clifford_thornton Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Just got back from Chattanooga, where I heard two great sets of free improvisation by John Butcher, Gino Robair, Thomas Lehn, and The Shaking Ray Levis (Dennis Palmer on synth and Bob Stagner on drums). Butcher's music is very controlled, in a way, so it was interesting to see/hear him respond to Dennis Palmer's unpredictable wildness. I'm not sure he had ever come up against anything like Mr. Palmer, especially when Dennis started speaking in tongues. Oh nice! I saw the trio (minus any local ringers) in Austin, and they were very good. Been meaning to check out the Levis; thanks for the reminder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings When she did the Celebrate Brooklyn summer series two years ago she got the largest turnout they ever had, close to 30,000, at least half of whom couldn't get into the bandshell area and had to sit on the lawn outside. She's a hometown girl (by way of Georgia), but I had no idea she had that big a following. The opening act was Budos Band (another Dap-Tone band) and Lee Fields was a special guest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcrom Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Just got back from Chattanooga, where I heard two great sets of free improvisation by John Butcher, Gino Robair, Thomas Lehn, and The Shaking Ray Levis (Dennis Palmer on synth and Bob Stagner on drums). Butcher's music is very controlled, in a way, so it was interesting to see/hear him respond to Dennis Palmer's unpredictable wildness. I'm not sure he had ever come up against anything like Mr. Palmer, especially when Dennis started speaking in tongues. Oh nice! I saw the trio (minus any local ringers) in Austin, and they were very good. Been meaning to check out the Levis; thanks for the reminder. I like them a lot, both as musicians and as friends. I think I said something like this before, so forgive me for repeating myself: The Shaking Rays play improvised music somewhat out of European free music tradition, but it somehow has a Southern, backwoods flavor. Part of it is something teetering around the edge of the music - a suggestion that, no matter how wild and atonal the music is, they boys could break into an old-time reel or a Southern funk beat at any time. (Something like the latter happened last night for a few seconds.) And Dennis Palmer does occasionally pull a microphone close and start vocalizing - speaking in tongues like a synthesizer-playing Pentecostal preacher or singing an other-worldly hillbilly song with almost-intelligible syllables. It's startling, funny, and kind of magical. If you can manage to track down a copy, you should get their CD False Prophets or Dang Good Guessers - the first CD of an American ensemble ever released on Incus. It took me a while to find one, and I gave my copy to Bob Stagner last night, because he had told me that even he didn't have a copy. But you can get an excellent 30-minute CD from their website - Live at Lamar's. It's Derek Bailey with Bob and Dennis, recorded at a Chattanooga restaurant in 1999. And they have formed a remarkable non-profit organization, The Shaking Ray Levi Society, who do an incredible job of make the arts a flourishing part of life in Chattanooga, including bringing some amazing avant-garde musicians to that little city. God bless Bob and Dennis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted June 7, 2012 Report Share Posted June 7, 2012 Sweet, sounds like my kind of stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcrom Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 John Adams' opera A Flowering Tree, by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, with Jessica Rivera, soprano, Russell Thomas, tenor, and Eric Owens, baritone. It was a minimally-staged performance, with the chorus and orchestra on stage and projections on a large screen behind the chorus. It was pretty wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Saw Brendan Benson last night. One of the more underrated power pop artists on the circuit these days. His new album on his new label is worth checking out. BTW, if you aren't familiar with him, he's also the other "half" of The Raconteurs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 "Power pop"? You learn something new every day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Schwartz Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 http://kuumbwajazz.org/2012/03/claire-daly-quartet-tribute-to-thelonious-monk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 "Power pop"? You learn something new every day... HELLyeah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Goren. Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Mulgrew Miller is playing this evening in Tel-Aviv. I'll be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Tinariwen tomorrow night. Saw them last year, too - good show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Nice gig last night in Portsmouth UK. Steve Waterman, one our best trumpet men with Anthony Kerr on vibes (not sounding like anyone else particularly) and some great work from Alec Dankworth and Dave Barry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Nice gig last night in Portsmouth UK. Steve Waterman, one our best trumpet men with Anthony Kerr on vibes (not sounding like anyone else particularly) and some great work from Alec Dankworth and Dave Barry. Nice one, John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcrom Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) This evening I walked from my house in Atlanta to a park about a third of a mile away to attend a free concert by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. (How cool is that?) The DDBB has gone through a lot of changes over the years, but I was tickled that, out of a seven-piece band, four of the guys on stage tonight were founding members, included Kirk Joseph, my second-favorite tuba player.* For once, I was glad I didn't have a gig on Saturday night. The Dirty Dozen were the cherry on top of a really nice day - barbecue, quality time with my wife, great music, and now some really nice beer. *My favorite is Mr. Joseph's fellow New Orleanian Matt Perrine. Edited June 17, 2012 by jeffcrom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Tomorrow: Christian McBride Big Band Should be smokin'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Christian McBride is a VERY impressive bassist. Don't recall seeing another one with his dexterity and ease of improvisation. Ron Blake was by far the most impressive soloist tonight. Thursday: The Cookers! Can't wait. They never fail to amaze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 The SwingShift Big Band with guest soloist Alan Barnes at Southport this afternoon. In addition to his usual armoury of alto, bari and clarinet, Barnesy treated us to quite a bit of tenor playing this afternoon. His big band arrangements were good, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 So I saw Get the Blessing at the Vancouver Jazz Fest. They were quite good. However, this is the second venue at the Jazz Fest that I really disliked to the point I won't go back. Get the Blessing is very much in the jazz-rock vein, like Led Bib, and they had the show at a regular rock club, not a jazz club. Almost no seating (and the upstairs which did have some extra seating was closed off). It was super dark, even before the show began, and during the show, crazy spotlights kept moving around and shining in my eyes. There was even a disco ball (though they didn't lower it). Maybe I'm just not having much luck, but I am so unimpressed with the way they've organized this festival. I also wasn't thrilled that they decided Get the Blessing needed an opening act, like a real rock group. I guess it was some local guitar-oriented group. Their music didn't do anything for me, though they had some chops. But they decided that their approach required them to crank the speakers past 11 to 12. A lot of tender jazz fans put their fingers in their ears for the whole set. I was sitting round the corner, out of direct line of the speakers, but I could still feel the waves of sound going through my body. Frankly, this level of sound is uncalled for and it just made them come across as dicks in my book. It took me a while to recover my equilibrium, but I did enjoy Get the Blessing when they finally took the stage. They generally kept their songs short - 3-4 minutes mostly. The last few songs of the set they stretched out a bit more. The line-up is tenor sax, trumpet (both of whom occasionally used looping effects but not all the time), electric bass and drums. Note: they do not actually dress up with bags on their head or whatever as in the videos. They were good. Still, I wish they had started at 9 without an opening act and in a real jazz club. I would have enjoyed the evening a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 All sounds painfully reminiscent of some of the venues I've heard jazz in recently. Darkness and spotlights: Wigan Jazz Festival's latest venue. Lack of seating and intolerable volume: Band on the Wall, Manchester. Fortunately, there are still some excellent places; e.g. this room at the Royal Clifton Hotel, Southport: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Looking forward to this one tonight: http://www.rncm.ac.uk/whats-on-mainmenu-47/explore-whats-on-mainmenu-95/icalrepeat.detail/2012/07/07/1285/413/rncm-big-band-with-bob-mintzer.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Looking forward to this one tonight: http://www.rncm.ac.uk/whats-on-mainmenu-47/explore-whats-on-mainmenu-95/icalrepeat.detail/2012/07/07/1285/413/rncm-big-band-with-bob-mintzer.html Right up your street Bill. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Looking forward to this one tonight: http://www.rncm.ac.uk/whats-on-mainmenu-47/explore-whats-on-mainmenu-95/icalrepeat.detail/2012/07/07/1285/413/rncm-big-band-with-bob-mintzer.html Right up your street Bill. Enjoy! Thanks, John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Saw Bob Mintzer with the Royal Northern College of Music Big Band tonight. http://www.rncm.ac.uk/whats-on-mainmenu-47/explore-whats-on-mainmenu-95/icalrepeat.detail/2012/07/07/1285/413/rncm-big-band-with-bob-mintzer.html A great show - the student band handled Mintzer's charts with ease and Bob played startlingly accomplished saxophone with overtones of both Coltrane and Oliver Nelson to my ears. Show was preceded by a performance of saxophone quartets written by Mintzer - liked these too. In each case I was about ten feet from the performers and the sound quality was perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 This evening, Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society at the lovely Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, given Ronald Shannon Jackson's public musical inactivity over the last 15 years or so. But I need not have feared a polite evening of respectful applause for a retrospective concert by a past-his-prime artist. Instead, it was holy f--k, what a great concert, incredible, fantastic--this edition of the Decoding Society was the equal of any I've heard, and well rehearsed, with wonderful music and strong soloists. I never thought I would get to hear this music live again. And there was even a substantial sized crowd. The Decoding Society was: Ronald Shannon Jackson, drums and flute; Melvin Gibbs, bass guitar; John Wier, trumpet; Gregg Prickett, guitar; and Leonard Hayward, violin. In the course of an hour and a half concert, they performed: Deluge (Wayne Shorter) Momma Plays the Guitar (RSJ) Reese (Gregg Prickett) People We Love (RSJ) He Walked into the River (Gregg Prickett) Concerto for Drums (RSH) Howard Beach Memoirs (Melvin Gibbs) Petals (RSJ) Bloodlife (RSJ). And for an encore, Ronald Shannon Jackson played an amazing drum solo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Went to see Bruce Springsteen tonight - was hesitant for a long while, didn't get tickets, bought some from guys outside of the stadium (it only cost me around... oooh, let me think - about 22 local daily papers, 1-1.5 haircuts, three burgers at the pub - not sure how to depict prices here, but I got in for about 2/3 of the official price which was rather crazy, but I guess that's why all these guys bother to visit Switzerland). Anyway, it was effin' unbelievable! Just plain amazing, over three hours of great, great music! First time I saw him live, and I guess indeed you've got to be there to believe it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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