...days turn into weeks...
I know. I've been very inconsistent in my blogging habits of late - mainly due to the fact that I have an unprecendented amount of work for my "on the side" gig, doing online and "new media" publicity for independent artists in multiple genres.
I currently have some projects with unlikely artists given my personal taste. But I'm trying right now to seek out music that moves me and makes me want to dance... or at least think about dancing. While I try to keep the artists I work for out of this blog, sometimes its impossible since they are often on my mind a lot - and what else is a blog for if not to unload some of the topics on one's mind?
This week one of these artists is
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe whose newish online-only
EP entitled
Once You're There is a current priority for me. Originally I took it on as a means to make some extra bread, but this funky/electro hook-based music has become a guilty pleasure. It makes me want to dance. And I guess that's a good thing because it probably makes others want to do the same.
So that's that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other news:
- I attended Dewey Redman's Memorial three Sundays ago - my first visit to St. Peter's Church in Manhattan (aka the jazz church) - I know I blogged about it in advance of the show on my MOG and Last.fm pages but I don't believe I mentioned it here. Charlie Haden, Pat Metheny and Jack DeJohnette gave the most thttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifouching performances I've ever heard. So did violinist Leroy Jenkins who played a bouncing pentatonic blues, Joe Lovano with his wife Judi Silvano (who was surprisingly good) and the vociferous emcee Matt Wilson who played trio with Cameron Brown and Frank Kimbrough at one point. And I learned a lot about Dewey from the legions of folks who got up to speak about him and a short excerpt of a film about him. Ethan Iverson and Reid Anderson played a tune with Wilson and Dewey's son (Joshua Redman) played too - one short solo piece and then again on the last number with Haden, Metheny and Roy Haynes on the Ornette Coleman blues "Turnaround," which happens to be on the recent
Sound Grammar.
- I attended the IAJE
Conference in a work capacity from Jan. 10-13 in NYC. I mostly worked afternoons in the press room credentialing journalists, photographers, radio people and others who claimed to be there to write or communicate to different audiences about IAJE.
It was a bit of a drag since most of the good industry track sessions I had taken a roll in planning, I had to miss (i.e.
Down Beat 1:1 with Greg Osby interviewing Ornette Coleman,
JazzTimes Presents: Producing Miles Davis with producer heavyweights such as George Avakian, George Duke, Bob Belden and Marcus Miller,
Latin Jazz: The Perfect Combination, The Marketing Nightmare)
If you're interested in some excellent live-blogging that went on from the conference vist DJA's now immensely popular NY Times-written up Secret Society (which has long been linked to on this blog in the "Compatriots" section.
Shows in NY that week were insane as was to be expected. Memorable performances included:
-saxophonist/woodwind doubler Steve Wilson with his long-standing quartet of Bruce Barth on keys, Ed Howard on bass and Adam Cruz on drums at Jazz Standard Thursday night
-drummer/composer John Hollenbeck's Large Ensemble late night Thursday at the Sheraton Metropolitan Ballroom
-an 11:30 set at Joe's Pub by wunderkind trumpeter Christian Scott (introduced to the world on recording at 16 by his uncle Donald "Duck" Harrison. this cat is the real deal, folks. though extremely haughty, well-dressed and a tad immature.
-a late night Friday set at Smalls by Mulgrew Miller and Bob Hurst III with surprise guest Eric Harland
-the French Elite All-Stars with Michel Legrand, violinist Didier Lockwood, guitarist Sylvain Luc, accordionist Richard Galliano and others; followed by Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra paying tribute to Michael Brecker and Alice Coltrane
-I stayed an extra day and night and finally got to see DJA's Secret Society band in its native environment - the Bowery Poetry Club. it was tight. Mark Small (also of the Michael Bublé band), Shane Endsley (of Kneebody) and saxophonist Erica von Kleist (of JALC's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra) impressed thoroughly in their respective solos.
the writing was of a very high quality. i could hear the brookmeyer influence. also very relevant song titles that fit the tunes - especially Drift and Habeas Corpus.
More recently:
- I began looking in earnest this weekend for a new apartment in Northern Liberties and different places across the Schuykill River (Manayunk, Roxborough or East Falls)
- I saw Greg Osby 4 this weekend in a surprising packed-house at Philly's Zanzibar Blue, an unlikely spot for Greg's music - this coming weekend is
And finally... this January is markedly heavy with sadness over the passing of Michael and Alice. and its cold outside...
-
in agreement
For this week's NY picks, I would agree with everything here though I'm not a big Dunmall fan.
NewMusicReblog
Jimmy Greene Quartet @ Smoke
Here is my pick of the week:
August 18-19, 2006
Jimmy Greene Quartet appearing at Smoke
3 sets per night at 8 PM, 10 PM, & 11:30 PM
Jimmy Greene - saxophones
Xavier Davis - piano
Reuben Rogers - bass
Greg Hutchinson- drums
This is a band featuring four of the most underappreciated guys on the NY jazz scene.
Jimmy, who grew up being mentored in his native Hartford by Jackie McLean should be most well-known as the 2nd Place winner of the 1996 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition for saxophone, but is actually better known as a member of the Tom Harrell Quintet, the Harry Connick Jr. Big Band, Claudia Acuna's quintet, and drummer Lewis Nash's band.
For more info, visit
Smoke's website.
Visit Jimmy online
here.
Smoke is located at
2751 Broadway (between 105th and 106th streets) New York, NY 10025.
The phone number is (212)864-6662.
Jeremy Pelt @ The Village Vanguard
My NY jazz pick of the week:
Jeremy is one of the leading icons of the new jazz trumpet. He is equally steeped in contemporary rock, pop, hip-hop, neo-soul, and electronica as he is in the jazz tradition. His band presents a fresh perspective of what jazz today can be about...
Note Frank LoCrasto, the 23 year-old pianist who appears on Pelt's latest effort [i]Identity[/i] (MaxJazz). I recently caught LoCrasto with Greg Osby's quartet and this kid is the real deal. Very deep player. Word on the street is that LoCrasto just recorded his debut record for MaxJazz's Piano Series.
More info on this string of dates (this past Tuesday August 8 - Sunday August 13) can be found at
the Village Vanguard website.
This video offers a really neat glimpse into the recording process of this new project by Lynch and Palmieri. From what I understand, this is really Brian Lynch's project, but he is building on his ongoing playing relationship with Eddie Palmieri.
In fact this band is currently touring Europe. You can visit
Brian's website and click on Itinerary to see where they are exactly.
This is a bona fide "Jazz Pick". Go to the website and see what other premium features are offered.
NY Picks for First Week of 2006
NY Picks:
From the New York Times listings (mostly written recently by Nate Chinen and not Ratliff - I wonder if Chinen is Ratliff's replacement? Will have to check on that.):
Tues. Jan. 3 - Sun. Jan. 8JIMMY GREENE QUARTET (Tuesday Jan. 3 through Sunday Jan. 8) Mr. Greene brings an athletic self-assurance to his tenor and soprano saxophone playing; his solid post-bop band includes the pianist Xavier Davis, the bassist Reuben Rogers and the drummer Eric Harland. 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212) 255-4037; cover, $20 to $25, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen)
(Note: Greene is one of my favorite tenor saxophonists - hands down. He is close to Chris Potter but not quite there. The way he plays over changes is really original. He was the second place winner in 2002's Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition for saxophone. My favorite album with his playing is actually Tom Harrell's Wise Children (Bluebird) from 2003).Wed. Jan. 5th through Sun. Jan. 8thSTEVE WILSON QUARTET WITH NICHOLAS PAYTON (Wednesday through Jan. 8) An alto saxophonist with a dry tone but a rounded sense of phrase, Mr. Wilson recruits a well-established rhythm section - Bruce Barth on piano, Ed Howard on bass and Adam Cruz on drums - and locks horns with Mr. Payton, one of the outstanding trumpeters of our time. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-2232; cover, $20 to $25. (Chinen)
(Note: Though I have never seen this band in this particular configuration, Steve Wilson is surely one of my top 5 favorite living alto/soprano saxophonists. In addition, Bruce Barth is one of the baddest muthas around. Check out his output on MaxJazz. Ed Howard has experienced a resurgence in popularity and visibility in a number of contexts recently - most notably as the replacement for the late bassist Charles Ables in Shirley Horn's band (Horn died after a prolonged bout with cancer and diabetes roughly 2 months ago). Adam Cruz always burns; he is the drummer in pianist Danilo Perez' trio - can't get a much better credential than that.)Thurs. Jan. 5thDREW GRESS'S 7 BLACK BUTTERFLIES (Thursday Jan. 5) As on the fine recent album of the same name, this ensemble features the compositions and bass playing of Mr. Gress, along with a passel of progressive modernists: the trumpeter Ralph Alessi, the alto saxophonist Tim Berne, the keyboardist Craig Taborn and the drummer Tom Rainey. 10 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212) 929-9883; cover, $10. (Chinen)
(Note: One of the most creative albums of 2005, 7 Black Butterflies is the archetypal modern jazz album - in a good way. Drew Gress, a Baltimore-bred bassist who is now one of the most in-demand bassists in progressive/modern jazz has done some really amazing work with pianist Uri Caine and drummer John Hollenbeck. But anything with Craig Taborn on keys is sure to kill! Check this show out. The 55 Bar IS ONE OF THE TOP 5 BEST SPOTS FOR JAZZ in New York. It's cheap and intimate and all the best cats play there!)ALSO Thurs. Jan. 5thMARC RIBOT'S SPIRITUAL UNITY (Thursday) This quartet of experimental all-stars, recently documented on an album of the same title, pays tribute to the fire-breathing saxophonist Albert Ayler. In addition to Mr. Ribot's bracing electric guitar, the group features the athletic bass playing of Henry Grimes, the tart pocket trumpet and fat flugelhorn of Roy Campbell and the insistent drumming of Chad Taylor. 10 p.m., the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village,
www.thestonenyc.com; cover, $20. (Chinen)
(Note: I hate to list two competing events on the same night but it is necessary that fans of FREE IMPROV try to make it to this Marc Ribot show at John Zorn's new "curatorially-booked" club, The Stone - where the music and only the music matter. Go catch it for the rare chance to see Chad Taylor (of Chicago Underground Duo) in New York. Go for the opportunity to witness an humble individual who has experienced arguably the greatest resurgence onto the jazz scene in the 21st century, bassist Henry Grimes.)DC Picks coming soon....
Jazz Gallery This Week
New York Picks for this week:
I just found out my homeboy Jason Marshall (baritone saxophone) is playing with Roy Hargrove's septet at the Jazz Gallery. Roy Hargrove's groups will be playing all week starting Tuesday night the 27th of December with an open rehearsal of his big band. Here is a schedule of the week's events:
Tuesday, December 27th: 8 p.m. - midnight (free admission; members only event)Roy Hargrove Big Band Open RehearsalSaxes - Justin Robinson (alto), Bruce Wiiliams (alto), Ron Blake (tenor), Marcus Strickland (tenor), Jason Marshall (bari)
Trumpets - Roy Hargrove, Ambrose Akinmusire, Darren Barrett, Avishai Cohen
Trombones - Vincent Gardner, Joe Fiedler, Jason Jackson, Saunders Sermon
Rhythm Section: Gerald Clayton (piano), Dwayne Burno (bass), Saul Rubin (guitar), Greg Hutchinson (drums)
December 28th - 30th: 9 & 10:30 p.m. ($25) Roy Hargrove Big BandSaturday, December 31st New Year's Eve with Roy Hargrove & Co. - Featuring Roy Hargrove - trumpet / fluegelhorn, Jaleel Shaw - alto saxophone, Ron Blake - tenor saxophone, Jason Marshall - baritone saxophone, Gerald Clayton - piano, Dwayne Burne - bass, Greg Hutchinson - drums
Details are as follows:
First Set - 8:00 - 10:00pm, $55, includes: Roy Hargrove & Co., hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine, soda, coffee
Second Set - 10:30pm - 1:00am, $80, includes: Roy Hargrove & Co., hors d'oeuvres, Champagne toast, beer, wine, soda, coffee
Third Set - 1:30 - 3:00am, $40, includes: Roy Hargrove & Co., beer, wine, soda, coffeeAdmission to all three sets: $100 for members and $150 for non-members
The Jazz Gallery is located at 290 Hudson Street (between Spring and Dominick streets) in Soho. Greenwich Village, the heart of the world's greatest concentration of internationally prominent jazz clubs, is nearby. The area is convenient to great shopping and dining, and may be reached by taking the C or E train to Spring Street, or the 1 or 9 train to Houston Street.
