Toumani Diabaté @ LPR 4/19/09

I loved this. It's interesting the sabar player wasn't there and instead it was a Peruvian drum. It helped me realize the sounds are similar. I guess you can't exactly call it pan-African any more, but as long as you don't want to get to technical, I guess you can.

I saw Toumani Diabate Symmetric Orchestra 2 years ago at Montreal Jazzfest. I've been wanting to see them again, but this was the first time I could make it in NYC. I think I've seen them listed as here once or twice a year.

I enjoyed it. I am very impressed with the musicianship. I was pretty satisfied after the first set, so I left early. I did very much enjoy what I heard. I'm very impressed with the kora playing, but they are all very talented

Burkina Electric @ LPR 4/19/09

I was curious based on the listing, but I honestly wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. I loved it so much I'm giving it its own post, even though it was an opening band.

It was modern African music. The instruments were all modern, drum kit, vibes, guitar, laptop, . But then there were 2 male dancers and all the songs were stories. The dancers really added a lot and they were awesome.

I was thrilled to find out Lucas Ligeti is in it. He just curated The Stone. He was awesome.

While the music had an African flair, it was very much today. It rocked! I hope to see them again.

Here's the listing. What made me skeptical was the part about electronica band. I'm not that familiar with electronica, but it was way better than I thought electronica could be. I stopped reading after the 1st sentence, so I didn't know it is the type of thing I would love.

Burkina Electric is the first electronica band from Burkina Faso, in the deep interior of West Africa. Based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, it is, at the same time, an international band, with members living in New York, U.S.A. and Düsseldorf, Germany, as well as in Ouaga. In Burkina Electric's music, the traditions and rhythms of Burkina Faso meet and mingle with contemporary electronic dance culture, making it a trailblazer in electronic world music. Before starting Burkina Electric in 2004, band members Maï Lingani, Wende K. Blass, Pyrolator, and Lukas Ligeti had become close friends as members of Beta Foly, a group that emerged from a workshop led by Lukas and Pyrolator in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, which, among other experiments, created some of the earliest fusions of techno/trip-hop with African traditional music.

The core band consists of four musicians and two dancers, often augmented by guests. Rupert Huber, of the well-known Austrian electronica duo Tosca, collaborates and performs with the group for selected occasions. All songs are composed and choreographed collaboratively by all group members.

Jazzfest

Just in case you are wondering, I am going down on Thurs. It got a little "same old, same old" to go to the whole thing every single year. If you haven't done the whole thing yet, I highly recommend it. I've been scaling back lately so I can appreciate it more again. I mean, the music is great, the food is great, and it is the best time to go down there. It's just that I used to go to learn, and now I know so much. At the clubs there's not that much new stuff and now there's so much in NYC I don't need jazzfest quite as much. I am very glad I'm going. I have a work seminar right after, so I finally get to stay down there a few extra days. I'm getting psyched. I've also been in a dry spell up here. I do have some more posts for April coming, but I've definitely slowed down a little this month.

Reed's Bass Drum @ Bowery Poetry Club 4/18/09

Now that I know so much, I rarely check out new, relatively unknown bands. I think its important to support the lesser knowns. I like that BPC has these early jazz shows sometimes because then I don't have make sacrifices.

I enjoyed this trio. I like a good baritone trio and thought they were all talented.

I chose to go based solely on the band name and instrumentation.

It was nice, especially since it was the only thing I could make it to that night.

Reed's Bass Drum performs music through the lens of the jazz tradition. Fueled by a genuine interest in innovation, their distinctive sound is created by baritone saxophone, bass and drums. While performing original compositions or jazz standards, Reed's Bass Drum strives to provide a distinct vantage point from which to hear jazz music.
http://www.myspace.com/reedsbassdrum

Ethereal Records

I'm sorry to say it's gone. It was on Ave A and was a little store and now it's empty. I went there every once in a while on a whim and always got something interesting, usually in the used jazz section. Oh well.

Sylvie Courvoisier and Mark Feldman Duo @ The Stone 4/15/09

The one word to describe this one is "moving". They did 3 intense Zorn Masada pieces. Then they did one of Mark's and one of Sylvie's. Both of those were moving with a different type of intensity. That 5th piece was more mellow and beautiful. The 6th piece was very intense and filled me up. They then did one last one of Sylvie's, which was pretty intense.

It's quite awesome to be a duo show of theirs. The level of talent is really staggering to comprehend. I feel like I got away with something. I'm sure the quartet they were playing with next will be equally great, I just don't think I could take it after that.

Sex Mob + Glass @ Glasslands Gallery 4/10/09

Sex Mob is one of the few bands that could get me to venture out into uncharted territory on a Friday night with many great music options available. It was a no brainer. It wasn't that far, only a little further than Zebulon. Still, it's an effort to venture into the unknown in unfamiliar surroundings. The place is very nice. It feels good and and looks good.

I got there a few minutes before 8 and basically missed the trombone/cello duo - they were just finishing up when I got there. Rob Brown was there in attendance, but he wasn't playing for some flukey reason that I don't know. The 2 minutes I heard was good and I am sorry I couldn't get there any sooner.

Next was Sex Mob with Todd Sickafoose on bass! I think this was his first time playing with them. It was great as usual. It was also different, a little more mellow. Steven wasn't talking as much as he often does. He's always entertaining, whether talking, playing, or conducting. I really love that band. It was a much better place to see them than The Stone. It is too bad more people didn't come out for it. I got their brand spanking new live cd from Switzerland with Medeski. They opened for MMW. It's awesome - get it.

I stayed for Glassband, which was good improv. I like the setup of baritone, drums, and guitar. I was very tired still, but it was worth staying out til 10 on a Friday.

I was kind of wanting more, so I walked by Zebulon and Spike Hill, but nothing was compelling me to stay out and I was really tired. It was great and I'm continually impressed with the great job Brad does in curating the This Is Our Music series.


THIS IS OUR MUSIC IX
Friday, April 10, 7PM, $5
@ The Glasslands Gallery
289 Kent Avenue between S1st and S2nd
L to Bedford
7PM - Planet Dream: Steve Swell (trombone), Rob Brown (alto sax), Daniel Levin (cello)
8PM - Sex Mob: Steven Bernstein (slide trumpet), Briggan Krauss (alto sax), TBA (bass) Kenny Wollesen (drums)
9PM - Glassband: Dave Sewelson (bari sax), Brad Farberman (guitar), Dee Pop (drums)
glasslands.com
steveswell.com
daniel-levin.com
robbrownmusic.com
stevenbernstein.net
briggankrauss.com
myspace.com/bradfarberman
myspace.com/davesewelson
myspace.com/radioichingnewyork