visionsong

RIP Bob Brookmeyer

2011-12-17T11:30:00.002-05:00

We lost a master yesterday. Bob Brookmeyer, who was a tremendous teacher long before I met him, and an even bigger influence when I got to work with him, passed away a few days from his 82^nd birthday. There will be lots of worthy tributes in the press and the blogs this week, but I wanted to write the story of my relationship with Bob the musiciain, the teacher, and the man.

First, Bob was the first musician to make me care about big band music. I hadn't played with a big band until I got to college, and we were fed the usual diet of Basie, Thad Jones, Bob Mintzer, and (stiffly played) Duke Ellington. I got why it mattered (and see my hubris in hindsight), but I didn't care. Then, in my sophomore year in short succession, I heard “Hello and Goodbye”, “Ding Dong Ding”, and most importantly for me “KP '94”. In Bob's hands, the big band was as cutting edge a tool as a ginsu knife, and easily as relevant as the Lovano and Steve Coleman I was gorging on. (Of course, I found out later they both played for Bob in the Vanguard band...) To the end, his music was both careful and ecstatic, swinging hard and smart.

My senior year of college, we got word that Bob (a favorite of our department head, of course) was coming to perform with us for out last big band concerts of the year, playing two concerts of his music, mostly fairly recent material, including “KP '94”. All of us in the band were thrilled... and terrified. Bob's genius as a musician was nearly matched by his reputation as a, well, curmudgeon is a nice word. And none of us wanted to be embarrassed.

I remember the first rehearsal to this day- we had been shedding the ^$&# out of this music for months, and thought we were ready. Our director introduced Bob, he said something pithy, and then got up to conduct the first tune. His count off (we're used to the standard “1, 2, 1-2-3-4) went something like this: “va-da-va-DUH-ba-da DAH-ba-da-duh-va, DAHT, ZAT, ZUUUH- DAT!” By the end, he was shouting. We were so confused we didn't play. He counted the tune off with the sound and the intensity he wanted, and didn't let up for the rest of the run. We thought we were tight before he got there; we weren't close. He whipped us into shape in five days; I've not been the same musician after that.

I got to play for Bob in a small group during that run; he loved the tune we played and how we played it, so we became friendly. (The tune was by James Carney, and Bob and James became friends soon after that, helping set up Bob's 90s west coast quartet) I did a summer workshop with him, and we were in touch occasionally. In my last year in New York, I went to Bob's 70^th birthday gig at the Vanguard with the big band there. Bob and I chatted, and I said I wanted to study with him at New England Conservatory. He said something like “we can make that happen” and he did; I enrolled at NEC, with a fair amount of scholarship money, that September.

This was the real beginning of my work with Bob as my teacher. I was anxious to get at all of what I saw as Bob's innovations, but all he wanted to talk about was “craft”- chord voicings, line resolutions, finishing phrases, the nuts and bolts of any kind of writing. I was frustrated, and I know he started to get frustrated too, but ultimately he was right. I wasn't nearly as skilled, or as ready, as I thought I was, and Bob firmly (but not meanly) reeled me in. I worked with him for two years; what I wrote in year one ranged from okay to crap, but in year two I wrote what I still feel is some of the best musical work I've ever done. And it wasn't just the stuff I brought to him for big band (when you worked with Bob, that's what you did)- it was small group tunes, music for voice and strings, even pop tunes. Bob made everything better.

In this time I got to know Bob the man; more than once I would go up to his house in New Hampshire to take a lesson, and after the lesson we would spend the rest of the afternoon and into the evening together. Mostly, Bob just told stories: of his days standing in awe of the Basie band, of playing with everyone (except maybe Duke Ellington, who I think he turned down when he called- long story). Of letting his vices get the better of him, landing him in rehab, and he thought, out of music forever. Then of his road back, both from his demons and into the world of music and then teaching music. In the 70s, finally clean and sober, Bob started from scratch and re-imaginied himself as a composer and player, listening to everything that had happened while he was in a haze- Coltrane and free jazz, but also all kinds of contemporary classical music, including Lutoslowski and Feldman, the two he mentioned most often to me. What came from this was perhaps his most fertile period as a writer. (My friend and fellow Brookmeyer buddy Darcy James Argue wrote eloquently about this period when we were working on what became the Behearer project) That by itself demanded my respect.

And as a teacher, he kept that restless quality control; he was opinionated, no doubt, but would listen to everything and try to make it better. And he was the consumate professional; no matter how hard he rode you in lessons or rehearsals (and he could be vicious), in concert he made everyone sound like the cat's meow.

I feel very blessed to have known and studied with Bob. The alumni of his studio are legendary at this point: Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, Ted Nash, Darcy, John Hollenbeck, and on and on. But whether you went on in big bands or not, Bob changed you, no doubt.

After Bob retired and I stopped seriously writing music, I sadly lost touch with him, hearing things occasionally from friends and peers. That said, there was something nice about knowing that he was around and working, and that eventually I'd catch him again. More the fool me. I don't know the circumstances of his death, but I grieve for and with his fantastic wife Jan and their family. Bob certainly made me a better composer, but I find myself calling on his skills, his demands, his wisdom in many other places too. I hear Bob in how I coach my saxophone students, and his demands on me the composer and improviser unwittingly helped me prepare to create and sequence yoga classes, and to improvise my way out of jams there too. I am beyond grateful for the many ways that Bob Brookmeyer made me a better musiscian, and a better man. Godspeed Bob.

Newport 2011, part 1

2011-08-08T23:08:00.002-04:00

After a long hiatus, here hopefully is the beginning of a short burst of activity. I was at the Newport Jazz Festival on Sunday, and will be writing in detail about it soon. In the meantime, you can read the various reviews, or you can listen to it online at NPR's music site. This is so cool. I highly recommend starting with Miguel Zenon's Puerto Rican songbook set, which was beyond fantastic, and then tickling whatever fancies you have. More soon...

Grammy's makeover?

2011-02-14T23:04:00.005-05:00

I feel like I write this post every year, but here goes...

I made a joke yesterday, before the Grammy awards, that the more cynically I call the awards, the more likely I am to win any pool I'm in. That said, my cynicism was rocked by jazz bassist Esparanza Spalding winning the Best New Artist last night. Like most of my jazz friends, I'm delighted- she is a hip, talented, unapologetic black artist playing jazz, and anything that brings that to the mainstream can't be bad. Her work doesn't move me particularly, but woman can play, so by all means go!

However, my cynic still says that in a way that this was completely predictable, as Herbie's win for "Gershwin's World" was a few years ago. (I can't find it, but the Times had a great breakdown at the time of why he won, much like the following.) My thought- Drake and Bieber split the commercial vote, and Mumford and Florence split the hipster/alt vote, leaving Esperanza to get the old guard vote, which here was enough to win. (She is, after all, a favorite of our current president) This isn't to diminish her award, but let's put it in context. Same goes with Arcade Fire winning- not enough people were willing to vote for Eminem in the big category, Gaga and Katie Perry split the pop vote, "Need You Now" got the record, so Boom, it's "The Suburbs", album of the year. (Full disclosure, I've tried hard to warm to Arcade Fire, but I still don't like them. After multiple listens and passionate pleas from friends I respect, I still found the first two records bombastic and whiny. I'll give "The Suburbs" a shot, though) I'm happy for both acts, but I don't think this is some kind of game changer by any means.

That said, the rest of who got the awards was more than a little depressing. My gambling instincts were right on the jazz awards- Moody got it because he dies, Vijay and Danielo, thanks, come again! Maybe. Darcy lost the big band category because it was his first rodeo, despite having the best record in the category by a long shot. And does anyone else catch the irony of Esperanza winning on a night when the Best Record goes to Lady Antebellum, a generic-sounding country band named after southern Civil War nostalgia? (I've heard "Need You Now" dozens of times without knowing who it was, and honestly until last night thought it was a collaboration between Taylor Swift and some Keith Urban type. Or maybe I don't relate because I've never drunk dialed anyone) I was even disappointed by Eminem's performance- he's traded the clever sneer of "Slim Shady" for bombast, in both delivery and production, which makes him sound like every other rapper to me. Yawn...

That said, give me Cee-Lo any day. I'm remember one time Meshell N'Degeocello said onstage "D'Angelo, man... he can just lay across the cover of a record and I'll buy it!" I'm beginning to feel that way about him. Find the video on Youtube while you can. (I can't promise this link still works) I loved it!

looking back, I see you smile...

2010-12-30T16:49:00.002-05:00

As 2010 comes to a close, I've been thinking back to the year in music (and blogging) for me. It's been the quietest in years- while the album I recorded in 2009 has gone from rough cuts to mastered entity, it'll be a few months before it sees the light of day, and what focus I've had on music has been on teaching. Clearly, not blogging, but we'll see what 2011 brings. In the meantime, favorites from 2010. (I said this a couple of years ago, I don't feel comfortable about claiming any bests- I just don't hear enough these days.

Favorite Album- "Ten", Jason Moran Trio. It's the critic's darling for a reason. Compelling from beginning to end. If you haven't heard it, go now.

Honorable Mention: "Never Stop", the Bad Plus. Their best yet- though I feel like almost every record has improved upon the last.

Favorite Gig to hear, local: The Bad Plus at Berklee. Again, the best I've heard them live. Any kitch that the band may have relied on in the past is giving way to a more seamless communication. And some of my favorite free playing in a long time.

Favorite Gig to Hear, elsewhere: Darcy James Argue's Secret Society at the Newport Jazz Festival. Readers know how much I love Darcy and his music, but something about playing Newport took the band to another level, a combination of excitement and determination. (And ego, I'm sure, a lot of folks in the band had husbands/wives/kids in tow on an amazing August day, something you don't always get to do.)

Favorite Blog Post- Ethan Iverson on Herbie and Wayne. (I think this one is from this year- it's the third one down. So well thought out, so well said.

Happy New Year everyone!

Listen to THIS

2010-11-09T22:41:00.003-05:00

Alex Ross very casually announced on his blog today that he'll be in Boston tomorrow, hosting Afternoon concerts on WHRB from 1-6, and then speaking at the Harvard Bookstore. I'll be tuned in for a good part of the afternoon, but sadly can't make the talk. I do have the new book, Listen to This, and am happily digging in. Even if you don't think you care about classical music, go check Alex out- he's more than worth your time.

RIP Billy Ruane

2010-10-27T22:31:00.004-04:00

This comes as both a shock and not a surprise, sadly- the Boston Globe is reporting that local music booker, promoter and raconteur Billy Ruane was found dead yesterday at the age of 52. (here and here) To call Billy an oversized personality is a tremendous understatement. I was introduced to Billy in 1999 when I was trying to book gigs in Boston from New York to promote my first CD, with a band that included now Crooked Still bassist Corey DiMario and onetime NYC hots*&t drummer Michael Plunkett. (For better or worse, Michael and I both moved on from New York) I don't remember the content of Billy and I's first conversation, but it was frenetic and heartfelt, incomprehensible except for the passion he had for all music, and that day my music, and sure enough he came through with a date at the Green Street Grille for my band Demodacus. And we had an great gig with an okay door, not amazing, but he made sure we had enough money to get us back to New York. (He didn't bank on the blizzard we drove into, but that's another story. A story I think Billy would've taken credit for if he could've)

Judging by the tributes in the Globe, Billy was a friend to many in different realms of Boston's musical world, and he was certainly a friend to the jazz and avant community. The series he I played that he was involved in included many local and national left-of-center jazz names, and I'm sure that was hardly the only propers he did for our kin. I say not a surprise because the last time I saw Billy was around last Christmas at a Jennifer Kimball gig at the Lizard Lounge. He was his usual gregarious self, but a little out of control, and I was scared from him that night and beyond.

The Boston scene used to be filled with Billy Ruanes- mercurial, difficult people who believed passionately in the music they liked, who would drive you crazy one day and give you the coat off their back the next. I'm lucky to know a few of them. They channel their eccentricities for the good of many artists great and small, and we are a little smaller when they leave us. Billy, I hope your next ride is as wild as this one was!

I didn't get to see

2010-10-18T17:59:00.002-04:00

A colleague from my NEC days wrote on his Facebook recently about his disappointment with a recent gig at Johnny D's in Somerville. He was touring with John Tchai, the great and underrated saxophonist who has a huge boosted here in Boston in the now nearly legendary Charlie Kohlhase. My friend (name withheld to protect the guilty) said something to the effect of "I can't believe how bad the crowd was for the gig. Boston is a lame city- no band, in any genre, should bother to even come here."

I was disappointed- in the unnecessary bitchiness of the comment more than a little bit (that's another post), but more that I DIDN'T KNOW THE GIG WAS HAPPENING! I would've hyped it, and tried to get there- Johnny D's is a fun, intimate venue that I've always enjoyed, and Tchai is a great player. And if I, who follows the papers and the blogosphere, who periodically get e-mails from publicists to hype a gig (publicists, feel free, I don't mind the spam), who wants live music in Boston to thrive, doesn't see it, God help the NEC kid who should be at the gig.

Press has gotten harder, no doubt. I read the Boston Globe online now, where I have to hunt out listings instead of just turning the page. And I'm rarely at the music schools or record stores where the signs are up, but still, I feel like it shouldn't be that hard to find me, an excited jazz consumer. And Boston's scene still leaves much to be desired, as I've mentioned before. But that in and of itself isn't a sufficient excuse.

So rather than gnash my teeth, what am I missing here? Are there more blogs I should be reading and don't to get gig recommendations? Thoughts? I'm all ears

Link Dump- Levine being Manny?

2010-10-07T13:25:00.002-04:00

This was too good not to mention- the arts blogger at Boston.com compares James Levine and his uncertain contract status to... Manny Ramirez? I don't know where to start...

Destination Out has a great set of Steve Lacy/Evan Parker duos, on sale at their new shop! Congrats to the guys on their fantastic new ventures, and buy it already, will ya?

And Ethan Iverson continues his great interview series with the legendary Gunther Schuller. It's worth the long read, even if Schuller is just a name on the sleeve of "Birth of the Cool" to you. I don't know Gunther personally, though Ran Blake still considers himself Gunther's student, and one of my colleagues in my time at NEC, Eric Hewitt, served as his assistant for a number of years. Even now, according to them, his energy is amazing, and he is more impassioned and engaged in his work than most folks half his age.

Reading the interview brought up very mixed feelings about Gunther that I hadn't thought about for awhile. He is, of course, a peerless musician, with insanely good ears, and in his day was probably the best French horn player in the world. As president of New England Conservatory, he probably did more than anyone to try to bring the full spectrum of the jazz tradition to music schools. I continue to be so grateful for the small-c catholic vision of jazz that NEC teaches, where eminent musicians who probably can't agree on anything teach next to each other, and have for years. Personally, I find his writing like Elliot Carter's- clearly brilliant, but inscrutable and often way too dense for my ears.

The but... I remember in a workshop on jazz history at Eastman a visiting musician read a paragraph of Schuller's Early Jazz describing a seminal Louis Armstrong piece, and then a paragraph of Armstrong talking about making music. The language, the tone, the approach were not even on the same planet. In, I believe, an attempt to legitimize the brilliance of the musicians he clearly adores, he placed their music in a context they wouldn't even recognize. It may too have something to do with the patrician world Schuller had to function in as a classical musician. This disconnect between process and study, while almost inevitable in the arts, always struck me as a particularly acute problem in jazz education, and here may be the beginnings of it. (I should note that I think things here are better in many quarters than they were even ten years ago)

I'm not trying to dis Gunther Schuller here at all- for one, I don't have near the requisite credentials, and two, the brilliance and impact of his work is undeniable. But those who read this blog regularly know that the impact of jazz education on the music and culture of jazz is one of my bugaboos, and Schuller is in many ways the first king of jazz ed. Thoughts?

Gigs to see, October edition

2010-10-04T18:17:00.002-04:00

Here, after a hiatus, is a completely biased list of gigs you should see in Boston this month. Feedback is welcome.

Monthly events:

First Wednesdays with Jim Hobbs, (10/6 this month), 10:10pm, Lily Pad. Don't sleep on Jim.

Second Wednesdays with Allan Chase, Lily Pad

10/6- Chris Potter @ Regattabar

10/6- Kenny Werner @ Scullers

10/7- Florencia Gonzales Big Band @ Lily Pad

10/9- David Maxwell/Jim Hobbs duo @ Lily Pad

10/14- Joe Lovano's US5, Regattabar

10/15- Hugh Masakela @ Berklee Performance Center

10/15- Mike Reed's People Places and Things, Lily Pad

10/19- Fringe plus 3Play, Berklee Performance Center

10/23- Aubrey Johnson @ Ryles

10/28- Chucho Valdez @ Berklee Performance Center

10/29 & 30- Regina Carter @ Regattabar

Because I play better when I'm breathing... next gig, this Friday.

2010-09-29T15:57:00.003-04:00

This weekend I will be playing my first public gig in awhile: I am involved in a Boston Fashion Week benefit at the Langham Hotel on Franklin Street. The website is here. I'll be playing before the runway show with a trio featuring fantastic guitarist Greg Duncan. All proceeds benefit the Zakim Center for Integrative Medicine. It is sort of a collision of my professional worlds- it will be a yoga-heavy crew, and a lot of my friends and colleagues in the yoga world were photographed for the exhibit. I'd love to see you there.

The Bad Plus, Berklee, 9/17/10

2010-09-21T12:19:00.003-04:00

The usher who introduced The Bad Plus at Berklee lauded their "avant-garde populism" and career longevity. (Their new album, Never Stop, celebrates their tenth year together touring, and is the first to eschew covers of pop tunes, relying wholly on the band's originals) If you can get past the inherent contradiction of that descriptor, both were on display Friday night. The band started the set with Ethan's free ballad "2pm", then the band went into a run of their most familiar originals: "And Here We Test Our Powers of Observation", "The Empire Strikes Backwards", and "Anthem for the Earnest". (Possibly also three of the best jazz song titles ever) I don't think I've been to a jazz show where so many people cheered after the first phrase of so many tunes. The second half was devoted to the material on the new album: "People Like You", "Beryl Loves to Dance", "You Are", fashion ditty "Never Stop", and "The Radio Tower Has a Beating Heart". The guys gave each tune backstory recently on NPR's Blog Supreme.

The second half was vintage Bad Plus- tremendously tight, with forms taking hairpin turns through tremendously virtuosic meter change. Some tongue in cheek playing- Ethan pounding away in the "Never Stop" transitions, free jazz power balladry on "Radio Tower", and a downright loopy illustration of "Beryl". The first head of "People Like You" was quiet to the point of shy, then the tune built to a point of bombast, before bassist Reid Anderson reeled it in with a few beautiful lines. I've reviewed TBP a few times in the past, and in this music I have little to add.

But the first half was different from anything I've heard them do. From early in "2pm", the comfort with both the music and each other led to some really transcendent music making, from the way pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer Dave King hooked up on and built an idea together, the kind of hookup Herbie and Tony Williams or McCoy and Elvin knock you out with. Reid followed with a solo that reminded you of Charlie Haden, again, in passion and tone rather than content. The band has frequently talked about its passion for Keith Jarrett's American Quartet, and it was on display here. That kind of brilliance- in my notes I wrote "kinetic transcendence"- was obvious throughout. There was an elasticity to the breaks and transitions in "Anthem", as if they could have stopped on a dime.

For encores, the band played their cover of "Flim", then an abuse of "Have You Met Miss Jones" that changed speed every six bars or so. Here perhaps was the kicker- if you got past the goofyness of the conceit, when the band settled on a tempo it really swung. Despite my enthusiasm for the band, I wasn't sure they had it in them (Sorry guys) to the point that I'd happily stay for a set of "Perdido" and "Nardis". Not that that'll happen anytime soon, right guys? Guys???

Ran Blake Birthday Celebration at NEC

2010-09-20T10:32:00.004-04:00

Tonight at New England Conservatory there is a celebration of the inimitable Ran Blake, 75 years young, featuring an all-star cast of current and former students, live music to wild films, and surely many surprises. I was fortunate enough to be at the 70th birthday (I'm not able to make it tonight) and it was a remarkable evening. John Medeski reflects with Ran in yesterday's Globe. It should be a great evening, and Happy Birthday Ran!

Kurt Rosenwinkel and OJM, Berklee Performance Center, 9/15/10

2010-09-17T18:33:00.005-04:00

The president of Berklee, on hand to kick off the Berklee, er, Beantown Jazz Festival, quoted no less than Bill Frisell in describing Kurt Rosenwinkel as one of the most distinctive voices on guitar today, playing brilliantly and wearing no particular influence on his sleeve. Last night at Berklee, Rosenwinkel took his most distinctive playing to a venerable setting, painting his playing and writing on top of a big band, in this case the Portugese OJM (Orquestra Jazz de Matosinos). The concert consisted of seven of the nine charts on their new album, Our Secret World.

I have to admit I stupidly slept on Rosenwinkel in my time in New York- when I was there he was playing at Smalls a lot- so listening to his records in preparing for this concert has been a pleasant discovery. Frisell is not overstating; his improvising is at once thoughtful and virtuosic. I bumped into a former student who is studying at Berklee, and she said in his afternoon workshop Kurt talked a lot about guitarists paying more attention to the sound of the guitar, and trying to be musical and thoughtful in even the most mundane parts of your practicing. You can here it in his playing- his block chord intro to "Zhivago" was lovely, a warm tone and clever dense chords lingering in a wash of reverb. And his lines are remarkable, smart, clean and at once studied and kinetic. While Kurt took most of the solo turns, there were a couple of saxophone solos (the band was introduced, but I couldn't catch names through the thick Portuguese accent of the conductor and the fuzzy acoustics of the room). They were solid players, clearly very competent and checking out all the hip New Yorkers- the tenor player owed a lot of his phrasing choices to Donnie McCaslin. The rhythm section was generally solid, with the drummer shining on the brighter tempos and a little sluggish on the slower waltz "Cloister".

While I came out a much bigger fan of Kurt, I can't say I loved the show. Part of the problem was the charts- Kurt writes twisty, abstract tunes, which are inherently hard to arrange. (having not once but twice written terrible charts on Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge", I understand both the attraction and the peril of this work) "Zhivago" was the most successful chart, with Kurt's long but lilting waltz form embellished attractively with lots of twisty counterlines, and a nice Kurt plus saxophones soli just before the final restatement of the head. But the title track was more the norm- I felt like the tune was hard to grab onto, and then there was a lot of dense writing thrown on top of an already dense tune, which left me more confused than happy as a listener. And the writing favored long pads and, with few punches in the brass against the melody, which especially in a tall room like Berklee can make the band sound wishy-washy. (The band didn't help by being very casual with the end of notes. Even at the end of some of the tunes the cutoffs weren't clean)

In addition, I thought there was a sameness to a lot of the writing- brief intro, Kurt playing the melody doubled by a saxophone, Kurt solos, with backings coming in somewhere in the second half of the first chorus, then a little writing- usually development, only one tune, "Deja Vu" had an old fashioned shout chorus, then the head out. There were beautiful nuggets in the writing- the middle of "Cloister", with the drums only barely present and an ethereal melody, shimmered and glowed, leading to an inspired bit of blowing by Kurt, and the aforementioned "Zhivago" was a lot of fun- but my ears screamed for more space and clarity. It reminded me of some of Kenny Wheeler's and Dave Holland's lesser big band work in both good and bad ways. The good- ambitious representations of challenging music, with a lot of harmonic richness and brilliant blowing by the frontman. The less good- a certain monochromaticism and muddiness in both writing and ensemble playing. That said, there was some great music made, and I hope both sides pursue this collaboration further- there is room to expand here.

Baked bean updates

2010-09-14T21:51:00.002-04:00

I neglected to mention in yesterday's post that both Rosenwinkle and the Bad Plus are giving workshops at Berklee, 1pm on the day of their respective shows. A work commitment keeps me from TBP, but I'm hoping to check Kurt out tomorrow. Both are free and (I believe) open to all.

The beans slowly start to simmer

2010-09-13T18:42:00.002-04:00

This week the annual (is this 5?) Beantown Jazz Festival kicks off, and it is in many ways a step up. The BJF is a mix of focused concert booking by Berklee, it's major sponsor, high impact visibility by the two big clubs of Boston, Scullers and the Regattabar, and a free all day concert in the South End, behind the other gargantuan of music education, New England Conservatory. The full schedule is at their website.

I'll be writing a little more as it gets closer, but the hit of the week is Kurt Rosenwinkle with big band Wednesday night. Darcy tweeted that they were great in New York, and I'm interested to see what they bring to the table. The Bad Plus follow on Friday, on the heels of their tenth anniversary album, out tomorrow. I'm also excited about (hopefully) my first listen to Robert Glaspar live, and Greg Osby for free!

RIP Bob Bowen

2010-08-31T15:47:00.003-04:00

(via Josh Sinton) I am shocked and saddened to hear of the death of wonderful New York bassist and educator Bob Bowen. This is terrible news. A bio skecth is here and there are details here of his passing, including a fund for his family. It's been years since I saw Bob, but when I was in New York he was a friend and occasional collaborator- we had many friends and bandmates in common- and I was always honored to be able to play with him. A few years ago he helped run a summer creative music academy, which was a beautiful addition to the music scene in New York. I think the last time I talked to him was when a student of his was starting at NEC, and he wanted me to keep an eye on him. (That student ended up being a Fulbright scholar and studying Carnatic music in India) That's how he was. My condolences to his family and friends.

Sing me a movie

2010-08-28T17:20:00.002-04:00

A brief plug for the Regent Theater in Arlington- all weekend they are showing documentaries from the legendary Isle of Wight Festival. Of interest to readers of this blog- tomorrow at 7, "Electric Miles- Another Kind of Blue", which I've seen and like, and at 9, "Lenord Cohen Live". I will be at a meeting, but if you can, check it. (link coming, I'm haveing cookie issues. Ummm, cookies...)

RIP Abbey Lincoln

2010-08-19T20:21:00.004-04:00

NY Times obit here. Fresh Air has some wonderful interviews from the 80s and 90s. Jason Palmer has been writing little bits on his Facebook about his friendship with Abbey.

Ethan Iverson wrote about three Abbey tracks that moved him early and mid-career. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know that music very well, though Ran Blake assigned the great track "Laugh Clown Laugh" from Abbey is Blue, so I know that. But I am most grateful to Abbey for her records in the early 90s on Verve/Polygram. I grew up around classic jazz- my dad had lots of Ella and Sarah and Anita O'Day, but none of it spoke to me for some reason.

But in about 1990 both Abbey Lincoln and Shirley Horn put out records on Verve that totally, radicaly changed my conception of a jazz singer. Shirley, who I've raved about here before, taught me about sophistication, and patience, and phrasing. Abbey's disc "The World is Falling Down" was about raw power. Not uncontrolled power- she was far too smart and stylish for that, but from that record I always got the feeling that just under that voice was a tremendous force that could come up and smack you silly if you were being dumb. (Some of that is obvious in the NPR interviews, when she talks about married life.) But listen to a track like "I've Got Thunder" (also excerpted on Fresh Air)- sometimes she'll put a little hitch in a multi-syllable word- some folks talk about my po- WER- not because she can't find the time, but because it packs that extra little punch. And as great as her own songs are, the covers are fabulous too- for years I played "How High the Moon" in three, just because Abbey did. (This album also benefits from some fabulous, elegant playing from the great Clark Terry.) The whole album is great, from the cheeky but dark title track to her reimagining of Charlie Haden's "First Song" to the music mentioned about.

The other Abbey album that killed me as a teenager was "You Gotta Pay the Band", the last record Stan Getz recorded in studio. Stan's impending death looms large here, but as on "People Time", his last album, he plays impeccably, as if his mortality focuses him even more than earlier in life. And Abbey's choice of music does nothing to soften the coming blow- "When I'm Called Home" is a meditation on meeting the Maker, and the title track ruminates on the idea of paying the piper that every hard-living artist must ruminate on.

One of the yoga teachers who I studied with early on is big on cute aphorisms, one of which is "Hold Nothing Back." To me Abbey is the epitome of that- from the time she connected with Max Roach on, she was entirely in your face power, entirely who she was and unapologetic for it. That beacon was very powerful to me as a young artist, and now as I approach middle age it is still a beacon and a challenge to stand your ground and speak your peace. I am tremendously grateful to Abbey for being who she was, and challenging us, artists and audience, to play big too.

To close, here's Abbey singing "First Song" on David Sanborn's Night Music. I don't love the backing as much as I do the album version, but here delivery is impeccable.

Your enlightenment gets me off...

2010-08-14T21:46:00.006-04:00

Two random notes as I continue to try to compose my thoughts about Newport, and move to a new apartment:

Salon.com highlights the seedy underside of the guru in Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray Love". Really, they're just compiling older reports, but I think it's worth highlighting. I've had no contact as a teacher or a student with the SDYM, so I have no particular insight into these accusations. But I can say that I've studied with teachers who, while they were tremendously helpful to me and to my journey as a yogi, have behaved in ways that I find downright despicable. (Omgal sums it up beautifully) And there are other teachers whose ideas I greatly admire and work with who have been accused of the same. My own personal solution- I work with their ideas, meditations, and processes at a distance, not up close. I vividly remember something my father said to me once when I had my first experience with institutional politics: "you want to test someone's character, give them just a little bit of power". As a teacher, it's easy to let yourself believe the idea that somehow the fact that you came across this cool insight somehow makes you hot %$#t, which then gives you the right to shtoink anything you want and pull power trips at will. Ahhhh... not so much. It's not about you; it's never about you.

On a ligher note, the recently resurgent blogger (and author of the amazing The Rest is Noise. If you care about music of any stripe and haven't read it, I'm not sure I can talk to you...) Alex Ross collects suggestions of the "worst recording ever" after suggesting his own. I know it isn't the worst, but one of my least favorites is a collection of Howard Hanson conducting his own symphonies. I know it doesn't reach Ross' depths- for one, the fidelity is decent- by I have a personal animus against Hanson from my Eastman days, and the music itself is crap. If you have better suggestions, please send them to Alex. I also remember completely from my days studying with Brookmeyer his rant against a couple of comps he got from the Aum Fidelity label- he thought the music (mostly free, which wasn't typically to his taste) was ill-conceived, and then badly recorded at that. I don't think I agreed with him about those particular records, but I'm starting to see where he's coming from. But that's another post...

UPDATE: The Siddha Yoga Foundation responds to the Salon article here.

Newport was now, now it's then

2010-08-11T11:33:00.002-04:00

I'm still working up my notes from a fabulous Saturday in Newport- suffice to say it was a great time, and I heard some great music. In the meantime, a lot of what I heard and will be blogging about can be heard here. I'm currently taking in Dave Douglas and Brass Ecstacy's set, since I couldn't be there in person to see it. Check it.

Coming Back, Heading Out.

2010-08-04T14:39:00.003-04:00

So after a long, long delay, I'm trying to get things up and running again here at visionsong central. I'm debating which direction to take the blog, which will probably be the topic of upcoming posts. In the meantime, a couple of brief updates:

- Album number 3, working title "Who We Are Together" is in the home stretch. All the tracks are edited, now I have to cut 90 minutes of music into a 60 minute album, and master it. Details (and samples) forthcoming.

- My next big post will be a review of Saturday's piece of the Newport Jazz Festival. I'm tremendously excited to see the lineup, especially old friend Darcy's hit with Bob Brookmeyer, as well as seeing Maria Schneider's band. If you're there on Saturday (and if you're within 200 miles, you should be) and see me (I'll try to wear something garish) I hope you'll say hi.

Decisions, decisions

2010-03-23T22:26:00.002-04:00

After a fairly slow winter, there's an uptick in good club shows. Tomorrow, there are two... at the same time! Check out:

Christian Scott Quintet, Scullers, 8 and 10pm (Haven't heard the new record, but heard them live with what eventually became the Live at Newport CD and was impressed.)

Respect Sextet, Lily Pad, 10pm (Darcy profiled them ages ago. They formed at Eastman just after I left, and I'm very curious to hear where the sound has gone.)

Depending on my teaching schedule, I'm hoping to hit up the Lily Pad gig. See you there...

And no one's gonna catch me

2010-03-13T07:37:00.001-05:00

Apologies for the dearth of blogging- I had the notes for both Fred Hersch's and Darcy's show (which you can now hear over at his blog), in a car that was stolen from in front of my house. Now, two weeks and a thousand dollars later, the car was found by the Boston Police, and life, including blogging, will start to resume as normal. I think.

John Mayer/Michael Franti, TD Garden, 2/24/10

2010-02-24T23:53:00.005-05:00

There's a famous New York Times review of either Gershwin or Ellington, where NYT's classical critic pans him visciously. It's often held up as a case not of the critic being wrong, but of the Times sending the wrong guy. I often feel like that when I go to pop concerts- I don't get into singalongs, or an artist bringing people onstage, or most of the conventions of the form. I would rather hear someone play the new stuff, not the hits. So maybe I'm the wrong critic. But that said, a few words about tonight's show:

- Michael Franti and Spearhead have been touring for ten years, this being their biggest tour ever. (Amazing what a top 20 single will do, even now). Their music has that comfortable, lived-in feeling of a band who like playing together for that long. The set (which I was late for) covered some of Franti's better known songs- "Yell Fire", "Hey Hey Hey", and "Hey (I Love You)", the tremendously catchy radio hit. The last was much faster than the recording, and Franti brought kids up from the audience to sing and dance along in a wonderfully cute Sesame Street moment. (A seven year old white girl upstaged him.) I have nothing but the highest regard for Franti the public person, and his latter day hippie vibe went over great tonight.

- John Mayer is for real. He brings out equal levels of admiration and resentment among musicians, and I've been in the former category for some time. (see this post from ages ago. Still my favorite Mayer record.) He opened with the current hit "Heartbreak Warfare", but the set jumped through all of his records, hits and obscurities alike. (hits included "No Such Thing", which he said he wrote in the Berklee dorm, "Half of My Heart", Why Georgia Why", "Waiting on the World" and "Who Says" as the encore. Un-hits included "Good Love is on the Way", "Who Did You Thing I Was" and a covers of "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Message in a Bottle") For me, the best moments of the set were when he was riffing at the end of a tune- playing an improvised guitar duet, or jamming out. His tangent at the end of "Assasin" was perfect, playing off the pointallistic mbira-ish opening of the tune. He played a short solo set with his electric, and the solo "Who Do You Think I Was" and an improvised, looped intro to "Neon" were worth the whole price of admission. Both he and the band seemed most alive in these moments- the hits weren't quite mailed in, but for me they didn't have the spark of this music.

- While Pino Palladino wasn't on the gig, drummer Steve Jordan was, and he was a literal force of nature. He was the only player besides Mayer to get a feature solo; more than half of it was just a groove, leaving the high hat open just so through most of a measure to make it much funkier. The crowd went nuts for a long 3/4 hemiola and the bigger banging, but that first bit for me was amazing. It almost reminded me of a rock version of the famous Max Roach hi-hat solo; what would happen if you had only the little stuff, could you still kill it?

- Mayer's singing and guitar playing continues to evolve and improve. His delivery in most of the songs he sings is very free, and you can tell the set is not the same each night. Most of his guitar playing was tasteful to tasty, owing a lot to B.B. King and the like for sure, but not gratuitously so. (His solo on "Ain't No Sunshine", a tune I love, did sadly devolve to, er, something Mayer has overshared on in interviews.)

- Speaking of which: Mayer has deservedly gotten into some hot water this month for his dumbass comments in Vanity Fair and Playboy. (I won't link, but they're not hard to find. I felt bad for Franti in this mess. He's getting the shot of a lifetime, something he's been working on forever, and now he has to take questions about the stupid stuff John Mayer says, and he can't really answer them well because it would mean criticizing the meal ticket.)

Specifically in the Playboy interview, he said some things about sex and race that were at best impolitic, at worst racist, and no doubt stupid. Salon.com gave him the "crazy of the week" award for it. I joked on my Facebook page today if I would come out more wowed by Mayer the musician or annoyed by Mayer the cretin. It was mostly the former, thankfully, BUT... Coming out of "Waiting...", itself a shameless lift of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On", he riffed by singing a re-written "Change is Gonna Come", punning "Change" to mean money, joking about being born near a Toys R'Us. I'm sure a lot of the audience didn't catch the reference to the Sam Cooke song, but I sure did, and I resented turning a sort of anthem of civil rights into a dumb joke. John, haven't you filled your "saying dumb S&*(t" quota twice already this month? Don't do that, not now. Cut it out.

(Jazz nerds in the house, I promise an overdue, glowing review of Fred Hersch's solo set last week is coming by Friday...)

The Infernal Machines come to visit

2010-02-22T15:09:00.001-05:00

Bostonians who don't know yet, Darcy James Argue brings his amazing big band to the Regattabar for one (maybe two?) set on this Thursday night. I am trying like crazy to move things around to make it- you do the same, yes???

Must see gig: Fred Hersch, Jordan Hall, Wednesday 2/17, 8pm

2010-02-15T19:52:00.003-05:00

Fred will be playing solo. As documented in the recent profile in the New York Times, we haven't heard much from Fred recently due to poor health, which makes this gig all the more exciting. I was lucky enough to see Fred's last Jordan Hall concert in 2002, and it was spectacular. I'm sure this will be the same.

but dreams are only made by you...

2010-02-15T19:40:00.005-05:00

Ethan Iverson takes on the "fusion" Wayne Shorter in a blindfold test, then a long post over at Do the Math. I commented there, but wanted to follow up.

I'm glad Ethan points out the proclivity of certain jazz "legends" to coast on their reputations at big concerts, rather than show up and play. I've seen several examples of this in my own concert going, including the Wayne/Herbie Carnegie Hall concert Ethan references (I'd be even less kind than he. I left the building angry).

First, I have before, and will again professed my love for High Life. I think it's a great, great album, and both the writing and Wayne's playing are beyond spectacular. However, I think some of the criticisms Ethan (and others) make are valid. Specifically, that the music doesn't especially groove- the rhythm section play, despite the amazing musicians involved, would be right at home on Smooth Jazz FM. I have two thoughts on this. One, those bass lines are ridiculously hard. I saw Wayne's touring band for that record, and the bass player, whose name I forget, had clearly worked her ass off, and was still struggling to hit the lines. I think it's hard to find a groove when you're scuffling.

Which leads to point two: I don't doubt that Wayne has had orchestral ambitions for many years, and to that date High Life was the closest he'd gotten to that goal. (He has since had multiple commissions and orchestral performances, including one I reviewed last fall.) So I have a hunch that presenting the compositions clearly and beautifully trumped the other considerations on this record. (Isn't this the downfall of many a studio album anyway?) If you listen to Alegria, the orchestra is handled very differently. He also has Blade and Danielo, which I'm sure has something to do with it, but still, there it feels like the orchestra is superimposed on top of the quartet. In High Life, the writing is THE important thing. I try to evaluate the record starting there. And God is the writing incredible! (The other records, I can't speak to here. Maybe soon. Remember, only in the last five years or so has a lot of love been shown to 70s Miles. Maybe 70s and 80s Wayne records are still waiting for their time.)

I appreciate Ethan's respect for Peter Watrous, who waylayed Shorter when the album came out on the front of the NY Times Arts page. But especially for that piece I don't at all share it. At all. Go back and read the piece; I'm not sure that Watrous ever actually listened to the record. I don't feel like he ever actually addresses the music, just dismisses it. To me this is the height of intellectual laziness. I'm all for a writer making me angry to make me think; I just want to be sure s/he put some thought into what they wrote to make me angry.

Finally, to Ethan's request for a "fantasy football Wayne band". (Confession, I love fantasy football, and am still bitter about my early exit from my league's playoff this year because Wes Welker blew his knee. But I digress...) I actually don't wish Wayne would make a standards record, or anything but he wants to make. And it's not just "respect for the musician/artist's prerogative" reasons. I like many people was waiting with baited breath for the Keith Jarrett quintet record of the mid-90s that never arrived, with Keith playing new music accompanied my new players.

As I mentioned in my comments to Ethan, it doesn't take much study of Wayne's music in the past thirty years to come to the conclusion that he's more than a little bit obsessed with anthems. One of Ben Ratliff's subtitles in his fantastic Listening with Wayne piece from 2004 is "A Taste for the Heroic". In concert he quotes the "Superman" theme. A lot. As far back "When You Dream" on Joy Rider, and maybe before, Wayne has been writing very anthemic music. You could argue there are strains of this in the classic 60s stuff, but the later in his career you go, the more explicit it gets.

The great songs of Tin Pan Alley that make up the bulk of jazz rep pre-1970 are wonderful, flexible forms, but very few in my view are particularly anthemic. (There are exceptions, of course) That's not what they're built to do; most were originally sung, and many are built on some level to further the plot of the show they're in. The "Just in Time" solo Ethan transcibes is amazing, but it's hard for me to imagine how Wayne's playing today would address that form. Listen back to Wayne in this jam session, which I've linked to before- he's already over the edge of playing on a "conventional blues". Or to his playing on his last two appearances on Herbie records- "Cottontail" on Gershwin's World, and "Nefertitti" on River. Where he is artistically, would playing "Just in Time" be even a useful artistic choice? Interesting to us jazz nerds, nostalgic certainly, but useful?

Is there a musician in the history of jazz more constantly adventurous than Wayne Shorter? More willing to follow his ears whether or not they fit the trend? I think that's why so many of the commenters on Ethan's blog talk about a Wayne performance as "over in one note". Like Ornette, his commitment to whatever he's doing is complete and total. Every performance of the current quartet that I've heard is a high wire act- the architecture is so fluid that the level of risk is tremendously high; I've never heard another band on that level risk and fail as often as they do; I've also rarely heard another band fly as high. I wonder if there'd be any risk left if Wayne paid a visit to Tin Pan Alley. Maybe, I don't know. But I'm happy to hear Wayne continue to push forward.

I'm not trying at all to trash Ethan- quite the contrary, I love the piece and what it brings up, and I agree with him more than I don't. Just coming at it from a different angle...

(Two vaguely related requests- has anyone seen the video a commenter referenced of Joni singing at the Olympic opening ceremony? Didn't even know. And does anyone have a lead sheet to "When You Dream" On my list of tunes to play soon.)

Give, Buy, Listen

2010-01-22T22:45:00.004-05:00

Like most of us, I'm sure, I was stunned, dismayed and heartbroken this week by the terrible turn of events in Haiti. There were a number of Haitian students in my high school class, and some were friends. One of the sad realities when I worked at City Year was going into urban schools and seeing how Haitian students were discriminated against... by other black students! I can only imagine the heartbreak, fear and anger in the community right now.

In addition to all the other ways you can help, CD Baby, my online record distributor, is donating $1 of every CD sold for the next two weeks to relief efforts in Haiti, via Portland OR based Mercy Corps. Artists still get their full payment- this is coming right out of CD Baby's pocket. So, for the music connoisseur, this is a win-win. You get great music on very artist-friendly terms, CD Baby gets business, Haiti gets money. If you haven't checked them out, CD Baby has an incredible number of great artists, famous and obscure. Let me suggest:

No Sale Value- my second CD, and a good one if I say so myself. Featuring Jenny Scheinman (now touring with Bill Frisell), Chris Vataloro (now playing with Antibalas on Broadway in Fela), and well as many other great players. And me...

Ron Miles - one of my personal heroes. The album with Frisell is great.

Anna Dagmar- an old friend and wonderful songwriter

Four Across- with friends Josh Deutch and Carmen Staff. Great players, great writers.

Erik Deutsch- the toast of Brooklyn these days, I'm told.

K ellie Lin Knott- another old friend and good songwriter.

Maybe Baby- It has Jennifer Kimball on it. What more need I say?

Leni Stern - great guitarist, mainstay of the 55 Bar.

And that's just scratching the surface. So go buy already, K?

we've seen this show before

2010-01-18T16:02:00.005-05:00

It's time for a political tangent- those of you who don't care or hate my politics please come back later this week, when I finally get around to more decade recaps, and actually review recent offerings by Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Rez Abassi. Now then:

I posted this as my Facebook comment yesterday, but felt like saying more about it. In case you don't read the news, tomorrow in Massachusetts voters will elect Ted Kennedy's successor in the Senate, in a surprisingly close race between Democratic attorney general Martha Coakley and Republican state senator Scott Brown- here's some analysis from the NY Times.

This race reminds me eerily of the Bush-Gore 2000 campaign- not in the hanging chads and court case sense (I somehow doubt it will come to that), but in voter mood and the disconnect between what people say they want and how they say they'll vote. You have a very likable, handsome (certainly moreso than Bush) very conservative (for Massachusetts, anyway) Republican anyway running a great campaign against a seemingly aloof Democrat, who people are more likely to agree with on positions, but who is running a campaign that could charitably be called lackluster. (I'd use the word awful) Then you had a lot of folks vote Bush because he was the one they'd rather have a beer with. Now you have Brown, a former Cosmo model who rides around the state in a pickup and smiles real big. (To be fair, his grammar is vastly better than Bush's) Then and now you have an electorate disenchanted with what they see as the mess in Washington- then the moral and ethical stink the Clinton White House left, now the bad economy, sputtering legislative agenda and seeming aloofness of Washington (and certainly Boston) Democrats.

People, step back a second. By most reasonable measure most Massachusetts residents are worse off economically, and less optimistic about their prospects, than they were in 2001.

But what you have in Scott Brown is a man advancing the agenda of, well, George Bush circa 2001. There is one candidate who has actually gone after corporate and government corruption, huge causes of our current mess, and it isn't Scott Brown. Based on statements re: waterboarding and "war on terror" legal issues, there is one lawyer (they're both lawyers) in the race who actually seems to understand law regarding war, and it isn't Scott Brown. You catch a pattern here?

I know Coakley is a uninspiring candidate who's run a terrible campaign, but I firmly believe, based on both record and policy positions, she will be a much better senator than Brown. (We forget that for his first ten years, Ted Kennedy was nothing to write home about, but I digress.) But I would ask voters to remember what happened the last time we chose a "likable" major officeholder ahead of a competent one, and how that puppy worked out. So Massholes, vote tomorrow, vote Coakley. Thanks.

The ruin of many a poor boy

2010-01-14T22:21:00.003-05:00

(Note: I try to stay away from PG language in my posts, but here it seems appropriate. Hide the little, little kids)

I've written before here about my contempt for American Idol, what it represents culturally, and how to tip it over. (In probably the only moment I ever agreed with Howard Stern, I wanted Sanjaya (sp?) to win to show the show for the ridiculous s*^tstorm it is)

Apparently, Andrew Fenlon had the same idea. Or at least that's how I interpret it. For those of you who (like me) missed it, Andrew is (to date) this year's American Idol villain, he who drew the ire of the judges, not for being bad (I actually think by Idol standards, his performance is OK, not great, but not bad by any means. And I'm sure his odd diction in intentionally ironic), but for being a little punkass who pisses the judges off. (Side note- does he not look incredibly like Christopher Reeve's Clark Kent? It's a doppleganger)

I have mixed feelings about this one, partially because I actually know Andrew casually. He's a very good trombone player, and he was a contemporary improvisation major at NEC when I was studying there with Brookmeyer. He and I worked for the great Ran Blake at the same time, and worked together occasionally on stuff for Ran. On the one hand, I think it's strangely laudable that someone would stand in line for hours in the blazing (not rising) sun in July at Gillette Stadium in Foxborogh for the sole purpose of pissing Simon Cowell and Victoria Beckham off. To my eyes, there is an element of Warhol-ish performance art in that video. And he will undoubtably become a momentary hipster icon. And as someone who wants to see Idol crash and burn, I enjoyed it to a degree.

On the other hand, he does come off as a total dick, which in my experience isn't much of a stretch for him. (To be clear, in my experience he's not a jerk at all, a nice guy, but if you don't know him he can come off as stand-offish, a little cocky, or worse. I've heard similar complaints about myself...) I hope to explore the relationship between Brooklyn hipsterism and '00s jazz in future decade in review posts, but I'm not real high on it. To me, looking in from the outside, a lot of what's come out of Brooklyn in the last five years is irony without context, looking sarcastically at things the hipsters don't really understand at all. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you have to, or should. And it isn't going to work- my hunch is the blogosphere will love Andrew, he'll have any interview he wants (to his credit, he's turned them all down), but middle America will be confused, and forget him when the next KFC ad comes on.

I know Andrew isn't a Brooklynite, but I imagine if American Idol did their audition at Brooklyn College, there would have been fifteen Andrew Fenlons. And part of me says, "go for it, stick it to the man! And get your 15 minutes doing it!" And part of me says, "oh, grow up!"

home, home again

2010-01-11T21:01:00.002-05:00

Continuing the occasional "aught to review the decade" series.

Reading Ben Ratliff's review of the NYC Winter Jazzfest reminded me of the last time I saw the event, and how much just the physical space of the scenes I've been on has changed. (I feel like the psychic space has changed too, but that's another post.) When I moved to New York in early '99, there were three big jazz festivals, and a few little ones. Now the Winterfest, which didn't exist, is the only modestly sized one left. To say the scene in New York has transformed is an understatement.

I did my most prolific gigging in New York at the beginning of the decade, and not one of the "jazz" venues I played at that time exists now in the form it did then. Not one. The Knitting Factory, and Makor moved (is Makor still there at all?), Tonic, the Internet Cafe, Detour, and a half dozen other venues elsewhere just folded. I suppose that this is due somewhat to the nature of New York, where change is really the only constant- I heard older musicians talk about Bradley's, Visiones, and other once hot venues that are no more. But there's a larger trend too- the real estate boom made Manhattan property so hot that it priced out so many clubs that in earlier times had a prayer. (See Tonic, Wetlands, etc.) Brooklyn has certainly replaced Manhattan as the hot incubator of new things.

It's certainly not my place to say if it's better or worse now that it was then- I like several of the new venues that have popped up since I left, notably Le Poisson Rouge- but it sure is different. When I visit New York now, it is very much as a tourist and not an insider, though a tourist who sees a lot of folks he knows at gigs. But sometimes I wonder, is the jazz scene in New York just another evolution, or the empire in decline?

I do have many happy memories of a decade of music in the city. My favorite gigs in NYC, more or less chronologically (this list could be ten times as long)-

Olu Dara at the Verizon Jazz Fest (formerly What is Jazz?), summer 2000

Andrew Hill sextet w/Nasheet Waits, Birdland, spring 2000

Last Wetlands jam, Black Lily w/the Roots, summer 2000

Bill Frisell/Paul Motion/Joe Lovano, summer 2000 (my first time)

Living Colour reunion concert, Central Park Summerstage, summer 2001

Masada, Tonic, early 2001

Killer Joey w/Joey Baron, Tonic, spring 2001

Wayne Shorter Quartet, Verizon Festival, summer 2001 (NYC debut)

Bob Brookmeyer and the New Jazz Orchestra, IAJE Convention, winter 2005

Tony Malaby/William Parker, Stone, winter 2006

Darcy James Argue Secret Society, CBGB's basement, spring 2007

Boston, my home now, has changed too, for better and worse. The good news is that, as I've written before, the Beehive is a great new venue that books a lot of good mainstream music, and the Stork Club just opened where Bob the Chef's used to be. (Haven't been yet) And some eutrepenurial artists continue to bring interesting concerts to Boston, notably the Bennett Alliance concert series, as well as the occasional offerings of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Gardiner Museum. But as far as venues go, that may be the only good news, and the bad news keeps coming. The Regattabar gave its booking to the Blue Note conglomerate, scaled back its booking a lot for both local and national acts, and raised its prices a lot. The venue that the ex-booker of the R-bar started in Cambridge didn't survive. Scullers is hard, risky, and expensive to get for local acts, and Ryles seems to eek by- when I was in grad school they would occasionally book the likes of Chris Potter and Bob Brookmeyer, but they haven't had any act like that in awhile. The legendary Wally's plugs on, thanks in no small part to the amazing trumpeter and genial session host Jason Palmer. The Zeitgiest Gallery gave way the Lily Pad, a nice but pay to play venue (and not cheap anymore either), and then reopened down the street in cozier (read smaller) digs. Atwoods, B-Side and several smaller bars who booked alt-jazz along with a lot of toher things, have shut down, and the Milky Way has moved to smaller digs in JP. One new jazz festival, the one and a half day Beantown Jazz Festival, replaced two long-running summer festivals sponsored by the newspapers, again a sign of the times.

One of the most promising developments in Boston was the creation of JazzBoston, a not for profit designed to promote the music and local musicians in Boston. Thus far they have created a "jazz week" once a year with some original programming and a very glossy flier to hype all the gigs in town. So far I don't see or feel any measurable impact on either the frequency or visibility of the music in town, but I hope that could change.

The good news in both these cities is that there is always an infusion of young talent who will hustle and dig to find ways to get music out there. And as long as there are big music schools, there we be a lot for the listening public. The bad news is that playing for nothing (not a great thing either) has been replaced by pay-to-play, especially if the music is free improvised or hard to buttonhole, which is a tough way to grow an audience as an artist.

My Favorite Boston(ish) concerts:

Meshell N'Degeocello, Paradise, summer 2002 (Cookie tour)

Chris Potter Quarter, Ryles, fall 2002

Fred Hersch solo, Jordan Hall, fall 2002

Steve Lacy solo, Jordan Hall, fall 2002

Danielo Perez/Steve Lacy duo, winter 2003

Joe Lovano superband featuring Dave Douglas, Mark Helias, Joey Baron, R-bar, winter 2004

Radiohead, Hail to the Thief tour, Tweeter Center, summer 2005

The Bad Plus, Regattabar, winter 2007

Stevie Wonder, Comcast Center, summer 2008

Bill Frisell 858 Quartet, Regattabar, spring 2008

Brian Blade Fellowship, Newport Jazz Fest, summer 2008

Wayne Shorter Quartet, same

tick, tick, BOOM

2010-01-06T22:48:00.005-05:00

This is an expanded version of the comment I left on the Greenleaf blog, more thoughts about metronomes and time. (The M-Base stuff is not on the comment):

I've done commercial work where I was playing with a click track, and at those moments I was eternally grateful for the work I'd done with a metronome. But as several people have mentioned, it's not that way in a real band, ever.

I've found this analogy useful- I think I got it from Michael Cain, the great pianist and one of my teachers. He said something to the effect of- as young players we often tend to think of the beat as a single dot, a spot to be hit (like the click of a metronome). In reality, the beat is a circle (think of a compass drawing a circle, it leaves that middle point- the metronome's "beat"- but has much wider area). The interaction that happens inside and around that circle is where time feel and groove happen. Different musicians, and different musical styles, have very different relationships to that circle, and they change over time. In "jazz", some of the most exciting rhythm sections have worked in the tension created by two or more players landing consistently at different points inside that circle.

One obvious example for me is the evolution of what used to be called "M-base" music, the music Steve Coleman and his crew has created over the last twenty-five years, and what the myriad of musicians who've played with Steve (Osby, Shane Endsley, Vijay Iyer, Cassandra Wilson, etc) continue to do. The first "M-Base drummer", Smitty Smith, is the closest thing to a human metronome I think I've ever heard- the precision of those 80s M-Base records is incredible. When Gene Lake replaced Smitty in Steve's band, and then more so when Steve started to explicitly explore Cuban music, I feel like the feel of the music changed dramatically. The grooves are no less complicated, but the feel is looser to my ears. With Smitty you get the spot at the center of the circle, with Gene you get a different spot inside the circle, maybe a little further back. (Compare "Black Science" with Smitty to "Tao of Mad Phat" with Gene to hear what I mean, and then )

Jonah and the ticking whale.

2010-01-05T22:39:00.007-05:00

A couple of addenda to the metronome conversation that's still popping across the blogosphere. When I studied with Steve Lacy, he discouraged practicing scales with a metronome, but instead walking slowly, playing one note per step. (I think Steve talks about this, as well as many other things, in his book Findings, which I highly recommend. I find even seven years later, I still find a lot of Steve's voic in how I approach practicing.) I've modified this in my own practice to start at one note per step, then two notes, up until I can't pull it off, which is often 10, or 12, or 16 notes per, depending on the exercise and how adroit or rusty I am. I thought about this approach when I would play duos with Steve- when we played tunes, as opposed to free music. While the process was tremendously rewarding, and I always knew the tune better afterwards, it was very hard, I think partially because Steve's time was so personal and idiosyncratic, perhaps the product of literally walking to his own drummer. Friends said the same.

Second, when I was gigging a lot with No Sale Value in Boston, we would have various guests sit in, cellists, guitarists, dancers if we could, you name it. One night we had a rapper join us on a pretty straight up funk jam. Our drummer at the time, Jazon Nazary, had (and has) great time, but afterwards the MC complained that he had a tough time getting his flow going. He rapped primarily with tracks, almost always mechanized, which I suppose is the equivalent of rapping with a metronome. Playing with a live drummer, where the beat ebbed and flowed a little more organically, he found it hard to adjust.

David Ryshpen brings up issues of time and/vs. groove, which are fascinating, and I hope to follow up on.

Radiohead- jazz artists of the decade

2010-01-03T10:06:00.001-05:00

One of my resolutions for 2010 is to do at least 60% of the blogging I meant to do in 2009. So, just two days into the next decade (what are we calling this one), here is the start of my decade in review. Call me old fashioned, but I want something to end before I write it's obit... As I've mentioned in year's past, I don't feel comfortable doing "best of" lists, since there's so much I don't here, but I will do favorites. In the coming days, I'll get a little more myopic and review some of the records that crossed my desk in '09, looking for trends and ideas. Thought I'd start big and then break it down.

In my humble opinion, the Jazz Artist of the Aughts was... Radiohead. I'm not joking. Were you expecting Dave Douglas or Jason Moran, Wayne or Tain? You could, make an cogent argument for any of the above, as well as a dozen others, but did any single band change the sound of jazz more than Radiohead? I remember when I first was first hanging in New York, as the buzz for Kid A was building, seemingly everyone was talking about them. Meldhau had already covered "Exit Music", and the covers and sound-alikes followed. I heard more jazz compositions without solos, more bands with piano and guitar, and much more sonic consideration in how music in small groups is arranged and recorded.

Radiohead was in some ways a perfect storm- they're a great band with a lot of musical ambition. "Creep" broke them big enough to give them tremendous exposure and name recognition, but not to the megastar level that would turn. At the same time, they are a perfect band to get "jazz cred"- Johnny Greenwood cites Messien as a major influence, they use a lot of noise techniques, their sound is very forward looking and "modern" (as opposed to the many good indie bands at the back end of the decade who looked backward to American folk music as a primary influence) And as the decade wore on they were the biggest act to play with new mechanisms of releasing music directly on the web with the In Rainbows experiment.

Lots of jazz artists covered them, Brad Meldhau most notably, but more importantly the number of artists that cite them as an influence and rave about specific things they do are huge and range across all but the most Lincoln Centric places in the jazz world. I know they affected how I write- the first tune I performed in grad school. I certainly wasn't alone. And I honestly can't imagine a band like Christian Scott's band, who I reviewed at Newport in '08, without a band like Radiohead as a reference for how they write and play.

And they're a nerdy white British band, reflecting in many ways the new nerd hipster ethos that has come to define a lot of twentysomething culture this decade. (I'll write more about this later when I talk about trends.)

The larger trend at work here, I think, is that of jazz musicians openly, rather than covertly, taking broader licenses with what a jazz band is and can do than was acceptable in the 90s. It's no longer even surprising to hear jazz artists talk openly about how J Dilla, or Grizzly Bear or even Miley Cyrus is influencing what they do. (Okay, maybe that last one is a little stretch) And you're the listening public less likely to raise an eyebrow. To the point where when Darcy made a joke about Wynton's upcoming Clap Your Hands Say Yeah tribute album, I stopped and said "gee, what would that be like?" More germanely, I heard a story in the early 90s about a well known young Blue Note artist who had his record contract threatened because- in private, not on gigs- he was making electronic music. Labels don't have the sway they did then, for sure, but I have to think now they'd probably do the opposite.

I know that "Artist of the ___" statements are inherently a little silly- Wynton was as important in the '80s for the trend he came to represent as for his music and even his visibility. Radiohead didn't do any of the things I write about here by themselves, or maybe even best. And would all of this happen if no one had picked up "The Bends"? More than likely. But I'd argue that Radiohead, and what they've come to represent, had a bigger impact on the jazz world than any other single artist or band in the music. Any better ideas?

Looking back, the road seems empty...

2010-01-02T11:04:00.003-05:00

I'm working on several year/decade wrap-up posts at the moment, but in the meantime, Happy New Year! Tiding you over:

Congratulations to Darcy, Dave Douglas, Vijay Iyer, and the other friends of this blog who picked up tremendous acolades in the big year-end lists. Richly deserved. If you haven't bought "Infernal Machines" or "Histiocity" yet, what are you waiting for? And check out:

Bob Brookmeyer turns 80, and Darcy (speaking of himself) celebrates with a great post, including sound samples. "K.P. '94" literally changed my life, as I'll blog about soon.

NPR posted the concerts they presented for the "Toast of the Nation" show, including Anat Cohen in Boston and The Bad Plus at the Vanguard.

Ring it in, Ring it in, it in ring, in ring it...

2009-12-29T19:54:00.005-05:00

The marquis event of New Year's Eve in Boston for more than thirty years has been First Night Boston, a celebration of culture all over Boston. This year might bring the best gig of December anywhere- John Hollenbeck, fresh off his critically acclaimed big band record, brings his Claudia Quintet with guest Gary Versace, to the First Church in Boston. $18 dollars gets you two sets, plus the hundreds of other events of the evening. I have a prior commitment, but the last time I saw Claudia I was knocked out, and I'm sure this will be no different.

RIP Charlie Banacos

2009-12-26T18:13:00.004-05:00

I just found out through a yoga student tha Charlie Banacos, legendary Boston area piano and improvisation teacher, passed away earlier this month after a brief battle with cancer. Globe obit here. Charlie is legendary locally for his vast encyclopedia of teaching techniques and exercises, and he no doubt profoundly influenced the teaching (and playing) technique and style of Jerry Bergonzi, Danielo Perez, and many other teachers locally and nationally. I know a lot of the stuff I got in high school that really propelled my playing forward on a nuts and bolts level came indirectly from Charlie.

Charlie is remembered by students as an unassuming and nurturing teacher, who as one student said, "made you feel like you were the only student he'd ever had." His wisdon and light will be sorely missed.

Links and rememberences as I find them- former Charlie students, please add your thoughs and memories in the comments section.

UPDATE: A tribute from bassist Jeff Berlin at All About Jazz

Warren Senders blogs about Charlie's last days.

The chorus' awful long, but it's a good refrain...

2009-12-16T22:09:00.005-05:00

Interesting, if somewhat anachronistic piece in Wednesday's NY Times about how a new radio ratings system is changing the ratings themselves. Specifically, people who say they listen to classical stations are fibbing at least sometimes, and men listen to more soft rock than they care to admit. Color me unsurprised. A pleasant surprise is that conservative talk radio is not quite as big as we thought...

The bigger question is what, if anything, does this mean. Radio doesn't carry the same weight as it used to, especially in breaking new acts, and the industry (save perhaps sports talk, which around here is only growing.) How do you, dear readers, get word of new music, especially new jazz/creative improv/left of center pop? Word of mouth? Blogs? Pandora. (Full disclosure, I am prepping a new album, so I will use this info)

In the same section, the Times critic clearly aren't too thrilled with what's actually making it to pop radio. Go figure... This is the snarkiest thing I've read this side of Pitchfork in awhile...

Twist us, roll us in your mouth, light us up and take a hit...

2009-12-11T22:12:00.003-05:00

(Any excuse to quote Prince is a good one...)

As some of you know, I am a volunteer for YogaHope, a wonderful non-profit that provides free yoga to women in transition from difficult (read hellish) situations, often substance abuse or domestic violence. I have been working with YH for more than two years, and firmly believe in the mission and the work of this organization.

And I'm putting my money where my mouth is- I am auctioning myself off, both as a musician and a yogi. You can have an intimate concert with my duo, or a yoga private lesson with me, for well below my retail value. (Well, hopefully well above, but, y'know.) The auction ends sometime on Sunday. Right now I'm a bargain, and them some... let's change that.

Seriously, Yogahope is a great organization, and I hope you'll consider bidding on me, or many of the other very cool items available. I would be very grateful.

P.S. Much love to BTI Consultants, one of whose executives is a yoga client of mine, for making YogaHope one of their two holiday donation recipients. We are tremendously thankful!

You can't have enough orgies...

2009-12-07T12:25:00.002-05:00

December is here in Boston, and we have the snow to prove it. We also have the annual WHRB orgies, long stretches of a single artist or motif. I'm a big fan, and hope you will listen either online or at 95.3FM in the Boston area. The whole schedule is here, and there's a whole lotta Chopin, but here are my highlights.

Wednesday 12/9, 5am-7pm, and Thursday 12/10, 4am-1pm: the Jazz Royals orgy, playing only those artists with King, Duke, etc. in their names. Silly gimmick, some great artists.

Friday 12/11, 5am-1pm: Messien and Radiohead. Looks intriguing.

Week of12/14 5am-2pm (Monday through Friday): Yuseff Lateef Orgy

Saturday 12/19 through Monday: Arvo Part Orgy

Monday 12/21: Modern Jazz Quartets and Quintets Orgy. (Or, just another Jazz Spectrum...)

No-no radio

2009-12-02T13:17:00.002-05:00

I apologize, again I have screwed up. While WGBH is keeping it's jazz programming, as well as A Celtic Sojourn and Prarie Home Companion, it is dumping all of its weekend folk and blues programming in favor of talking heads. GBH announcement here. The Notlob blog brought this to my attention. The blog also lists what you can do to at least try to change things. (Local people, I would call WGBH and tell them you will not give them money until they start programming more music. May not help, can't hurt.) If you are a member, cancel your membership immediately. It seem that only money talks for them...

This is really bad news. As I said when I first posted on this, with WBUR already an all news/talk station, we really don't need this. Dan at Soundslope wrote about this awhile back when something similar happened in Chicago- read it. In short it's about the money. (Grimace mutter grumble...)

You make me happy when skies are grey...

2009-12-01T23:03:00.003-05:00

NPR is streaming a Bill Frisell concert at the Kennedy center. Click here to listen.

On another media note, WGBH had indeed taken over WCRB, as mentioned earlier. The good news is, at least so far, they are keeping their evening and weekend programming the same, which means jazz, Celtic and folk music are safe for now. Do e-mail them and ask them to use this new bandwidth to expand jazz programming, now, wouldja?

Gigs to see- December

2009-11-29T20:13:00.002-05:00

I hope to update this, but there are several this week that demand attention:

12/1- Twinbill of Daniel Bennet Group and Eric Deutch at Beehive. Eric's new record has gotten a lot of good buzz. And, it's FREE.

12/6- The Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra, featuring some of Boston's best improvisers, starts a once a month residency at Johnny D's.

12/10- Amy Cervini at Lily Pad

More as I find it...

a million watts of, what?

2009-11-14T07:53:00.003-05:00

Something to keep an eye on- WGBH, on of Boston's two public media behemoths, has bought the only all-classical station on the dial. (Globe article here, WGBH's puff page here)

Two points- no matter what WGBH says, if they are indeed going to all talk, this is a net loss for music on the radio. (And really, we already have one all news/talk NPR station in Boston, are we dying for a second?) And more importantly, there is no mention in any of this press what happens to WGBH's jazz programming, which is still the most visible (well, audible) and most popular in the Boston area. In the past couple of years GBH has cut back its jazz programming, shifting the overnight show to a nationally syndicated jazz program. On the plus side, their new headquarters has a state of the art new studio, which they have been opening up for a lot of live performances and studio recordings. I want to take a "wait and see" attitude, but I fear bad things.

Any clarification or other buzz is appreciated.

Next performance: Pat Donaher Khabu Duo, 11/18 Rutman's

2009-11-12T10:42:00.003-05:00

Pat Donaher/Khabu Duo

Wednesday, November 18, 7:30pm

Rutman's Violin Shop, 11 Westland Ave

$10 Suggested Donaher

www.khabu.net

Boston really needs to get hip to 'Bhu. More soon.

We're also playing music for a benefit yoga class, with the fabulous Chanel Luck teaching. Details here.

Talk talk

2009-11-02T12:24:00.002-05:00

Briefly, a big thank you to everyone who came to the Johnny Carcrash gig. Details later this week, but know how much I appreciate it.

Fuller gig listing soon, but tomorrow night Ben Ratliff interviews George Garzone at the Regattabar as part of his book tour. Worth checking.

Next Gig: Tales of Johnny Carcrash, Friday 10/30, 7:30pm, Rutman's Violins

2009-10-28T11:00:00.000-04:00

After an 18 month hiatus, I'm thrilled to be playing again. If you're within shouting distance, come and listen:

Tales of Johnny Carcrash

Improvised duos with Pat Donaher and Hwaen Ch'uqi

Friday 10/30, 7:30pm

Rutmans Violin Shop, 11 Westland Ave (near Symphony Hall and the Whole Foods)

I have a little webpage up at my site about the gig, including some sound clips and links for Hwaen. (Formerly Jeff Tomlinson; I still call him Jeff) This is the first of two gigs I'm using to finish up an album of duos, please God. More about the gig as the week progresses

Video of Hwaen's recent performance at the Richter Competition in Moscow is here

Other gigs to see this week

2009-10-28T09:05:00.002-04:00

(Note: I'll be moving my gig announcement to the top of the page for the week, for those of you without RSS feeds. but since I'm starting to get on a bit of a roll, I don't want to stop.)

I'll put November up soon, but there are several gigs of real note in town this week. One, of course is mine, and I hope to see you. Otherwise:

This afternoon at 1pm, the great (and in the states, tremendously underrated) Han Bennick gives a masterclass at New England Conservatory. The great Anthony Coleman, who is now in town a lot due to his teaching at said NEC, offers a solo recital Thursday night at Jordan Hall with music of and inspried by Jelly Roll Morton.

Late, late Thursday night Boston ex-pat and great friend Jeremy Udden has a CD release party, at midnight. It's an invite-only (so to speak) so see his webpage for detalis.

And the Bad Plus drop by this weekend, two nights at the Regattabar. TBP on Halloween- hide the candy, and the children...

How, Hwaen?

2009-10-28T09:00:00.003-04:00

In preparing for the aforementioned Johnny Carcrash gig, which I know all of you have marked off in your calendar, I thought I would ask my colleague Hwaen Ch'uqi how and why he chooses to improvise, an unusual trait in today's classical musician. Here is what he says:

"It is with slight trepidation that I, known hitherto by many asthe "wooden Inca," dip my toe into these uncharted waters of the blog, let alone a "jazzer's" blog! Nevertheless, I wade on -- and pray tha tI shall not be, whether by clandestine tow or sudden maelstrom, caught unawares and spirited away toward boundless sea! How often have I by others been met with incredulity, reserve,even concern at the mere proposition of free improvisation. "But youhave _some_ kind of plan, no?" represents the more generous person's response. But how else shall I characterize this wondrous process inwhich Pat and I engage? It is neither aleatory nor pre-design; its tongue is neither jazz nor classical. Its vestments are not exclusively drawn from one fashion or another; neither is its substance fraught with or void of intention. Rather, it is what it is,and I do hope, with utmost sincerity, that it may be what it need befor your particular circumstance. I look forward to see all of you there. Please take care. Hwaen Ch'uqi

Thinkin' of one thing and doin' another

2009-10-25T22:09:00.006-04:00

One of the interesting things about being a jazz blogger, even a fairly inactive one, is the press lists you manage to get on. Sometimes it's cool- I've gotten a handful of CDs, a couple of which I've loved- randomly in the mail, and at least twice a month get other mailings asking me to consider hawking a musician, band or tour of some sort. Some days it's darkly entertaining, at best you make a find. (Case in point, Mexican singer Magos Herrera who put out a great and well-received record this summer.)

And then occasionally, you get the likes of this. Monster Cables, they who grossly overcharge you for your HDMI, USB and other computer and home entertainment cables, are dabbling in the headphone business... AND MILES F*#&@*n DAVIS' ESTATE HAS PUT THEIR NAME ON IT! I am not up on the industry buzz by any means, but even I have heard grumbles of dissatisfaction about how the Davis estate was handling Miles' name and business, most notably when the Cellar Door set was allegedly delayed by the estate's, er, cattiness. But this is on a whole 'nother level, pimping Miles name and image to sell a $500 pair of earbuds. I don't care if these f*&^#$s make turd sound like gold, and I know Miles' wasn't a saint, or shy about chasing a dollar, but of all the products to attach his name to, you pick THIS? Couldn't you at least make a deal with Bose, who we already know can make a good set of cans?

Sheesh, what did Miles say- somebody ought to pick up a sign and picket.

(P.S. If you are looking at a set of Monster cables for anything, instead check out cablewholesalers.com. I used them for stuff for my HDTV, and found them great to deal with, the product is fine, and at a fraction of the price Monster and the box store wanted.)

(P.P.S. Erstwhile press agents who send P.R. to bloggers... I know I state the obvious, but be careful what you ask for.)

Wayne Shorter Quartet + New England Conservatory Philharmonia, Jordan Hall 10/24

2009-10-24T23:05:00.003-04:00

New England Conservatory chose to close the celebration of the 40th year of its jazz program with a tremendously ambitious program, pairing Wayne Shorter's groundbreaking quartet with symphony orchestra, for five of Wayne's pieces. The quartet played a long opening set, then after intermission the stage filled with a huge orchestra (studio orchestra personnel, which for the uninitiated means huge everything- almost twenty brass, an equal number of winds including saxohpones, harp, and seemingly double sections for all the strings). Warning: serious music geekdom ahead. I'm assuming the Globe's writer was there, and hopefully he'll give us a great layman's review on Monday, which I'll link to.

I've written at some length about Wayne's quartet before. This performance never quite achieved the electricity of the Newport performance, but was remarkable nonetheless. I started to get a sense of the set construction for the first time- the band is working from music, long long charts, which seem to hit certain themes and vamps at certain places. My best guess is that the chart sets the arc of the set, and the band fills in the details liberally. I also noticed Danielo Perez doubling Wayne more on melodies. Any remaining sense of "soloist" was completely gone in this music, almost as if the band was coming at Ornette's idea of "Harmelodic" equality from a radically different direction.

The orchestral set opened with "Orbits", originally recorded on Miles Smiles in 1963(?). I realized after the show that there is a large ensemble version of this on Alegria, but I don't know how closely this hewed to the album. I do know that it makes Wayne's reworking of "Children of the Night" on High Life (a masterpiece in my mind) look conservative by comparison. The four bar hook from the original "Orbits" opens the piece, and really isn't heard again, and the rest of the tune is seemingly gone. The set also included "Prometheus Unbound", "Midnight in Carlotta's Hair", and "Forbidden Plan-It".

Hearing Wayne's ideas spread out across such a huge canvas as an orchestra is remarkable- Wayne's reputation (deserved in my opinion) is of a curious genius, a mystery inside an enigma, who's genius is ill served by all the transcriptions and Real Book versions of his tunes. So to hear his lines and harmonies so explicitly is a treat. Several of the pieces used some really interesting voicing tactics- my favorite was when the tuba would double the basses for one statement of a theme, then when the theme repeated would jump up into the middle of the voicings, like Gil Evans would do, to great effect. I really hope that a publisher releases a book of his orchestral pieces- I think it will be a treasure trove of goodies for the many players and composers who puzzle over Wayne's music. And having Wayne floating his own playing over these orchestrations, clearly relishing the opportunity, and Blade lighting fires under the orchestra made it that more exciting.

That said, the composer/arranger in me couldn't help feeling a little dissatisfied with the charts. I was talking to an orchestra member before the concert, and he said he liked the charts, but they were "dense". And they were- Wayne and/or whoever helped orchestrate the music leaned heavily on a dense, "studio" sound. Almost every major theme was played by the french horns, usually doubled by some combination of trumpet, saxophone and/or flute. The strings primarily played the role that a piano would in a jazz quartet, "comping" riffs, occasionally breaking out (really complex and sixteenth-notey) counterpoint. There was a lot of counterpoint between the horn/high string melodies and the cellos and basses, who had tremendously difficult answer statements to many of Wayne's themes. In other words, as fascinating and varied as the themes were, the orchestration was fairly monochromatic, blunting some of the impact. The impact was further blunted by Blade's playing- not his fault, the sonic realities of a drum set is that it will obliterate anything strings are doing, which was the case here. It was clear the orchestra worked very hard to get this complicated music happening, and then we couldn't hear it.

(One saxophone-geek side note: music schools, when you do studio orchestra-ish music, PLEASE don't put your classical saxophone students in the group, use jazz players instead. I can't begin to describe how silly the classical alto player, sounded doubling Wayne at spots, swinging like a brick. Perfectly good for Ravel, but not for this music. But I digress...) NOTE: This was an incorrect assumption on my part, and the saxophonists were all jazz majors- see comments below. My apologies- I didn't love how it sounded clearly, but I jumped to a poor conclusion.

The closing piece, "Forbidden Plan-It", originally on Phantom Navigator, brought the orchestra and Wayne to the fore, with Blade and Danielo playing very little. It was my favorite piece of the set- while there were more exciting moments in some of the other tunes, there was beautiful interplay between Wayne and the orchestra, and his remarkable lines and harmonies shined throughout the piece.

Nitpicking aside, this concert was a remarkable experience, and NEC deserves all the plaudits it can get for putting together not just this concert, but a remarkable week of events to celebrate it's seminal and still vital jazz department.

(More thought on the few other NEC events I made this week, including today's Blade/Perez/Pattatucci masterclass, soon)

Rosenwinkle @ Regattabar tonight

2009-10-08T11:00:00.002-04:00

For the jazz nerd in all of us- Kurt Rosenwinkle brings his crack trio to the Regattabar tonight, presumably playing standards as he did recently at the Vanguard, and on an upcoming CD.

I did make the Meshell hit at the Middle East last night, and hope to blog about it. The review of the Highland Ballroom show in the Times a good primer for this tour, though the sound last night was much better than it was in New York.

Ooooops

2009-09-25T20:40:00.001-04:00

My sincere apologies to you readers and to Matt Wilson- the concert was Thursday night, not Friday as I posted. There was a mixup between myself and Matt's people, which is totally my fault.

The fact that Matt was playing at Rutman's was a little odd in itself, given that the rest of his tour includes, well, a lot of really hip venues that certainly don't make you pay to play. This is something I will explore in the near future- short version, it speaks REALLY badly of the Boston scene at the moment...

Matt Wilson Quartet @ Rutmans, Friday 9/25 @ 7pm

2009-09-24T08:28:00.002-04:00

Expain to me how this happens. Okay don't, just show up:

Matt Wilson Quartet featuring Andrew D'Angelo and Joel Ledderer. It'll be just like the old days at Detour, only with a lot of expensive violins hanging on the wall instead of a lot of overpriced cigarettes on the wall.

Rutmans is at 11 Westland Street, by Symphony Hall. I'll be playing there next month- details soon!

My bean is cooked.

2009-09-23T13:07:00.006-04:00

This week marks the real beginning of the fall jazz concert season in Boston with the Beantown Jazz Festival. Full listings here. Tonight Branford Marsalis hits Boston with his "new" quartet; the main event is the outdoor show featuring Donald Harrison and Jane Bunnett. Berklee sponsors the event, and the Berklee theme is much more prevalent at the Saturday show, with several Berklee student and faculty bands mixed in with the "major" acts. (In recent years Berklee and NEC have split the student acts) I'm hoping to catch Harrison and Jane Bunnett, but frankly the programming this year does little to excite me- too much smooth jazz, and none of the more exciting and left of center Boston acts (or NYC, for that matter). I'm not asking for a whole slate of the New Languages fest or anything, but throw the more voracious music lovers a bone! Contrast this with NEC's blowout to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the jazz program, and tell me which one you'd rather spend time at.

On a related note, I heard the back half of Branford's interview with local radio legend Eric Jackson. A lot of what he was talking about was the same theme and tone that Darcy pointed out from the "When the Music Died" DVD. He is on the same tip here. I need to chew on it a little, but when I hear from both Wynton and Branford, I feel like they think it's more important to be right than to be happy, and they spend a lot of time being smart and sharp and miserable. Maybe I'm reading to much into it, but Branford was pretty dark last night. I'll post a link to the audio if I find it.

Ben Monder tonight at Beehive

2009-09-16T13:19:00.001-04:00

Last minute gig update- Ben Monder performs tonight at 9pm at Beehive in the South End. I have stuff until 10pm, but may stop by. And it's FREE. Not to be missed.

There's a tidal wave...

2009-09-03T23:03:00.002-04:00

I'll be hitting the September dates in Boston shortly (the shows always get better when the students come back, even if it gets a little harder to live here...), but I'm psyched for this one:

Meshell N'Degeocello

Middle East

October 7

Details to follow... I get my tix tomorrow.

It was a dry wind and it swept across the desert and it curled into the circle of birth

2009-08-30T20:02:00.006-04:00

(Note: I'm trying to start blogging again, but that means I may not write all that well at first, so please check back for edits and corrections often, and comment if I am out of line, or just spelling things wrong... or even if you agree.)

While I've been away making a living and pursuing my other career as a yoga teacher, the jazz blog explosion of the summer came when Terry Teachout wrote a dismal prognosis on the state of the jazz scene, based on a census survey about who listens to what. Kelly Fenton wrote a nice summary with links, and Darcy has continuing coverage over on his blog. I've followed this debate with only one eye, and don't want to restate the obvious, but I had a few random thoughts that I hope are useful:

- There's been a lot of back and forth about the methodologies of the study Teachout mentions, and I'm not competent to get into that. But what I see from the commentary critical of Teachout speaks to the perceived (often anecdotal) health of the scenes in various towns. In what I see from friends online and in person, there are certainly strong scenes in cities like NYC (duh), Boston, Portland, Seattle, and Chicago. (All of the above would qualify as the bluest of "blue cities" politically. Coincidence?) I would be interested to hear about the state of scenes in smaller cities with strong scenes historically that aren't exactly media hubs or perceived as cultural centers, and may politically run "purple or red"- places like Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Kansas City, Atlanta, Cleveland, etc. What Sarah Palin calls "real America"- and I'm not trying to get overtly political here, believe it or not. To me, that would serve as a interesting and important litmus test of where we are as a jazz economy (and that's really what Teachout is talking about), more than who is hearing some cool shit in Brooklyn. This ties into my education rant below...

- I don't know why I though of this- I can't remember the last time I heard an honest-to-God instrumental solo on pop radio (John Mayer the notable exception). Not indie rock, pop. My memories of pop radio as a kid are littered with solos, good, bad and everything in between. Pop nostalgia for me isn't complete without the opening guitar madness of "When Doves Cry", the awful sax glop on "Careless Whisper", and a dozen others not worth mentioning. Not to mention the pop tunes that sit more meaningfully on my brain- the sax intro to "What's Going On", Herbie on Stevie's "As", Brecker on "Still Crazy..." And remember the outpouring of interest when Darcy counted down sax solos? But outside of Mayer, whatever you think of him, I can't think of an honest to God guitar or sax or anything solo on I've heard on pop radio in at least a couple of years. I don't know if its that radio edits are getting shorter, or that's just out of favor, or the triumph of the producer over the songwriter or what. But I think it matters.

I am a reluctant proponent of the "gateway drug" theory of musical interest. Kids hear instruments, they get interested in playing, and some eventually find improvised music and become players and fans. I see it as a teacher. If kids aren't hearing solos on the radio, they're less likely to seek out instruments to solo on, or as listeners seek music where solos are a focus.

- While I don't agree with everything Teachout says, like everyone else I'd love to see a larger audience for all kinds of art music in this country. If I had to put all my eggs in one basket as to how to "solve" this crisis, I feel like the answer is education. Not music education, education as a whole. I worry as I watch politics, the state of the newspaper, the fate of my peers that we are living in what local writer Charlie Pierce semi-satirically calls "Idiot America", a country that can't think in a paragraph longer than a tweet, where citizens are born on third base and think they hit a triple. If we don't create a citizenry who can think in paragraphs and form and process somewhat complicated arguments about anything, we're sure as hell not going to find an audience for a twelve minute jazz composition, no matter how well it's written or how sharply it's played.

The heyday of jazz in this country, at least as a commercially viable meduim, came at the height of the American educational system, when at least a plurality of middle-class kids came out of high school able to form a geometry theorum and comprehend Shakespeare. When Bernstein could produce a young people's concert where the text doesn't sound like Barney the purple dinosaur, and get an audience. God knows this wasn't a utopia, and there was a ton of inequity, but without wider access to an education where critical thought is valued, I don't us getting anywhere beyond where we are now.

Speaking of Bernstein, this clip isn't as textually eloquent, but Dolphy is amazing:

RIP Joe Maneri

2009-08-25T12:19:00.003-04:00

In less than a month Boston has lost two of its major musical thinkers. Composer, saxophonist, NEC professor and tireless advocate of microtonality Joe Maneri has passed away. The few details available are posted on allaboutjazz from the family.

Like George, Joe was a complete individual, funny, irreverent, and passionate about his cause. I never took with him, but the man who looked like Yoda and could cuss like Joe Pesci was impossible to ignore at NEC. His microtonal class was for years late on Friday afternoon, not exactly prime time, and always attracted him a group of passionate students, many of whom came to incorporate a lot of what he was teaching into their own work as composers and player. (Many on the bandstand with him)

His website is a fascinating look at his evolution as a composer and player, especially his works page. Condolances to son Joe and his whole family.

Aaron Goldberg and Madeleine Peroux tonight!

2009-08-23T07:45:00.003-04:00

Last minute add- Youthbuild Boston is presenting a concert tonight of local hero (and former Josh Redman sideman) Aaron Goldberg and radio hit Ms. Peroux tonight at Northeastern. Proceeds benefit Rwandan rebuilding efforts. Info here.

Real blogging is on the way. I promise...

ring ring go my ears

2009-07-30T22:52:00.002-04:00

One addenda to my thoughts on George Russell, which didn't fit into an obit:

I'd known that George was in poor health for a while- Ran Blake and George were close, and when I was working for Ran five years ago people were already worried about George. I would mention that one of the contributing factors to George's health issues was tinnitus, a condition I've been dealing with for ten years. I would say that if you're ears ring in a way that bothers you, don't ignore it- it can literally drive you crazy. While there is no cure per say, several Eastern medicine treatments, meditation and diet adjustments have been very promising in coping with it. For me, yoga has been a godsend as therapy, but I know that's not the only approach. I would encourage anyone with issues here to look for help- I'm glad to answer e-mails as best I can, and send resources.

RIP George Russell

2009-07-30T22:39:00.003-04:00

Darcy and Allen Chase have good posts on George, so I'll just add a little.

Like Darcy, I heard "All About Rosie" in high school, on a Mulligan CD I happened into, and it blew me away. Just typing the title I snap into the theme of the third movement. It's at once so busy and so clear, every note exactly where it's supposed to be. And though George could be pretty heady and erudite when he was teaching, and I know a lot of theoretical thought went into his music, it always grooves, which is a testament to just how good he was.

I got to take a class with George at NEC in 2001. I will freely admit that I hated the class- George was struggling with health issues and his hearing was very poor, and he was surrounded by assistants who had all of his certainty and even hubris about the Lydian Chromatic Concept (which I don't pretend to understand at all to this day) with only a fraction of his talent. It was awkward, and I think of it as the most frustrating academic experience I've ever had- it was clear that there was sooo much information and wisdom George had to share, but at that point the roadblocks were just too many. And the only "concept" in jazz that confuses me more than Harmelodics is the Lydian Chromatic Concept. That said, I want the music it produced.

George had a unique capacity as a teacher to turn a big band on- I saw him conduct his music twice with NEC bands. Both times I heard beforehand how difficult the music was and how chaotic everything seemed. And both times I saw George seemingly will the band into a spectacular performance. In and era where too many college bands are perfect and antiseptic, the grit and greatness he brought to the bandstand is sorely missed.

RIP Merce Cunningham

2009-07-29T08:58:00.002-04:00

I knew absolutely nothing about dance growing up (except that I didn't think I was any good at it), so going to college in the same town as the Garth Fagan dance company, and getting to see them work was mind-blowing. Through that inspiration I worked backwords a little into the world of dance, and found Cunningham's work.

To me Cunningham was so inspiring because he seemed so modernistic in his style, so committed to both a very high level of virtuosity and to a style that spoke to the present he was in. I'm embarrased to say that I didn't know John Cage was his musical and personal partner through much of his life- I can only imagine how that sets off the imagination. Actually, I don't have to.

Here's an interview with Cage and Cunningham in 1981.

Matana and Ethan both have great things to say...

Gig to see: Newport, and Jody Redhage

2009-07-23T22:10:00.003-04:00

I know I've been a very dillitante blogger, but I really didn't want to blog about every yoga sub I've had this past two months, and that's really where my brain is. But:

The Newport Jazz Festival is coming back, after some hand wringing and corporations changing corporation names, will be back this summer with the legendary George Wein at the helm. (Globe story here) I'm hoping to make it, if only as a show of support for the idea of booking real music at an American jazz festival. I think Mr. Wein has found a solid balance of the bankable, if less than artistically interesting (Brubeck), with the really good (The Bad Plus, Branford) famous and intriguing that could be either amazing or totally suck (Mos Def, Chaka Kahn) with the amazing unfamous who will undoubtably kill (Rudresh Mahanthappa, Charles Gayle). And I'v been to Newport multiple times, and there's always a band who surprises- last year for me it was Christian Scott, who was much better than the image, and this year I'm rooting for either Steve Bernstein's band (I like Steve, but I've heard his band absolutely suck) or the Berklee presents group. But who knows? (The festival website is here)

Locally this week, cellist Jody Redhage hits Boston with her Fire in July trio Saturday at the Kai Aso studio by Symphony Hall. It comes with the blessings of none other than old friend Darcy James Argue, so I'll be there.

RIP Michael Jackson

2009-06-25T22:47:00.003-04:00

There's going to be a lot of trite s&^# written about MJ in the next few days. I'll leave Darcy to round up the good stuff. (The video he posts is fantastic.)

I remember being in second grade, on my linoleum kitchen floor, trying to ape MJ on "Thriller". My parents, to their ultimate credit, wouldn't get cable, so I never had a prayer. I think I was the norm, not the exception. I remember in college, occasionally at parties there would be dance-offs between some of the people in my class, and it was always Michael they were aping, not whoever was on the charts that week. Sometimes my mom talks about the effect of Elvis on her, and her peers, and their parents. I think Michael was that for my generation. Like the other two icons of that time, Prince and Madonna, he messed with just about everyone's ideas of gender and propriety and sex. (One could argue his was more necessary and less calculated than the other two, and a whole lot messier, which changed how we experienced it, but that's for someone else to blog about...)

When I was in college, some of my peers and I had some, in hindsight silly, conversations about our five "desert island" pieces. Mine were one of the movements of Bartok's 2nd string quartet, Coltrane's live recording of "I Just Want to Talk about You", Bird's strung-out version of "Lover Man", I don't remember #4, and "Baby I Want You Back." People looked at me funny, but in hindsight I have an easier time standing behind the Jackson 5 than I do Bartok. It's that perfect. I don't think that about all, or even much of MJ's catalog, but isn't that enough?

Here's my favorite of MJ's solo songs (won't allow the embed). And the version where he, even at pretty freakish, schools Britney Spears. Not that that's hard, but I remember seeing him live and remembering exactly how good he was. Check out how the first 90 seconds swing, yup, swing:

Puddle jumping

2009-06-02T22:38:00.002-04:00

The posts have been, well, nonexistent. I am working to correct, but meantime:

Tomorrow at 10pm the Transatlantic Collective is playing at Lily Pad. Friend of visionsong Jason Palmer is along for the ride. I am on the website now and really like what I hear. Check it.

(These kinds of things are why people tweet, isn't it...)

RIP K. Pattabhi Jois

2009-05-18T21:13:00.003-04:00

Pattabhi Jois, affectionately known as Guruji, is dead at age 93 or 94. Jois studied in his youth with yoga legend Krishnamacharya, and from some of his teaching developed the asana system known as Ashtanga yoga. Here is Jois talking about the practice.

I've studied Ashtanga only indirectly; the only formal Ashtanga classes I took really didn't agree with my body. But I am very grateful to Guruji nonetheless. The Ashtanga yoga format, and indeed some of the energy that makes it go, comes directly from the Ashtanga practice, and since the power practice is where I really developed, no Guruji, I'm still just playing music and probably in severe physical pain most hours of the day.

When I took a class with Indian music teacher George Ruckert, he talked about the importance of lineage in Indian music- you were my (George's) student, who was Ali Akbar Khan's student, who was x's student, etc. While I think a lot of my thoughts here in talking about jazz are critical of the limits of worshiping lineage, I think you also lose a lot when you fail to acknowledge it at all. So I am personally blessed by Guruji's life and teaching, and wish him great things on his next journey.

on the radio, uh-oh

2009-05-11T21:07:00.002-04:00

This comes via Eric Jackson, WGBH jazz impressario. It is a release from Sue Auclair, a local jazz promoter. I heard Jeff Turton's announcement on Sunday morning, but wanted to wait until I knew more to post:

Boston-MA--May 11, 2009--Jazz host *Jeff Turton* announced today that WFNX FM has cancelled his show, */The Sunday Jazz Brunch/*, as of his show yesterday and after 26 years on the air on Sunday mornings.

“I got a call late last week informing me that this past Sunday would be my last show. The reason being given is budget cuts related to diminished revenues at both ‘FNX and at the /Boston Phoenix/. While I wasn't surprised, given the nature of the newspaper business and radio in general, I am incredibly disappointed. I’m not sure where to go next but I guess I'll sleep in for a couple of weekends and then figure it out. I still plan on being active in some way but everything happened pretty quickly so I really haven't had much of an opportunity to figure out what's next,” noted Turton in an e-mail Monday morning.

Legendary jazz concert promoter *Fred Taylor* weighed in. “I think it shows WFNX’s total lack of acknowledgement of Boston’s arts community. To cut one lonely jazz show like this which represents a basic American art form from the station’s 24-7 programming is unconscionable,” he said upon hearing the news.

“Jeff Turton has been a jazz resource for Boston listeners for 26 years. He hosted the go-to show on Sunday morning radio, and he will definitely be missed.” stated noted jazz writer and Marsalis Music Creative Consultant *Bob Blumenthal*.

Last week came the news that WGBH FM jazz host* Ron Gill* would be moving to South Carolina to live with relatives after 23 years on the radio here and the jazz scene held its collective breath and wondered who would be his replacement host. Then the word came that his show would be covered by a syndicated show taped on the west coast by Bob Parlocha.
Next there was a call from WGBH 9 year veteran jazz DJ *Al Davis*. “I can’t book any guests on the show until I speak with WGBH. They’ve called me in for a meeting and it sounds serious,” said Al to publicist Sue Auclair.

Tuesday, May 15 brought the news that ALL of the */Jazz Gallery/* hosts would be departing at the end of May. That included Davis on overnight Fridays, 15 year veteran *Kevin Ball* overnight on Saturdays and *Ron Gill*, overnight on Sundays.
All live-hosted weekend jazz shows will be gone, as of May 26 and the new programming will feature “Jazz With Bob Parlocha,” the program that is syndicated nationally and now already airs on 89.7 FM overnights on weeknights.

This is very bad news. I haven't been able to listen to FNX's jazz show much, partially due to my schedule, partially because I thought he veered to poppy, too often, but both musicians and promoters say great things about him, and I have memories of him playing this crazy 20 minute Sun Ra tune almost every Sunday when I was a kid.

I was hoping to (and still plan to) write a piece on the state of jazz in Boston right now in light of Boston Jazz Week. I was actually feeling pretty optimistic going into it. Not so much right this instant.

Gigs to see in May

2009-05-07T09:36:00.003-04:00

I'll be adjusting this, so check back, but here are highlights:

Top picks:

Go down and see Darcy James Argue release his CD at Galapagos in Brooklyn. I only wish I could...

5/10 (Sun) 9:30- David Ryshpen and Indigone @ Lily Pad. Leo Genovese follows

5/21-22- Bill Frisell and 858 Quartet @ Regattabar

5/27- Tom Harrell Quintet @ Regattabar

The Rest:

Tonight (5/7) Hear Hear w/Allan Chase and Jorrit Dikstra @ Lily-Pad

5/10- Lake Street Dive @ Toad (Free!)

5/12- Mike Stern w/Weckl etc. @ Regattabar

5/13 Bjorkestra @ Scullers

5/13 Anna Hoffman Big Band @ Ryles

5/13 (busy night!) Jerry Bergonzi @ Beehive

5/25 Phil Grenadier @ Beehive

5/23- Aaron Goldberg @ Regattabar

Bells will ring

2009-04-30T17:27:00.002-04:00

Whew, now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

May calendar is coming, but before it's too late. Bell, featuring old friends Olga Bell and Jason Nazary, is playing TT the Bear's tonight at 10:45 ish. An early teaching date will probably keep me home, but Olga's music is great.

Then, on Saturday night, Cuddle Magic plays the Lizard Lounge. Never have so many played so quietly. Check it.

we don't always get to know

2009-04-29T18:14:00.004-04:00

I got a couple of e-mails in response to my post about Gabe Feld's death- people who knew Gabe, but who I don't know, wanting to know more, and especially know why. (I want to know too, dammit) I wanted to post an (abridged) version of one of my replies. Details about the recipient are deleted for obvious reasons. Maybe it's useful to someone else:

I wish I had more answers for you- I didn't know Gabe really well; we ran in some of the same circles, and David Vendetti mentored both of us, but we weren't close. I actually hadn't seen him for awhile. I've heard scuttlebutt about what exactly happened, but beyond what I posted I don't know for sure, so don't want to spread information I'm not sure about. No one I've talked to saw this coming.

The especially confusing and maddening part of this situation is that Gabe was always, as you said, the bright light encouraging everyone to shine, and he wouldn't follow his own encouragement. When I let myself feel, I get profoundly angry at him for all the mess he left here and the pain he brought forth by his leaving. The key for me is not to try to bury how I feel, but to let it out. If you're sad and haunted or angry or even giddy and whatever else, feel that completely, don't deny it's validity.

My teacher David was saying that he's noticed in his grief that when he's with people, when he's doing his work and offering it up to Gabe's memory, it goes better than if he stays by himself and shuts off. So I would encourage you to reach out to people in your life now- talk to the yoga friends, seek out our other teachers, talk to friends or family. Look at gabe's facebook page, all those people pouring out their hearts. I'm sure that any of them, if Gabe asked, would've come running to him and held his hand, and talked him through. I'm equally confident, though I don't know you, that you have those people too. Use them now.

I appreciate your confusion about yoga and breathwork- it's completely understandable. I feel oddly lucky in that I've had yoga teachers who are brilliant teachers, thinkers and motivators who don't necessarily walk the talk very welll. It drives home to me that our lives don't magically shift just because we land on the mat or breathe big. It is a constant process, one step forwards and two steps back, and we fall often. I love yoga because when I'm practicing or now teaching I feel like I can't help but put my best foot forward and shine. But that doesn't make the other foot disappear- indeed, I couldn't walk without it. I don't think- no, I know that Gabe's passing doesn't in any way diminish his work while he was here. It just means he has another foot too.

I am reminded of a story that Ram Dass tells in one of his books, where a disciple asks one of Ram Dass' gurus one of the "big questions"- is there reincarnation, why are we here, what happens when we die, something like that. The teacher smiled and said "that's none of our business." I think his point was not to be stern or awful, but to point out that our work is here and now, being, breathing feeling, and looking for big answers can take us away from that work. This is one of those things that we never get to know, because it's ultimately none of our business, as cruel as that seems. Our business is being here now. We who he leaves behind can only commit to doing our work, and honor the joy he brought us by spreading it.

I realize that's probably a longer non-answer than you were looking for, but I hope it helps. I hope I see you around.

He juggled fire and it consumed him

2009-04-26T22:16:00.002-04:00

RIP Gabriel Feld. The Boston yoga community is reeling this weekend from Gabe's very sudden passing. I knew Gabe from his work with my teacher David Vendetti- he was a very warm soul, a fire juggler (literally), and a passionate yogi and teacher.

Gabe committed suicide, which makes his passing that much more painful and frustrating to those he leaves behind. This is the second suicide I've seen this year in my yoga circles (proof, I suppose, that the practice, as amazing as it is, is not a panacea) I would point back to the post I wrote after Boston frontman Rob Delp died. I have no personal experience with clinical depression, so I can only imagine how alone one feels. But I know for certain from the suicides I've seen that the people who died were so loved, and so supported, that if they had called for help people would've come running. I encouraged my classes today, if you think you need help, please ask, and be completely available to help when you're needed. I don't ever want to write this obit again.

Getting so much larger than life...

2009-04-26T19:14:00.005-04:00

Congrats to two old comrades on some worthy recognition:

Darcy James Argue was featured this week in Newsweek as part of a piece about New Amsterdam Records. I'm psyched for the new album to hit, so much so that I'll actually buy my own copy rather than crib a press one. You should do likewise. I hope none of this swells his head too much, and that he'll still let me crash on his couch occasionally...

Page one of the endangered Boston Globe featured the new indie film sensation "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench", featuring none other than amazing local trumpeter Jason Palmer. I am very blessed to work with Jason occasionally, and not surprisingly he's never mentioned the film to me- he's that kind of guy. But he is an absolutely amazing player- I'm still in awe years later of just how much he kills my music every time he plays it. By coincidence, I also have met Desire Garcia, the female lead, in academic circles. Jason mentioned on his Facebook that he was trying to set up a Boston screening soon- I hope so.

And the twelve-bar, anyone, anyone?

2009-04-21T14:23:00.003-04:00

He's not as loaded as Ben Stein, but Ethan Iverson wants to give you $100 to blog about jazz. Go, you know you want to.

On that note, I need to update the blogroll- this is school vacation/catch up week, so stay tuned.

On another note, as I mentioned in the gig list, the Jazz Composers' Workshop Band is playing NEC tonight at 8pm. Especially in light of all the talk about big band in the blogosphere lately, it'll be interesting to see what the next generation is thinking (and writing) about.

The rest of the gigs to see for April

2009-04-16T17:21:00.004-04:00

It's actually a good month for music here in Boston. I'm sure I'm missing something- send it along:

Tonight (4/16)- Hey Rim Jeon @ Ryles

Tomorrow (4/17) - Fly @ Regattabar

Tomorrow- Roy Haynes Tribute w/Roy Hargrove @ Harvard University

Tomorrow- Jennifer Kimball @ Passim

Every Tuesday- Sessions Americana @ Lizard Lounge

Tuesday 4/21- New England Conservatory Jazz Composers' Ensemble

Wednesday 4/22 Kevin Harris Project @ Scullers

Thursday 4/23 Nick Payton @ Scullers

Friday 4/24 Frank Carlberg record release, followed by Allan Chase @ Lily Pad

4/25 starts "Jazz Week" in Boston (more on this later)

4/29 3 Play w/Phil Grenadier @ Lily Pad

4/30 Third World Love feat. Avishi Cohen @ Regattabar

4/30 Five Peace Band: Corea/McLaughlin/Garrett/McBride/Blade @ Berklee Performance Center

4/30 Jeff Galindo w/Jerry Bergonzi @ Beehive

5/2 Cuddle Magic @ Lizard Lounge

Florencio Gonzalez Big Band @ Ryles

2009-04-16T10:23:00.003-04:00

After all the hulabaloo online this past month about a recent big band canon (more on that later), I was excited to see a young big band live for the first time in awhile. I stumbled on Ms. Gonzales in researching my "gigs to see" post for March, and was really struck by the music I heard. I caught a (short) second set at Ryles last night. While I didn't hear anything that would vault her onto Mr. Kirchner's must hear list, Ms. Gonzalez is a fine young writer well worth following.

The set opened with an arrangement of Sonny Rollins' "Blue 7" that sounded like it had evolved out of a school writing project- very smart dissonant opening, harmonized melody, solos with various backgrounds, sax soli, and out. (across the chart Florencia showed a cheeky way with endings.) She followed with "a 12 tone tune" (she actually never gave any chart titles from the stage, which was mildly annoying, especially for a reviewer). It was an interesting piece, shifting temops and feels while keeping the pitch material present, mixing in short solos throughout. There were some nice spots, particularly towards the end when a groove started after a slow unison band line, but the piece as a whole didn't quite hang together. The soloists here did a nice job of using the more atonal language of the piece to build their solos around. (Maybe they read Ethan's request on this.) Trombonist Ryan Drayson (forgive me, I'm going by my notes) stood out.

The last two pieces were the best of the set, introduced as a tango and a chacarerra (sp?). The tango leads off her website, but was a little quicker this evening. Both tunes were orchestrally bright and rhythmically engaging, with sharp writing throughout. Overall the solos here were workmanlike- for my taste too often the solos didn't necessarily take the music anywhere, but the soloists themselves were engaged and solid, if not wildly interesting. The huge band, augmented with a lot of extra woodwind players, was generally tight, quite an accomplishment with some very daring charts and I'm sure not much rehearsal time. I'm excited to see as Ms. Gonzalez continues to evolve what she writes, because there is much here to enjoy.

More April gigs to see

2009-04-14T18:10:00.003-04:00

I hope to have a fuller list tomorrow, but highlights for this week:

Fly, with Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier and Ben Street are following their well;-hyped new record with two nights with Berklee students at Cafe 939, Wednesday and Thursday, and a more traditional Friday night at the Regattabar. I'm going to try to make Thursday- get there early, it will be a mob scene, I expect.

The Tipton Quartet, featuring Lounge Lizard Jessica Lurie, will play with the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble at Dante's Club in Somerville (Map here). The story behind the group is fascinating, and the playing is good too...

For all, I care

2009-03-23T07:22:00.004-04:00

it's all about the commas. Meanwhile...

The Bad Plus dissect their classical "covers" on the new album, with video and choreography to boot. I'm jealous, and now curious to hear about the cover covers. (The epic series of Wynton posts is great to, and has been discussed roundly on the interweb.)

Ryshpen thinks about how to approach the avant-garde if you're on the outside looking in.

The last month plus of stuff over at D:Out, especially the Ornette and the Headhunters stuff, is fantastic.

I'm baffled by twitter, much as I am by texting, but it certainly has possibilities as a kind of haiku, as being explored by old friend Jed Wilson and Christopher Walken. Also, many congratulations to Jed and his wife Deena on their new baby!

My bracket picks on Facebook are in the top 2 percent, with 15 of the Sweet 16 still in, which gets me a whopping 7,448th place. I'm so proud... (hides in corner)

Dave Douglas gets asked about practicing. Many of the responses are great, and I'll try to pick this thread up soon.

If you missed it, old friend Rudresh Mahanthappa was on Fresh Air earlier this month. The whole thing is great, but the sound clips of Carnatic saxophone playing blew my mind.

Gigs to see- March/early April

2009-03-17T19:51:00.003-04:00

I missed a lot of good ones so far in March, but there's still plenty to check out

Best bets (three way tie)

3/20-21: Cassandra Wilson @ the Regattabar (waaay too expensive, but she is amazing)
3/28- huge bill of Quartet of Happiness, Scurvy, the amazing Mostly Other People Do the Killing and Ronald Reagan at the Cambridge Y
4/3- The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis @ Berklee Performance Center

Other good stuff

3/24- Jeremy Pelt @ Regattabar (so far I'm not convinced of him. Somebody change my mind)
3/26- Christian Scott Quintet @ Scullers
3/26-7- Kenny Barron @ Regattabar
3/28- Eric Friedlander @ Lily Pad
3/28 Jenny Scheinmann @ Regattabar (somebody tell me why they all have to be on the same night?)
4/3-4/4- John Scofield @ Regattabar
4/15 Florencia Gonzales Big Band @ Ryles

I have my tickets to The Bad Plus, want to get to Chrstian Scott after what I heard at Newport and have to decide between all those gigs on the 28th- MOPDTK probably win.

See a couple people I ain't got to in a minute.

2009-03-17T19:40:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to get back to blogging after this very long hiatus- my life has been insanely busy. Mostly good busy, but very busy. A few personal updates:

- I am about three months away from completing a 500 hour yoga teacher training at South Boston Yoga, which is absolutely amazing, but pretty all consuming, especially for someone with no background in human anatomy. If you're in Boston and haven't taken class with David or Todd, the co-owners yet, I can't recommend it highly enough.

- I am also teaching a lot more yoga, regularly at Spirit Bear Power Yoga, and soon Equinox on Franklin Street, in addition to the Beacon Hill chain, and as a sub at the beautiful new A Little Yoga in Wellesley. I will be updating the teaching page soon.

- I am hoping to finish album #3, a collection of duos, some dating back several years, this summer with some live Johnny Carcrash performances. Stay tuned.

There are about seven thousand things that have caught my eye in blogdonia, and I'm hoping to say more about it in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

They'll help you conserve

2009-02-04T16:02:00.002-05:00

I'm slow on concert stuff this month, but two I can't make but really want to: New England Conservatory is showcasing the music of faculty member and brilliant pianist Anthony Coleman tonight at 8pm in Brown Hall, and the remarkable Lee Konitz tomorrow night. The concert is billed as "the music of Lee Konitz", so I don't know how much he'll actually play, but even if it's only one tune, that's worth the whole evening. Lee also had a workshop today that I found out after the fact I could've made... aaargh.

Looking again, waiting to hear.

2009-01-23T10:50:00.001-05:00

First, a little housekeeping- I've finally gone in and fixed the comment settings on blogger so that comments come to my e-mail. My apologies to those who had to wait awhile for their comments to post- that should not be an issue anymore. As can be seen by the last post, one of the best things about blogging is the lively conversation it can create, especially from an engaged and literate readership (that's you). So go ahead, pat yourself on the back.

Finishing the thought behind that last post, while in hindsight I clearly chose a bad example to make my point, I'd like to hear other opinions, about my broader point. Too often, especially in Boston in the past couple of years, I've been frustrated by “performances” where the artists, often some young avant unit, play with no thought whatsoever given to the actual performing of the music beyond simply notes and rhythms- how they look, how they address the audience (or don't). And institutions, including schools, that seem to at least tolerate it, or at the worst encourage it. I don't know if it's ignorance, or some sort of artistic noblesse-oblige or just being dumb, but I've seen it enough recently to be bothered by it, and to wonder about what, if any, are the broader implications. Do we further marginalize the audience for this music when we play this way?

I'm no huge fan of all the rather archaic rituals that surround an orchestra concert- it's too stuffy for me, and often encourages an atmosphere that almost seems to encourage all but the cognizanti to stay away. (Which, I suppose at one time, may have been the whole point) But I feel there is a grave danger in going too far the other way, which I feel like I'm seeing a lot of, more than I'm used to, and much more than I'm comfortable with. Do I care too much about this? Thoughts?

These are extraordinary qualities.

2009-01-23T10:42:00.002-05:00

Overlooked in all of the Oscar hype for "Slumdog" was the other song in the best song category, Peter Gabriel's "Down to Earth". This was one of my favorite songs of the year, from my absolutely favorite movie.

I thought it was interesting, and kind of cool, that two of the three songs nominated were from the closing of each film, two of my favorite credit sequences ever. (If you missed the end of Wall*E, go back and watch again. ) I hope Gabriel wins, but I think it'll be one of the "Slumdog" songs, as a make-up for other awards it may not get. Ah, awards shows...

Let All Those Who Do Justice and Love Mercy say Amen!

2009-01-20T23:22:00.002-05:00

I know that Barack Obama is a politician first and an idealist second- that's why he's where he is- but I pray that he can be the leader we need, and we are strong and clear enough to hold his feet to the fire. Amen!

You look like what I hear

2009-01-19T13:20:00.004-05:00

On Saturday evening I made my annual trip to hear the Boston Modern Orchestra Project's "Boston ConNECtions" concert, which celebrates their long relationship with New England conservatory, and features primarily Boston composers' work. The concert featured several premieres, including of Michael Gandolfi's shimmery, fun new bass trombone concerto, Peter Maxwell Davies' striking bass (!) concerto, and a new piece by William Thomas McKinley celebrating some of Boston's notable musical citizens. (The George Russell movement, of course, ended on the #4) They also debuted a student commission, an annual event, this year Matti Kovler's "Jew Among the Indians (Cokboy)", a dramatic setting of a Depression-era poem about a Jew living on a Navajo reservation.

I honestly don't know what I thought of the piece one way or the other, because I couldn't get past seeing Mr. Kovler performing as the narrator in his own piece. He looked like he had just fallen out of bed- he wore a sweater with the collar rumpled up haphazardly, blue jeans and sneakers. His hair looked unkempt, his face like he hadn't shaved for three days. He looked so bizzarly out of place in front of the (generally very stylish, I might add) all black-clad orchestra. My date for the concert had the same reaction.

I wouldn't mention this, and I know maybe it's not fair to single Mr. Kovler out, but I've thought about it several times over the past year. I've gone to a show jazz, classical and otherwise, when paying sometimes substantial money to see a performance, and the performer dressing and acting on stage in a way that never acknowledges it. While I've never said anything, I've definitely noticed, and it's always I think subconsciously biased me against whoever I'm seeing. We're paying to see a performance, dammit, not just a string of notes, and I'd appreciate at least a modicum of effort to acknowledge that. Rock acts from The Clash to Coldplay to whoever certainly are very aware of that, no matter what they look like, and lots has been made over the years about how jazz musicians from Miles to Mingus to Duke to the Art Ensemble present a performance.

I'm not saying we should all go Young Lion again and wear suits to a $10 gig again- I would certainly hate it- but when I perform I think about what I wear for either fashion, or theatricality or both. If I'm soloing with an orchestra (which, of course, hasn't happened) I take that into account in how I dress. (If I'm going to or playing at Lily Pad or the Sidewalk in New York, obviously, I care a lot less) If he'd dressed in a way that acknowledged the material but wasn't "dressy", I know I'd have a different reaction, and might have heard the piece better.

While I'm grateful that the mores of concert performance have gotten a lot less stuffed shirt, have we gone too far the other way in the way we present music. In jazz and improvised music, has this been a detriment, a boon, or something else? Or am I getting too cranky in my old age? Thoughts/rants/feedback appreciated.

UPDATE: See the comments section- clearly my reaction was not universally shared, and there was much more to it than I saw. Had I been able to go to the pre-concert talk, or seen Mr. Kovler afterwards, I might have responded differently. He was going for something that I didn't get. As I said, I am more interested in larger issues of performance presentation that this one case, and maybe this was the wrong example to use. More tomorrow.

tea by sea by T buses

2009-01-16T10:08:00.003-05:00

Last night I went to Sub Rosa, local singer Rose Politano's occasional hootenanny at the Lizard Lounge. Apparently each time she does this show she has what she calls the Stranger segment, a sort of gong show where someone who she hears about somehow is invited, and sings a couple of tunes. Last night it was Becca Stevens, best know in my circles as the voice of Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra. (review from last years Winter JazzFest here) I don't think anyone in the room knew who she was, and she proceeded to blow everyone away with very twisty tunes, tight three part harmony with her band of bassist and accordianist, and a tremendous amount of poise.

Rose afterwards in a little interview segment teased her about needing a band name, and a couple of the musicians present and I agreed that the music leans too heavily on Sufjan Stevens' influence. But she was asked back for an encore, and knocked us out again.

I mention this because Becca is playing Lily Pad tonight at 7pm. Go check her out, you won't be disappointed.

P.S. Due to the limits of my small reptilian brain I mixed Becca up with Jean Rohe, another up and coming New School grad, to her face. My apologies to both parties.

Music to see in Boston, Jan. 09

2009-01-12T13:13:00.002-05:00

This is late (and small), but here goes:

Highlight: Josh Redman double trio @ Berklee Performance Center, 1/22

1/17: Either/Orchestra @ Regattabar
1/20: Bill Frisell Trio @ Regattabar
1/23-4: Kenny Garrett @ Regattabar
1/23-4: Pat Martino at Scullers

The Fringe is still at the Lily Pad every Monday night at 10. In addition, there is a cool new Sunday night series that Gil Ahorn, the owner is running. Details here.

Also, for some reason the Ryles schedule is not working online. Not a good sign. If you have it, or think I missed something, please e-mail me.

It's time for an orgy

2009-01-12T11:26:00.003-05:00

First, sorry to be so absent from the blogworld recently, especially with so much cool stuff passing through lately. (You'll see what's been keeping me busy, hopefully, on the blog soon) In the meantime, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Boston is, in addition to being knee-deep in snow, in the center of WHRB's annual orgy season, where they play hours and hours in a row of a single artist or theme. I missed the first week, and I'm not particularly interested in the five days of Mendhlesson they are currently playing, but there is some interesting stuff coming:

Friday 1/15 8pm- Saturday 1/16 5am: History of Hip-Hop orgy
Saturday 1/16 5am -7pm Jazz Funk orgy. Should be a lot of the good, the bad and the ugly from the 70s.
Sunday 1/17 - Met broadcast of Doctor Atomic. Not an orgy, but something I'm excited for.
Tuesday 1/20 2pm- "Jazz for Change"
Thursday 1/22 to Friday 1/23, various times- Elliot Carter orgy
Tuesday 1/29- the John Zorn orgy.

I would note that compared to years past, this is a very weak orgy season for jazz, and just about everything non-classical. Do we really need days and days of Martinu, and only one orgy dedicated exclusively to anything even remotely jazz (Zorn)? I've been very disheartened recently with the Boston jazz scene, and particularly the media's indifference. For instance, in their year in review columns, the Boston Globe had classical and pop reviews from their big guns, but not a word about jazz. And they have Steve Greenlee, a very solid and underrated critic, is nowhere to be found. The Globe is currently in a crunch, like all papers, but to see jazz increasingly written off there is disturbing.

More soon...

Wayning thoughts

2008-12-17T12:37:00.004-05:00

(Note: I had a version of this post ready to go a couple of days after the concert, and my hard drive got wiped. So, here is how I remember it, plus the lucky addition of a run-in I had with one of the band's members, the great Danielo Perez)

A night after Wayne Shorter celebrated his 75th birthday in New York, his great quartet played a packed house in Boston. Both Dave Douglas and Ben Ratliff covered Wayne's Carnegie Hall hit beautifully, and I feel like I gave my best shot at a nuts and bolts review of this group at Newport this summer, so below are just a few thoughts I had at the show, and after.

One thing that struck me this time around was how much better Patitucci sounds with this band than he did when they first started playing. I remember several folks who saw them with me in '03 mentioning that no one, including John, was exactly clear on what his role was, because this band doesn't use a bass player in the conventional sense. At this gig, he and Danielo especially were bouncing ideas off each other, moving back and forth. Patitucci also bowed much more this last time, not just during "solos", creating a very broad thick texture for the others to paint on.

The word I kept coming back to in listening to the band was "cinematic". Ratliff in his review mentioned some of the tunes the band touched. I felt like I recognized bits, and certainly heard when pieces of forms returned, but I couldn't name anything they played this time out specifically. But I could easily imagine this music underneath a fight scene on film, or an earthquake, or a noir horror theme. And I mean that literally- I don't know if the timing would work, but it felt as good for the movies as anything Danny Elfman does. Wayne's love of movies is well known, and to me this band feels like it's able to bring that love to the fore, without ever quoting the "Superman" theme. (as Wayne is wont to do)

Today I bumped into Danielo Perez at a local coffee shop as he was finishing business at New England Conservatory. We chatted a little about the gig, and working with Wayne, and here is (not verbatim) what he has to say about it right now:

"I don't know if I have words for it. I feel like I've gotten more patient. Like I'm uncovering something- rubbing and rubbing at it until it shines. (puts his sleeve on his briefcase and rubs it in circles.) I can't explain what it is I'm finding, but I think I understand now. It's like I'm walking in several different dimensions at the same time, just with everything..."

I hope to see him again soon and try to pin him down, but for now I'll chew on that...

Gigs to see in December

2008-12-01T13:06:00.002-05:00

You must see: Wayne Shorter Quartet at Berklee, this Wednesday, 12/3. (Guys, is $44 for the upper balcony really necessary? C'mon!) I bought my tickets on Friday, and it looked like it may sell out. I wrote about the quartet in my Newport blog- an absolute must see.

Otherwise, while January looks promising, December is a little slow. But the highlights:

12/3 "The Final Task" big band @ Lily Pad
12/4 Flatlands Collective @ Lily Pad
12/7 Allan Chase New Quartet @ Lily Pad
12/12 Karyn Allison @ Scullers
12/14 Mike Gamble @ Lily Pad

I have to say the Sunday nights Gil is putting together at the Lily Pad are definitely worth checking out- good house bands, and a lot of interesting guests.

12/31 First Night Boston features the Makada Project. And many other cool things.

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette @ Symphony Hall 10/27/08

2008-10-27T11:49:00.004-04:00

Walking into Symphony Hall, I was wondering what I could write about this concert. I've seen the Standards Trio multiple times, and they've always put on a brilliant, beautiful, and fairly predictable show. Lots of standards, at least one ten minute vamp at the end of a tune The inevitable tension of "Will Keith freak out at the audience?" Basically, every trio record ever recorded, plus a little drama. This has been the knock on Keith for years, especially among musicians. For his part, Keith insists, as he restated in concert notes distributed at the doors, that the point of the trio, even after 25 years, is that the vessel of the presentation is so much less important than the content.

He proved it tonight. Whether planned or not, the first set was mostly movie themes: "Green Dolphin Street" (people forget it was a movie, after all) "Someday My Prince Will Come", a beautiful dark ballad I didn't recognize, before moving to a blues. Keith opened the concert with a big, billowy piano introduction, almost Chopin-ish, before moving into a beautifully swung performance. The band took "Prince" at a really hard, medium-slow tempo, and for most of Keith's solo, Jack kept a 2-beat brush pattern going, and was dropping little bombs through his pattern, turning a cute waltz into a pretzel of a tune. The ballad (can anyone who was there help me with the name) was gorgeous, with the band using a much more elastic time sense than I'm used to. Keith would lead into the bridge with almost a pregnant pause, with everyone landing in the bridge literally seconds behind where you'd expect it. At times it reminded me of how the Motion trio plays ballads.

The second set started with another ballad I didn't recognize, before moving into "Innocence", a Keith original from the European quartet days, which really surprised me. Keith proceeded to tear it up, taking on of the most virtuosic solos I've ever heard from him or possibly anyone else, rolling in, around and through the changes at lightspeed. He further surprised with his first encore, taking "When I Fall in Love", the warhorse of warhorses for this group, from the usual reverence the trio shows it and swinging it really hard, with Keith almost not stopping his solo for Gary to come in, then coming back after the bass solo swinging even harder.

Keith himself even seemed surprised with how the night went, saying after Innocence- "I can't say anything about this group that matches what you just heard." I can say that to their usual brilliance, they added the element of surprise, something I hope they'll keep in the book.

Daily musings

2008-09-29T15:22:00.002-04:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I did this...

- A last minute concert announcement: Judy Silvano performs tonight at Lily Pad with Joe Lovano and the Fringe. I reviewed a similar gig last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Anytime you can see Garzone and Lovano on the same bill, and for only $10, how can you miss?

- I did get to most of the okayokay set last Thursday, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The trio of Khabu, vocalist Kyoko Kitamura and woodwind freak Mike McGinnis rolled through a whimsical set of songs and improvisations, riffs on the Weekly World News, e.e. cummings, and original loops. Khabu is playing a lot more mandolin, in addition to his burning otherworldly electrics, which in a strange way grounds the proceedings. A lot of fun.

- Congratulations to Miguel Zinon on the announcement of his MacArthur fellowship, a truly remarkable event. Darcy opines about it. I'm still listening to some of Miguel's solo stuff- I'm not that farmiliar with them- thinking hard about this one and what it could mean. More soon.

Ok, OK, Okay!

2008-09-25T12:38:00.003-04:00

A last minute heads up- OkayOkay, featuring old friends and bandmates Mike McGinnis and Khabu, are making their only local appearance tonight at 10pm at the Lily Pad. Should be fantastic, so come out already...

More blogging tomorrow, finally, I promise!

Four Across tonight at Berklee

2008-09-12T13:46:00.003-04:00

Last minute update- good friend and infrequent stagemate Carmen Staaf is part of a concert tonight at Berklee (the old Boylston street building) with Four Across, a great unit of former Seattlites. 7pm. Here's the myspace, go hit the gig.

Paul Motion Trio at the Vanguard 9/2/08

2008-09-03T09:46:00.003-04:00

A trip to the Vanguard can feel a little like a pilgrimage- the place basically looks the same as it has for many years- only a few pictures on the wall seem to change. Everywhere there are references to all the amazing albums made there. It seems doubly so when the Motion/Frisell/Lovano trio play there. At this point, their two week run at the end of every summer is often their only one in the states, and over thirty years they have built a reputation as on of, if not the, best small group in jazz.

So when tenor saxophonist and longtime Motion collaborator Bill McHenry walked on the stage with his horn, it felt like going to a high Mass and seeing someone with a yamulkah on the altar. No explanation was ever given, and the band went through an hour of its typical music- several Motion originals recognizable from their albums, as well as "Good Morning Heartache", Body and Soul", and "Misterioso". But my concert companion and I were more than a little jarred by it. (I don't know if this was a one night thing; the Vanguard website still lists Lovano for the whole run)

The music, was needless to say, different. Both Motion and Frisell are angluar, even sometimes jagged players, and Lovano's big gruff sound and long, full twisty lines have always been a great counterbalance, connecting thread. McHenry has a slightly smaller, darker sound, and plays in short, jerky bursts more than lines, which gave the music a feeling of a lot of the same thing. Early in the set was very effective- it was obvious that everyone was listening tremendously hard, and the interplay and ideas kicking around were remarkable. And of course, Frisell and Motian are old hands, and can toss off brilliant music together in their sleep. But as the set went on Motion and Frisell seemed to move more towards how they would play if Lovano were there, and it left big holes in the music, all rough and no smooth. McHenry is a very, very good player, and to his credit I never once felt like I was listening to someone play like Lovano. And perhaps further into the run, they'll establish more common ground.

I'd be interested to hear who knows what, and if Lovano will be back for any of the run.
.

Upcoming yoga events in Boston

2008-09-02T13:26:00.005-04:00

The yoga community in Boston, in my experience, is a wonderful group of people who have a tough time coordinating anything. As a result, there is a tremendous burst of yoga-related benefits and events in Boston these coming weeks. Many are worth checking, most haven't been well publicized. Here are highlights:

Wednesday YogaMonth, a national campaign, rolls into Boston. (An all day event on a Wednesday? Right as school starts? Who planned this puppy?) That said, there are several great teachers leading workshops, including the nationally renowned Timothy McCall M.D., and a concert with Donna de Lorey, who seems to have successfully translated some of Madonna's forays into yoga music into something a little more coherent and reverent.

Saturday Sept. 13- a fashion and photography show at the Intercontinental Hotel to benefit YogaHope. I will be playing with my trio at the reception. Despite rave reviews from all of our service partners and a lot of great recent press, YogaHope recently had to cut its Seattle programs due to lack of funding, so any help they can get is critical.

Sunday Sept. 21- Global Mala, a project Shiva Rea has been leading nationally, rolls into Boston. I am especially looking forward to the AcroJam in the afternoon.

October, date TBA- one of my first yoga teachers, Rebecca Pacheco, leads a benefit class for a charter school she works with in Boston. Details TBA.

November 16? (will confirm)- The annual 108 Sun Salutations to benefit YogaHope and Pathways to Wellness at SportsClub LA. Details and a link when I have it.

On a personal note, I will no longer be teaching on Thursday evenings in Brookline, and new classes and workshops will hopefully be added soon!

And like a Bolt I'm off

2008-09-02T13:15:00.004-04:00

With the school year fast approaching, and the realization that I haven't left the state of Massachusetts all summer, I'm on the Boltbus down to NYC for a couple of days. The itinerary, beyond the usual seeacouplepeopleIain'tgottoinaminute (subject, of course, to radical change at any time) :

Music: Moition/Frisell/Lovano at the Vanguard tonight. (If you haven't seen them, drop what you're doing and go NOW. They're there for two weeks- no excuses.)

Tomorrow I'm going to try to hit the new LPR to see Nasheet Waits and the two trios he's involved in. Everything I see and here about the venue is so positive. (I thought about trying for the Zorn/Reed hit, but I dont' think I can handle that scene.)

Yoga: I hope to hit Yoga for the People and Big Apple Power Yoga, the new Baptiste affiliate in NYC.

On a totally unrelated note, it's the time of year where like so many other grunts, I put together my fantasy football team. I think I'm going to use the Facebook app this year, so if you're on facebook and want to form a league, let me know.

If you see me, please say hi. Suggestions are always welcome.

Gigs to see- September edition

2008-08-20T11:17:00.002-04:00

First, I realized that I've reviewed Bill Frisell more than any other artists here, so I'll spare you a blow-by-blow of his wonderful solo set last weekend. Suffice to say, it was great. I'm in a yoga teacher training all of next week, so here in advance is the good stuff on the schedule for September:

Every Wednesday at 10pm- Kaufman/Bergonzi/Gertz/Guerrero at Lily Pad

9/5 Mitch Marcus Group @ Lily Pad
9/9 Noah Preminger @ Scullers
9/10-11 Chris Potter @ Regattabar
9/11 Oregon @ Scullers
9/12-13 Danielo Perez @ Regattabar
9/12 Michael Bates and Outside Sources at Lily Pad
9/18-20 Dave Holland Sextet @ Regattabar
9/24-26 Saxophone Summitt (Lovano, Liebman, Coltrane) @ Regattabar

More as I find 'em...

Frisell is in Boston tonight!

2008-08-16T15:02:00.002-04:00

A last minute add- the inimitable Bill Frisell will be performing tonight (solo, I assume, but I don't know) at the Cambridge Y with Daniel Bennett's band opening. And there are still tickets. I will be there, and will blog, but it's a great chance to see Frisell in a small venue.

Newport Jazz Festival, Saturday 8/9, Fort Adams State Park

2008-08-10T21:47:00.007-04:00

I haven’t been to the Newport Jazz Festival in more than fifeen years. I have lots of warm fuzzy memories from that weekend- it was the summer that the living members of Miles’ 60s band reunited to tour, Jack Dejohnette played a set with unannounced guest Bobby McFerrin, and so on. I also remember a small crowd- rain scared a lot of people away. So I was in no way prepared for my trip back today. I hope I don’t sound nostalgic or old fogey, but everything seemed much… bigger. More parking, longer walks from parking, a ginormous main stage, with big lights and video screens, and two side stages to boot, both just off the main entrance.

I got in just in time to see Brian Blade and Fellowship on the larger side stage. Blade was the second busiest man at the festival, leaving his band and immediately moving to the big stage to play with Wayne. (the busiest easily was Chris Potter, playing six sets with four bands this weekend, including a turn with Herbie on Sunday.) Fellowship (Blade, reedmen Myron Waldron and Melvin Butler, pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Chris Thomas on bass, and budding jazz god Kurt Rosenwinkle on guitar) is promoting its new album, seemingly forever after Perceptual, their second. I’ve never heard the band live, and liked but didn’t love that record, and have real reservations about both Waldon and Rosenwinkle, so I was very curious about what I’d hear.

I was floored. Blade writes big, open sweeping tunes for this band. The heads generally have very slow melodic rhythms, and the rhythm section always emphasizes big beats, so that even at very fast tempos it doesn’t feel fast. This gives most of the tunes a big, open, almost epic feeling, suggesting wide open spaces; comparisons to the Pat Metheny Group seem inevitable, and not at all bad, but Blades tunes feel somehow earthier, with more soulful (stylistically, that is). In most of the tunes, the blowing is very contained- one solo, usually less then 100 bars- and for the most part the soloists took the role of actors fleshing out roles in the music rather than showstoppers chewing up the scenery turns. Blade, true to form, set up a beautiful, light cushion for the tunes to glide on, dropping his occasional patented bomb for good measure. Blade’s feel was remarkable for how triplety it was. In a time where to my ears many drummers are playing a straighter, more even “swing” it really stood out, sounding very fresh and not at all anachronistic. (I could spend a week talking about what Blade was doing with the time, and maybe after I absorb the new album I will.) The feel gave the soloists huge room to play with, against, around the time, which all did in different ways.

One major complaint about the festival- while the three stages were a great chance to serve more people's tastes, could we be a little more careful about how you put things together? Is it absolutely necessary to have Wayne's band and the Iverson/Haden/Frisell trio running opposite each other? Likewise, Aretha and Lettuce at once? Why not program for contrast instead of stylistic redundancy? (Okay, that's not fair, but why not spread like acts out instead of concentrating them? Wouldn't that make more people happy? I for was was very pissed at having to choose between the two above, especially since Ethan is a friend and Wayne is, well, my hero. Not fair) Anyhow, I did hear a tune plus of the Iverson/Haden/Frisell trio. They opened with Charlie's gorgeous "First Song", and continued with "Sub-Conscious-Lee", which has been a mainstay of recent Frisell sets. I wasn't there enough to say much, except that I think I get completely why Charlie loves playing with Ethan. Haden is a natural romantic, as evidenced on the gorgeous "Nocturne" and the Quartet West music notably, and Ethan often approaches playing from the big-R Romantic point of view. He wears his deep study of European classical music on his sleeve in every solo, even in the wackiest Bad Plus moments, and that sensibility worked beautifully as a contrast to Charlie's spacious approach.

The Wayne Shorter Quartet (Wayne, Danielo Perez, John Patattuchi, Blade) is perhaps the most heralded band of the 21st century, and the most inscrutable. The play a mix of Wayne’s great old and new compositions, sort of; good luck finding more than four bars of a time of “Footprints” or “Mascalero”, or anything. (And new tunes, you're guess is as good as mine.) I saw this band six years ago in Boston, and was left frustrated- you could hear the potential, and obviously the talent, but it never seemed to quite gel. So several years and hundreds of gigs later, I was very curious to hear what was happening.

The answer was, a lot. I hit the set a little late, and it felt just like the '03 gig did- bursts of tremendous energy individually, but no coherence. As the set went on, though, the band connected in a series of patters, melodic, harmonic, rhythmic or all of the above, and the results were magical. Everything connected on a level that I've honestly never heard before. There was a spot where the band would play 4 bars, then lay out as Wayne carried forward whatever they just did, then they did it again. The compositions themselves were vintage Wayne- beautiful and singable and angular and thorny all at the same time.

I can safely say that that set was the first time in my life I've heard something that felt unbelievably new, and five years ahead of what anyone else is doing. Even when I could tell you exactly what was happening- Danielo was playing this, Wayne was here, Blade's beat was like so, etc., I still don't feel like I got what I was hearing. (And I can only imagine the bulk of the crowd, coming of a singer's smooth jazz set) I was talking to my dad, a jazz fan from the mid-fifties on today, about how jealous in a way I was of him- he heard Miles in the 60s and Ornette and Brookmeyer and Getz and whoever when they were still new and fresh and sometimes outlaw, being confused and amazed and threatened all at once. That set was the first time in my adult life that I've felt like that. I almost feel like no critical judgement of this band is fair, since we need five years to catch up with them. I'm excited to try. (I'm friendly with Danilo from my NEC days, and hope one of these days to pin him for ten minutes to talk about Wayne's music and band. If I do, I'll post it here.)

After Wayne's set I felt full, like I'd just eaten a huge gourmet meal. But in the interests of you dear readers (and justifying the $90 I'd paid to come) I popped across the lawn to see the quartet of Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Eric Harland, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The set was all band originals, some of which I recognized from albums, some I didn't. This set was jazz-nerd heaven; the tunes were generally twisty, clever and complicated, the playing fierce and athletic. I wrote about Dave and Chris in a duo awhile back, and there's little I can add except they both still play at that level. Harland, who I loved in the SFJazz Collective earlier this year, is a fantastic, ferocious drummer (and a good writer), and everything he played seemed to crackle.

Rubalcaba, however, was the highlight of the show for me. When he hit the scene as a Cuban wonderkind fifteen-plus years ago, he was a firestorm of virtuosity, and no one knew quite what else. (If you can find it, see Marcus Roberts' skewering of GR in a blindfold test at that time. I thought the critique was as usual over the top, but not entirely unfounded) Hearing him this weekend, the virtuosity is still obvious, but there was a warmth and grace to everything he played that softened and humanized even the most obtuse blowing. One hopes we see more of him in these parts in the near future.

Other notes from bits I caught:

- I heard a little of Chris Botti on my way to get food. The less I say about it, the better. But... Chris gave an effusive intro to his drummer Billy Kilson, comparing his musical personality to- Yo-Yo Ma! Chris, I like Billy a lot, and am glad he has that gig, but back off the hyperbole a little, please?

- Trumpeter Christian Scott, who closed the smallest stage, was recording his set for a CD/DVD connecting his Newport set to the great Miles set at Newport which happened 50 years ago. Gotta love record labels. Maybe for that reason I was ready to hate it. But I didn't- his sextet channeled Miles not sonically, but in their attempts to explore and stretch the music. The two tunes I heard were dense and crunchy and even noisy- the guitar player played with a tone that I think of as indie-rock, and the second tune would've been at home on a Tortoise album. (At least until the blowing started) I thought initially that Scott was overblowing, but he found a full clean sound by the second tune, and everyone in the band played well. Definitely the pleasant surprise of the day.

- Aretha Franklin put on a Vegas-y set with a union big band backing her. Her rhythm section and singers were tight, the band was not; there were a couple of moments that struck me as near train wrecks due to miscommunication. I stayed for the first four tunes- a Sly Stone medley (?!), "Natural Woman", an old school version of "Cherokee", and something I didn't know. The highlight was Cherokee- she used the long melody against the fast changes to swoop and float and sing her ass off. She still sounds as good as she ever has, but only in spurts; I fear her health is catching up with her. But 75% of Aretha is so much better than 200% of all her progeny.

The Globe's overview, which touches all the stuff I couldn't see, is here.

UPDATE: NPR recorded all of Sunday's concerts, and is streaming them online. Listen here. I haven't checked any of it yet, but soon...