Edmar Castenada @ Joe's Pub 1/13/11

It was listed as a solo gig, but it turned out to be a trio.  It was awesome.  I'm not sure who the drummer was.  Even worse, I can't quite recollect the 3rd instrument,  I think there is a chance it was Gabriele Mirabassi on clarinet.  Otherwise, it might have been a sax.

I just got back from 2 weeks in Costa Rica with Ariel & Shya Kane.  I'm not the same person who left, but I know whoever I was at that show enjoyed it immensely.

We had 2 special guests, Edmar's wife came out a couple of times.  We also got this great cochon player.  It was awesome!

Sunship @ LPR 1/12/11

This is now a distant memory, but I'll see what I can do.  I got there just after it started.  They bagged the solo set, so Sunship was on the stage.  Most of the seats were taken but I wanted to stand, so no big deal.
I loved it.  I love Mary and Marc together.  Chad Taylor is amazing.  The music is phenomenal.  They play music from Coltrane's album by that title and of course with their own interpretation. 

Jan 12th: Sun Ship w/special guest Henry Grimes (Mary Halvorson-guitar, Chad Taylor-drums)


Here's a NYTimes review from 2009 of the band:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/arts/music/28ribot.html

MTO Plays Sly @ Littlefield 1/6/11

I finally got to see this and it was great. It was so much fun to get down. Nicole Atkins couldn't make it due to bronchitis, but they were able to get Fiona McVeigh from Ollabelle last minute.

I love this band regardless of what they are doing. This night was comprised of Steven Bernstein leading and playing enough slide trumpet to keep me happy, Uri Caine on keys, Ben Allison on bass, Kenny Wollesen on drums, Charlie Burnham on violin, Curtis Fawlkes on trombone, Erik Lawrence on saxaphones, Peter Apfelbaum on reeds, and Doug Weiselman on sax and clarinet. If you are familiar with them, then you know just how amazingly talented the band is. If you aren't familiar you are about to have the opportunity because Adam is about to document the NYC Downtown jazz greatness that I am privileged to get to on a regular basis. I couldn't help fantasizing about some of the possibilities that might come out of this. And, there's so much more possible than I could possibly imagine.


I also need to mention the main vocalist, Dee Morgan. He was good and it was good to get some words to Sly tunes. He also knew how to improvise and would occasionally play his hands or whistle.

The show was awesome and definitely up there in terms of greatness. I had a lot of fun dancing. The music was stellar.

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society @ Littlefield 1/6/11

It was time to see them again. The music was spectacular. Some of the usual suspects, like Ingrid Jensen and Erika Von Kleist were absent. But it was still a phenomenal 18 piece ensemble playing awesome music. I enjoyed it immensely.

Fight The Big Bull @ Littlefield 1/6/11

Some of them were familiar from the last time I saw them. Maybe they were all the same people, but I thought a few may have been different. It is still a fabulous band. I enjoyed it immensely. They were all awesome. I enjoyed each of them at various times. The trumpet, trombone and bass were especially memorable.

Overtone Quartet @ Birdland 1/5/11

The only thing on my list of potentials that I wanted to go to was Marc Ribot @ LPR. But, it wasn't going to start until 10 and I knew I wasn't up for a late night. So I consulted my trusty All About Jazz and saw that Chris Potter was at Birdland. Now, it was after 6 but I figured I'd give Goldstar a shot. There were still some 1/2 price tickets to be had for the next night, but not for me.
I did think Dave Holland was in it, but Chris was the big reason to get me over there. There was no Dave and maybe there wasn't supposed to be.  Dave just brought them all together in a quintet. 

In addition to Chris, I was also psyched about Jason Moran. You know that a great rhythm section was backing them up. It was awesome. There was one song with Chris on soprano that really had me on another plane. The set was awesome.

Overtone Quartet:
Jason Moran,
Chris Potter,
Eric Harland &
Larry Grenadier

Karl Densen @ Brooklyn Bowl 1/1/11

I enjoyed this show even more than BBs the other night.  I wasn't sick of them even though it was only a couple of days earlier.  It was funky and a lot of fun.  The fire alarm got tripped somehow in the middle of the show and suddenly there were no lights on the band and lots of lights on the audience.  This resulted in some confusion and after the band finished the song they thought the lights may have been a signal to end the show so they left the stage.  They soon returned and resumed without lights for a few minutes before our normal structure resumed.

While this show was great I'm told there was something different about that recent Irving Plaza show that people are still talking about.  It was surmised that Karl was wailing so awesomely due to following Maceo Parker, who opened the show.

Regardless it was a good night of music to kick off 2011.

Dr Lonnie Smith Big Band @ Jazz Standard 1/1/11

14 pieces of spectacular music.  Lots of young talented musicians you might see at Jazz Gallery.

The sousaphone was awesome and had an amazing long somewhat funky solo that blew me away.  The sousaphone itself is beautiful.

Ann Drummond wowed everyone with her flute solo.  There was an awesome trumpet solo at one point.  John Ellis was down in front in the sax section.

There were many times where the drums had me captivated.  He was incredible.  There were also times when I was loving that organ.

It was a lot of fun and I love starting the year off at Jazz Standard.

• Dr. Lonnie Smith – Hammond B-3 organ
  Kyle Wilson – tenor saxophone
  Jon Ellis – tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
  Logan Richardson – alto & soprano saxophone
  Clark Gayton – tuba
  Anne Drummond – flute
  Corey King – trombone (musical director)
  Josh Roseman – trombone
  Keyon Harrold, Miki Hirose, Phil Dizack – trumpets
  Jonathan Kreisberg – guitar
  Vicente Archer – bass
  Jamire Williams – drums
  

Here a group that Dr. Lonnie Smith fans have been awaiting for years! Some of the finest younger players on the scene fill the ranks of this exciting big band, including saxophonists Jon Ellis and Logan Richardson, trumpeter Keyon Harrold, and flutist Anne Drummond. With the U.S. premiere of Dr. Lonnie Smith’s Big Band, these Jazz Standard dates offer a unique opportunity to hear the Boss of the B3 in a thrilling, roof-raising, foot-stomping big band setting

Anders Osborne @ Sullivan Hall 12/31/10

So now I get it fully.  This band is incredible.  I was stuck in the old days when Anders was hit or miss.  I also miss his old band with Kirk Joseph, Tim Green and Eric Bolivar.  All I can say is shame on me.  This band is spectacular!  It's not just Anders, the bass player had me especially going and the drums definitely belonged.  It's more of a rock band full of soul.

This was hands down my favorite show of the weekend.

Gov't Mule @ The Beacon 12/31/10

I've learned from Ariel & Shya Kane that comparison is a killer. Enjoy your experience for what it is. This was a great show and they played well. I had a great time. They were celebrating Mule and invited fans to vote for their 10 favorite Mule songs, 5 favorite covers they've done and 5 favorite they've never done. I found that way too daunting to even try. I don't know how many "ballots" were actually submitted. I got the feeling it wasn't a huge turnout.


The 1st set was about 1.5 hours of sheer awesomeness. I was very happy with it. I think it was all Mule tunes but I'm not quite sure. The night before had a lot less Mule songs than I'm used to hearing at a Mule show, so I already presumed they were saving them for this show. The 2nd set was mainly Mule tunes also. There were also no special guests until toward the end. They ended the Mule song portion of the evening with the first guest, Corky Laing. I gotta admit, I don't like seeing Matt Abts leave the stage. It was good, I just didn't need him.



They ended the 2nd set with the start of the covers. I think 3rd set was all covers. My favorite was "Bad Company". My 2nd favorite was "Sugaree". I actually had a thought during the 1st set that I wanted to hear it. I'm so glad we got it!


It was surprising there was no encore. A lot of people were disappointed they ended with jazz, but I loved it. Bill Evans was awesome.


OK, if I'm going to indulge in comparison (a killer), it wasn't up to the level of the past 2 NYE shows, but come on.  You know those were way over the top.  It was great and it was The Beacon and there was no where else I'd rather be.
 
 
Set 1
Mule with Kirk West Introduction
Painted Silver Light
Gameface
Blind Man In The Dark
Bad Little Doggie
No Need To Suffer
Beautifully Broken
Banks Of The Deep End
Trying Not To Fall
Time To Confess with Get Up, Stand Up Tease
Thorazine Shuffle

Set 2
Slackjaw Jezebel
Brand New Angel
Steppin' Lightly
Broke Down On The Brazos
New Years Countdown
Achilles Last Stand *
Bridge Of Sighs *
Nantucket Sleighride * with Corky Laing
Bad Company *
Yer Blues *


Set 3
Shakedown Street *
Sugaree with Jon Herington & Bill Evans
Sco-Mule with Jon Herington & Bill Evans, Oye Como Va Tease & Dance To The Music Lyrics
Afro-Blue with Bill Evans & Oz Noy, Norwegian Wood Tease

* First Time Played

Karl Densen's Tiny Universe @ BB's 12/30/10

Yes, it was a triple header that meant I was dancing all night. I wrote Karl off years ago - he only did it for me once. It was a special jazzfest night show at d.b.a. of a Vidocovich/Densen duo. It was phenomenal and I realized how talented Karl is. It was the only time he impressed me. Tiny Universe impressed me another time, when it was a late night show. I wanted to give this show a chance because I heard his recent Irving Plaza show was stellar.

This BBs show was pretty good. It was fun and I was into it. I wasn't bored at all. I doubt it was the level that IP show was, but it was fun nonetheless. I did get the feeling Karl was saving something for the upcoming New Years Day show at Brooklyn Bowl, though.

Rebirth Brass Band @ LPR 12/30/10

They were as great as usual. It was a lot of fun and really good to have a brass band. They came on at around 1 and I left a little after 2. I like what they did with the Who Dat?! Saints song.

Gov't Mule @ The Beacon 12/30/10

It was a great show with great special guests and great covers. There weren't many of the usual Mule songs, so I figured they were saving them for the next night. I loved Bill Evans on sax and my favorite part of the night was definitely "Low Spark". This is one excellent band.

12.30.2010 Beacon Theatre, New York, NY

Set 1
Wandering Child with Kirk West Introduction
Larger Than Life >
Temporary Saint >
Rockin' Horsse
I Shall Return > with Drift Away Lyrics
Railroad Boy >
Trane > with 3rd Stone From The Sun & Norwegian Wood Teases
Eternity's Breath >
St. Stephen Jam >
Train Kept A Rollin' > with Brad Whitford
Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home with Brad Whitford

Set 2
Nasty Dogs & Funky Kings
Patchwork Quilt
Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys with Bill Evans
Devil Likes It Slow > with Bill Evans
Drums >
Jesus Gonna Be Here with David Hidalgo
Presence Of The Lord > with David Hidalgo
Jesus Just Left Chicago with David Hidalgo
I'm A Ram


Encore
Forevermore
Spanish Moon with Brad Whitford & Bill Evans