I love the thought of Steven Bernstein's Millenial Territory Orchestra at Le Poisson Rouge. It seems like such a good place for them. I also love that he's playing there so much this month.
It was a double bill with Hazmat Modine. I really wanted to go, and I made it there at about 7:40 and missed about 10 minutes of MTO's set. I got there during "Darling Nicki". It was phenomenal and I was so glad I made the effort to come out so early. For the finish, Doug Wamble gets up and sings the chorus. I really like Matt Munisteri, and MTO is good no matter what the lineup. Still, Doug Wamble actually adds a new dimension of soul to the whole thing. Later he sag "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" (or whatever the name is). That was great.
The other greats were Doug Weiselman, Peter Apfelbaum, Eric Lawrence, Charlie Burnham and Curtis Fowlkes. Ben Allison was phenomenal on bass.
Ben Perowsky! To try to put it in Steven Bernstein's terms, first he mentioned how the bus doesn't go without the bus driver, then he tells us how some Chinese dish, and I think it was Chow Fun, is only as good as the oil you cook it in, the band NEEDS the drummer. While I'm forgetting the words, the sentiment is you NEED the drummer. Ben was amazing, a monster. He really made it as brilliant as it was.
It was so good, I was so enthralled and blown away. I knew I had to schlep out to Brooklyn to see Marco later. I didn't think I would do it, but that show made me want that kind of emotive playing and I've been very interested to check out The Bell House anyway. Thus, I didn't stay for Hazmat Modine. I just wasn't sure if there was an opening band or not. We did get a great sit-in for the last song with Steve Nelson, a trumpet, and sousaphone.
I forgot how great MTO is. It was in my memory, but the feeling when I hear them had been forgotten. They really are IT.
Hazmat Modine meets Millennial Territory Orchestra
Doors @ 6:30 PM
Event @ 7:00 PM
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Dr. Lonnie Smith @ Jazz Standard 3/6/09
I am so grateful I wasn't into the previous show because I might have missed this run at Jazz Standard. The drummer was the only one I didn't know of, and he blew me away! It was very important to erase the memory of the repetitive generic drumming from the one song I heard at the other place, and Riley delivered! I mean, he had me going out of my mind! Dr. Lonnie Smith seemed pretty into him as well. He and the other phenomenal cast of characters were as great as usual. It was one awesome set and a wonderful way to end the evening.
Dr. Lonnie Smith Quartet
* Donald Harrison – alto saxophone
* Peter Bernstein – guitar
* Dr. Lonnie Smith – Hammond B-3 organ
* Herlin Riley – drums
Dr. Lonnie Smith Quartet
* Donald Harrison – alto saxophone
* Peter Bernstein – guitar
* Dr. Lonnie Smith – Hammond B-3 organ
* Herlin Riley – drums
Hans Blix @ Spike Hill 3/6/09
I've added SearchAndRestore to my "most useful go to" arsenal when deciding what I want to do on a given night. Right on the home page they have 3 picks for the night and they are usually phenomenal. I'm finding in spite of how I comb the listings and spend a lot of time figuring out what is going on, they usually have 1-3 shows I didn't know about listed. I'm now accustomed to checking it daily.
I woke up from my nap too late to hit the 2 options I already had for early, they were at 7 and 7:30. But, then I was intrigued by this listing for a band I never heard of and was further intrigued when I listened to some of their stuff on their myspace page. I was further intrigued to finally see a band at Spike Hill in Williamsburg.
I walked in at 10:10 and they came on 5 minutes after. They were scheduled to start at 10, so I was impressed it was pretty on time given the tightness of the schedule. I had the place pictured as possibly starting real late, but I also had a feeling it might be closer to on time from when I've walked by there.
It was a busy night to be trying it out. The bar on the stage side of the establishment was pretty crowded from spillover of the regular bar and it was kind of noisy. Still, I was able to stand close to the stage up front. I was also interested enough to dance for the first tune.
It turned out it wasn't really my thing. A lot of that had to do with the drumbeat. I kept looking for a drum machine and was always surprised to see a live drummer up there. I think it just wasn't something I was into that night. I would like to give it another try some time. It seemed like the same drum beat just playing continuously with no change at all. I hear these tracks and I wonder if it would have been different if I gave it more of a chance.
I decided I should get back to Manhattan for the last set of Jazz Standard and give this band another try on another night. I also want to try Spike Hill again when hopefully more people are there to listen. I am glad for the experience, though.
I woke up from my nap too late to hit the 2 options I already had for early, they were at 7 and 7:30. But, then I was intrigued by this listing for a band I never heard of and was further intrigued when I listened to some of their stuff on their myspace page. I was further intrigued to finally see a band at Spike Hill in Williamsburg.
I walked in at 10:10 and they came on 5 minutes after. They were scheduled to start at 10, so I was impressed it was pretty on time given the tightness of the schedule. I had the place pictured as possibly starting real late, but I also had a feeling it might be closer to on time from when I've walked by there.
It was a busy night to be trying it out. The bar on the stage side of the establishment was pretty crowded from spillover of the regular bar and it was kind of noisy. Still, I was able to stand close to the stage up front. I was also interested enough to dance for the first tune.
It turned out it wasn't really my thing. A lot of that had to do with the drumbeat. I kept looking for a drum machine and was always surprised to see a live drummer up there. I think it just wasn't something I was into that night. I would like to give it another try some time. It seemed like the same drum beat just playing continuously with no change at all. I hear these tracks and I wonder if it would have been different if I gave it more of a chance.
I decided I should get back to Manhattan for the last set of Jazz Standard and give this band another try on another night. I also want to try Spike Hill again when hopefully more people are there to listen. I am glad for the experience, though.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Gyan Riley Trio @ The Stone 3/5/09
This was nice and a little different. It seemed a little more along the straight ahead lines for Ches Smith, but I think I'm kind of jaded, so it may not have been. They were all great. The guitar had my attention at first, but after a bit the violin/viola was really taking up a lot of my attention. He was so interesting. There was one tune where he was playing the viola like a guitar and it sounded similar to a bass. He had the funnest part in the fun song. He was also awesome with the gypsy-type stuff. Ches Smith was phenomenal. He did an incredible drum solo in the middle. The guitar was awesome.
Timb Harris (violin, viola) Gyan Riley (guitar) Ches Smith (drums)
Timb Harris (violin, viola) Gyan Riley (guitar) Ches Smith (drums)
Clockwise @ The Stone 3/3/09
I didn't want to deal with tiny Barbes or getting out there so early for Bill Frisell and the violinist. So, I went to a different string duo that was great. I was intrigued by the violin and harp pairing as well as the South African composers. It was great. I think the two are recently married and they are from South Africa, but I think they live here.
It was great. They told us about each of the pieces. I can't remember much. The first piece was inspired by the mbira. I didn't know they had that in South Africa, I know it's big in Zimbabwe. There was a piece they told us would probably make the South Africans in the room homesick. I loved that piece and now I'm very curious to explore more about it.
There was another piece where were told the harp is most resonant when playing in C-Flat. The piece required the violin to be tuned down 1/2 to B-Flat from B. Marc was happy about that because it allowed him to play more open strings. He said that usually playing "Flat" notes is rough on the violinists fingers. I love learning about stuff like that from my very layman point of view.
I enjoyed the set a lot and was sorry when it was over. I got the feeling they were going to do an encore, but the lights were turned up as soon as they stopped, so I guess they figured it was over.
Clockwise
Marc Uys (violin) Jacqueline Kerrod (harp)
Recent commissions from a range of leading voices in contemporary South African music, including Braam du Toit, Neo Muyanga and Matthijs van Dijk.
It was great. They told us about each of the pieces. I can't remember much. The first piece was inspired by the mbira. I didn't know they had that in South Africa, I know it's big in Zimbabwe. There was a piece they told us would probably make the South Africans in the room homesick. I loved that piece and now I'm very curious to explore more about it.
There was another piece where were told the harp is most resonant when playing in C-Flat. The piece required the violin to be tuned down 1/2 to B-Flat from B. Marc was happy about that because it allowed him to play more open strings. He said that usually playing "Flat" notes is rough on the violinists fingers. I love learning about stuff like that from my very layman point of view.
I enjoyed the set a lot and was sorry when it was over. I got the feeling they were going to do an encore, but the lights were turned up as soon as they stopped, so I guess they figured it was over.
Clockwise
Marc Uys (violin) Jacqueline Kerrod (harp)
Recent commissions from a range of leading voices in contemporary South African music, including Braam du Toit, Neo Muyanga and Matthijs van Dijk.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Peter Gordon / Love of Life Orchestra @ LPR 3/1/09
It was a very tough choice between this and Stebmo. Stebmo would have been it if it wasn't for 55 Bar. It IS a great spot, and artists love playing there. Its just the no dancing thing and how hard it can be to get in that turns me off. I really should get over that. I definitely didn't want to take the risk last night, though. Also, there was a perfectly good and intriguing option at one of my favorite venues, Le Poisson Rouge. If I could have done both, I would have, but they were at the same time.
I'm happy with my choice. I found this gig when I was looking at Steven Bernstein's calendar. He only plays with great bands, so I knew it would be great. It also looked kind of rare from the listing.
It turns out Peter Gordon wrote a suite. He said he was going to call it a symphony, but he's talking in the middle.
I don't quite know how to describe it. Maybe 70's acid ensemble meets jazz disco. That doesn't quite feel right, though. It was great lively different music with a trumpet and killer electric viola. There was a piano and Peter played keyboard and soprano at times. Yunior was on electric bass. The drums were hard-hitting.
It had a lot of energy and it was based in jazz. I still keep thinking about how deliberate the viola was. I really liked that. I also like how Gordon would periodically give instructions by counting off "1 2 3 4", it had an energy to it.
There was also film in the background. It was tastefully done and added to the music. There were 2 screens, just the right size, unlike at ABB. The only part I didn't like was at the very end they kept shining bright lights in our faces. That was the first time I experienced that at LPR.
Actually, I'm struggling to describe the music and I now see the listing does a good job of it:
Peter Gordon / Love of Life Orchestra
featuring:
Peter Gordon, sax, synth/organ
Elio Villafranca, piano
Yunior Terry, bass
Robby Ameen, drums
Ned Sublette, guitar
Steven Bernstein, trumpet
Martha Mooke, electric viola
Kit Fitzgerald, video artist
Peter Gordon's Love of Life Orchestra (LOLO) is back with a vengeance with perhaps the hottest band yet. Since 1977, LOLO has defined the fusion of experimental composition with punk and jazz infused dance music. Chamber Disco is a set of new compositions - complex, groove-based, raw and hypnotic.
I'm happy with my choice. I found this gig when I was looking at Steven Bernstein's calendar. He only plays with great bands, so I knew it would be great. It also looked kind of rare from the listing.
It turns out Peter Gordon wrote a suite. He said he was going to call it a symphony, but he's talking in the middle.
I don't quite know how to describe it. Maybe 70's acid ensemble meets jazz disco. That doesn't quite feel right, though. It was great lively different music with a trumpet and killer electric viola. There was a piano and Peter played keyboard and soprano at times. Yunior was on electric bass. The drums were hard-hitting.
It had a lot of energy and it was based in jazz. I still keep thinking about how deliberate the viola was. I really liked that. I also like how Gordon would periodically give instructions by counting off "1 2 3 4", it had an energy to it.
There was also film in the background. It was tastefully done and added to the music. There were 2 screens, just the right size, unlike at ABB. The only part I didn't like was at the very end they kept shining bright lights in our faces. That was the first time I experienced that at LPR.
Actually, I'm struggling to describe the music and I now see the listing does a good job of it:
Peter Gordon / Love of Life Orchestra
featuring:
Peter Gordon, sax, synth/organ
Elio Villafranca, piano
Yunior Terry, bass
Robby Ameen, drums
Ned Sublette, guitar
Steven Bernstein, trumpet
Martha Mooke, electric viola
Kit Fitzgerald, video artist
Peter Gordon's Love of Life Orchestra (LOLO) is back with a vengeance with perhaps the hottest band yet. Since 1977, LOLO has defined the fusion of experimental composition with punk and jazz infused dance music. Chamber Disco is a set of new compositions - complex, groove-based, raw and hypnotic.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Parker/Jordon/Drake @ CSV 2/27/09
This was as stellar as it was supposed to be. I would have chosen this gig with William Parker and Hamid Drake and whoever they choose, because they are all guaranteed to be great. I was pretty happy to see this trio included Kidd Jordon, though.
I got there just before they started, at around 7:50. I really like the space. Its a small theatre space on the 2nd floor called SEA. It says capacity is 74 people on the wall. Its kind of colorful, with the stage and backdrop wall painted very colorfully. It felt very nice in there. I'm happy there were no free seats. There was still room to sit on the steps, but I prefer to stand and had a good spot. I could see, hear, and dance.
They charged $15 for 1 set, $25 for 2. It was a no-brainer for me to choose the 2.
My spot was right up front by the stage, but off to the drum side just a bit. I guess you could call the seats stadium seating. There was a wall-type thing separating me from the sitters. There were a few other people standing by me.
I bought the cd, which is also phenomenal. I got a chance to read the liner notes in between sets. That worked out well because the liner notes talked about how the recording was mainly Drake on the frame drum, Parker on the guimbri, and Jordon on the tenor (as always). The 2nd set used that instrumentation for a good portion before Drake went back to the kit and Parker eventually went back to his upright. Parker did play some of his reeds during that first 1/2 hour or so of the 2nd set.
For the 1st set, it was mainly drumkit, upright bass, and tenor. Parker did play some reeds and an interesting woodwind. The woodwind was wood, and looked similar to a recorder, but without a mouthpiece. It was very interesting and I'm sure I'll find out what it was eventually. I don't have time to look it up now.
I did look up the guimbri, because I wanted to see how it is different from the sintur that Mike Rivard plays. On the same web page, I see that people sometimes confuse the 2. The guimbri is also called the ngoni.
http://www.atlasofpluckedinstruments.com/africa.htm
I loved being so close to Hamid to watch him play. He really had me so interested I had trouble being with the other 2 at times.
I loved it all. I think I loved the 2nd set even more, once they went back to the more traditional instruments, it got really grooving. I also like how they started off more mellow in that set. It was also a little over an hour.
And, I can't believe I only paid $25 to see all of that!
I got there just before they started, at around 7:50. I really like the space. Its a small theatre space on the 2nd floor called SEA. It says capacity is 74 people on the wall. Its kind of colorful, with the stage and backdrop wall painted very colorfully. It felt very nice in there. I'm happy there were no free seats. There was still room to sit on the steps, but I prefer to stand and had a good spot. I could see, hear, and dance.
They charged $15 for 1 set, $25 for 2. It was a no-brainer for me to choose the 2.
My spot was right up front by the stage, but off to the drum side just a bit. I guess you could call the seats stadium seating. There was a wall-type thing separating me from the sitters. There were a few other people standing by me.
I bought the cd, which is also phenomenal. I got a chance to read the liner notes in between sets. That worked out well because the liner notes talked about how the recording was mainly Drake on the frame drum, Parker on the guimbri, and Jordon on the tenor (as always). The 2nd set used that instrumentation for a good portion before Drake went back to the kit and Parker eventually went back to his upright. Parker did play some of his reeds during that first 1/2 hour or so of the 2nd set.
For the 1st set, it was mainly drumkit, upright bass, and tenor. Parker did play some reeds and an interesting woodwind. The woodwind was wood, and looked similar to a recorder, but without a mouthpiece. It was very interesting and I'm sure I'll find out what it was eventually. I don't have time to look it up now.
I did look up the guimbri, because I wanted to see how it is different from the sintur that Mike Rivard plays. On the same web page, I see that people sometimes confuse the 2. The guimbri is also called the ngoni.
http://www.atlasofpluckedinstruments.com/africa.htm
I loved being so close to Hamid to watch him play. He really had me so interested I had trouble being with the other 2 at times.
I loved it all. I think I loved the 2nd set even more, once they went back to the more traditional instruments, it got really grooving. I also like how they started off more mellow in that set. It was also a little over an hour.
And, I can't believe I only paid $25 to see all of that!
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