What live music are you going to see tonight?

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

Ramsey Lewis FUSION band! yeyaa!

[medjuck]

Just came back from seeing the Rebirth Brass Band in a club. They had the audience (including me) dancing and screaming.

[BillF]

John Hallam with the Gerry Tomlinson Trio at Whitefield this afternoon.

[A Lark Ascending]

Well, seen last night at 'the last jazz club before New York' in St Ives, Cornwall - 4 Sided Triangle. Excellent fusiony band with superb Mike Outram on guitar and Kevin Figes on baritone and alto; some very nice e-p from Dan Moore too ( who looked like a refugee from a 70s Canterbury band). Like Partisans, jazz-rock with the emphasis on jazz.

Recommended to Brits - likely to be at a jazz club near you before long.

[Soulstation1]

Earth Wind & Fire played in Tucson last night

Damn

No $$$$$$$$$$

[A Lark Ascending]

Various amateurs (many of considerable skill) playing Irish and American folk in pubs in Sidmouth.

Very enjoyable main concert by Show of Hands - cult folk duo who do the clubs but have filled the Royal Albert Hall at least twice. I've always been a bit wary of them - probably the cult following grated - but they were extremely entertaining last night with their songs of the West Country struggling in an uncertain modern world.

Edited August 4, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[A Lark Ascending]

The Voice Squad - veteran Irish close harmony group (in its own way as radical as sticking in a beat box) in fine form.

Dervish - another group with a long track record; jigs, reels and songs played suberbly. Very exciting and enormous fun.

[A Lark Ascending]

Chris Wood - England's finest contemporary songwriter, to my mind. Songs that are contemporary and topical yet richly connected to traditional music. A set made up of all new songs bar one. That's not a risk many would take.

John McCusker/Michael McGoldrick/John Doyle - diamond sharp Irish/Scottish music from this supergroup.

In a year where the main British jazz festivals have gone for crossover safety in order to stay afloat its intriguing to see a festival in another genre thriving by appealing to its core audience. Maybe easier to do in folk music which is far more participatory - I suspect most people are here for the dancing, informal sessions etc. There's a captive audience for musicians just doing what they do - no need to helicopter Bruce Springsteen in.

[PHILLYQ]

Just came back from seeing the Rebirth Brass Band in a club. They had the audience (including me) dancing and screaming.

I saw them in NO in 2005, about a month before Katrina hit, also in a club. Same effect, everyone(including me)dancing and screaming. Great show.

[A Lark Ascending]

Jackie Oates - the person I was most looking forward to at Sidmouth. Marvellous singer - the audiences may be ageing but the young performers keep on appearing.

Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy Band - very, very moving. Norma has been out of action after a very serious illness and this was her first performance since. Tremendous, warm-hearted concert with Norma rattling away and loving every minute. Her voice may not be what it once was but the spirit and love of a wide range of music was there in bucket loads.

[sidewinder]

the audiences may be ageing

No - that's just Sidmouth.

[A Lark Ascending]

I'm exaggerating the age thing. We oldies may dominate the big concerts (maybe only we can afford the ticket prices) and there are lots of worse for wear Morris dancers and people clutching melodeons wandering the town; but there's also lots of dances and workshops which I suspect draw in much younger people. More of a chance there to participate and indulge in a bit of courting.

[A Lark Ascending]

Amazing day of tremendous music:

Fay Hield & the Hurricane Party - only a name to me until a few months back but Fay Hield is quite something. Very folky. With the sort of vocal approach that clearly comes from listening to lots of source singers. Supergroup band playing in that wonderful ox-cart creaking down a muddy lane manner.

Brass Monkey - yikes, this one was full of nostalgia. I saw a couple of the first gigs by this band back in1982 or so. A trio of Martin Carthy, John Kirkpatrick and Howard Evans in a Nottingham pub and then the full five piece at Cropredy. Even more nostalgic, the second gig of any sort I ever attended was The Albion County Band in Swindon College with Carthy and Kirpatrick aboard. And here the are in 2012 playing with as much swagger as ever. Who'd have thought an experiment to take the rock out of folk-rock and replace it with a brass band would still be going 30 years later!

Old Man Luedecke - actually a 30 something playing banjo and singing. From Nova Scotia - very nice oddball songs.

Mawkin - fabulous. For some reason this well established band have kept a pretty low profile. I only came across them by word of mouth and up to now heard the only on record. Again rooted in that rusty waggon English approach but flying off elsewhere - The Kinks, music hall, Finnish tango, Hungarian and Swedish dance tunes.

What a rich musical world we live in and have access to.

[A Lark Ascending]

Superstar night.

Martin Simpson steering it all, accompanied through most of it by the wonderful Andy Cutting on squeeze boxes.

Joined in the first half by Fay Hield and Jon Boden. And then in part two by June Tabor and Dick Gaughan.

Only the latter disappointed - he was such a powerhouse in the 70s and 80s, pulling off both traditional and highly political song in a rich, deep, heavily accented voice. But every time I've seen him in recent years he's done the same songs.

More June tonight with the Oyster Band.

Edited August 9, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[Elissa]

Orrin Evans, one of the my favorite pianists in town, hosts a jam session Tuesday nights at the Zinc bar with his own killing band. I especially liked the bass player, whose name I forgot. Eric Lewis was there, reminding us all that yes he still can play jazz, Joel Harris, Gerry Gibbs, Jeff Watts (whose band is at the Zinc tonight) and who I may go see. The occasional horn player went on a bit too long, though not badly. Orrin himself I find hugely creative and swinging and invariably beautiful.

[kh1958]

Orrin Evans, one of the my favorite pianists in town, hosts a jam session Tuesday nights at the Zinc bar with his own killing band. I especially liked the bass player, whose name I forgot. Eric Lewis was there, reminding us all that yes he still can play jazz, Joel Harris, Gerry Gibbs, Jeff Watts (whose band is at the Zinc tonight) and who I may go see. The occasional horn player went on a bit too long, though not badly. Orrin himself I find hugely creative and swinging and invariably beautiful.

The band he led at Smalls where I heard him last year was quite good (Mark Gross on alto and Marvin Sewell on guitar).

[A Lark Ascending]

Various ok but nothing to get very excited about folkies - including a band who looked (and sounded a bit like) Jethro Tull (in their dishevelled farm labourer phase) and sang about hedges, long barrows and ley lines. Bonkers.

Then a wonderful final concert with June Tabor and the Oyster Band. Including a version of 'White Rabbit' - no sign of bad acid but plenty of scrumpy casualties.

Right - time for beard detox...

Edited August 10, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[BillF]

George Galway (brother of James) with the Gerry Tomlinson Trio at Whitefield this afternoon.

[jlhoots]

Terri Hendrix / Lloyd Maines

Terry Allen

[Elissa]

Dropped in to the Zinc for the Orrin Evans jam session again last night. Did I mention that I love Orrin Evans? The bass player (same as last week) is the wonderful Alex Hernandez. Tommy Campbell's moved back from Europe and he was in the house. Frank Lacy dropped by, and my favorite jazz guitarist, Saul Rubin was there, and Eric Lewis was back. Orrin though, Orrin.

[BillF]

Trombonists Lee Hallam and Duncan Winfield playing Jay and Kai arrangements with the Gerry Tomlinson Trio at Whitefield this afternoon.

[BFrank]

Upcoming this week:

Thursday - The Iguanas

Saturday - Larry Coryell, Joey Defrancesco, Jimmy Cobb

[aparxa]

Back from two nights at Ramatuelle:

Abdullah Ibrahim and EKAYA

Great and inspired septet with a lovely and unexpected Skippy(Monk) at the very end.

Kenny Barron Trio

Solid performance and happy to see KB for the first time.

[mjb]

On the 19th we saw Tom Harrell with Billy Childs, Wayne Escofferey and Ugonna Okegwo at The Vanguard.

Wandering around we found Enfants Terribles at The Blue Note. Oh New York how I do love you.

[jlhoots]

Lyle Lovett