May 2013
27 posts
Please, Mom, Please...
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I remember Sunny telling me that he invented punk...
Noah Preminger @ The Jazz Standard Tonight
The young tenor titan gigged a lot before hitting the studio to cut the new Haymaker, and that preparation shows: There’s an easy balance between Preminger’s horn and guitarist Ben Monder’s unusually fluid attack strategies, and it gives everything else extra poise and additional punch. On stage, they always lean forward. Try to get there tonight…
7:30 pm &...
Manzarek Gone
Breeze through those old albums by the Doors and you’ll hear the band’s blues and jazz interests. From the extended organ solo of “Light My Fire” to the architecture of “Yes, the River Knows” to the R&B raunch of “5 To 1,” the group found ways to bend both styles. Ray Manzarek had a lot to do with that. That VH1 Legends show that I wrote will be popping up in the next few days on the...
BLACK SKIN HEAD
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Turn off the waterworks, baby, that don’t...
Van Dyke Parks - Fireside Chat →
A true renaissance man, few people have seen or shaped more of modern American pop culture than he has. Tune in for a chat with Van the man!
Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project @ Jazz...
Ryan Truesdell’s disc of previously unrecorded Gil Evans arrangements floored most of those who heard it. Centennial was recently named “Record of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association. A scholar whose approach to music has lots of heart, the young conductor breathes new life into classic Gil works this week, from the bouncy Claude Thornhill charts to the airy designs...
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tonight i’ll hit the hay as i do many nights...
Miguel Zenón Quartet @ Vanguard 14-19
Various projects and various collabos fly by. But when the Puerto Rican McArthur Grant recipient blows the whistle and calls home his decade-old working band, it’s an event. Zenón’s alto agility is bad-ass, period. The way his associates - Luis Perdomo, Henry Cole, and Hans Glawischnig - move around his whirlwind lines can be dizzying, but their steady swirl of rhythmically-charged...
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Mothers Day gift: this record making to Spotify.
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Bakersfield hits Bait ‘n’ Tackle...
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wanna talk swag? check that rt hand thumb.
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“Bird-In-Hand” is the final track from...
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night upon my head…
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Bill McHenry Quartet @ the Vanguard Through Sunday
McHenry is an improviser who goes out of his way to dodge a cliché, and he’s built a remarkable outfit – pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Andrew Cyrille – perfectly suited to follow that lead. On La Peur du Vide (Sunnyside), which was cut at the Vanguard, there’s an unmistakable impact of four personalities working in unison. What binds them is intensity, and their main...
CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S BEEN 6 YEARS SINCE I WROTE THIS...
The Black Keys Chulahoma (Fat Possum)
“You know what the sun’s all about/when the lights go out,” droned Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach on 2004’s Rubber Factory. With his sole band mate Patrick Carney pounding along on drums, and echoes of “you don’t miss your water/’til your well runs dry” philosophy floating in the air, the scrappy-assed duo put a truly personalized spin on the...
April 2013
42 posts
ELLINGTON'S BIRTHDAY
First it’s “Transbluency” and then it’s “Man On a Turquoise Cloud”
Dayna Stephens @ Jazz Gallery Tonight
Expression may be paramount, but grace remains a sought-after element of jazz. The ever-maturing tenor saxophonist strongly suggests that it’s a priority in his work on the new That Nepenthetic Place, where his swirling quartet is occasionally thickened by a couple extra horns. The lush designs Stephens draws definitely keep things feisty, yet the take-away is obvious: this is music with...
Peter Evans Trio @ Cornelia Tonight
The steely nature of Evans’ sound doesn’t take long to woo listeners, because its overarching authority is hard to resist. It walks on the giddy side in Mostly Other People Do The Killing, but in his own work, a seriousness arises, and it’s refreshing. The new live disc by his Zebulon group mows you down because the swell of energy from the leader’s horn fuels every nuanced...
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Nearest faraway place for three minutes…
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Phoenix Falling
New Yorker’s Coachella GIFs
SLOBBER PUP IS STREAMING
One track’s called “Taint Of Satan.” You can’t pass that by.
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“If you put me in that dungeon, and remember Rockefeller at Attica, you’ll...”
– Charles On The Move Birthday Bash On WKCR
The Claudia Quintet @ Cornelia Street 18-20
John Hollenbeck’s fivesome stands out because of design: the accordion, vibes, and reeds combo is unique. But it’s the way these guys cook that truly impresses. Every time I’ve caught them they’ve used their rather intricate tunes to splash energy all over the audience. They’re tilting towards a new album, so fresh material is part of this three-night stand.
9 pm + 10:30 pm $10...
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Jamie Saft @ The Stone This Week
Saft’s work always rings with intentions: From the reggae riddims of his New Zion Trio to the roar of Spanish Donkey’s skronkprov, the keyboardist makes you feel his focus, and therefore his art. This six-night run is all about variety. He’s coaxed drummer Jerry Granelli to town for duets, has Bad Brains’ H.R. rocking with the NZT, and introduces Slobber Pup, a frenzied outfit with Joe...
ICP Orchestra: Happy Dreams @ LITTLEFIELD Tonight
When the play “Criss Cross,” everything get criss-crossed. And when they play “Caravan,” the camels collide. The Dutch cut-ups are one of jazz’s treasures, and for over four decades they’ve placed whimsy and spontaneity on the same shelf as composition and craft. With sober Misha Mengelberg and silly Han Bennink in front, a yin-yang vibe is always in the air....
