Edmar Castañeda & Joe Locke Duo @ Jazz Standard 5/26/10

This was excellent. Edmar played both the Colombian harp and the traditional harp, so he didn't have to worry about changing keys. I never saw him on the traditional harp, which has pedals. He was awesome on both, truly awesome. I definitely enjoyed the Colombian harp more, it had more of a gritty sound. It might have been due to him playing most of Joe Locke's music on the traditional and his own music on the Colombian.

The harp/vibraphone combo is a great one. I think they should find a great percussionist and really jam with it. Write their own music for a trio.

The listing:

Edmar Castaneda – Colombian harp
Joe Locke – vibraphone

Edmar Castañeda fell in love with the Colombian harp as a boy growing up in Bogota. But when he moved to the U.S. with his family at age 16 (as he told National Public Radio), Edmar found that "in high school here, they have bands. They didn't have harps. And then I wanted to play jazz. So I went to college playing the trumpet, and it was great, because I learned all the jazz improvisation, and I just passed it to the harp.” Edmar has added his masterful technique and exploratory improvisations to the music of Lila Downs and Paquito D'Rivera, but among his most frequent collaborators is the wonderful four–mallet vibraphonist Joe Locke – Edmar’s duet partner for this special Jazz Standard one-nighter and a featured player on Entre Cuerdas, the harpist’s second release as a leader and his first for ArtistShare. Joe’s most recent release is For the Love of You, which features vocalist Kenny Washington.

Pinsky/Iyer/Allison/Wilson @ Jazz Standard 5/25/10

This was excellent and different. I don't see much poetry/jazz fusion. It's a special art. This ensemble went together so well. The voice and words were seamlessly integrated into the music. The music was phenomenal. All somewhat avant-garde ish. Not super "out there", but more of an intellectual bent than mainstream straight ahead jazz. I needed to get home, but I was tempted to stay for the 2nd set for a half cover of $12.50. What I got was great. Although, I would love to hear the ode to the saxophone again.

The listing:

Robert Pinsky – spoken word
Vijay Iyer – piano
Ben Allison – bass
Matt Wilson – drums

Past poetry-with-jazz evenings at Jazz Standard have attracted avid fans of both art forms as well as some perceptive and positive reviews. Tonight we celebrate the return of Robert Pinsky – former Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, acclaimed translator of the writings of Czesław Miłosz and Dante Alighieri, and the author of nineteen books – in performance with the all-star trio of Vijay Iyer, Ben Allison, and Matt Wilson. Listening to Pinsky perform “Ginza Samba” during a previous appearance on our stage, Alexander Gelfand of The Tablet heard the poet “neatly place both Stan Getz (“this great-grandchild of the Jewish Manager of a Pushkin estate”) and Charlie Parker (“a great Hawk or Bird, with many followers”) in the same imaginary family tree, distant cousins related through European immigration, the African slave trade, and a 19th-century Russian poet. Seeing Pinsky do this live, I felt as if I were watching a man recite a poem and act it out at the same time. The whole tableau was as striking an illustration of the ‘hybrid nature of America’ as the tune that inspired it.”

Marco Benevento Trio @ Bowey Ballroom 5/22/10

I expected them to be opening and looked on the Bowery Ballroom website that day to see if it was possible to make it and who else was playing. I was surprised to see they were headlining! Awesome! That made the decision to go pretty easy. I was curious about the opening band, but I had a dinner, so it was perfect that the trio was later.

It was awesome and well-deserving of the main spot on a Sat night. I found a new appreciation of this band. My appreciation of Reed Matthis went much deeper. I now get the big draw for him. I appreciated him in the past, but I never quite understood people's enthusiasm for that last night of that last Marco residency at Sullivan Hall. That was a must see for many, and I think it was the only night I skipped. Now I see that Reed and Marco combined are what makes this a Bowery Ballroom gig.

It was so good it almost made me miss the Benevento/Russo Duo a little less. Almost. This show was definitely up there with some of the best Duo shows I've seen.

They played 3 "short" songs from the new album. No improvised jams, just the songs. They were good. I think soon after we got the obligatory "Real Morning Party". Marco referred to it as "the best song in the world". Considering he hears at least once every single gig, I presume he isn't going to get sick of it any time soon. I found myself enjoying it in spite of the fact that I'm sick of it. I especially enjoyed the portion where they weren't playing the catchy melody part.
I think it was the next song that I never seem to get sick of. I waited to post this so I could listen to the Live at Tonic 3 cd set and the Invisible Baby CD. I think that song is also on Invisible Baby and it's not as old as I thought. I'm still not sure which one it was, but boy did I have fun listening to these CDs. They are awesome! I even found myself enjoying the studio version of The Real Morning Party a lot! It IS a great song. I just don't need it live every show.

The first set was a little under an hour. The 2nd set was probably a little over an hour. They did an encore and I left during it.

It was a phenomenal show and fit in well at the venue.

Jenny Scheinman/Robbie Fulks @ Joe's Pub 5/19/10

This was a great duo. The music was excellent! I had a great time. The played for over 1.5 hours and wanted to do an encore, but they already broke the rules by playing so long that they couldn't. It did wear on me after a while, but that's because I get sick of country, even excellent country, after a while. I still enjoyed it enough to stay til the end.

From the listing:
Robbie Fulks is a country singer, flatpicker, and writer. He was born in Pennsylvania, raised in North Carolina, educated somewhat in New York City, and has since lived in Illinois. As a member of Special Consensus he was nominated for a bluegrass Grammy. He has had nine solo records released on various labels; his tenth, featuring 13 reinterpreted Michael Jackson songs, is coming out this spring. Performance credits include NPR's Fresh Air, PBS's Austin City Limits, NBC's Late Night w C O'brien, and WSM's Grand Ole Opry; writing credits include GQ, Blender, Da Capo Press's Best Music Writing, and Athaneum's An Atheist's Guide to Christmas; artists who have covered him include Rosie Flores, Sam Bush, Old 97's, and Silkworm.

Singer/songwriter/violinist Jenny Scheinman hails from a homestead on the western edge of the continent, but has spent the last decade in Brooklyn. She has collaborated with many influential contemporary American musicians (Bill Frisell, Lucinda Williams, Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux, Rodney Crowell, Nels Cline, Jason Moran, Lou Reed) and has six critically acclaimed solo recordings.

Together the two have developed a rockingly tight & shockingly loose duo featuring selections from their collective songbooks plus stray fiddle tunes and curveball covers.

Bill Frisell 858 Quartet @ Vanguard 5/11/10

This was incredible as I remembered. It's such an awesome string quartet, and they play such wonderful pieces. I can get lost in what any of them are doing at any given time. It is an outstanding ensemble. I am sorry I didn't make it to the trio the week before - I just couldn't decide when to go and I was jetlagged. Oh well, this show made up for it. I could have stayed for another set for $10, no minimum. But, I needed to be alert the next day so I opted out.

BILL FRISELL - 858 QUARTET
Hank Roberts-clo, Eyvind Kang-vla,
Jenny Scheinman-vln

Leni Stern @ The Stone 5/5/10

Aha! Leni is from Africa! That explains the World influence of her music. I also realize I can start going to 55 Bar again. My dancing issues are over and I can now enjoy music dancing or just moving a little in my chair. That's good news!

This was a special band. There was a kora player from Mali. There was another guy from Mali that played djembe and that Mali drum that looks like the other half of the kora melon. There was a drummer with a kit comprised of a tom, a snare, and a small bass drum. He was from a completely different African country that I missed. The electric bass player was from Senegal. The other guitar/singer was from Cameroon. Together, they made wonderful music and played for about 75-85 min. They wanted to do 1 more, but had hit curfew due to neighbors.

Henry Kaiser played with them for a couple of tunes. He's awesome! I'm surprised I haven't seen him before. I wanted to get back for more of his shows, but it wasn't meant to be.

Lettuce @ Howlin Wolf 5/2/10

Yeah I was flying out at 11am, but I had to get some funky closing music. We gradually entered this new era, where Zigaboo no longer closes the festivities. He was in the Royal Family Ball lineup earlier.

Lettuce was fun but possibly a little tired. It was definitely dancable, just not as unbelievable as when I saw them at Bowery Ballroom. I think it was probably due to the energy level. It certainly wasn't due to the musicianship. They were all great. Nigel still kills the groove for me, but that's just me.

I left at about 4:15, so I could get a few hours of sleep before the flight.

It was another winning fest

Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra @ Hi Ho Lounge 5/2/10

I finally got to see this and it was even better than I expected. It consists of:
The Indian Rhythm Section(IRS), 3 guys each with a different small percussion instrument who also do rhythmic vocals
Kevin O'Day on drums
Helen Grillot on cello
Harry Hardin on Violin
Keyboards
2 guitars
Electric bass
A guy on congas/bongos who spoke spanish to me when I walked in

It was awesome! They started off with an instrumental without IRS. Oh was I happy I finally woke up and made it to this! They did Eliza and some other old favorites as well as some tunes I don't know. It was about 1.5 hours of awesome music.

I just found this when I was trying to figure out the names of some of the people on stage:
http://nola.humidbeings.com/features/detail/294/Mardi-Gras-Indian-Orchestra-Live-at-the-Hi-Ho-Thanksgiving-Night

Break

I ended up taking an unplanned break from music. I did attempt to get some music, venturing out at around midnight Sat night. I wanted to see Lubriphonic at 12 Blues Bar. But, when I got there, the show was cancelled and the place was closed.

After some deliberation, I headed up to Frenchman St. It was very crowded and none of the music was appealing to me. I did have fun hanging out for a bit, but I was still tired. I went back to my room to rest and anticipated coming back out for late night. I wanted to try to get into Galactic at The Howlin Wolf, in spite of it being sold out. If I couldn't get in, I would probably either do Bonerama at Tips FQ, trombone Shorty at Tips uptown, or George, Johnny, and Marco at the Maple Leaf. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. I woke up at 6am and then went back to sleep some more.

I'm surprised I chose to skip the fest on Sun. I reviewed the lineup and decided I would prefer to be a tourist in the FQ instead. I had everything I needed in case I changed my mind, I could still go. But, I was enjoying my day and didn't feel the need.

Jazzfest @ Fairgrounds, NOLA 5/1/10

It was a great day for rock. I needed to sleep and let my headache go away, so I didn't get there until after 2. I saw the end of Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band set. It was great. Kurt Rosenwinkel wasn't there, and I thought maybe there was another change-up, but I'm not sure.

I tried to get to Band of Horses, but I couldn't quite make it in time. I did go by Chris Thomas King in the Blues Tent on my way, and that was pretty good.

I listened to Sonny Landreth for a while, sitting in those bleachers by the grandstand. He was at the Gentilly Stage and sounded great.

Galactic was very crowded. I couldn't take the crowd, but I got to be there for both the Irma Thomas song and the Trombone Shorty song. I spent that time dancing and moving through the crowd on the walkway by the Acura Stage.

I saw a little of the Sagbohan Danialou of Benin, but I missed George Porter Jr playing with them. I heard that you couldn't hear him, but it would still be good to see George. I could definitely hear the guy playing bass when I was over there.

I had to leave to get over to the Congo Stage for DJ Soul Sister's set. It smoked, as expected. She is a great DJ. She had a rapper and some dancers up there. It was an awesome dance party.

There was a time I was over at the Lagniappe Stage listening to Kenny Bill Stintson & the ARK-LA-Mystics. That had some good guitar that took me back to Warren and Kraz playing together the night before.

I enjoyed the few minutes I heard of Pearl Jam. I couldn't deal with the crowd and the music couldn't hold me.

Marcus Miller started late. Man, that was great! I thought for sure I've seen him before, but now I'm not so sure. I don't even think I have the Miles Davis Tutu album they were revisiting. He played with a bunch of great, young jazz artists including Christian Scott.

I could have stayed for that whole set, but I needed to give some love to the other phenomenal acts going on simultaneously: Kenny Wayne Shepherd, then Old Crow Medicine Show, and Jeff Beck.

It was a fantastic 1/2 day at the fest!

New Mastersounds @ HOB, NOLA 4/30/10

There were lots of late night French Quarter options. This was the one calling me.

It was a lot of fun to get down. They are still pretty generic for me, but still fun. Just when I'd start to get bored, they would bring out guests. There was a trumpet and trombone from the same town in England. It's always good to add horns. They were a little weak to me, but I think that's just because of the powerful level of so many NOLA horns. I liked them a little more when they sat in again later.

In between those 2 times, they brought out 2 really powerful horns, another trumpet and trombone. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! That was great. They are from the band Lubriphonic and they have been touring together. During that song, the members of Lubriphonic gradually took over The New Mastersounds instruments until we had an entirely different band for a bit. Later, they called that "setbreak". In other words, they played straight through for about 4 hours.

The other special guest was this amazing lady tambourine player. She rocked! I saw her playing in one of the Contemporary Craft booths that day at the fest. She was awesome then as well.

When I left once it ended at 6:30am, there was something very musical about the early morning sounds. The birds were chirping different tunes and I would occasionally walk by a wind chime. The sound of the wind added something to the mix. It was magical!

Shamarr Allan @ Playhouse, NOLA 4/30/10

Bourbon Street, whoah! It's such a weird thing and crazy to walk down. This jazz club is an awesome oasis in such a strange land. It's a nice jazz club. I really like the decor. Instead of the velvet curtains, they have some nice arab-looking curtains as a backdrop.

I got the last 20 min. Shamar was singing. I worried that this was a different project for him and that he wouldn't have his trumpet. He did a rare 2nd singing song and then picked the trumpet back up, phew.

It was fun and I'm glad I got to check out the club.

Irvin Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse at Royal Sonesta

Gov't Mule @ Mahalia Jackson Theatre, NOLA 4/30/10

A great show in a nice theatre. It felt nice in there and the general admission aspect made it possible for me to spend most of the show in the 3rd row right in front of Warren. The spot was even sweeter due to being a step higher than the first 2 rows. It was probably the best spot I've ever had for a Mule show, and I've had some good ones.

They were great. Mule at their best. They played quite a few covers and teased some others. We had a phenomenal Eric Krazno sit in toward the end. After that, they brought out Brian Stoltz. Later, I think at the encore, we got Brian and Ivan Neville.

The theatre is a huge improvement over the CAC. Unfortunately, it's very corporate. It took forever to get a drink. They actually had to pour each can of beer into a plastic cup, which was absurd. At least they let you buy and walk away with the plastic water bottle, cap and all.

Set 1
Railroad Boy >
Gameface with 3rd Stone From The Sun Tease
Since I've Been Loving You
No Need To Suffer
Frozen Fear
Banks Of The Deep End
Steppin' Lightly >
Any Open Window
Kind Of Bird with The Wind Cries Mary Tease

Set 2
When The Music's Over
Slackjaw Jezebel
Fallen Down >
The Other One Jam with Gimme Shelter Tease
The Shape I'm In >
Drums
Sco-Mule with Eric Krasno, With Oye Como Va & Dance To The Music Teases
Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home with Brian Stoltz

Encore 1
32/20 Blues with Ivan Neville & Brian Stoltz

Encore 2
Broke Down On The Brazos

Jazzfest @ Fairgrounds, NOLA 4/30/10

This day turned out to be rather weak for me. I got there before 11:30 and left at around 4:30. It looked like there was potential for the last few hours, I just wanted to rest my weary bones.

I made the rounds quite a bit, but not much was catching me.

I thoroughly enjoyed the few songs I saw from The Julliard Jazz Ensemble. They were excellent. I didn't realize Miles Okasaki is in that. I believe they are all in the graduate program for jazz.

I got summoned away by the sound of a killer harmonica coming from The Blues Tent. It was J. Monique'D Blues Band. I didn't get much of them, but I enjoyed what I got.

There was a great drum parade I got hooked into for a few minutes.

Other than that, I found a good spot early and enjoyed the entire Astral Project set.

I gave it a little more of a chance after that, but at some point decided to call it quits.

Yep, even the weak days at Jazzfest have a lot to offer.

Illuminasti Orchestra @ Zeitgeist, NOLA 4/29/10 Saturday, May 1, 2010

No rest for the weary. It was listed as 8:30 and I didn't know what the actual start time might be. I got there at about 8:45. I got on the website with my blackberry so that I could get a map of the location for the cab driver. Unless you know where it is, it's not that easy to find.

They started closer to 9:30 and played 2 one hour sets. Skerik was only available for the 1st set due to another gig. Tim Greene showed up for the 2nd set. Other than that, it was James Singleton, Mike Dillon, Justin on electronics, Mark Sutherland, a guy on tenor and soprano and a guy named Sotero on trumpet. I believe Mark and Sotero were just added the night before. What a good move on James' part - they added a lot!

It was really really excellent. There was something a little different about the improvising, it was a little freer, a little more relaxed than what I tend to get in NYC. It was very special and well worth giving up the rest of the night for. They played til midnight, but I felt like I was going to bed so early when I got back to my French Quarter hotel at about 12:30.

This was very creative. They didn't put any boundaries on themselves while definitely including they were creating this together. There was interesting experimenting with voice. I loved it when many of them were clapping, each to a different rhythm in a different time. The horns would often step away from the official performance area and experiment with playing in various parts of the room.

There was definitely a huge difference after Skerik left. It was still great, but much different. Skerik added so much to the experimentation.

I loved this show and it really was the perfect choice for me that night.

Jazzfest @ Fairgrounds, NOLA 4/29/10

Nothing can ever come close to the greatness of this festival. It is so well done. I always get turned on to new music and get the chance to experience big acts I wouldn't go see otherwise. I can't turn this into "oh how I love jazzfest, let me count the ways ..." post, there's too much to say about this long day.

I got there at around 11:15. The beignet line was a bit long so I opted for peach cobbler for breakfast. I then made my first rounds by the 3 tents. It was all good, but didn't suck me in for long.

I ended up at the Acura stage thoroughly enjoying R. Skully Rough 7. They rocked! It was great and I need to look out for them. They have 2 female vocalists with big soulful voices. The guitar was awesome. It's fading now, but I remember loving them. I see that 2 members are from Morning 40 Federation. I never gave them much of a chance, and it looks like that has been my loss.

I made some rounds and the next thing to suck me in is Vivaz, a local Latin band. They are awesome! One guy just plays bongos and an occasional cowbell. Another guy plays timbales and cowbells. The 3rd drummer is solely on the congas. They were a phenomenal band and I need to look out for them more as well.

I then spent some time getting a taste of the greatness on each stage. Mario Abney and his sextet in the jazz tent sounded great. Classic Ballou & His Family Band played some great blues in that tent. I was caught by the drummer a few times and was shocked to see he looked about 10 years old. Loose Marbles were great in the Economy Hall Tent. I also got down in the Gospel tent with The Wright Brothers for a bit. Next, after consulting Gambit Weekly, I made my way over to the Lagniappe Stage for Sean Wilson & the Wild Lotus Band. It's a local band in the style of Indian Kirtan music with a twist. It was awesome and I later stopped by the CD tent to get some music to continue exploring.

Then I spent about 20 min 2nd-lining with the Paulin Brothers Brass Band. I love those parades! It gave me a good energy boost and was a lot of fun.

I checked out Grupo Sensacion for a bit. I thought Vivaz! was much better. This Latin Group did have some very good dancers.

Then I was able to sit on the outside bleachers by the Grandstand and listen to Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys. They were awesome! I still need to pick up a CD. I think she said Troy Andrews was playing with them.

I then did a little Shannon Powell in the Jazz Tent and a little Government Mule at the Acura Stage.

I settled in for a while seeing Steve Martin w/ the Steep Canyon Rangers. He's really good on the banjo! He also told jokes while retuning. He can't sing. He leaves most of the singing to the others, but, I think he should give it up entirely. When they played the longer, more instrumental tunes, I thought they were excellent. They did start losing me with the catchy, cutsey tunes, though. I left a little early to make the rounds and go shopping.

The sales in the book tent benefit buying kids books. The CD tent is done by Jazzfest. They get the CDs on consignment from the artists. So, it is good to buy from these tents.

Of course I went over to see Widespread Panic a few times. It was great, I just couldn't stay for some reason. I guess if it was more compelling, it would have held me.

I went around a few more times for tidbits and left at about 630ish.

GAT @ Howlin Wolf, NOLA 4/28/10

Oh yeah! This was exactly what I needed! The last band I saw was a great warmup, but this is a whole other thing. And, as I was discussing the price of late admission and when they started (about an hour ago, maybe less), the door guy got the OK to let me in for free! That made it more palatable when the band went into The Real Morning Party. Everyone except for me loves that song. I just got sick of it. However, I love what they did with it, mainly with the solos. I loved it when they weren't playing the actual catchy tune.

The musicians were phenomenal. I love seeing Skerik my first night. Mike D. was my MVP that night. I was blown away with most of his playing, especially the vibes.

The music really had me going. The crowd was a little flat, but what can you do. It's awesome how they can still bring it even with a tired, not-so-motivated audience. They couldn't even get it up to try to coax an encore.

Still, it was about 45-60 min of greatness.

Now, the megalomaniacs ball, with the pure forms of the bands is a great idea. Each of those bands are phenomenal in their own rights. I also rarely get to see any of them. Still, believe it or not, I want more. It's jazzfest after all. I think they should absolutely showcase the bands in their pure form. I also think they should sit in with each other. It would be very interesting to see the nuances and differences in each of the projects and what comes out of each of them when they play in the style of each project. It would also be fun to have some outside special guests show up for a bit as well.

Anyway, these are some of the greatest musicians that exist today and we're fortunate to have them. I need to take what I can get since those not in NY don't come as often as they used to.

Megalomaniac's Ball:
Garage A Trois feat. Skerik, Stanton Moore, Marco Benevento and Mike Dillion
Stanton Moore Trio with special guest Anders Osborne
Mike Dillon w/ Johnny Vidacovich and James Singleton
The Dead Kenny G's (featuring Skerik) and Marco Benevento Trio with Reed Mathis and Andrew Barr

Mike Dillon Trio 9pm Marco Trio 10pm Dead Kenny G's 11pm Stanton Trio 12:15 GAT 1:15

The Kirk Nasty @ Allways Lounge, NOLA 4/28/10

The whole evening was curated by James Singleton, so this band was bound to be good. They were. The electric bass player and bandleader looked familiar, the keyboard/sax, guitar, drums, and percussion were all unfamiliar to me. There was also a female vocalist who sat in for about 20-25 min of the set, which was about an hour.

It was great, fresh, and funky. The vocalist for the most part was another instrument and fit in nicely. I loved the intense percussionist, who had a sort of alternative drumkit. They were all awesome. We got a great instrumental encore and I left wanting more at around 3am-ish.

I'm not sure who all was there that night. I have a full band member listing from their myspace page, but they weren't all there.

http://www.myspace.com/lambertones
rex gregory - reeds, woodwinds and celesta;
James westfall - Micro-Korg, Vibraphone, Vocals, Piano, Rhodes, celesta;
Dylan Hicks - Drum set;
Ricky Sebastian - Drum Set;
Nathan Lambertson - Bass, vocals;
Ben Luton - Poetry;
kristina morales - vocals;
paul thibodeaux - drum set;
Jullian Addison - Drum Set;
Danny Abel - Guitar

Wativ @ AllwaysLounge, NOLA 4/28/10

I did get a 3 hour nap and this gig was calling me. It's a good spot, not too far away from the French Quarter. It's across the street from the Hi Ho Lounge. Always Lounge is also the Marigny theatre. The stage is rather large and round. It's not too high.

It was a great improvisational quintet. There was an extra guy with a laptop and a little keyboard. James was phenomenal on the bass. The keyboards were great. It also included awesome guitar. Simon Lott was fantastic on the drums.

It was awesome, and I had a good time dancing. This was a great way to kick off the music!

Wativ With Will Thompson, Chris Alford,
Simon Lott, James Singleton And Justin Peake

http://www.myspace.com/wativ

Upcoming: Undead Jazzfest 6/12 & 6/13

Looks great! From the same folks who do Winter Jazzfest.

http://www.undeadjazzfest.com/

Here's a few words from Adam Schatz from Search and Restore about it:

Hey everybody, it's been a few weeks and I hope you're all well. There has been a lot happening at Search and Restore, and we are proud to have completed booking the Undead Jazzfest that we're throwing on June 12th and 13th with Brice Rosenbloom & BoomBoom Presents. It will be similar in design to the Winter Jazzfest, taking over Kenny's Castaways, Le Poisson Rouge and Sullivan Hall. For the entire lineup, head over to UndeadJazzfest.com . There are a few folks we can't quite announce yet, but we'll let you know soon. But so far, we can tell you we've got Happy Apple, Matthew Shipp, Steve Coleman, Uri Caine, Fight The Big Bull, Hoenig-Pilc-Lefebvre, Roswell Rudd / Lafayette Harris duo, the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, and many MANY more. Check out the site for all the info and on how to buy tickets, because this will sell out!

Stephan von Huene, Text Tones @ Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Ger 4/21/10

I had lunch with a friend who had some free tickets to this museum. Why not? I spent my 2nd to last afternoon in Hamburg exploring this magnificent museum. I didn’t realize there were 2 parts, so I was first in the old part and it was so great, that I spent a lot of time over there. When I went looking for the Pop Life exhibition, I found out there is a whole other building with some permanent contemporary works. One of the first things I find is this amazing work by Stephan von Huene called “Text Tones”. Here’s some pictures:
http://www.stephanvonhuene.de/rohr/text.html

I kept coming back to this room because it sounded amazing. There was a 1 page write-up on what was going on, but it was in German, so I had to figure out what I could on my own. I found an article on it here (I excerpted a description):
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/28/style/28iht-gall_ed3_.html
At first glance, the viewer registers no more than sleek white pedestals supporting horizontally mounted aluminum tubes, but the true spirit of the piece unfolds as an acoustic collage. Concealed microphones record the random sounds generated in the exhibition space, store and mix them and replay the results to a "percussion" accompaniment of miniature hammers striking the pipes. The elegantly minimalist form, the layering of acoustic signals and the interactive aspect of the piece are principles that engaged von Huene as lecturer and author, as well. It is no coincidence that what emerges from "Text Tones" is a musical composition, an endlessly varied electronic sextet, not unrelated to the works of John Cage.

It was amazing. It sounded great! I am so impressed by it because he essentially created instruments that play wonderful music without a human working it.

There was also a diagram:
http://www.stephanvonhuene.de/mmap_p/kon_text.html

This exhibit alone was worth the entire extra time in Hamburg.