands tour regularly and feature various original members. “They do their thing, and I do mine,” says Nocentelli. “Each one of us can’t help but take a piece of the Meters with any project we do. But we’re on good terms. Some of the old wounds are there, but whenever we can get together to play and make some money, you know, it’s all good.”

This week Nocentelli will be fronting his version of the Meters, the Meters’ Experience. Next week at the Long Beach Blues Festival Art Neville and George Porter, Jr. will appear on stage as the Funky Meters. But Nocentelli assures that he is the real deal. “When you hear me, you’re always going to hear the Meters experience. The Meters’ Experience is the music. Ninety percent of that music was me. No matter what I do, it’s going to sound like me.”

SUMMER AND MUSIC PRESENTS THE LONG BEACH FUNK FEST FEATURING THE METERS’ EXPERIENCE, CHARLES WRIGHT, MANDRILL, DAWN SILVA, BREAKESTRA, DELTA NOVE, OO SOUL AND MORE PINE AND BROADWAY LONG BEACH 90802 SAT NOON-MIDNIGHT FREE SUMMERANDMUSIC.COM

Go-To Funk @ the District

Improvised Icon - The District

From the District - (08/05/09)

In the summer of 1969 the Les McCann Trio played the Montreux Jazz Festival backed by horn legends Eddie Harris and Benny Bailey. Without written charts or time for rehearsal, the minutes-old quintet hit the stage and recorded one of the most influential soul-jazz singles. “Compared to What” is a blistering shout of frustration that brought success to road-weary jazz pianist Les McCann, reinvigorated veteran pop star Eugene McDaniels and launched the career of soul great Roberta Flack.

Composed by his friend McDaniels, McCann’s version of “Compared to What” opens with a rollicking montuno before floating a reference to “Aquarius” over a wailing cowbell. From there the song turns into an unstoppable eight-minute freight train. McCann sings a series of confrontational verses (“The president, he’s got his war / Folks don’t know just what it’s for / Nobody gives us rhyme or reason / Have one doubt / They call it treason”), while in between the horns blast the soundboard into the red.

Part of the jazz generation that includes fellow pianists Ramsey Lewis and Gene Harris, McCann was raised on the sounds of Erroll Garner and developed an iron-fisted right hand that led to a string of releases on the Pacific Jazz label. His first album for Atlantic Records, Swiss Movement, was a live recording of his ferocious Montreux performance jump-started by “Compared to What.”

McDaniels got his start in the early 1960s with radio epics “A Hundred Pounds of Clay” and “Tower of Strength.” By the time McCann was playing his songs he had transformed from charming pop star to seething activist. McDaniels eventually went on to write “Feel Like Makin’ Love” for Roberta Flack, who had been discovered by McCann in a Washington nightclub and whose debut features a version of “Compared to What” released just two days before McCann’s incendiary set.

McCann’s interpretation is an invigorating marathon of soulful exclamations featuring great sax work by Eddie Harris. Two decades on, “Compared to What” still stands as one of the great live jazz recordings. And why not? He was only trying to make it real.

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