beck and call

First, happy birthday Ornette Coleman! I didn't know he is also a Pisces. Clearly, there is something fishy about us alto players...

As if last night's hit at NEC, wasn't enough, John Hollenbeck will spend the next two evenings playing music with different groups at the Lily Pad in Cambridge, with three different units. The schedule:

March 9th $15 (or $10 for each set)
7:30pm The Refuge Trio (Theo Bleckmann-voice, Gary Versace-piano/keyboards, John Hollenbeck-drums/percussion)
8:30 pm The Claudia Quintet (Ted Reichman-accordion, Chris Speed-tenor sax/clar., Matt Moran-vibes, John Hebert-bass, John Hollenbeck-drums/composition)

March 10th $15 (or $10 for each set)
7pm Jorrit Dikstra/John Hollenbeck Duo
7:45pm Triple Dutch (Gary Versace-piano, John Hebert-bass, John Hollenbeck-drums)
8:30pm The Claudia Quintet

These days, $15 for this is a steal. I'm planning to be there tonight- the last time I saw Claudia was in 1997 at alt.coffee, when Drew Gress, not old friend Jon Hebert was still on bass. I think it may sound a little different now...

I didn't catch all of last night's big band hit, but what I saw was fun, highlighted by Theo Bleckmans amazing vocalizing and my occasional bandmate Lucy Railton's cello solo on the "Joys and Desires" suite. One thought I had was how integral John is to the big band, as both conductor, conceiver and drummer- unlike Maria Schneider or Bob for instance, I'm not sure how well the music would hang together if he weren't there. (I hasten to add that since I haven't seen scores, I could be blowing smoke.)

Later that evening (11-ish) Lake Street Dive, featuring homegirl Bridget Kearney, brings its folky weirdness to the Milky Way in JP. A (rare) busy musical evening here for me- good times.