Favorite Concerts of 2014

[kh1958]

Jazz

Lonnie Smith Trio, Carver Center, San Antonio, and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festval

Wayne Shorter Quartet, Cullen Theater, Houston

Francisco Mora Catlett and Afro Horn (Alex Harding, Sam Newsome, Hilliard Greene, Ramon Diaz, Aruan Ortiz), Latino Cultural Center, Dallas

Dave Burrell, Christ Church Cathedral, Houston

Charles Lloyd and Gerald Clayton, Trinity University, San Antonio

Pharoah Sanders (William Henderson), New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

Jason Moran's Fats Waller Dance Party, Carver Center, San Antonio and 96th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York

David Schnitter Quartet, Smalls, New York

Ari Hoenig Time Quintet (Tivon Pennicott, Shai Maestro, Gilad Hekselman), Smalls, New York

Doug Carn Quintet (Lonnie Plaxico, Stacy Dillard, Duane Eubanks), Zinc Bar, New York

Ben Allison (Steve Cardenas, Brandon Seabrook, Allison Miller), Cornelia Street Cafe, New York

Stanley Jordan, University Presbyterian Church, Austin

Philip Harper, Smalls, New York

Kenny Rampton Octet, Smalls, New York

Abdullah Ibrahim, Carnegie Hall

Gil Evans Monday Night Orchestra (Miles Evans leader), Zinc Bar, New York

Non-Jazz

Mauricio Tizumba and Tambour Mineiro (Minas Gerais, Brazil)--New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

Tinariwen (Mali)--Granada Theater, Dallas

Youssou N'Dour (Senegal)--Winspear Opera House, Dallas

Kala Ramnath (India)--St. Edwards University, Austin

Ramesh Misra and Snehashish Mazumder (India), Allen Public Library

Lucky Peterson (blues), Granada Theater, Dallas

Tutu Jones (blues), Babb Bros., Dallas

Lurie Bell and Eddie Clearwater (blues), T Bone Walker Blues Festival, Longview

Edited January 3, 2015 by kh1958

[BillF]

Robert Fowler's Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band, Southport 2nd Feb

Don Weller, Wilmslow 2nd Sept

Gilad Atzmon, Wilmslow 9th Sept

Greg Abate with Brownfield/Byrne Quintet, Wilmslow 11th Nov

[Dan Gould]

There weren't very many at all but I'll have to go with the two opportunities to see living legends for the first time:

Jimmy Heath & Benny Golson joined by Javon Jackson

Dr. Lonnie Smith

[Steve Reynolds]

Tamarindo this past fall with Malaby, Formanek & Waits

Tony Malaby Adobe Trio with John Hebert & Billy Mintz a couple of weeks back

Kidd Jordan with Dave Burrell, William Parker & Hamid Drake @ Vision Fest

Peter Brotzmann with Jason Adaciavicz and Hamid Drake @ Winter Jazz Fest

Ches Smith Trio with Mat Maneri & Craig Taborn @ Greenwich House

Tony Malaby Quartet with Jeff Williams & Ben Monder in the band

Lucien Ban/Mat Maneri Quintet (second time) with Bob Stewart, Tony Malaby & Billy Mintz

Tyshawn Sorey duo with Fay Victor

Evan Parker with John Escreet, John Hebert & Tyshawn Sorey

Evan Parker with Joe McPhee, Barre Phillips & Chris Corsano

Tony Malaby's Paloma Recio

Tom Rainey Trio with Mary Halvorsen & Ingrid Laubrock

Nate Wooley's Seven Story Mountain @ Winter Jazz Fest

Ray Anderson Pocket Brass Band quartet & quintet

One more to come this Saturday - Open Loose with Mark Helias, Tony Malaby & Tom Rainey - here is hoping it joins the list

Wonderful year for shows

Giants Walk This Earth

Edited December 25, 2014 by Steve Reynolds

[jlhoots]

Boom Tic Boom exceeded my expectations. So did the Mary Halvorson Trio.

[jeffcrom]

Not a huge number of really inspiring concerts this year, but these were:

Frode Gjerstad Trio with Steve Swell - Columbia, SC

Jack Pearson - Nashville

Ujdurma Balkanish (Balkan trio) - Hapeville, Georgia

Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel (improv duo) - Hapeville, GA

FLAP (avant-rock duo) - Mammal Gallery, Atlanta

A bunch of stuff from my October trip to New Orleans, including the Panorama Brass Band on the streets of Bywater, Rebirth Brass Band at the Maple Leaf, Aurora Nealand at Maison, and David Doucet at the Columns Hotel.

Not a lot of great shows, but some were among the best I've experienced.

[Leeway]

My favorites of 2014 (there were other good shows, but these stay with me):

Nate Wooley- 7 Story Mountain- Winter Jazz Fest 2014 (January)

Brotzmann/Drake/Adasiewicz - Winter Jazz Fest 2014 (January)

Celebrating Cecil Taylor - Zankel, Parker, Burrell, Grimes, Cyrille - Philadelphia (March)

Gerstad/Bradford Quartet - Baltimore (March)

Jooklo Duo - Philadelphia (April)

Braxton Nonet - Brooklyn (April)

Vandermark Made to Break - Vienna, VA (April)

LARK (minus Kris Davis -due to sickness)-Laubrock, Alessi, Rainey - Baltimore (April)

Matt Shipp Trio Tribute to Duke Ellington - Washington DC (April)

Nels Cline Singers with Cyro Baptista - Baltimore (May)

Swedish Azz - Mats Gustafsson et al -Philadelphia (May)

Brotzmann/Parker/Drake - Baltimore (May)

Keir Neuringer - Quartet Without Borders - Brooklyn, NY (June 2010)

Mette Rasmussen ) -solo sax- Brooklyn, NY (June)

Vision Festival: Brotzmann/Parker/Drake and Moondoc Quintet- Brooklyn- (June)

Evan Parker Residency - all good! Particularly liked Group EP, Peter Evans, John Hebert, Tyshawn Sorey; also, EP, Escreet, Hebert, Sorey; also, EP, Wooley, Cymerman-- The Stone- (September)

High Zero Festival - Okkyung Lee, LaDonna Smith performances (September)

Tim Berne Residency - especially Electric Snakeoil, Ice Station Zebra, Decay --The Stone - (October)

Ran Blake - 2 sets solo piano- Baltimore (December)

Looking back, I was fortunate to see and hear a lot of terrific music.

[colinmce]

........,...

.....

.......

(sigh)

[Shawn]

Purson at The Viper Room in West Hollywood.

Opeth at The Hollywood Palladium.

[kh1958]

........,...

.....

.......

(sigh)

You are a couple of hours from New Orleans? It's worth it to travel to hear music.

[LWayne]

Live Shows:

Performer

Venue

Date

1

Hugh Masekela

New Hazlett Theater-Pittsburgh, PA.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

2

Nels Cline Singers & Cyro Baptista

The Windup Space-Baltimore, MD.

Saturday, May 03, 2014

3

Adrian Legg

Riverdog Retreat-Wakeman, OH

Saturday, November 01, 2014

4

Matt Wilson Quartet

Ashland University-Ashland, OH

Friday, March 21, 2014

5

The Sun Ra Arkestra

Wagner Park, Battery Park-New York NY

Thursday, August 07, 2014

6

Prism ( D Holland, R Eubanks, C Taborn, E Harland)

Ohio Theater, Playhouse Square-Cleveland, OH

Saturday, June 28, 2014

7

New Paths Festival: William Parker

First Unitarian Church-Philadelphia, PA

Sunday, May 11, 2014

8

Brad Mehldau Trio

Manchester Crafstmen's Guild-Pittsburgh, PA

Friday, April 25, 2014

9

Matthew Shipp & Michael Bisio

Frick Fine Arts Auditorium-Pitt-Pittsburgh, PA

Monday, September 15, 2014

10

Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Django Reinhart Festival-Strausbourg, France

Saturday, November 29, 2014

[colinmce]

........,...

.....

.......

(sigh)

You are a couple of hours from New Orleans? It's worth it to travel to hear music.

Yes. Currently life circumstances (I have a 3 year old and work nights and weekends) prevent this but I hopefully in years to come I'll get a new job and have more leeway. Life is long indeed.

Though it is a sincere goal to see Kidd Jordan before it's too late.

[Leeway]

have more leeway.

[ejp626]

I saw very little jazz in 2014, at least that I paid for, so it really comes down to Rudresh Mahanthappa and Alexander Hawkins (2 different shows) at the Vancouver Jazz Festival and a few free gigs around that time. I believe that included The Partisans, a group from the UK.

I really focused on classical concerts in 2014, really too many to sort through, though I do recall a pretty rousing Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the TSO. Also a couple of Nielsen symphonies at the TSO. The last concert of the VSO of its 2013/14 season was also quite good, including Britten's Passacaglia from Peter Grimes, Elgar's Violin Concerto (played by James Ehnes) and ending with Respighi's Pines of Rome. Definitely a Vancouver highlight. The Toronto highlight so far would be Anne-Sophie Mutter and her group doing Mendelssohn's Octet and Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.