I didn't get to see

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

My bean is cooked.

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.

on the radio, uh-oh

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.

Green and white and black all over

If you pay even the least amount of attention to sports this month, you'll know that my beloved Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship for the first time since I was 11. Yesterday I was in the neighborhood, so I walked down to the Public Library to catch the victory parade. And I have to admit, I choked up when the floats with Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett went by. It had nothing to do with the trophy (I think all the sports trophies are pretty gaudy) or the cheering.

This was the most diverse crowd for just about anything I've seen in Boston for a long time. Young, old, black (much more black than I'm used to), brown, yellow, white. I didn't read any reports of problems in the paper this morning, which matched my experience of a boisterous, but well-behaved crowd. For most cities, this may not seem like a big deal, but this is Boston, and the Celtics.

The last time the Celtics won, in '86, they were the whitest team in the NBA, already the blackest in sports, and there wasn't always that much love for the Celts in the black community here. Back then Bill Russell, the greatest Celtic and possibly the best big man ever, was a pariah in these parts for, among other things, his unflinching criticism of Boston for the way it treated him during and after his distinguished career, because he spoke his mind- and was usually right. (J.A. Adande wrote a good piece about the curious issue of the Cs and race earlier this year) Even in '02, the last time they were competitive, there was some ambivalence in the press and fandom- Paul Pierce was too much of a thug, Antione Walker was greedy and shortsighted on the court, etc. Which often were ways of saying "too black".

Not this time. The only peep you heard was about Jemele Hill, a national columnist for ESPN, writing that rooting for the Celtics was akin to rooting for Hitler, and being suspended for that idiocy. (The column, without that comment, is here) Back at home, though little white girls held up signs asking Rondo to marry them. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett grinned like little kids, going back and forth with anyone in the crowd who he could here.

As much of a sports nut as I can be, I know they don't matter that much, and a good year for the Cs doesn't mean somehow Boston has put history behind itself. But for that one afternoon, under a shower of green confetti, it was nice to witness the possibility.

We'll string a few tunes together and call it a show

Once again, it's Jazz Week in Boston! This is the second year in a row that JazzBoston, a new-ish local non-profit has taken the last week in April to highlight the local jazz scene. (I blogged about it at greater length last year.) It's funny, I just reread that post, and I could write the same post today- nothing has changed. The format has created allowed some cool things to happen; there seem to be more lectures and panel discussions this year, and the "big" concert does focus more on local acts, with poet Robert Pinsky headlining in a duo with Bob Moses. (I will be attending that gig, so if you see me say hi, or just don't throw things...)

I opted not to try to do something during Jazz Week this year- last year I felt like it was a fair bit of hassle without a lot of payoff. I do have some cool stuff coming in May- stay tuned.

the music echoes... and echoes

I've been fortunate in the past month to be cultivating a bunch of exciting things, including (finally) my garden, but I'm afraid the blog has suffered as a result. I'll try to catch up this week on some of the stuff I've been seeing and hearing and thinking. Especially, the batch of stuff that has kept me so busy.

The Phoenix, the local (well, now regional, with outposts in Providence and Portland ME) “alternative” paper, put out its “best of '08” list this week. I should know better at this point than to get worked up about this stuff, but... Scullers as the “Best Jazz Club”? Let's see, it's overpriced, the emphasis is on smooth jazz, it's always really cold in there, the sightlines are mediocre, and the sound is terrible seemingly no matter who I see there. (It's a function of the room- it's an L shape, with the stage at the bottom of the L near the bar, and every surface of the room is hard. Doing sound in there must be a nightmare.) Yes the view of the Charles River is fantastic, and at least once a month, they come through with a really cool show (in April it was the Bjorkestra, which of course I missed) And the picture in the Phoenix of Dominique Eade and Jeremy Udden is nice. But best of Boston? I'll throw it out to the hivemind- favorite place to see an act you like in Boston, if price is no object?

On the plus side, Baptiste Power Yoga, where I work and occasionally substitute teach, is listed as the “best place to get sweat on by strangers.” Thanks, I think...

It'll make a pretty paperweight

Tomorrow night the 20th annual Boston Music Awards convenes tomorrow evening to, well, what exactly do they do? Globe critic Joan Anderman knocks the awards and the scene they represent around this morning, and I'm inclined to agree with most of her assessment. Her best line:

"(it is a) near-impossibility of building a world-class industry event in a town that calls itself the Hub but operates as an outpost."

I could spend ages elaborating on this assessment, because it's dead-on. There is a myopia that characterizes many elements of life in Boston, and while it can lend a quaint charm to our sports fans or how crowded the North End is on weekends, it can kill a music scene in no time flat.

There are vibrant scenes here, but they tend to be very self-contained- a great set of singer-songwriters that congregate around Club Passim and the Toad/Lizard Lounge pairing, a cool almost-seedy punk/bar band scene at O'Brien's and Middle East (We miss TT the Bear's badly), a little Afro-beat scene that has flourished at Matt Murphy's, a jazz scene based primarily around the schools- a blessing and a curse too big to get into here- and a small but strong hip-hop scene that survives where it can. But note that none of the venues that I mention (save the schools) are in Boston proper- the combination of high rent, Puritanical zoning and the early close of the Boston transit system make having a hopping live music club really tough. Is there a solution(s)? I'd love to know 'em. Maybe I'd gig more...

Back to the awards themselves- no one I've talked to seems to quite know how the whole thing works. Ric Stone, 1/4 of the Quartet of Happiness, nominated for "best jazz act", told me they're grateful for the (little bit of) attention it's brought, but has no idea how they were nominated. They're in with long-timers and badasses Dominique Eade, Club D'Elf, Jacques Chanier, a long-suffering and unappreciated local, the Blueprint Project, a cool project of Jared Sims and Eric Hofbauer, newcomer Leah Randazzo (who, I'd note, I've never, never heard of, and who lives on the other side of the state), and Hiromi, the John Mayer of this category. (She went to Berklee, hasn't lived here in years, and has no discernable connection to Boston beyond Berklee and some national pub) As Miles might say, "judge that, how the &$^# am I supposed to judge THAT?" Well, since voting was an online popularity contest, it doesn't really say much about the quality of the winner, only of their bots.

We also seem to have an innate ability to cannibalize what scene there is here... see this old post as an example. And this kind of nonsense happens all the time here. (sigh)

The B section

I'm a little late to this, but the Voice covered Take it to the Bridge's protest at New York City Hall. It's heartening to see the city councilor for the district step up.

The issues that are hitting the Lower East Side are very much at play here in Boston, and I wonder if similar solutions would help. I'll have to talk to my city councilor about it next time I see him. (I'm lucky enough to know my city councilor, who happens to be a decent guy and very supportive of the arts.)

we'll tak a right guid-willie waught

This is the first New Year's Eve in awhile that I won't be working. (Not yet, at least, the phone could still ring.) And since I'm single and well, haven't yte regained my crazy social standing in these parts, I was looking around for musical options on Dec. 31. And I'm afraid that in Boston, the pickings are slim. By contrast, the Times today picks out highlights of the evening in New York. Bernstein, Bargemusic, Brazilian Girls- I'd go broke before I got bored. (Too many Bs in one sentence)

Back to the bean, the big jazz clubs have gone either really smoothy (Earl Klugh), faux-funky (Chicken Slacks at Ryles) or bluesy (Sugar Ray and the Bluetones Big Band (?) at the Regattabar). I can't imagine a rock club that night.

And First Night, probably the best cultural NYE event in the country, is a little slim this year as well. Among the hundred or so events are the Boston Jazz Voices, an old fashioned jazz choir, and local straightahead stalwarts Rusty Scott and Yoron Israel.

On the bright side, Sessions Americana, a good roots band is on the menu, as is what's being billed "visceral electronic music" by Intrasitive Recordings at the Hynes. Could be interesting. Of course, there's also improv- comedy, juggling, theatre, and just about anything else you could think of.

So, barring any last minute calls, I've decided to ring in the New Year with, yoga. It seems right to end a very topsy-turvy year (to quote Peter Gabriel)right-side up, upside down.

(For those keeping score at home, all New Year's Eve/Year in Review posts will have actual lyrics from "Auld Lang Syne in the title" Full lyrics here.

Crosstown traffic

First, housekeeping. I have (finally) added links to my first posting of the '73-'90 list and Behearer to the line on the left. I've also edited the list to add a couple of records we overlooked- Hemphill's Cool Bidness, and Bill Dixon's November 1981.

Tonight features a surfiet of improvised riches, not a given in Boston these days. Over in the people's republic of cambridge, the remarkable John Tchicai (pronounced, I think, ti- CHAI) is honored at the Longy School of Music, as part of the 10th anniversary of their Modern American Music program. The program also features Boston stalwart (and these days, criminally underrated saxophonist) Charlie Kohlhase and Longy students and faculty. The music will mix Tchicai's improvised music with more notated works.

Over at Jordan Hall, the New England Conservatory Big Band plays the music of Gil Evans. Knowing Ken Schaphorst, their director, it will be an interesting mix of the famous and less famous, vintage and later Gil. Since coming on board at NEC, Ken has done a yeoman's job with that band. I also think that big band is one place in jazz where a repitoiry band is a good idea- it's often hard to get a sense of the physical impact of the music from a recording, based on where people are, how the doublings of certain notes are physically positioned. With someone like Gil, who was so careful about everything, I expect to learn a lot. I've played some of this music, but never sat in the audience for it, so I'm looking forward to it.

Finally, the Boston Globe has a nice piece about "alternative classical concerts", concert music performed in non-concert venues. I read quite a lot of buzz about this in some of the classical and new music blogs elsewhere, but not surprisingly, Boston is a little behind the curve. (Actually, versions of this have been going on for several years now, so maybe just the media is behind the curve.) Again, I think those of us in the improvised music field have to think harder, and more creatively, about presentation. I do, just don't have many answers yet.

Home Front

Now that I'm more or less settled in Beantown, I've managed to note a couple local points of interest:

The Boston Globe reported (in April, I know): "Virgin Megastore is moving out of its Newbury Street digs to make room for a new high-end retailer at the landmark Frank Gehry building where luxury condominiums are opening this fall. Virgin has agreed to vacate its 40,000 square-foot music store by June 2007 and seek an alternative location in Boston in the near future, according to a statement released this morning."

I noticed this because they're having a "grand closing" store, which means their CD prices finally fall into the realm of the mortal human. (The average CD price, not on sale, is $19) I'll be pleasantly surprised if that last promise in the PR comes true- they are fighting Newbury Comics locally on one side, and ITunes on the other, both of which have them beat on price points. But, they are the only store left in Boston to have an actual classical music section, and I'm sad to see that go. And further yuppification of Newbury Street is never a good thing- I wonder how the new condo residents and the local goths will get along. This ain't New York, after all.

On a happier front, the music bargain of the week is tomorrow night: Judi Silvano appears at Ryles with George Garzone and her husband, some guy named Lovano. Whatever you think of Judi's singing, ( I think it's always interesting and adventurous, which is both a good and a bad thing), George and Joe toghether will undoubtedly tear the roof off. And it's $7, how can you beat that?

Judi Silvano, @ Ryles, Inman Square Cambridge, Tuesday, 9pm.