Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom - Glitter Wolf

[clifford_thornton]

Heard a very early CD of that group (or one like it) and thought it was generally a solid first effort, with some little things that made me feel like there was potential. Never really sought out anything subsequent. This clip is pretty weak and indicative of why I find it very hard to pay attention to a lot of contemporary NPR-free Pi jazz (as a category). Barf.

[relyles]

I heard Boom Tic Boom live in 2012 when it was a quartet with Donny McCaslin, Myra Melford and Brad Jones. I enjoyed them live and have purchased a few more of their recordings, including the current disc (although I have not listened to it yet). I have not been as impressed with the expanded group, but I have not found them anywhere near as objectionable as those who responded negatively to the clip. I confess that my primary interest in the group is Myra Melford, which may be part of the reason that I am not as enamored with the expanded group.

With that said I have actually found this discussion very interesting and would be more interested on the thoughts of this group as a representation of any issues with contemporary jazz (or I like Clifford's NPR-free Pi Jazz category).

[jlhoots]

I don't care about their "politics".

[AllenLowe]

well, just to sum up; I like Allison, Kirk, and Myra's playing. But funky this band ain't, and, as a musician, I can tell you, they have no concept of the technical requirements for this kind of music. And this performance does speak to the tiredness of certain concepts of free improvisation; and I say this as one whose prime musical employment these days is with a band that plays completely free. 

And I am not carrying a gun, but I do possess a very large nail clipper. 

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, jlhoots said:

I don't care about their "politics".

But they do - and they want you to know that they do. The implication is that if you like those "politics", they you will "like" the music. even whether or not you actually listen to it on its own terms won't matter.

and I'm like, well, if that's the card you gonna play, play it better than this, because all I see is a card with no possible hand behind it.

Not only do I doubt they own any guns, I bet they also don't play poker worth a damn.

[clifford_thornton]

1 hour ago, relyles said:

With that said I have actually found this discussion very interesting and would be more interested on the thoughts of this group as a representation of any issues with contemporary jazz (or I like Clifford's NPR-free Pi Jazz category).

To me this is mainstream music with no edge, just enough "quirk" to apply to the beard + glasses set, but rhythmically dull and tonally like soppy milquetoast. Contemporary jazz in this vein all sounds pretty much identical; yeah, sure Melford and Knuffke are strong voices on their own, but not used to any effect whatsoever here. It could be almost any New School grad on piano and cornet and I would not know the difference. The Pi set is a little more herky-jerky and obviously there are some excellent releases and artists within the subgenre (Halvorson, Bynum, Shyu, et al.) but in that case I feel that a good chunk of the vibe is keyed into the aging post-rocker who's outgrown the first three or four Tortoise records and needs something else. I was in the same place at one point but veered towards the charred earth instead of the button down set. 

Anyway, back to the tune at hand. Miller's drumming is just awful. I have heard her play with more fire and inventiveness, sorta, but this is unlistenable.

Re: the politics: give me Irreversible Entanglements over this shit any day of the week.

[JSngry]

I really don't hear anybody sounding "awful" here, at least not in terms of technique. Groove is in its own pocket, nobody's slopping shit up, playing notes they don't mean to play, none of that. And the violin player plays with confidence and accuracy.

And that's a good thing, really, it is.

But playing flaccid (a word that has a life beyond the penile, btw), flat-lined music with no guts, that's not a good thing. It's not even 'happy" music. It's like smooth jazz only with angles. but they're 2D angles, not 3D. So....bfd.

and of course, mileages will vary, as they should.

[AllenLowe]

if I can find it, tomorrow I will post something that is actually funky, but in the same vein as what these guys think they are doing. 

[jlhoots]

54 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:

if I can find it, tomorrow I will post something that is actually funky, but in the same vein as what these guys think they are doing. 

I can hardly wait!! 

[JSngry]

Throughout history, there's been no shortage of unfunky white people, if that's the point.

And I  don't mean to equate funky with black. The word itself definitely has ethno-racial connotations, but the concept of funky is damn near universal. It''s that zone that is between zones, the zone that you can always get to, but never by will, especially not by desire. It's a compelling reality in its presence, and an even more real repulsive reality in its absence.

There, there''s some rhetoric for everybody''s dumb asses. Now go buy my record.

 

[jlhoots]

This thread has gotten strange, maybe partially due to me.

I guess I'll go buy the new Knuffke / Danko duo CD for some personal enjoyment.

Oh, & I do like Joe McPhee too.

Edited March 30, 2019 by jlhoots

[Steve Reynolds]

2 hours ago, jlhoots said:

This thread has gotten strange, maybe partially due to me.

I guess I'll go buy the new Knuffke / Danko duo CD for some personal enjoyment.

Oh, & I do like Joe McPhee too.

Methinks a couple of others need a bit more Joe McPhee in their lives 

less than a month to my birthday when I can open my DKV + Joe McPhee Box Set

 

 

[David Ayers]

16 hours ago, Steve Reynolds said:

Methinks a couple of others need a bit more Joe McPhee in their lives 

less than a month to my birthday when I can open my DKV + Joe McPhee Box Set

 

 

I think you're going to love it. 

[AllenLowe]

On 3/30/2019 at 9:52 PM, jlhoots said:

I can hardly wait!! 

you may have to.

[Ted O'Reilly]

On 3/29/2019 at 4:21 PM, JSngry said:

But playing flaccid (a word that has a life beyond the penile, btw),

Flaxen Hair:  

Flaccid Air

 

[Patrick]

I have not watched the clip, and only skimmed the ad copy. Do folks still read these ads beyond learning the basics: leader name and players, album title, and label? Don't we have ECM ad copy in a separate thread because it is ad copy that is generally a waste of time to read (beyond the key facts listed above)? After that initial skim, I scroll down to see reactions of other (hopefully non-street team) community members.

I have a few of the earlier Boom Tic Boom releases which haven't yet grabbed me, though I haven't spent that much time with them. My introduction to Alison Miller was playing with Ben Allison's Stars Look Very Different Today group with Steve Cardenas and Brandon Seabrook on guitars/banjo. Allison was tremendous/fully armed etc. in that setting. It was due to that experience that I'm exploring (to some degree) her work in other settings.

My question to the musicians around here is whether the clip illustrates anything about the difficulty/challenges of being a band leader. Or is the view that this just reflects poor taste in material/method of execution? Or something else?

[clifford_thornton]

Yeah, I've seen Miller play and enjoyed it, so this seemed intentionally weak and designed for a specific audience. 

[kh1958]

16 hours ago, Patrick said:

I have not watched the clip, and only skimmed the ad copy. Do folks still read these ads beyond learning the basics: leader name and players, album title, and label? Don't we have ECM ad copy in a separate thread because it is ad copy that is generally a waste of time to read (beyond the key facts listed above)? After that initial skim, I scroll down to see reactions of other (hopefully non-street team) community members.

I have a few of the earlier Boom Tic Boom releases which haven't yet grabbed me, though I haven't spent that much time with them. My introduction to Alison Miller was playing with Ben Allison's Stars Look Very Different Today group with Steve Cardenas and Brandon Seabrook on guitars/banjo. Allison was tremendous/fully armed etc. in that setting. It was due to that experience that I'm exploring (to some degree) her work in other settings.

My question to the musicians around here is whether the clip illustrates anything about the difficulty/challenges of being a band leader. Or is the view that this just reflects poor taste in material/method of execution? Or something else?

I saw that Ben Allison group twice at the Cornelia Street Café. A terrific group and she was just fine as the drummer.

[JSngry]

No doubt about any of the talent involved.

What bugs me is the sense that said talent is "role-playing" to a certain extent, maybe(?) to be more "friendly" because they have a "message" to convey.

But my feeling about that is what it's always been - if you show people only, say, 25% of what you are in hopes that you can then get them on board with the other 75%, forget about that, THAT ain't happening.  And it doesn't scare anybody that it needs to scare.

 

[Robert Middleton]

Allison Miller may be my favorite living jazz musician. 

Her first album, Boom Tic Boom, blew me away and it remains one of my very favorite albums of all time. 

Her subsequent albums, No Morphine, No Lilies, and Otis Was a Polar Bear I also enjoyed immensely. 

I have seen them play live here in Santa Cruz, CA 4 times. All wonderful shows. 

But this new album, Glitter Wolf, just slays me. It is so varied, multi-textured, exuberant, joyful and just plain wacky. Favorite song is Glitter Wolf. Kills me every time. So, I consider this a modern jazz masterpiece, with few equals. I just love the SHIT out of it.

The combination of violin, cornet, and clarinet creates a wonderful soundscape that never quite sounds the same from song to song. And Myra Melford plays better in this band than any of her other great ensembles. Todd Sickafoose is a monster on the bass. 

I have wide tastes with over 5,000 albums in my collection. But Miller just smokes about everyone out there right now, in my humble opinion. 

Of course, your tastes vary....  

 

[jlhoots]

2 hours ago, Robert Middleton said:

Allison Miller may be my favorite living jazz musician. 

Her first album, Boom Tic Boom, blew me away and it remains one of my very favorite albums of all time. 

Her subsequent albums, No Morphine, No Lilies, and Otis Was a Polar Bear I also enjoyed immensely. 

I have seen them play live here in Santa Cruz, CA 4 times. All wonderful shows. 

But this new album, Glitter Wolf, just slays me. It is so varied, multi-textured, exuberant, joyful and just plain wacky. Favorite song is Glitter Wolf. Kills me every time. So, I consider this a modern jazz masterpiece, with few equals. I just love the SHIT out of it.

The combination of violin, cornet, and clarinet creates a wonderful soundscape that never quite sounds the same from song to song. And Myra Melford plays better in this band than any of her other great ensembles. Todd Sickafoose is a monster on the bass. 

I have wide tastes with over 5,000 albums in my collection. But Miller just smokes about everyone out there right now, in my humble opinion. 

Of course, your tastes vary....  

 

Before the naysayers come out, I agree with you.

[AllenLowe]

sorry I'm late: NAY

[clifford_thornton]

27 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:

sorry I'm late: NAY

[JSngry]

 

[jlhoots]

Some real genius humorists around here!!!