Review of the ICP Orchestra at Tonic

[cannonball-addict]

The show in Pittsburgh two nights ago went swimmingly. I saw LWayne there along with over 200 other miscreants and societal rejects. It was amazing! Read my blog about it here:

my blog - jazzclinic.blogspot.com

[Adam]

That sounds pretty darn great. there was, alas, no arm-in-arm duo singing in Los Angeles!

[Indestructible!]

The band played in Ann Arbor tonight. I'm at work, playing Lennie Tristano's music among others, and await any word on the Kerrytown concert.

Wow, this Ann Arbor ICP show is already up at Dime! Now I'll be able to hear (maybe) what Heckman was talking about... I missed them when they rolled through LA last week.

Cheers,

Shane

Edited March 31, 2006 by Indestructible!

[Adam]

What is Dime?

[Indestructible!]

What is Dime?

Quite possibly the best website in existence ('cepting this one, of course)!

Dime a dozen dot org. Get yourself a registration spot, grab an external hard drive (it'll fill quickly), and have fun!

Cheers,

Shane

[Peter]

I saw ICP Orchestra at the Hot House in Chicago Saturday nite & enjoyed them very much. They ran out of their new disk so I didn't get one. Anybody know the name of the disc and a possible source? Thanks.

[Kalo]

I saw them Friday night and my review appeared today:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/ar...ambitious_jazz/

A joyful night of ambitious jazz

By Kevin Lowenthal, Globe Correspondent | April 3, 2006

ICP Orchestra

At: The Institute of Contemporary Art, Friday night

Pianist and composer Misha Mengelberg and drummer Han Bennink are co-founders of the Dutch musical collective the Instant Composers Pool. The ICP Orchestra is their Olympic-size ensemble. As the name suggests, they take considerable chances, yet their music is built on a solid foundation drawn from every era of jazz.

Friday night, the two men and their antic orchestra led the ICA audience on a challenging, witty, and joyful journey. Quiet and quarrelsome by turns, they alternated freely improvised small group pieces with sumptuously spiky full-band charts.

The opening trio contrasted Mengelberg's quizzical piano, Ab Baars's rangy tenor saxophone, and Ernst Glerum's authoritative bass. Then violinist Mary Oliver and cellist Tristan Honsinger played a pizzicato introduction, and the full-strength band launched into Thelonious Monk's lurching ''Locomotive." Michael Moore played a poised and inventive clarinet solo. Mengelberg's piano turn was Monkish in spirit, Mengelberg in touch and timing. On his tenor, Baars played it straight for his first chorus, then askew for the second, culminating in rude honks and whistling high notes. Throughout, the ensemble provided a panoply of background figures, with Bennink occasionally dropping one of his trademark, too-loud rimshots.

The next trio was an energetic tussle among Thomas Heberer's rich-toned trumpet, Honsinger's frantic cello, and Bennink's knockabout drums. Then the full band took off into Honsinger's episodic ''Malacoda Suite," with Honsinger mockingly conducting. The highlight was a swinging duet between Moore's svelte alto and Tobias Delius's brawny tenor.

Band members cried ''Han solo," and Bennink complied with a pulsating display that included muting a drum with his foot and striking a stick held in his mouth with another stick. A circusy Mengelberg march ended the first set, with creaking strings, wheezy reeds, and rattletrap drums.

The second set featured a rambunctious yet rigorous reading of Monk's ''Criss Cross," and a suave ''I Surrender Dear" arranged by Moore. Mengelberg's dreamy ''Peer's Counting Song" was a welcome encore.

Kudos to all, but the star of the evening was trombonist Wolter Wierbos, who soloed commandingly throughout while juggling an array of mutes to produce astonishing sounds and textures, from gauzy to growling.

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

It was an excellent show, and there was so much more I could have written, given the space. I spoke with Michael Moore after the show and he was aware of the contradictory reviews in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times and actually quite enjoyed the contradiction. He told me that he had asked the Boston promoter to publicize the show here with both of those reviews printed side by side. I also briefly met Han Bennink, who as you might imagine is quite a physical man. He shook my hand quite firmly, gave me a big bear hug, and then punched me on each shoulder (in a friendly way).

Edited April 3, 2006 by Kalo

[Kalo]

I saw ICP Orchestra at the Hot House in Chicago Saturday nite & enjoyed them very much. They ran out of their new disk so I didn't get one. Anybody know the name of the disc and a possible source? Thanks.

I don't recall the name of the disc, but a friend bought it at the Boston gig and reported back to me that the sound quality wasn't very good. I think that Cadence distributes the ICP discs in the U.S.

[Peter]

Thanks.

[Adam]

What is Dime?

Quite possibly the best website in existence ('cepting this one, of course)!

Dime a dozen dot org. Get yourself a registration spot, grab an external hard drive (it'll fill quickly), and have fun!

Cheers,

Shane

Thanks!

But I haven't been able to get one of the 93,000 spots yet.

[danasgoodstuff]

I saw the ICP tour stop in Seattle and had a mixed reaction. Loved the totally free (I assume) opening and the Monk they played, thought the solo bone and other bits were self-indulgent and one of the saxes seemed to be having an off night. Johnny E was there (so he tells me) and had a more positive reaction so, as always, your mileage may vary...

[RDK]

What is Dime?

Quite possibly the best website in existence ('cepting this one, of course)!

Dime a dozen dot org. Get yourself a registration spot, grab an external hard drive (it'll fill quickly), and have fun!

Cheers,

Shane

Thanks!

But I haven't been able to get one of the 93,000 spots yet.

Keep trying, Adam. Supposedly several hundred slots open up every day as they purge old/unused accounts. I don't know anyone who hasn't been able to get in. It's worth it!