De Akokán Pavel Urkiza & Ricardo Pons @ Jazz Gallery 3/30/13

It was time to get to the new space.  Sure, it's not as great as the old space, but it's still good to have another option with good music.  I enjoyed the music. It was awesome.

De Akokán Pavel Urkiza & Ricardo Pons
Saturday, March 30th, 2013 |9:00 & 10:30 p.m.

Pavel Urkiza – vocal percusion and spanish guitar
Ricardo Pons – wood winds
Yunior Terry – acoustic bass
Tony Rosa - percussion

http://www.jazzspeaks.org/pavel-urkiza-ricardo-pons-from-the-heart/
De Akokán, the name of the co-led ensemble of the guitarist and songwriter Pavel Urkiza & the reedist Ricardo Pons, means “from the heart” in the Yoruba language. Pavel was born in Ukraine to parents of Cuban descent, and has produced much of his creative output from Spain. He has been heralded as a “maestro” by his peers in the Afro-Caribbean music community, and specializes in a style he helped develop called filin progresivo. In Pavel’s words: “I started to discover new codes, new fountains from which to drink, new colors — and I came to perceive music like painting — beyond the notes are the textures.” This is a music that incorporates elements of jazz, and rhythms from West Africa, Brazil, the Mediterranean, and India, which Pavel was exposed to in Lavapiés, an immigrant neighborhood in Madrid.

In the early nineties, Pavel teamed up with the Cuban singer Gema Corredera to form the Gema & Pavel duo, whose pioneering music the Miami New Times described as, “a post-Cold War fusion rooted in their island upbringing and marked by the émigré experience.” Pavel has also collaborated with Omara Portuondo, Angelique Kidjo, Alejandro Sanz, Tito Puente and many others.

Ricardo’s collaborative involvement in De Akokán pushes Pavel’s filin progresivo in a new direction. Ricardo was educated in New York (he holds a bachelor’s degree from City College and a M.A. from Queens College) and has performed with a breadth of artists including Chick Corea, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Mario Bauza, and Willie Colon. His interests lies in various expansions of Puerto Rican traditional music, which he explores as the Musical Director of Viento de Agua and a member of the Puerto Sax Quartet.

Abigail Washburn Post-Americal Girl @ Joe's Pub 3/29/13

I didn't really look at the listing, so I had no idea what it was other than Abigail Washburn.  It was a play with a lot of music.  It was stellar.  I loved it.  It was so well done.  They just started rehearsing a few days before, and I couldn't really tell.  It was also nice to see how Abigail came to an artist singing chinese and playing banjo.  I loved that they had a guezheng and an asian percussionist. 

I also liked learning about some of the cultural differences in China.  The whole thing was wonderful.

http://www.abigailwashburn.com/website/post-american-girl/
We are excited to announce Abigail Washburn will debut her first theatrical work, Post-American Girl, at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater March 28 – 30 as part of New York Voices, the venue’s popular commission series designed to help musicians make the leap from songwriting and performance to theatrical production. Washburn’s new stage piece is about an American girl coming-of-age in a swiftly changing global order. It features folk arts of China and Appalachia in shadow puppetry, sacred harp song, traditional music as well as new compositions.

Post-American Girl, written by and starring Washburn, draws from her 17-year relationship with China and addresses themes of expanding identity, cultural relativism, pilgrimage, today’s shifting world order, the universal appeal of music and opening the heart big enough to fold it all in. The piece explores how a contemporary young American woman brings her conflicted feelings and simultaneous love of a changing China together with similar conflicted feelings and love of her own country’s culture. The production will include Chinese Theatre Works’ Kuang Yu Fong (founder and Master Vocalist); Stephen Kaplin (Puppeteer & Set Design); composer, violinist and violist Jeremy Kittel; Chinese percussion master Tian Gang; cellist Tristan Clarridge and Guzheng master Wang Jungling. Post-Amerian Girl will be directed by Meiyin Wang, Associate Artistic Producer of The Public’s Under The Radar.

“I started going back and forth between China and America in 1996 and have hoped for a chance to dive headlong into a fuller expression of this journey and the lessons learned,” said Washburn. “My artistry is expanding inexplicably because of New York Voices. Joe’s Pub and The Public have created an opportunity to expand my artistic vision by freeing me up to think unabashedly about ways to merge my musical and personal journey with theatrical performance.”
To view behind-the-scenes photos from the making of Post-American Girl, click here.

Dave Douglas @ Jazz Standard 3/28/13

It was fantastic.  They were all phenomenal.  I could watch any of them all day long.  It was phenomenal.

Dave Douglas Quintet: 50th Birthday Week

Trumpeter, bandleader, entrepreneur, educator: Dave Douglas’ unique contributions to improvised music have garnered distinguished recognition from many quarters, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, Aaron Copland award and Grammy Award nominations. This week, Dave rolls into Jazz Standard for a very special 50^thbirthday celebration with the artist leading his stellar quintet in performances of songs from his forthcoming album, Time Travel. It’s the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Be Still, which the Los Angeles Times called “a lush collection of hymnals and elegies reworked into widescreen jazz.” Time Travel, Douglas explains, “features the same lineup (minus guitarist Aoife O’Donovan) for a straight–up instrumental batch of tunes. Can’t wait for you all to hear it!”
Dave Douglas – trumpet
Jon Irabagon – tenor saxophone
Matt Mitchell – piano
Linda Oh – bass
Rudy Royston – drums

40 Year New England Conservatory 40th anniversary of the Contemporary Improvisation Department @ Symphony Space 3/14/13

I loved the space so much, I decided to go back the next night.  It just feels good there and they are very laid back.  I enjoyed the music and seeing great improvisors on a big stage.

This review has a great rundown on how it went down:
http://lucidculture.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/necsymphonyspace/

Tribute to Paul Motian @ Symphony Space 3/22/13

I enjoyed the venue and the show was a jam-packed wonderful tribute.  Take a look at that the program below.  You know it was stellar.  It went from improvisation to straight-ahead and all over the place.  It was definitely a special treat to be there.

NY Times Review

THE PROGRAM

MC: Josh Jackson (WGBO)

Conception Vessel

Bill Frisell, guitar
Joe Lovano, tenor saxophone

Dance

Billy Drewes, alto saxophone
Joe Lovano, tenor saxophone
Bill Frisell, guitar
Ed Schuller, bass
Joey Baron, drums

TBA

Masabumi Kikuchi, piano

Etude/Cosmology

Marilyn Crispell, piano
Gary Peacock, bass

Mumbo Jumbo

Joe Lovano, tenor saxophone
Marilyn Crispell, piano
Gary Peacock, bass
Andrew Cyrille, drums

TBA

Billy Hart and Andrew Cyrille, drums

TBA

Greg Osby, alto saxophone
TBA, piano
Larry Grenadier, bass
Billy Hart, drums

TBA

Billy Hart Quartet
Mark Turner, tenor saxophone
Ethan Iverson, piano
Ben Street, bass
Billy Hart, drums

Abacus

Special Guests with
Joe Lovano and Ravi Coltrane, saxophones

--INTERMISSION--

TBA

Masabumi Kikuchi, piano
Gary Peacock, bass

Mesmer

Electric Bebop Band
Chris Cheek, Billy Drewes, Bill McHenry, saxophones
Steve Cardenas, Jakob Bro, Ben Monder, guitars;
Jerome Harris, Larry Grenadier, bass;
Matt Wilson, drums

Introduction (Lament for Guitar)

Jakob Bro, Steve Cardenas, Bill Frisell, Ben Monder, guitars
Jerome Harris, acoustic bass guitar

The Sunflower/Last Call

Greg Osby, alto saxophone
Bill Frisell, guitar

Psalm

Tim Berne, alto saxophone
Matt Mitchell, piano

Fantasm

TBA, piano
Ravi Coltrane, Joe Lovano, saxophones
Bill Frisell, guitar

Endless/Morpion

Bill McHenry Quartet
Bill McHenry, tenor saxophone
Ben Monder, guitar
Reid Anderson, bass
Andrew Cyrille, drums

The Windmills of Your Mind

Petra Haden, vocals
Bill Frisell, guitar

It Should Have Happened A Long Time Ago

Bill Frisell, guitar
Joe Lovano, tenor saxophone

Drum Music

All Musicians

Chris Speed/David King/Chris Tordini @ Cornelia St 3/21/13

It was a phenomenal new trio.  They complemented each other very well.  I heard David plays out in the experimental music scene quite often.  I want to go out there some time for a weekend (in the summer) and see him in his regular home scene.  Chris played clarinet and tenor sax and they were all awesome.

Todd Sickafoose's Tiny Resisters 3/20/13

Oh did I miss them!  What a phenomenal band!  They also had some new material, so hopefully there is a new album coming some day.  It was such a good set and I had to dance.

Todd Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors

feat. Jenny Scheinman (violin), Steve Cardenas (guitar), John Ellis (sax & clarinet), Alan Ferber (trombone), Jonathan Goldberger (guitar) & Ted Poor (drums).

Bassist/composer Todd Sickafoose’s band is a marvel of musical cross-breeding, pairing indie rock muscle and whimsy with the extended forms, timbres and sophistication of a jazz orchestra. Their recording Tiny Resistors (Cryptogramophone) has been called "thoroughly original, endlessly creative... one of the year's most compelling listens" (JazzTimes) and "stunningly brilliant...a modern jazz masterpiece" (Bassplayer). Known for genre-bending collaborations, Sickafoose toured and recorded with Ani DiFranco for the last 8 years, playing everywhere from punk clubs to Carnegie Hall, in addition to extensive music-making with Andrew Bird, Jenny Scheinman, Nels Cline, Allison Miller, Myra Melford, Erik Deutsch and many others. The consistency of his personal voice within wildly diverse collaborations prompted the LA Weekly in 2004 to call Todd "one of the most comprehensive musical minds of this coast." Since 2010, Todd has been living bicoastally between NYC and Oakland CA.

Rosetta Trio @ 92YTribeca 3/20/13

I was really there for the next band, but I like opportunities to see something new for me.  This was a WGBO Soundcheck show.  So, a DJ came out every now and then to ask the leader some questions and it was all live.

It was a good trio - a string trio if you will.  It was led by the contrabass and also consisted of an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar.  They did a lot from their new CD "Thwirl" coming out soon.  I especially liked the last 2 pieces, which were lively.  The 2nd to last one had the bass player using the bass as percussion at times.

Stephan Crump's Rosetta Trio

Rosetta Trio is a uniquely colorful and hard-grooving all-string chamber jazz ensemble led by Memphis-bred Brooklynite bassist/composer Stephan Crump with guitarists Liberty Ellman and Jamie Fox. Hailed as “a string ensemble for the new century” by All About Jazz, the group formed in 2005 to record an album of pieces written in the aftermath of 9/11. That album, Rosetta, was greeted with inclusion on multiple top ten lists and ecstatic reviews for its narrative depth and outstanding performances. With an ever-deepening rapport from years of touring and recording together in different contexts, in 2010 the trio released its second album, Reclamation (“a low-key marvel”, JazzTimes on Sunnyside Records, including an extended work commissioned by 92nd St. Y and New York Guitar Festival. The freshness of the compositions is matched by the dynamic, intimate synergy of the ensemble (“bareness in emotion”, NPR, which was hailed as “ingenious originals” by The New Yorker and featured in The New York Times weekend Arts section. Rosetta Trio, whose members have for years collaborated with many of the leading lights in the New York creative music scene, has developed into a formidable unit, sensitively and powerfully rendering Crump’s often profound, sometimes playful and always honest music. The trio has just finished its third album, Thwirl, which arrives September 2013 on Sunnyside Records.

Allman Brothers Band @ The Beacon 3/16/13

I was happy to see an available seat for this last Sat of the Beacon run on the floor.  I figured there would be some great guests.  It was more typical ABB guests, like Susan Tedeshi, but still a good show.  Although, I didn't even realize that was Nels Cline on Smokestack Lightnin'. 

One was all I needed and I had a great time.

1.	Done Somebody Wrong
2.	Don't Keep Me Wonderin'
3.	Midnight Rider
4.	Woman Across The River
5.	Egypt
6.	The Sky Is Crying
	with Susan Tedeschi, guitar & vocals
7.	Spots Of Time
8.	No One To Run With
	Set II
9.	Long Black Veil
10.	That's What Love Will Make You Do
	with Susan Tedeschi, guitar & vocals ; Danny Louis, piano, Lincoln Schleifer, bass
11.	Rain
12.	Smokestack Lightnin'
	with Col. Bruce Hampton, vocal; Danny Louis, piano; Nels Cline, guitar; Vedo Louise, drums
13.	Rocking Horse
14.	You Don't Love Me
	with Berry Oakley Jr., Bass
15.	In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
	Encore
16.

Afro-Cuban All Stars @ Blue Note 3/15/13

This was a lot of fun.  I love some good Afro Cuban.  I would say it was about 15 pieces including the singers.  I really liked the piano and horns.  It was also thrilling when towards the end they asked us to get up and dance.  You don't have to ask me twice!  The only part I wasn't crazy about was the singers coming out into the audience. They did that a lot and it was annoying because they would shine a bright spotlight on us when they did that.  Still, it was a fun enjoyable show.

FEATURING:
Juan de Marcos González, bandleader
Gliceria Abreu, afro-cuban perc.
Julito Padrón, tp. & fl.
Yaure Muñiz, tp. & fl.
Yoanny Pino, tp. & fl.
Lázaro Oviedo, tp. & fl.
José Antonio “Tony” Moreaux, bongo & cowbell
Antonio "Pacha" Portuondo, timbales
Rolando "Niño Mentira" Salgado, congas
Gabriel Hernández, pno.
Alberto Pantaleón, bs.
Evelio Galán, lead singer
Emilio Suarez, lead singer
José Gilito Piñera, lead singer
Laura Lydia González, clar.

SF Jazz Collective @ Jazz Standard 3/14/13

This band is in their 9th year.  It has a revolving lineup of great jazz composers.  They choose an artist and then each one of them is commissioned to compose a piece by the selected legend.  Chick Corea was up.  The music was excellent.  I loved having a horn section. I'm so glad they are in the clubs these days.  I remember the first time I saw them was in a hall, one of my first "hall jazz" shows.  It was good, but I realized then and there I preferred clubs.  I enjoyed the set and it was fun to go Jazz Standard a 2nd night.

Current SFJAZZ Collective Lineup

Miguel Zenón, alto saxophone

David Sánchez, tenor saxophone

Avishai Cohen, trumpet

Robin Eubanks, trombonist

Stefon Harris, vibraphone

Edward Simon, piano

Matt Penman, bass

Obed Calvaire, drums

Clarence Penn Quintet @ Jazz Standard 3/13/13

It was listed as a quartet, but then there was a percussion station set up.  Sure. I enough, a percussionist joined them on many songs. Just seeing the personnel you know it was fantastic.  Chris played tenor, soprano and bass clarinet.  Adam had many awesome solos.  Ben Street was great.  You know I love a drummer led band, especially with a percussionist.  There were many aha drum moments.


The Listing:
More than two decades ago, Clarence Penn arrived in NYC from his native Detroit to join Betty Carter’s band. Several years of touring and recording with the great jazz diva made him a seasoned first–call sideman, ready to play with groups variously led by Stanley Clarke, Christian McBride, Michael Brecker, Dizzy Gillespie, Luciana Souza, Gary Burton, Joshua Redman, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Charlie Haden, and Maria Schneider. He released three excellent albums as a leader, beginning with Penn’s Landing (Criss Cross, 1997). Now comes Clarence Penn’s long–awaited new CD, Dali in Cobble Hill – a meditation on how the iconic Surrealist painter Salvador Dali might have digested a stroll through Penn’s Brooklyn neighborhood. The eight originals and two standards incorporate a variety of moods, flavors, and strategies that reflect Penn's extensive activity as a sideman for modern music’s best-and-brightest over the past decades; his ensemble of grandmaster generational contemporaries – Chris Potter on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, Adam Rogers on guitar, and Ben Street on bass – inhabit the stories, playing with deep imagination and virtuosic craft.

Chris Potter – tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Adam Rogers – guitar
Ben Street – bass
Clarence Penn – drums

Ben Wendel & Dan Tepfer @ Rubin Museum 3/14/13

An atypical night for Harlem in the Himalayas, which when they have it, is usually on a Fri night, not a Wed.  We hypothesized it was because the duo is on tour and they wanted to fit them in.  Harlem in the Himalayas is a joint venture with the Harlem Jazz Museum and the Rubin Museum due to the Harlem museum not having an actual space and the Rubin having a great space with great acoustics.  The Rubin performance space is extra cool because the acoustics are so good that the performers play truly acoustic - no mics or amps or any kind of electricity whatsoever.

The music was good.  It's a CD release tour and it was fun to hear about the making of the CD.  They basically played music from the CD.  About half the pieces on the CD are duos, including some Monk and standards and perhaps other stuff.  They also described some of the constructed pieces on the CD.  Ben plays a lot of instruments including all of the saxophones, bassoon, piano and guitar,  apparently they mixed in different instruments into some tracks.  They told us about one track that has 2 bassoons.  Dan mainly played the tenor on the gig.  He did play bassoon for one (or 2?) At the show.

They also had an idea to have some improvised vignettes in between tracks on the CD.  But, they were never happy with the results.  That is, until they switched instruments, with Ben on piano and Dan on alto sax.  That's what they did for their improvised piece inspired by a work at the Rubin Museum.  It was fun, although I admit I enjoyed Ben's piano more than Dan's sax.  I really love Dan on piano and admire his willingness to improvise on the sax on the tour.  While I presume the other venues aren't asking them to improvise with a piece of art in mind, they are doing an improvised piece at each stop.

I liked the lively Monk piece they did toward the end and the last piece the most.  The whole show was enjoyable and fun.

http://www.rmanyc.org/events/load/2126
NYC musicians Dan Tepfer and Ben Wendel will be playing the Rubin Museum for the release of their first duo album together, Small Constructions, out March 12th on Sunnyside Records.
Pianist/composer Tepfer, a frequent collaborator of jazz great Lee Konitz's, has been described by The New York Times as "a player of exceptional poise who is drawn to the deeper currents of melody".
The LA Times has praised saxophonist / bassoonist Wendel, a founding member of the Grammy-nominated band Kneebody, as "a composer with a restless ear".
On Small Constructions, Wendel and Tepfer range from kaleidoscopic Monk and a remodeled standard to classical variations and melody-rich originals, creating a set of songs that expresses their mutual love of jazz, classical, pop and more. "A summit meeting of two steadily rising talents.” —LA Times. http://dantepfer.com & http://benwendel.com

About the Artists

Known for his rare improvisational gift and a complex yet melodic approach to music-making, the prize-winning pianist Dan Tepfer has been hailed as "a player of exceptional poise" by The New York Times, while Downbeat extolled his "ability to disappear into the music as he's making it."
A New York-based pianist and composer and one of the most formidable jazz musicians on the international stage, Dan has enjoyed a sustained, ongoing duo partnership with alto saxophonist and jazz luminary Lee Konitz. They have appeared together live at the Village Vanguard and many other leading jazz venues.
Born to American parents in Paris in 1982, Dan began classical piano studies at age six at the Paris Conservatoire Paul Dukas. He took a somewhat circuitous route to a jazz career, earning a degree in astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. But beginning even as a toddler, Dan explored improvisation on his own. He played extensively on the jazz scene in college and enjoyed a brief stint as an opera conductor. After graduating in 2005 from Boston’s New England Conservatory and completing his masters under the guidance of Danilo Perez, Dan moved to New York and quickly became an in-demand player and composer.
Dan’s numerous awards include first prize and audience prize at the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition, first prize at the 2006 East Coast Jazz Festival Competition, and first prize at the 2007 competition of the American Pianists Association. In November 2011, Dan released a solo album on Sunnyside/Naïve entitled Goldberg Variations/Variations. In addition to working with his trio, Dan continues to focus on full solo piano concerts of freely improvised music. As France’s Jazz Magazine has noted, he is “gifted with a heightened sense for form and an extraordinary confidence...”

Ben Wendel is among the saxophonists that fellow New York musicians also want to hear. More importantly, Ben is a saxophone player that the audience wants to hear. Born in Vancouver and raised in Los Angeles, Ben was educated at the Eastman School of Music. Ben has enjoyed a varied career as a performer, composer and producer. Recent highlights include multiple domestic and international tours with such artists as Cuban drumming legend Ignacio Berroa, Thelonius Monk Piano Competition Winner Tigran Hamasyan, Electronica artist Daedelus and Hip Hop artist Snoop Dogg. Ben is a founding member of the genre-bending group Kneebody. In addition to playing saxophone, Ben also doubles on the bassoon and piano. As a composer he has scored multiple films, received an ASCAP Jazz Composer Award, was a winner in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition and also received the Chamber Music America New Works Grant.
Ben is a recording artist with Sunnyside Records, with plans for his second release in Spring 2012. He is a former Adjunct Professor of Jazz Studies at USC and currently teaches through The New School in NYC. Ben recently had the honor of conducting a re-creation of “Bird With Strings” at Jazz At The Lincoln Center with guests Charles McPherson and Wes “Warm Daddy” Anderson.

Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite @ Riviera Theatre, Chicago 3/3/13

I had a business trip to Chicago.  I hadn't been there in about 13 years or so.  I contacted some friends, vetted out the music options in their city, and they chose this.  It was a good show and a lot of fun.  I now realize I was getting Charlie Musselwhite mixed up with someone else. 

I like the Riv.  The floor is all standing.  We had a good spot in front of the stage not too close, but close enough.  It was easy to stash my coat over a railing and leave it.  Ben and Charlie did a lot of sitting, but they stood at times.  The other 3 stood the whole time. 

It was a fun, good show.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-04/entertainment/ct-ent-0305-harper-musselwhite-review-20130305_1_charlie-musselwhite-blues-ben-harper

Bill Evans' Soulgrass @ Blue Note 3/2/13

I kept wondering when I was going and I almost let it slip away without making it.  I'm glad I went - it was awesome.  So much energy and such great musicians.  I was so impressed.  While I don't need singing I didn't mind it.  Josh is a great drummer, too.  I haven't seen Mitch Stein in a while.  They were all so phenomenal and play so well together.  Bill mentioned how awesome it is to play with Medeski, how he's always playing it different every time.

It turns out it was the same lineup for the last night, no ABB personnel.  It sounds like it was just as good a show as I got, though.

Bill Evans, sax
John Medeski, organ and keyboards
Ryan Cavanaugh, banjo
Mitch Stein, guitar
Etienne Mbappe, bass
Josh Dion, drums/vocals

Omaha Diner @ The Cutting Room 3/1/13

I can't remember if this is the same space as the old Cutting Room.  There are some familiarities, but it's also different.  The old place had the performance space in a separate room.  There were many tables and chairs, but I could usually find some kind of standing space.  Now, it's still like that room with the tables, but there are no walls between that and the rest of the space.  That means there's plenty of room to stand, but standers are actually in a different room from the sitters, who are closer to the stage.  The standing and bar area is big and it's a recipe for talkers.  I had a good spot just outside the main room, standing in the center.  I could ignore the talkers for the most part, but it is a shame.  The drink prices are hefty.  All in all, it's not a place I'm thrilled to go to, but I will if I have to.  I'll go to the must see shows like this one.

I could see any of the 4 of them play any music whatsoever.  This project is about playing songs that were #1 on the charts.  Songs that made it to #1 that these great musicians selected to play.  Now, it was obvious they were also making a statement "really?  THIS song, really?"  However, I must admit, I always liked "Miss You" that they opened with.  Now, it doesn't matter what they play, they do it phenomenally.  It was stellar. 

Here's a setlist that was posted on the Cutting Room site
Jake Watson · Tufts

Set list, as near as I could tell:
Stones, Miss You ->
Adele, Rolling In The Deep
Love Train, O'Jays
16 Tons, Tennessee Ernie Ford
Van Halen, Jump
One Bad Apple, The Osmonds
(Modern love?)
Moves Like Jagger, Maroon 5
I Can't Go For That
?
Beyonce, Single Ladies

OMAHA DINER
Steven Bernstein - trumpets
Charlie Hunter - seven-string electric guitar
Bobby Previte - drums
Skerik - tenor saxophone
Sitting in a diner in Omaha, Nebraska in 1954, Todd Storz noticed that a teen-age
waitress selected the same song on the jukebox over and over. At that moment, Top 40
radio was born, joining the TV dinner, the Reuben sandwich, the bobby pin, the ski lift,
and (some claim) fuzzy dice on the list of famous and infamous inventions from the city
that sits atop the Strategic Air Command.
Now comes the latest invention, OMAHA DINER - four storied musicians attempting to
re-define a format that forever perverted the way we experience music. You may love
Top 40 (doubtful), you may hate it (probable), you may not care about it at all (liar), but
you cannot escape it.
Top 40 as you've never heard it before - OMAHA DINER.
*** OMAHA DINER's Ironclad Guarantee: all songs have touched, however briefly, #1
on the Top 40 pop chart.

Burnt Sugar @ The Stone 2/28/13

I enjoyed seeing them in the intimate setting of The Stone.  I really love this band.  They use Butch Morris' conduction techniques.  This ensemble led by Greg Tate has a lot of soul.  It's quite unique and awesome. 


Burnt Sugar Cinefhonic Strike Force Presents Music Inspired by Oscar Micheaux’ 1925 film Body & Soul Starring Paul Robeson Carl Hancock Rux, Abby Dobson (voice) Latasha Nevada Diggs (voice, electronics) Luqman Brown (voice, electronics, trombone) Andre Lassalle (guitar) Micah Gaugh (alto sax) Avram Fefer (flute, bass clarinet) Gregory IRONMAN Tate (conduction) “Body and Soul”, directed by the legendary African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, is a direct critique of the power of the cloth, casting Robeson in dual roles as a jackleg preacher and a well-meaning inventor. Burnt Sugar's Cinethonic Strike Force will present a Conduction of the score they developed for the projects screening-and-live-scoring Paris debut at the Sons d' Hiver Music Festival, February 3, 2013.

Heads Up: Bill Evans + Special Special Guests Tomorrow!

I was at the Bill Evans show at Blue note tonight.  He mentioned that tomorrow, Sunday 3/3, The Allman Brothers are in town and have an off night.  While there's no guarantees what that could mean, I would venture to guess that there could be some extra special guest(s) at Bill's show tomorrow night.  I can't go because I'm leaving town, but if I were around, this is where I would be.  Especially since it's awesome even without these types of special guests.

Fishbone @ Brooklyn Bowl 2/24/13

I never saw them before and I had to stay for a bit and check them out.  Their fans really liked Mike Dillon Band, so that was a good sign.  It was a riot for me to see crowd surfing, I think I only saw it live once or twice before. 

I love that they have intense horns.  I didn't need all the singing and talking.  It was still a lot of fun and good and I'm glad I stayed for a portion.  If it wasn't Sun night, I could have stayed longer.

http://www.relix.com/blogs/exposed/2013/02/26/fishbone-and-mike-dillon-band-at-brooklyn-bowl-a-gallery

Mike Dillon Band @ Brooklyn Bowl 2/24/13

This band is awesome!  So much energy and superb music.  It was probably my favorite show of the month.  I got a CD.  I like it!  I could do without the singing on the CD but I'm fine with it live.  Also, Carly definitely brings the live intensity up with her dancing.  And, the band is already pretty intense without her - she just brings it up several notches.  Still, the CD is well worth the $10 and had some intense energy itself.  I love Mark Sutherland and he's awesome on the CD.

Dave Dreiwitz was an additional special guest bass player.  They also had the trombone from Fishbone sit in.  It was awesome.

Mike Dillon (Vibraphone, Percussion, Lead Vocals)
Carly Meyers (Trombone, Moog Taurus Pedals)
Adam Gertner (Drums)
Cliff Hines (Guitar, Bass and Keys)

http://www.relix.com/blogs/exposed/2013/02/26/fishbone-and-mike-dillon-band-at-brooklyn-bowl-a-gallery