Evan Parker @ The Stone

[Steve Reynolds]

Starts on Tuesday 9/9. Runs through Sunday 9/14.

Evan Parker with a variety of wonderful musicians.

This can be the place to list other Evan Parker events as he is in the area for about 2-3 weeks with many other concerts scheduled.

Also a place hopefully for some to posts comments about the shows some of us attend. For me only the first two nights and I'm greatly looking forward to seeing the great saxophonist from a close distance which, for me, is a gift and a blessing that is priceless.

[Chuck Nessa]

I thought we already knew this two or three times.

We plan on catching up with him in Hartford on the 20th with Joe Morris and Stephen Haynes.

[clifford_thornton]

I too plan on hitting Hartford and hope to see you there, Chuck!

[relyles]

Hey - with any luck I will see both of you in Hartford! It is ten minutes from my home. I also plan to catch him in New Haven on the 19th.

[Steve Reynolds]

Since Evan Parker is one of the special musicians I can never get too much of, I'm currently listening to Foxes Fox with Beresford, Edwards and Moholo.

I might be in a minority but I love EP the best with a drums in the band. The first band tomorrow night has the same instrumentation - the classic saxophone (probably mostly tenor), piano, bass and drums which for EP means his closest connection with somewhat traditional free jazz.

Great recording - so later I might give the more recent Live at the Vortex which is even better.

Fired up - plus the temperatures tomorrow look like mid 70's so although it will be a bit toasty, it should be quite OK.

[Leeway]

Tuesday night, first night of the Parker residency. The first set started the week off at a very high level. Steve Reynolds and Clifford were there (anyone else from the Board?) and hope they will chime in too.

The first set was Evan Parker on tenor and soprano, John Escreet on piano, John Hebert on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. I will go right to the point: the story of the first set, for me, was Tyshawn. Last night he was simply magnificent on drums, a ninja warrior or maybe even a young Obe Wan Kenobe. As it turned out, I was sitting a few feet from the drum set, so perhaps that skewed my perspective, but from the start he looked and sounded masterful. He started the group off with a fast tempo, which he would return to throughout the set. Evan stuck with him (he can stay with anyone, right), but a few times I noticed that Hebert and Escreet would look at each other and laugh and lay out, while Evan and Tyshawn just sizzled along. No one else needed to get in the middle of that. Escreet was fine and intense on piano, and Hebert was excellent on bass. But time and again I was fascinated with Tyshawn's drumming. Whoa!

The second set had Barre Phillips on bass, Chris Corsano on drums, Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet, and Evan on tenor and soprano again. The surprise of the evening for me was Barre's crackling, acerbic wit, with even a touch of Don Rickles to it. He and Evan traded humorous jabs that were quite funny. Unfortunately, my expectations of Barre may have been too high, Frankly, I was a tad disappointed. Corsano was good. I'm a bit nonplussed by Corsano lately; I'm missing the fire. But Joe McPhee? He brought the fire, the feeling the element of surprise. His improvisation goes deep, deep, deep. Evan was a perfect partner.

[Steve Reynolds]

A few comments:

My seat is in the front row all the way to the left within 3 feet of the piano with the bench closer. Hebert behind Parker with Sorey to my right smack dab in from of our Leeway who is 5-6 seats to the right from me. I soon found out I had the best seat in the house as the only issues about the set is that I heard afterwords from some is that the piano was not miked and wasn't audible enough for some but for me, it was perfect in the mix. Usually I'm not the guy who is afraid of sitting on the drummer's side and usually Sorey is more light that heat but I guess the first 5 - 7 minutes gave us a clue that he was going to drive the quartet.

Lotsa guts driving a band with Evan Parker in it - but the drummerman has got his shit together. Through the first 45 minute piece with EP on tenor, it was ripping and roaring free jazz with the focus clearly being in the saxophone/drum interaction and it was fiery hot with Hebert and Escreet trying to find their way in from time to time.

The second 25 minute piece had EP switching to soprano and this piece needs to be on a recording in a better world. Hebert really found his place in the music while Sorey pulled it back just a bit which put the band into that special balance that only happens when it happens.

EP played the greatest sounding gritty and gorgeous soprano I've ever heard him play live whether circular or the more traditional playing of that horn. From the gut and the heart. The overtones and that amazing sound that no one else gets from the straight horn was being played 6 feet in front of me.

Second set - I thought Barre Phillips was the highlight with Evan Parker. McPhee brought that Ayler influenced spritual wonderfully bleary tones from both his pocket trumpet and soprano sax - with the mini trumpet quite a bit more effective to these ears. I would always prefer to hear the great improvisor on the tenor or even the alto sax than the soprano. For me especially hard to hear his sound on that horn compared to Evan Parker.

Corsano did not lead the band like Sorey - and although I enjoyed the blocks he used and the small quick sounds and the use of metal, skin, wood and strings, etc., he never got that intense fire going like he could. Almost like Lovens of Steven or Sanders - but missing that snap and extreme crackle that the really great improv drummers exhibit. All the talent and technique to get there - but I say still a bit intimidated by being surrounded by 3 legendary improvisors had him not as forceful as he might be. Again, I'm just surmising that and if true, also understandable. That being said, I still enjoyed him and he has a huge future in this music.

Evan finished on tenor after switching to soprano - the table where he kept his horns was within 2 feet of me and I really was tempted to want to touch. In fact I could have reached out and touched The saxophonist, he was so close to me - and to hear, feel, and almost touch was another example of my long list dreams being a reality once again. And when he switched back to tenor with Phillips playing something gorgeous, Parker got into a groove in a spot between intensity and those soft slower passages that topped off two 70 minute sets with grace and a bit of fire. This us a spot he doesn't often reach. In fact very few often do in this music. I've heard Dunma get there twice - once in around 2000, and then once last time at Vision Fest. It can't be planned - it is that vibe or groove that is that rare thing - did Ornette say Beauty is a Rare Thing?

Too bad I can't make it tonight

Very blessed to be there for the one night at least - a very special night indeed

Edited September 10, 2014 by Steve Reynolds

[mjazzg]

Thanks for the reviews, Leeway and Steve, glad you both enjoyed it. Sounds great.

I'd love to hear EP with Sorey. In fact I'd just love to here Sorey live again (just the once with Lehman's Octet). McPhee's here for an EP 70th birthday gig later in the year - you've whetted my appetite for that

[Homefromtheforest]

Thanks for the reviews.

How old is Barre Phillips now? One of my favorite bass players! Saw him at least 7 or 8 times in the 90s here in Vancouver and even then he seemed quite old to me. Saw him give a workshop too that was just sublime...very sharp and interesting man.

I've been lucky to have seen Evan Parker at least 10 times since 1993...have never seen him put on a weak performance!

[alankin]

How old is Barre Phillips now? One of my favorite bass players! Saw him at least 7 or 8 times in the 90s here in Vancouver and even then he seemed quite old to me. Saw him give a workshop too that was just sublime...very sharp and interesting man.

Barre Phillips will be 80 next month.

[Leeway]

People will remember Tuesday night for a long time. Wednesday too, but maybe not for the same reasons. Things got a little weird.

First set was Fred Van Hove (FVH). The plan was for him to solo for 15 minutes. Then FVH would leave and the next ensemble would take the stage, consisting of Evan Parker, Peter Evans on pocket trumpet and trumpet, and Charles Evans on bari. So FVH did his solo, showing a beautiful, limpid touch on the keyboard, playing a piece that seemed reminiscent of some classical music that you once heard but can't identify. Very little in the way of what one usually hears in piano free improv today. FVH really had the look and manner of a classical pianist.

Then the Evanses took the stage. As usual, PE took the lead with fast and furious runs on both trumpets; the guy has massive technical abilities and simply flies. The wonderful thing was that EP stayed right there, Monoceros-like, through every twist and turn; some incredibly hard blowing from him. CE carried the bari lightly, and stayed in the mix, although not a dominant voice. I once sat near the stage at a Vandermark concert, and it took my ears a couple of weeks to recover from KV's bari playing, heavy and loud. Not too much like that from CE. IIRC, they did about 4 segments, mostly at a quick tempo, with a few slower passages mixed in.

The 2nd set was supposed to repeat the plan of the first set, with FVH doing a 15 minute solo, then playing with the next ensemble: Tyshawn Sorey, John Hebert, Peter Evans, and Evan Parker. Something went astray. FVH got into his solo set, this time attacking the keyboard with vigor, although still with a sweet touch. Very spiky and contemporary improvisation. FVH began building castles in the air. The 15 minute mark went by. The flow of ideas seemed incessant. The 25 minute mark went by; castles take time to build. At the 30 min. mark, the house lights flickered as a signal. FVH played on. At 35 min mark, Hebert came from the dressing area (which is in the basement at The Stone) and started to play softly, the idea, I suppose, to merge FVH into the ensemble without having to break. As soon as Hebert starts to play, FVH stops. Rather awkward. Slowly, Tyshawn, Peter and EP filter up to the stage, and start playing. FVH sat with his arms crossed for the next 15 min. Yep, awkward. Finally, when EP started to play a soft little passage, the ice was broken, and FVH joined in. He clearly seemed more relaxed and confident playing with EP. There were some short duos with other members of the group too, although FVH seemed to have some difficult coming to grips with Tyshawn's artillery and Peter's fireworks.

Once again I found myself next to Tyshawn. He was still very much in Led Zeppelin mode; some heavy banging. Then, he started stabbing the floor tom with his stick. Sure enough, he punctured it as was his intent. Kept playing with the hole and widening it, somehow making interesting rubbing noises. The stabbing continued until there were a mass of holes in the drum skin. Tyshawn started playing inside the tom. Finally, he pulled the skin off and started twirling it in the air, making that whirring sound. What FVH made out this is anyone's guess. I asked Tyshawn after the set if drummers are allowed to stab their kit; he said that the drum was not working right, so he decided to make some other use out of it.

So, a few unusual things, but bottom line, there was a lot of truly exciting music. This is what improvisation is: everything gets rolled into the mix, and the challenge is to respond to it. Plan to attend tonight (Thurs) but that will be it for me for the week.I'll post about tonight later Friday or Saturday.

Thanks Steve for that fine post on the first night's sets.

[clifford_thornton]

wish I had caught that but I was at BAM for Reich & Glass (which was great too, but very different).

[.:.impossible]

My brother spent a couple of days with Barre this past Spring. By his account, a wise master.

[clifford_thornton]

I wanted more of the obvious comedic repartee between Barre and Evan - who needs music?

[Steve Reynolds]

I wanted more of the obvious comedic repartee between Barre and Evan - who needs music?

My favorite is when Parker called him 'a senior member of the circuit' or something to that effect.

Maybe something is lost in the translation but their rapport was quite funny and very endearing.

[clifford_thornton]

I thought it was very endearing.

[Leeway]

Someone obtained Tyshawn's ravaged drum skin and it is now posted on the photo wall above teh little desk near the entryway at The Stone:

Thursday night: two sets-- Matt Shipp and Evan Parker, and Evan Parker, Nate Wooley, Jeremiah Cymerman.

And the weirdness continued.

I don't think it's any secret on the Board that I'm a Matt Shipp fan. I've seen a lot of pianists and heard more and Matt is among the most compelling--to me. So it was kind of cool that my seat was switched from the far end of the first row to a seat right behind Matt (I think this was Steve's seat Tuesday night, but the piano may have been shifted a bit):

This was as good as it gets for watching Matt play. And since Evan was facing Matt, it was a great spot to sit. First weird thing: before the set started, Evan announced that "someone would make an announcement." Robert Bielecki stands up and starts telling the audience about the Foundation he has established. By way of background, Bielecki, is a relatively young man, who sold his tech company a few years ago for a reportedly very substantial sum of money. He's fairly ubiquitous on the free jazz scene. He is also noted for wearing pajamas to all the concerts he attends, including Thursday night. Anyway, his foundation helped fund Fred Van Hove's appearance. Bielecki then announced a $15,000 "unrestricted grant" to Matt Shipp. More grants are expected to be forthcoming. In the free jazz community, where $1000 can be transformative, these grants if handled well should be quite helpful. Read about it at rdbf.org.

Bielecki also announced that Matt would be performing at Jazz at Lincoln Center (kind of weird). Of course, the Marsalises will not allow anyone, especially an avant player like Matt, to perform there without genuflecting to one of the Marsalis icons, so Matt's set will be something like a "Tribute to Duke Ellington." Normally this would bother me, but Matt sincerely admires Ellington. I attended a Matt Shipp Trio performance in DC some months ago, also billed as a Tribute to Duke Ellington. Matt did a brilliant job at that show (I posted about that show). So my expectation is that Matt is going to give Duke his due at JALC without compromising his playing.

More weirdness. Ceremonials out of the way, Matt and Evan start their set. This partnership is really maturing and developing. Evan started on the tenor; about 10 minutes into the set, the tenor emits a noise. Evan stops, announces that a piece has fallen off the sax and the tenor is inoperable. A quick look around, while Matt comps. No luck. Evan switches to the soprano. The set carries on, and quite well indeed. Evan plays soprano for about 30 min, then he and Matt bring the piece to a close. Evan asks the audience if anyone has chewing gum, "preferably used," LOL. A young lady does. She gives Evan her chewing gum, he sticks it into a hole on the tenor's neck where the piece fell out, and voila, the tenor is back in business. The set is concluded on tenor. Despite the mishap, it was a really good set. Someone found the missing piece after the set; looked like a 1/4" brass mushroom, that screws into a hole on the neck of the tenor.

The weird thing about the second set is that nothing weird happened. Evan mostly on soprano, Nate Wooley on trumpet, and Jeremiah Cymerman on clarinet and electronics. Cymerman produced the recent "World of Objects" release with Nate and Evan, which I really like, and he has significant chops on clarinet. Cymerman set up an intriguing array of electronics for the set, but, frustratingly, did not deploy them often or enough. For the first 30 minutes, they weren't really a factor. When they were applied, things got interesting. My impression was that Evan loved playing against the various electronic effects that Cymerman produced, deeply focused as if he was sailing into the teeth of an electronic gale. But the electronics seemed to come in fits and starts. One of the things I have always liked and admired about Nate is his ability to go deep into the abstract, to extend technique beyond conceivable limits, and, to use another nautical metaphor, to sail into the mystic (I'm less of a fan of some of the MOR stuff on Clean Feed for example). That's what Nate did here, and that is worth the price of admission alone. Frankly, Cymerman didn't seem to be on his game, but Evan and Nate made it worthwhile.

I was glad I made it up there, and I was glad to make it home.

[clifford_thornton]

Was unable to attend last night - friend's art opening, another friend visiting town - but am glad to hear it was good. That World of Objects CD is excellent.

[mjazzg]

Another informative review, Leeway, thank you. Love the chewing gum story. I can just hear EP's voice making that request.

My Wooley/Parker/Cymerman's just arrived so very much looking forward to digging into it. Also awaiting a parcel from Nate from his recent great value sale off his website. Hopefully more intriguing and often fearless explorations

Have to disagree with you about Wooley's Clean Feeds - far from MOR to these ears. Great writing and playing to be had on them. Nice to see a Van Morrison reference in the review too, goes down well in this parish

[relyles]

Thanks for these reports. They are inspiring me to make sincere efforts to attend the shows in New Haven and Hartford on Friday and Saturday.

[Chuck Nessa]

Yes, Ann and I leave in the morning for a road trip to visit friends old and new. The concert in Hartford with Stephen Haynes and Joe Morris was the impetus and we expect it to be a highlight. Thanks to the musicians for the opportunity. Looking forward to seeing friends, musical and otherwise on the journey. Whitehall, Cleveland, Gettysburg, Woodstock, Hartford, etc....

[colinmce]

Have to disagree with you about Wooley's Clean Feeds - far from MOR to these ears. Great writing and playing to be had on them.

Seconded. The arrangements are pretty straightforwardly modern jazz/60s inside-outside (though Wooley is a far-above average melodist) but the soloing from both Wooley & Sinton is out of this world. "Shanda Lea 1", the short solo that opens (Put Your) Hands Together, is a truly seminal performance IMO. The convergence of technique and melody, heart and mind, heard in that piece is the kind of thing that certifies the man's brilliance.

[Leeway]

Another informative review, Leeway, thank you. Love the chewing gum story. I can just hear EP's voice making that request.

My Wooley/Parker/Cymerman's just arrived so very much looking forward to digging into it. Also awaiting a parcel from Nate from his recent great value sale off his website. Hopefully more intriguing and often fearless explorations

Have to disagree with you about Wooley's Clean Feeds - far from MOR to these ears. Great writing and playing to be had on them. Nice to see a Van Morrison reference in the review too, goes down well in this parish

Thank you, and thanks for catching my Van Morrison reference

Thanks for these reports. They are inspiring me to make sincere efforts to attend the shows in New Haven and Hartford on Friday and Saturday.

Cool, glad to hear that. I love live shows. I hear Firehouse 12 is a great venue.

Yes, Ann and I leave in the morning for a road trip to visit friends old and new. The concert in Hartford with Stephen Haynes and Joe Morris was the impetus and we expect it to be a highlight. Thanks to the musicians for the opportunity. Looking forward to seeing friends, musical and otherwise on the journey. Whitehall, Cleveland, Gettysburg, Woodstock, Hartford, etc....

Enjoy the trip.

Have to disagree with you about Wooley's Clean Feeds - far from MOR to these ears. Great writing and playing to be had on them.

Seconded. The arrangements are pretty straightforwardly modern jazz/60s inside-outside (though Wooley is a far-above average melodist) but the soloing from both Wooley & Sinton is out of this world. "Shanda Lea 1", the short solo that opens (Put Your) Hands Together, is a truly seminal performance IMO. The convergence of technique and melody, heart and mind, heard in that piece is the kind of thing that certifies the man's brilliance.

Yes, I might be a little too hard on the Clean Feeds, as they do have their virtues. But when you have a chance to witness Nate in full-avant mode, soliloquizing with the spirits (and that is how I first saw/heard Nate almost a decade ago now), you might concede my point just a little. No one else can do that. But everything he puts his hand to is worth hearing.

[Steve Reynolds]

Very strange eschewing Parker/Graves for the Maneri/Ban Quintet but this is my world of music that I am given such wonderful options...

Edited September 13, 2014 by Steve Reynolds