What live music are you going to see tonight?

[BFrank]

Friday:

Dave Holland Overtone Quartet

Dave Holland bass

Chris Potter saxophones

Jason Moran piano

Eric Harland drums

[jeffcrom]

Just got back from the first Atlanta performance by the New Orleans Bingo Show, which I would describe as punk rock vaudeville. It's led by Clint Maedgen, a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who sometimes plays saxophone with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. There was lots of off-center rock, a pretty girl, and we played bingo. I didn't win.

[Tom Storer]

Saw "The Cookers" last night, a collective featuring Billy Harper on tenor, Craig Handy on alto and flute, David Weiss and Eddie Henderson on trumpet, George Cables on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Billy Hart on drums. This was at the New Morning in Paris.

No false claims in the group title, they cooked. There was one problem that marred the concert somewhat, which was that it was uncomfortably loud. There were probably about 150 people in a club that seats 300 when it's jam-packed to the rafters, and given their energy, if they had played completely unamplified one would have heard the music perfectly clearly. Instead the blaring amplification made it hard to hear the organic unity of the rhythm section. This is not the first time this has happened to me at the New Morning. In addition, one could see from the musicians' gestures to the soundboard that their onstage monitors were not high enough.

But the music itself was great. Solid and satisfying four-horn arrangements of original tunes, particularly by Harper, McBee and Cables, committed and energetic solos by all. Henderson in particular stood out for me for his imaginative soloing, and the others were no slouches. David Weiss, who served as the MC, had some fierce and crackling choruses. But I'm above all delighted to have caught the rhythm section of Cables, McBee, and Hart. They were flying. Monsters, all of them. A great night.

[sidewinder]

Wish I could have got to see "The Cookers". The Ronnie Scott's London gig got a good review in the press here - Eddie Henderson being given particular mention.

[BFrank]

I've seen the Cookers a couple of times. A must-see whenever possible!

Saw Holland's Overtone Quartet last night. Another must-see - they know how to cook, too.

And for anyone who hasn't experienced Eric Harland yet, he's a monster. With this lineup was able to show his composition skills as well. Very much a five-tool player (to mis-use baseball-speak).

[BeBop]

Tomorrow - work permitting - Benny Golson at Jazz Alley (Seattle)

[BillF]

Kenny Garrett Quartet/Trio at the Band on the Wall, Manchester last night.

This gig got off to a bad start when I received an email two days ago to say that, owing to visa problems, the quartet would appearing without their pianist Benito Gonzales and would be a trio of Kenny, Corcoran Holt on bass and McClenty Douglas on drums. The problem was that Kenny was committed to previewing the quartet's forthcoming album, Seeds from the Underground which, judging from the Amazon samples, made full use of the piano. So, when not playing his horn, Kenny took to the piano during the gig - fairly competently I admit, but it was all a bit like running a race with a three-legged horse. Added to that, Mr Douglas was the loudest drummer I've heard since the days when Blakey and Philly Joe graced my eardrums, so that the leader's tentative keyboard efforts, not to mention the bass, were often drowned out. I left after the first set.

Edited March 9, 2012 by BillF

[kh1958]

Last night, Lucky Peterson at Tucker's Blues. A very extended set (2 hours and 30 minutes). Some incredible guitar playing tonight, and lots of piano. Plus a new drummer in the trio. And as a bonus, Lucky was selling a recording of a set of the group performing at the Iridium, from whence they had just returned.

[Free For All]

Tonight I got to hear Doc Severinsen with his touring big band. Doc is 84!!! and still playing great. Very good back up band too, including Ernie Watts.

Tomorrow, jazz brunch with Eddie Gomez, Stefan Karlsson and Ed Soph. Jazz brunch? WTF?

[sidewinder]

Added to that, Mr Douglas was the loudest drummer I've heard since the days when Blakey and Philly Joe graced my eardrums

You never heard Tony Williams, Bill? Or Elvin at a distance of less than 10 feet (I did ....once !)

Edited March 4, 2012 by sidewinder

[BillF]

Added to that, Mr Douglas was the loudest drummer I've heard since the days when Blakey and Philly Joe graced my eardrums

You never heard Tony Williams, Bill? Or Elvin at a distance of less than 10 feet (I did ....once !)

Never had the privilege!

[JohnS]

Added to that, Mr Douglas was the loudest drummer I've heard since the days when Blakey and Philly Joe graced my eardrums

You never heard Tony Williams, Bill? Or Elvin at a distance of less than 10 feet (I did ....once !)

My worst loud drummer experience was Bill Evans with Philly Joe Jones and Lee Konitz at the Fairfeld Hall IIRC. Jones was all you could hear for the most part.

[BillF]

Added to that, Mr Douglas was the loudest drummer I've heard since the days when Blakey and Philly Joe graced my eardrums

You never heard Tony Williams, Bill? Or Elvin at a distance of less than 10 feet (I did ....once !)

My worst loud drummer experience was Bill Evans with Philly Joe Jones and Lee Konitz at the Fairfeld Hall IIRC. Jones was all you could hear for the most part.

Know what you mean! Saw PJJ with Benny Bailey and Roland Kirk at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. At the end of the first number someone shouted, "You can't hear anything but drums!" Kirk came to to microphone and said, "Cain't hear nothin' but drums? Man, I don't know what you're smokin', but you ain't smoked enough of it!"

[six string]

Friday:

Dave Holland Overtone Quartet

Dave Holland bass

Chris Potter saxophones

Jason Moran piano

Eric Harland drums

I saw this group last week and really enjoyed it overall. Dave Holland's bass was not easily heard though. I turned his amp up after the first song but it was never really loud enough when everyone was playing and that was a real shame as I love the tone he gets from his bass. Also he was playing a new instrument I'd never seen before. The lower half of the body of the bass was a little truncated so it looked a littl odd. I don't know if the newness of the instrument had anything to do with the volume level. I kept waiting for the soundman to do something about it and I wanted to yell out that I couldn't hear him very well. I was ten rows from the stage and dead center so it shouldn't have been an issue.

The only other quibble is the lack of solos from Jason Moran. Potter was the dominant soloist that night and though he's a fine player I find his solos a little predictable and Moran's voice would have been a welcome relief. Jason also played the Fender Rhodes which added a nice color to the program. They played compositions by everyonen in the band including Eric Harland. Eric's drumming was nothing short of fantastic and perfect at every moment. Just a real superb musician at the top of his game.

[BillF]

Dave O'Higgins and Eric Alexander with The Kristian Leth Trio at Seven Jazz, Leeds last night.

O'Higgins, Alexander (tenors), Andrew McCormack (piano), Arnie Somogyi (bass), Leth (drums)

After my disappointment at last week's gig (see #2407), this date set the record straight in no uncertain way. The gig was held in a small theatre with an audience of about 60 and I sat on the front row, more or less in the group and the sound balance was perfect. This group has toured several times in recent years and there's a great rapport and everything functions like a quiet, but efficient machine.

The main treat was to hear Alexander live for the first time after hearing so much of him on record and to find that he came completely up to expectations - as I was pleased to tell him! One thing I noticed was the very strong Coltrane influence in his playing, both in his characteristic figures and in his harmonic direction. This may the result of playing with another Trane-oriented tenorman or perhaps his playing is moving in that direction. I'm hearing it now as I play the group's album, The Devil's Interval, which I bought at the gig and had signed by Eric:

[sidewinder]

Eric Alexander

Last time I saw him I think he was part of a McCoy Tyner group with Wallace Roney, Steve Turre and Eric Gravatt on drums. His playing was thoroughly enjoyable.

[BillF]

Eric Alexander

Last time I saw him I think he was part of a McCoy Tyner group with Wallace Roney, Steve Turre and Eric Gravatt on drums. His playing was thoroughly enjoyable.

That sounds interesting! When and where was that?

[sidewinder]

NorthSea - back in 2006 I think. I barely survived the crush !

Edited March 9, 2012 by sidewinder

[jeffcrom]

This is definitely one of those "YMMV" posts.

Last night was the final evening of a short visit to Chicago. The original plan was to go to Rosa's for some blues, but I decided that I didn't want to deal with the 20-minute ride on the 'L' and 20-minute walk in the cold that would be involved in getting to the club from my hotel in the Loop. So I walked to Andy's to hear the Brian Lynch Quartet.

For the first ten minutes, I was just tickled to hear some jazz played on a level I usually don't get hear in Atlanta. After that, it started to seem surreal. I kept thinking, "Why do they sound just like a late 50's/early 60's Blue Note album?" The music was accomplished, swinging, and almost totally uninteresting to me.

And this is from a listener who loves to go to New Orleans to hear young folks play even older music. But most of the musicians in New Orleans sound freer and more contemporary playing 90-year-old music than Lynch and his young rhythm section sounded playing 50-year-old music. I think part of it is that the New Orleans guys know that they can take a lot of liberties with "Milneburg Joys," and it's still going to sound like "Milneburg Joys." They're not trying to reproduce or recreate anything; they're playing old music and turning it into living music.

That's probably what Lynch and company were trying to do as well, but it didn't happen, at least to my ears. It was so much like an old Blue Note album that it was just creepy. Even Lynch's original called "Woody Shaw" sounded just like Woody Shaw.

This experience reminded me of something Steve Swallow said when interviewed by Martin Williams in 1963 - he said that he'd rather play with Dixieland or free-jazz musicians than to play bop. He talked about the "inflexible idiomatic requirements" of mainstream modern jazz, and opined that Dixieland was more flexible. In any case, the evening gave me things to think about, even if I didn't dig the music.

[BillF]

"The music was accomplished, swinging and almost totally uninteresting to me."

Now there's a sentence worth pondering!

[jeffcrom]

"The music was accomplished, swinging and almost totally uninteresting to me."

Now there's a sentence worth pondering!

What I meant was that it seemed derivative to the point of seeming kind of unreal to me.

I know that many folks here would have heard this performance totally differently, and would have really dug it.

[paul secor]

Heard The Philharmonic Quintet of New York, a group comprised of players from the wind sections of the NY Philharmonic - clarinet, bassoon, horn, oboe/English horn, and flute. They played pieces for wind quintet by Anton Reicha, Nielsen, Stuart Balcomb, Jean Francaix, and a short charming encore by a student musician whose name I didn't catch. All of the pieces, with the exception of the Nielsen, seemed somewhat lightweight to me, but the musicians played them well. I have a feeling that they enjoyed playing the music a bit more than I enjoyed listening to it, but it was enjoyable for me to hear something different from what I usually listen to.

Should add a disclaimer that I don't have enough background to comment on this music but, as my wife will tell you, that's never stopped me from having something to say.

[Pete C]

I was privileged to see the Irene Schweizer-Pierre Favre duo in their U.S. debut (after 40-some years of playing together) at The Stone on Saturday night. There's a nice clip from the show on YouTube (I'm blocked at work). I'm glad I swapped seats with the guy who is now in the frame the whole time.

[Steve Reynolds]

I was *also* priviliged to see and hear the duet with Irene Schweizer and Pierre Favre as well as the followign set:

Got a seat in the second row and the place quickly filled up with over 80 by the time the show started at 8:05. First piece was the most static and predictable of the set with Irene playing as she sounded for the most part on the solo portion of the Barry Guy Radio Rondo disc - nice feedback and interply from Favre.

THEN......

the next piece is almost an altered blues of post bop piece...

and THEN - maybe this is when she plays a certain Monk tune to my ears exact and then took it to places I didn't know existed - then the next piece might have a been an improvisational duet based on what sounded to me like the Guy's Theoria theme which was a Orchestral work for Irene's pianistic brilliance from the early 90's.

and THEN - a short piece of absolute FUCKING genius with Irene plucking the inside of the piano - lordy lordy

and seemingly shorter pieces throughout - they stop 40 - 45 minutes in - explosion or rorar if there could be one from 82 people - to the encore which sounded like a Monkish inflected standard from a different world. and Favre played the damn melody like he was playing a piano at the end.

Stunning - crown if one existed for a live show - I think Irene Schweizer and Pierre Favre were the happiest people in the room - the joy theta they gave us and we gave back - amazing the first time they played as a duo in the U.S. ever - I am blessed to have been there....

and THEN......

For some it may have been a let down - but for me, the trio of Laubrock, Halvorsen and Rainey delivered on a similar level to the great veteran european improvisors we had just witnessed.

Having just seen rainey and Laubrock a few weeks ago, I thought I know a bit of what I was in for - but without the constraints of a larger band, Laubrock especially took her game to a new level for me - and Rainey played a bit more OUT - as Pat Frisco mentioned, he couldn't recall Tom playing this free in the past - but for me - EVERYTHING was there for the great man - maybe was he Louis Moholo's alter ego when it went down that path for a bit half way through??

two 25 minute improvisations that may have beem medley's of the compostional germs/ideas that the 3 of them offer on the recording - who knows? no music sheets/charts - just the three of them playing this music that seems built on a lifetime - and although the softer portions were effective - a especially one sequence when Halvorsen adjusted the volume after starting an unaccompanied portion loud and aggresive and with volume reduction, the intensity grew and my smile widened.....but Ingrid then would just tear it up whether it was with thundering crashes by Rainey or with one of his many seemingly patented grooves that NEVER sound the same - and plaease I cannot tell you how much I loved the part when he uses the bag of sticks - I think I could slide off my chair if I were a .....well you know...

and Laubrock picked up the soprano for what would eb slighly more than half of the secnd piece -and it was quite effective - with the squawks and squeals in just the right places within the music.

and although Mary's loud drone or whatever may have been a bit forced - the tumultuous ending/loud intensity for the last 5 minutes or so was well taken by me as I just love a band that can blow the roof off - and this band does that and more.....

11 days to see Rainey again - and if it was up to me I would see him every time he plays...amazing band, drummer, guitarist and saxophonist - and fresh as one would ever want...don't know if it is new old or in between - but I never a band sound like them - so new and great to me

Standing on a Whale Fishing for Minnows

[BFrank]

Friday:

Dave Holland Overtone Quartet

Dave Holland bass

Chris Potter saxophones

Jason Moran piano

Eric Harland drums

I saw this group last week and really enjoyed it overall. Dave Holland's bass was not easily heard though. I turned his amp up after the first song but it was never really loud enough when everyone was playing and that was a real shame as I love the tone he gets from his bass. Also he was playing a new instrument I'd never seen before. The lower half of the body of the bass was a little truncated so it looked a littl odd. I don't know if the newness of the instrument had anything to do with the volume level. I kept waiting for the soundman to do something about it and I wanted to yell out that I couldn't hear him very well. I was ten rows from the stage and dead center so it shouldn't have been an issue.

The only other quibble is the lack of solos from Jason Moran. Potter was the dominant soloist that night and though he's a fine player I find his solos a little predictable and Moran's voice would have been a welcome relief. Jason also played the Fender Rhodes which added a nice color to the program. They played compositions by everyonen in the band including Eric Harland. Eric's drumming was nothing short of fantastic and perfect at every moment. Just a real superb musician at the top of his game.

Completely agree with this review. It was an unusual looking bass - although the sound was mixed OK at my show. I liked Jason's Rhodes playing, too. Nice touch.