Saturday, January 26, 2008
Daily News, January 25
In this Friday's issue, just a pick for Bill Frisell's show on Saturday (what isn't happening on Saturday?) in Camden.
Metro, January 21-25
This week, a piece on Philadelphia Theatre Co's 20th-anniversary production of "M. Butterfly," and a piece on David Parker's Bang Group, performing (including guys in Velcro suits!) at the Painted Bride this weekend (issue not online).
Citypaper, January 24
Just two music pieces this week: an interview with saxophonist Chris Potter, at the Annenberg Center on Saturday, and a Soundadvice for David King's Happy Apple, at I-House the same night.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunny Jain/Rashied Ali
Two innovative drummers from either end of the generational spectrum hit Philly on Saturday night. First up was the Sunny Jain Collective at the Painted Bride. A second-generation Indian-American who grew up in Rochester, NY, Jain (who I profiled here) inflects his music with influences from his heritage, but with a lighter touch than many such fusions; the concept never overpowers the improvisers. Surprisingly for a drummer, he gathers more inspiration from the melodies than the rhythms of those influences, and draws from pop-influenced Indian sounds like bhangra or vintage Bollywood rather than from Hindustani classical music (though that does seep in a bit). He did, with a showman's flourish, draw a dhol from the wings for one tune, but midway through transitioned back to his kit. Jain has gathered an impressive group around him, and if the absence of guitar/sitarist Rez Abbasi is evident in a slight loss of "accent" in the Indian-inflected pieces, the music doesn't suffer for the presence of forceful pianist Marc Cary. Bassist Gary Wang shares Jain's understated approach (the bandleader rarely took a flat-out solo throughout the evening), and saxophonist Steve Welsh sparingly employed effects to lend his tenor a guitaristic wash. The most impressive pieces were those featuring vocalist Samita Sinha, as on the folk song Meri Bhavana, where her bittersweet lilt inspired a smoky, melancholy solo from Welsh. Other highlights were the instrumental burner "Johnnie Black" and the vocal piece "Sialkot", which featured gorgeous sax/voice interplay.
Only caught the tail end of Rashied Ali's set, which expanded his Jazz Messengers-style quintet with the addition of altoist Lakeisha Benjamin. This latest group is surprisingly straight-ahead for the bandleader, whose rep was built on free jazz experimentation and his time with John Coltrane (my recent interview is here). But the group managed to pull off an impressive blowing session, silencing about half the chatterers at Chris' and drowning out the others. The seat belts really came off with an intense tear through James Blood Ulmer's "Theme From Captain Black."
Only caught the tail end of Rashied Ali's set, which expanded his Jazz Messengers-style quintet with the addition of altoist Lakeisha Benjamin. This latest group is surprisingly straight-ahead for the bandleader, whose rep was built on free jazz experimentation and his time with John Coltrane (my recent interview is here). But the group managed to pull off an impressive blowing session, silencing about half the chatterers at Chris' and drowning out the others. The seat belts really came off with an intense tear through James Blood Ulmer's "Theme From Captain Black."
Saturday, January 19, 2008
New year live kick-off
2008 has gotten off to a pretty impressive start, show-wise. While I've been slow to get back into the swing of things film-wise (the only movie I've been to thus far being BMFI's Bernstein Fest-themed screening of West Side Story, with the sole remaining - and Natalie Wood's personal - Technicolor print, thanks to local collector Lou DiCrescenzo), the music scene has kept me busier, even with having skipped a few. Here's a round-up of the year's first couple of weeks in shows:
Kicked off with a trip to John Zorn's Stone in NYC for Toronto-based vocalist Mary Margaret O'Hara, mainly for the girlfriend's sake, but it was a pretty unusual show. MMOH is actress/comedian Catherine O'Hara's sis, and put out one album back in 1988, with sporadic output since. She's somewhat eccentric and her discomfort with the stage was apparent in the way she kept muttering asides and near-apologies to the capacity crowd gathered around (we ended up on the floor, shoved halfway under the piano with a knee in my back). But the set of standards and originals was compelling when she managed to get into the flow of actually performing, kicking off with a "Peace in the Valley" that gushed forth the lyric in a jumble of words that finally devolved into howls and whoops. After only a half hour, she grabbed a purse and plastic bag and left the stage, assuming everyone was there to see Sean Lennon, scheduled for the second set. She came back for a few encores at the demand of the audience, finally playing nearly an hour (talking to her later, she self-consciously thought that by the 30-minute mark she'd already been up there for over an hour). Amazing how she ended up both endearing and fierce at the same time.
On the 10th, caught a bit of the Wu-Tang Clan at the Troc, though they didn't hit the stage until 11:30 (for an 8pm-advertised start time), with the RZA nowhere to be seen. Had the crowd worked up, and Method Man steals the show, but RZA's dense productions don't really translate in a live setting, and we cut out after about half an hour.
Next day was a predictably stellar performance at the Art Museum by the Maria Schneider Orchestra, sounding gorgeous even in the Art Museum's Great Stair Hall. She had the all-stars with her: McCaslin, Monder, Versace, Clarence Penn, Steve Wilson, Frank Kimbrough, basically the whole Orch from the Sky Blue CD, who executed Schneider's pieces with fiery emotion.
A double-shot the next day, beginning with the Steve Lehman Quintet. The altoist writes incredibly dense, complex compositions that kept even this adept group - trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, vibist Chrs Dingman, bassist Matt Brewer, and acrobatic drummer Tyshawn Sorey - in a sweat. Lehman packed the Art Alliance with an appreciative crowd, favored with a show where the pieces were intellectually nuanced but didn't interfere with the combustible soloing. Afterwards, headed to a much more relaxed show by the Antfarm Quartet at Chris', the vocal group of drummer Bob Shomo, bassist Tim Lekan, pianist Jim Ridl (who brings along a keyboard, refusing to touch the club's notorious piano) and vocalist/harmonica player Paul Jost. A solid set from a quartet of South Jersey guys who obviously enjoy playing together. Highlight was a melancholy arrangement of The Beatles' "And I Love Her."
Caught the mixed-bag first installment of the Philadelphia Orchestra Bernstein Festival on Tuesday. Christoph Eschenbach coaxed a lively take on the West Side Story Symphonic Dances from the ensemble, surrounding it with two (ugh) Tchaikovsky pieces. The Fantasy-Overture from Romeo and Juliet is acceptable, given the ubiquitousness of its main theme and the fact that it's one of the best uses of the composer's penchant for extremes of lugubrious romanticism and strong, simple motifs, but Francesca da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasia After Dante (Op. 32) showcases the flip side of those tendencies, dull, long-winded and cloying. The evening's big event was the premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Concerto 4-3, composed for the obnoxiously virtuosic trio Time for Three. It's an aimless, often confused piece which allows the group to do their show-offy stuff but has little other reason for being.
After a tepid set by altoist Steve Slagle's group with guitarist Dave Stryker and Philly vibist Tony Miceli at the Art Museum, headed to I-House for the Misha Mengelberg Quartet, with MM's longtime foil Han Bennink on drums, Brad Jones on bass, and Dave Douglas on trumpet. Intense show, with Bennink really feeling it, pulling out all the stops as a one-man Dada vaudevillian. The drummer began the show, threatening to destroy the kit with his ambulatory, powerhouse solo. Mengelberg wandered out, waving to the crowd offhandedly and launching into some lovely playing that paid no mind to what Bennink was doing. Douglas and Jones emerged later, finding the middle ground between the two old compatriots' extremes. The group essayed a set largely comprised of standards and a few Mengelberg originals, shining each piece through a prism and examining each constituent part for every possibility of expansion. Douglas was especially impressive outside of his usual setting, keeping up with the ADD-fueled amble through jazz history while managing some soaring invention of his own. And what can be said of Bennink? He pounded the hell out of his kit, played the floor, his body, the walls, an exposed pipe, the piano bench on which he sat, spun cymbals on the floor; and engaged in some of the most extreme of his performance art tendencies, reacting to audience catcalls, doing shadow puppets, wrapping himself in the stage curtain and emitting Tarzan howls, eventually dismantling the drum kit, all the while never missing a beat. I'll never be able to forget the image of Bennink standing over the upturned bench, a stack of sheet music pouring out onto the floor, holding a couple of sheets and softly singing "So many music."
Kicked off with a trip to John Zorn's Stone in NYC for Toronto-based vocalist Mary Margaret O'Hara, mainly for the girlfriend's sake, but it was a pretty unusual show. MMOH is actress/comedian Catherine O'Hara's sis, and put out one album back in 1988, with sporadic output since. She's somewhat eccentric and her discomfort with the stage was apparent in the way she kept muttering asides and near-apologies to the capacity crowd gathered around (we ended up on the floor, shoved halfway under the piano with a knee in my back). But the set of standards and originals was compelling when she managed to get into the flow of actually performing, kicking off with a "Peace in the Valley" that gushed forth the lyric in a jumble of words that finally devolved into howls and whoops. After only a half hour, she grabbed a purse and plastic bag and left the stage, assuming everyone was there to see Sean Lennon, scheduled for the second set. She came back for a few encores at the demand of the audience, finally playing nearly an hour (talking to her later, she self-consciously thought that by the 30-minute mark she'd already been up there for over an hour). Amazing how she ended up both endearing and fierce at the same time.
On the 10th, caught a bit of the Wu-Tang Clan at the Troc, though they didn't hit the stage until 11:30 (for an 8pm-advertised start time), with the RZA nowhere to be seen. Had the crowd worked up, and Method Man steals the show, but RZA's dense productions don't really translate in a live setting, and we cut out after about half an hour.
Next day was a predictably stellar performance at the Art Museum by the Maria Schneider Orchestra, sounding gorgeous even in the Art Museum's Great Stair Hall. She had the all-stars with her: McCaslin, Monder, Versace, Clarence Penn, Steve Wilson, Frank Kimbrough, basically the whole Orch from the Sky Blue CD, who executed Schneider's pieces with fiery emotion.
A double-shot the next day, beginning with the Steve Lehman Quintet. The altoist writes incredibly dense, complex compositions that kept even this adept group - trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, vibist Chrs Dingman, bassist Matt Brewer, and acrobatic drummer Tyshawn Sorey - in a sweat. Lehman packed the Art Alliance with an appreciative crowd, favored with a show where the pieces were intellectually nuanced but didn't interfere with the combustible soloing. Afterwards, headed to a much more relaxed show by the Antfarm Quartet at Chris', the vocal group of drummer Bob Shomo, bassist Tim Lekan, pianist Jim Ridl (who brings along a keyboard, refusing to touch the club's notorious piano) and vocalist/harmonica player Paul Jost. A solid set from a quartet of South Jersey guys who obviously enjoy playing together. Highlight was a melancholy arrangement of The Beatles' "And I Love Her."
Caught the mixed-bag first installment of the Philadelphia Orchestra Bernstein Festival on Tuesday. Christoph Eschenbach coaxed a lively take on the West Side Story Symphonic Dances from the ensemble, surrounding it with two (ugh) Tchaikovsky pieces. The Fantasy-Overture from Romeo and Juliet is acceptable, given the ubiquitousness of its main theme and the fact that it's one of the best uses of the composer's penchant for extremes of lugubrious romanticism and strong, simple motifs, but Francesca da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasia After Dante (Op. 32) showcases the flip side of those tendencies, dull, long-winded and cloying. The evening's big event was the premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Concerto 4-3, composed for the obnoxiously virtuosic trio Time for Three. It's an aimless, often confused piece which allows the group to do their show-offy stuff but has little other reason for being.
After a tepid set by altoist Steve Slagle's group with guitarist Dave Stryker and Philly vibist Tony Miceli at the Art Museum, headed to I-House for the Misha Mengelberg Quartet, with MM's longtime foil Han Bennink on drums, Brad Jones on bass, and Dave Douglas on trumpet. Intense show, with Bennink really feeling it, pulling out all the stops as a one-man Dada vaudevillian. The drummer began the show, threatening to destroy the kit with his ambulatory, powerhouse solo. Mengelberg wandered out, waving to the crowd offhandedly and launching into some lovely playing that paid no mind to what Bennink was doing. Douglas and Jones emerged later, finding the middle ground between the two old compatriots' extremes. The group essayed a set largely comprised of standards and a few Mengelberg originals, shining each piece through a prism and examining each constituent part for every possibility of expansion. Douglas was especially impressive outside of his usual setting, keeping up with the ADD-fueled amble through jazz history while managing some soaring invention of his own. And what can be said of Bennink? He pounded the hell out of his kit, played the floor, his body, the walls, an exposed pipe, the piano bench on which he sat, spun cymbals on the floor; and engaged in some of the most extreme of his performance art tendencies, reacting to audience catcalls, doing shadow puppets, wrapping himself in the stage curtain and emitting Tarzan howls, eventually dismantling the drum kit, all the while never missing a beat. I'll never be able to forget the image of Bennink standing over the upturned bench, a stack of sheet music pouring out onto the floor, holding a couple of sheets and softly singing "So many music."
Daily News, January 16-18
Citypaper, January 17
Lots in this week's issue: the spring jazz calendar, previewing shows through April; a feature on drummer Rashied Ali, bringing his Messengers-ish quintet to Chris'; a pick for the ANW double-feature of Little Women and Aaron Siegel's Where From Here?; Soundadvice mentions for Misha Mengelberg's Quartet and Highwaire Gallery's show with MaryClare Brzytwa and Dominique Leone; a feature review of Persepolis, a short review of the extreme-skiing doc Steep, and a piece on the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival's interesting Music Weekend.
Daily News, January 11
Citypaper, January 10
This week, a feature on the South Jersey-based Antfarm Quartet, with pianist Jim Ridl and vocalist Paul Jost, which only ran online; a pick for alto saxophonist/composer Steve Lehman's spectacular (and athletic, given the demands of his compositions) Quintet at the Art Alliance; one for Chicago-based improvising trumpeter Jaimie Branch and her trio, also at the Art Alliance; and a review of the derivative Spanish horror thriller The Orphanage.
Daily News, January 4
In this Friday's weekend section, just a pick for South African bassist Bakithi Kumalo, at the Art Museum.
Citypaper, January 3
This week, my annual Naked City piece on what important stories got bumped for silly celebrity nonsense - which has gradually gotten to be more about making fun of goofy news stories than exposing buried stories, but do I look like an investigative reporter to you? And a feature review of P.T. Anderson's restraint-to-wild-abandon There Will Be Blood.
Metro, December 18-January 18
Since I did almost nothing for the Metro over the last month, I figured I'd just lump the whole run together here. On 12/28, there was a piece on John Medeski and friends' jam-gospel supergroup The Word, but the issue isn't online. I also did a list of Philly-related jazz deaths and a BOTY for shows (cut down from the list posted on this blog), but can't seem to find it - may not have run. But on 1/10, I had a piece about the Philadelphia Orchestra's monthlong Bernstein Festival, celebrating what would have been Lenny's 90th birthday; and on 1/18, an interview with Ladysmith Black Mambazo's Albert Mazibuko. That issue isn't online yet either.
Citypaper, December 27
This week, just an entry in the annual Top 21 Rock/Pop/Hip-Hop albums list for Battles' Mirrored, and a Soundadvice for Alex Nagle's guitar/laptop solo project CSection, which ended up in the Clog.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Daily News, wrapping up '07
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