Herculaneum in Grand Rapids 2-11, 8 p.m.

[Lazaro Vega]

Mexicains Sans Frontieres

120 S Division Ave #226

Grand Rapids MI

49503

tel 616 706-7963

Mexicains Sans Frontieres welcomes Chicago's Herculaneum to Grand Rapids Feb 11 at 8:pm

Herculaneum is Nick Broste (trombone), Greg Danek (bass), David McDonnell (alto saxophone and clarinet), Patrick Newberry (trumpet), and Dylan Ryan (drum and vibraphone), a conglomeration of players who have collectively performed with a wide variety of players who have collectively performed with a wide variety of other Chicago-based jazz, improvised music and experimental rock bands. The Chicago Reader's Peter Margasak writes that the band has "arrived at a surprisingly agile and elegant sound" adding "the musicians are equally inventive as writer's arrangers and improvisers, and they make excellent use of tight, varied horn charts to both propel and provide counterpoint to whever's soloing." Orange Blossom is the band's second recording.

10$ and 8$ for music students.

for more information visit www.herculaneumsound.com

or www.myspace.com/mexicainssansfrontieres

[Larry Kart]

Here's a report to a friend on an August 2006 Herculaneum performance. I've heard them since and feel better disposed toward McDonnell and liked everyone else even more, Ryan especially:

As for Herculaneum, I'm not a fan of one of the horn soloists, Dave McDonnell (whose one of those "How hot can I get how quickly" altoists, though he was a bit less that way than last time), but I do like Broste and what little I've heard of Newberry, who combines a formidable technique wwith what seems to me to be a thoughftul, relaxed, unflashy temperament. I need to hear more to be sure, but he may be special. The main interest, though, is Dylan Ryan, in his mid 20s I'd say, who is a fair bit different than any other drummer I know, with the possible exception of New York-based Dan Weiss. Ryan has two tom-toms, one of them rather small and high-pitched, and typically he spends a lot of time on it, on its rim (especially), and on cymbal crowns, creating a continuous, multi-pitched, timbale-like chatter. This sounds like it might be annoying and intrusive, but in fact Ryan is very much a listener and/or, in this more or less comping role, the virtual leader of the band -- a la Horace Silver from the keyboard. My only doubt -- and this may be lack of understanding of what he's up to, having only heard him twice -- is that Ryan can seem a bit sloppy, not in terms of time but of cleanness/crispness of stroke (though in his style, how much cleanness/crispness would be right?) I see from the group's new CD "Orange Blossom" (482 Music), which I bought last night but haven't listened to yet, that all the band's pieces are by Ryan, so I guess he is the leader.

P.S. Yes, Ryan is the de facto leader. I like "Orange Blossom," but the onstand impact of Ryan's drumming is not really captured there.