Thursday, June 24, 2010

Tim Berne @ The Stone 6/16/10

I love all Tim Berne projects. I don't know why I don't make more effort to see them. I also love all Ches Smith projects. He is definitely on my very long list of favorite drummers.

This may have been my very first time seeing Oscar Noriega. I've known about him for a while. He's definitely as great as I've heard. I'm still loving the bass clarinet. I also really enjoyed the alto clarinet.

I don't think I ever even heard of Matt Mitchell on piano. Shame on me.

It was an excellent set. A lot of the music was that very energetic "aha" stuff that I love. I'm also glad I got to at least one of their sets.

Tim Berne
Tim Berne (sax) Oscar Noriega (clarinets) Matt Mitchell (piano) Ches Smith (drums)
Los Totopos, Tim Berne's new touring band, is a potent blend of new voices and new ideas. Berne responds with a stunning book of new pieces balancing compositional rigor with fluid group improvisation. Hypnotic rhythms and long, seductive melodies collide with jagged dissonances and surprising textural shifts. A lush, organic blend of saxophones and clarinets is layered with electronic and acoustic keyboards and an ever-changing tapestry of percussion.

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