With a year of building up to this event, it's finally here:
The Goods and BNL MTL present SOUNDSCAPES
at La Sala Rossa (4848 St. Laurent, coin St. Joseph)
May 23, 2009 - 10 pm - $10
So by now, I'm sure you know the story: Scott C and Claudio Marzano commissioned me to write an original "soundtrack" based on Rick Leong's painting "Dancing Serpent in Dawn's Quiet." With some hand-picked colleagues, we recorded the piece at McGill's Studio A, and then the Biennale released the multitrack files and score for anyone to remix and re-interpret.
By the time May 2009 rolled around, we had received many remixes from local artists as well as curious minds from Amsterdam and Scotland, and Rick had painted two new works based on the music. It doesn't stop there: on Saturday night, there will be an additional remix of the remixes, performed live by the musicians. It wouldn't be an edition of The Goods without some stellar DJ talent, though, so the dynamic duo of Scott C & Andy Williams will be joined by Dubline to spin tunes throughout the night.
The Dancing Serpent Players:
Mario Allard (MAQ/Papagroove) - alto saxophone & flute
Ben Henriques (Responsibility Club) - soprano & tenor saxophones
Gary Schwartz (Public Transport Project) - guitar
David Ryshpan - keyboards
Scott Kingsley (Kids Eat Crayons) - bass
Mark Nelson (Fieldtrip/Trio Bruxo) - drums
+ special guest KenLo le Narrateur....
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Indigone Tour Blog May 2009
Phil and I took the bus from Montreal to Boston, to our gig at Lily Pad in Cambridge. It seems like every city has a better managed subway system than Montreal. Cambridge Street reminded me a bit of College St. in Toronto - a quaint little section of the city lined with restaurants and clubs. Lily Pad is a listening room, much like The Stone - no bar, no food, plain chairs - but with a much warmer atmosphere. We were playing the final set of the night, after a bunch of Scottish expats attending Berklee and a group featuring club manager Gill on piano and glockenspiel. Leave it to my luck to be playing the same night as the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins. Pat kindly showed up even though he had a 7 am class, and it was a good warm up for Phil and I to shake the rust off of playing with Alex.
We drove back to Alex's parents' place on Cape Cod to crash, and then hopped more buses from the Cape to Boston and into NYC. Before leaving in the morning, I saw my BMI colleague Mariel Berger had sent me an e-mail about her show Monday night with the new Anicha Quartet, with vocalist Jean Rohe and Secret Society members Sebastian Noelle (guitar) and Mark Small (bass clarinet). I headed over to VoxPop, which is the Brooklyn equivalent of Montreal's L'Escalier, with delicious vegetarian/vegan food, great beer, and the hub of a certain artistic/political segment of the community. Most of the tunes were by Mariel and Sebastian, full of counterpoint and colour, with Jean's "La Coqueta" flipping between Spanish and English lyrics, and Mark's bluesy tune ("Tumbleweed"?) adding a deeply swinging contrast to the set. I look forward to more from that group - they're all fantastic musicians individually, and the instrumentation is beautiful and novel.
Tuesday was rehearsal day with our NYC string section of Sean-David Cunningham (the only holdover from the album, who happened to grow up in Brooklyn a stone's throw from where everyone else now lives), Zach Brock, Corinna Albright and Jody Redhage. Sean-David assumed a fantastic and necessary leadership role, and Zach, Corinna, and Jody read through the pieces at an incredible level. It was truly an honour to work with them, and I hope to do it again soon.
Wednesday was pretty frantic - with the last-minute benefit for Calvin Weston's son, Dominic, who was killed in a tragic hit-and-run the week before, I was left scrambling trying to figure out whether we should honour our commitment at World Cafe Live or cancel, in order to let everyone attend the show at The Fire. The crew at WCL were highly accommodating, and I hope to reschedule that show, with Philly's Highbrid, at some point soon.
Thursday evening I finally made it out to NuBlu, a club that's been on my radar for years. The home base of Forro in the Dark, Butch Morris' Monday night conductions of the NuBlu orchestra, and Brazilian Girls, it's the nexus of the fusion between electro, Latin and jazz sounds in the East Village. Opening the night was Lotus9, with improvised dubby goodness led by keyboardist Rick Bottari, who reminded me of Mark de Clive-Lowe, seamlessly moving between keyboards. The main event was Forro in the Dark's Davi Vieira and his solo project, Hip Hop Axé. A fusion of the two musics in question, Davi led a multinational band through a whole host of party tunes. An incredibly fun time and a very late night, topped off with samosas at Alex's favourite Indian spot.
Friday was showtime in NYC at Saint Peter's Church. We performed in the series curated by Ike Sturm, in a double bill with Tim Collins' Hell's Gate. Zach and Jody also played with Tim, whose group was rounded out by Ulrike Schmitz on viola, Greg Chudzik on bass and Matt Blostein on alto sax. Tim's tunes are truly gorgeous, and he found a way to get the most common blues ostinato to swing on strings. On the final tune, Greg, Tim, Matt and Zach traded some melodically inventive solos.
As for us, we played everything on our record. Considering we only had rehearsal and the NYC ringers hadn't had the music for long in advance, it went better than I could have hoped. Phil and Alex sounded really good, and Zach took a beautiful solo on "Driscollage."
Off bright and early to Toronto, where we double-billed at Tequila Bookworm with old friends Arkana Music. Ali's tunes are always intriguing, the band is always tight, and the blend between Mark Laver on alto and Tom Richards on trombone worked surprisingly well, especially on the demented klezmer of "Circus Freak." Seb Pellerin joined us again, fresh off playing at the National Jazz Awards gala with Mario Allard, and we blasted through a bunch of the trio-only book. It's a totally different band when we don't play Alex's tunes. I'm still getting used to that. As always, when I play a pass-the-hat gig in Toronto, there's a couple of people that don't want to donate, and there's always one mysterious piece of currency (in this case, a 0.10 Euro) in there.
Roadtrip back to Montreal with Seb and Phil where we passed our iPods around. The playlist included Revolver, Thriller, Songs in the Key of Life, Karkwa, Blonde Redhead, Q-Tip and more.
We drove back to Alex's parents' place on Cape Cod to crash, and then hopped more buses from the Cape to Boston and into NYC. Before leaving in the morning, I saw my BMI colleague Mariel Berger had sent me an e-mail about her show Monday night with the new Anicha Quartet, with vocalist Jean Rohe and Secret Society members Sebastian Noelle (guitar) and Mark Small (bass clarinet). I headed over to VoxPop, which is the Brooklyn equivalent of Montreal's L'Escalier, with delicious vegetarian/vegan food, great beer, and the hub of a certain artistic/political segment of the community. Most of the tunes were by Mariel and Sebastian, full of counterpoint and colour, with Jean's "La Coqueta" flipping between Spanish and English lyrics, and Mark's bluesy tune ("Tumbleweed"?) adding a deeply swinging contrast to the set. I look forward to more from that group - they're all fantastic musicians individually, and the instrumentation is beautiful and novel.
Tuesday was rehearsal day with our NYC string section of Sean-David Cunningham (the only holdover from the album, who happened to grow up in Brooklyn a stone's throw from where everyone else now lives), Zach Brock, Corinna Albright and Jody Redhage. Sean-David assumed a fantastic and necessary leadership role, and Zach, Corinna, and Jody read through the pieces at an incredible level. It was truly an honour to work with them, and I hope to do it again soon.
Wednesday was pretty frantic - with the last-minute benefit for Calvin Weston's son, Dominic, who was killed in a tragic hit-and-run the week before, I was left scrambling trying to figure out whether we should honour our commitment at World Cafe Live or cancel, in order to let everyone attend the show at The Fire. The crew at WCL were highly accommodating, and I hope to reschedule that show, with Philly's Highbrid, at some point soon.
Thursday evening I finally made it out to NuBlu, a club that's been on my radar for years. The home base of Forro in the Dark, Butch Morris' Monday night conductions of the NuBlu orchestra, and Brazilian Girls, it's the nexus of the fusion between electro, Latin and jazz sounds in the East Village. Opening the night was Lotus9, with improvised dubby goodness led by keyboardist Rick Bottari, who reminded me of Mark de Clive-Lowe, seamlessly moving between keyboards. The main event was Forro in the Dark's Davi Vieira and his solo project, Hip Hop Axé. A fusion of the two musics in question, Davi led a multinational band through a whole host of party tunes. An incredibly fun time and a very late night, topped off with samosas at Alex's favourite Indian spot.
Friday was showtime in NYC at Saint Peter's Church. We performed in the series curated by Ike Sturm, in a double bill with Tim Collins' Hell's Gate. Zach and Jody also played with Tim, whose group was rounded out by Ulrike Schmitz on viola, Greg Chudzik on bass and Matt Blostein on alto sax. Tim's tunes are truly gorgeous, and he found a way to get the most common blues ostinato to swing on strings. On the final tune, Greg, Tim, Matt and Zach traded some melodically inventive solos.
As for us, we played everything on our record. Considering we only had rehearsal and the NYC ringers hadn't had the music for long in advance, it went better than I could have hoped. Phil and Alex sounded really good, and Zach took a beautiful solo on "Driscollage."
Off bright and early to Toronto, where we double-billed at Tequila Bookworm with old friends Arkana Music. Ali's tunes are always intriguing, the band is always tight, and the blend between Mark Laver on alto and Tom Richards on trombone worked surprisingly well, especially on the demented klezmer of "Circus Freak." Seb Pellerin joined us again, fresh off playing at the National Jazz Awards gala with Mario Allard, and we blasted through a bunch of the trio-only book. It's a totally different band when we don't play Alex's tunes. I'm still getting used to that. As always, when I play a pass-the-hat gig in Toronto, there's a couple of people that don't want to donate, and there's always one mysterious piece of currency (in this case, a 0.10 Euro) in there.
Roadtrip back to Montreal with Seb and Phil where we passed our iPods around. The playlist included Revolver, Thriller, Songs in the Key of Life, Karkwa, Blonde Redhead, Q-Tip and more.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Emotions taking me over
Via Bernie Perusse at the Gazette, I've read Karl Paulnack's address to the parents of an incoming class to the Boston Conservatory. The speech resonated with me on many levels. As I've written numerous times in this space, I firmly believe that music is intended to communicate - it is not merely a craft, it is a language, as cliché as that may be. All of the music on Cycles is extremely important on a personal level to me, and the newer tunes I've written for Indigone and for big band also have some sort of back story, be it a tribute to a person in particular or, like "Dancing Serpent in Dawn's Quiet," based on a painting. Other songs that resonate most profoundly for me - Djavan's "Oceano," for example - are obviously coming from a very deep and moving place.
Paulnack recounts one listener's reaction to a performance of Copland's Violin Sonata, written as a tribute to a fallen pilot:
Paulnack's address to the parents concludes with a portion of his speech to the incoming students. This is something all of us musicians should keep in mind:
I remember being on the bus not long after starting my undergrad, and somehow I got to talking to a fellow student, some liberal arts student of an as-then-undetermined major, who was avidly seeking out the doctor-and/or-lawyer type. When I told her I was a musician, she asked something to the effect of "Well, what are you going to do with that?" And I responded along similar lines - I can help people, too.
Paulnack recounts one listener's reaction to a performance of Copland's Violin Sonata, written as a tribute to a fallen pilot:
“During World War II, I was a pilot, and I was in an aerial combat situation where one of my team’s planes was hit. I watched my friend bail out, [...] and I watched my friend drop away into the ocean, realizing that he was lost. I have not thought about this for many years, but during that first piece of music you played, this memory returned to me so vividly that it was as though I was reliving it. I didn’t understand why this was happening, why now, but then when you came out to explain that this piece of music was written to commemorate a lost pilot, it was a little more than I could handle. How does the music do that? How did it find those feelings and those memories in me?”
Paulnack's address to the parents concludes with a portion of his speech to the incoming students. This is something all of us musicians should keep in mind:
I expect you not only to master music; I expect you to save the planet. [...] If there is a future of peace for humankind, if there is to be an understanding of how these invisible, internal things should fit together, I expect it will come from the artists, because that’s what we do. As in the concentration camp and the evening of 9/11, the artists are the ones who might be able to help us with our internal, invisible lives.
I remember being on the bus not long after starting my undergrad, and somehow I got to talking to a fellow student, some liberal arts student of an as-then-undetermined major, who was avidly seeking out the doctor-and/or-lawyer type. When I told her I was a musician, she asked something to the effect of "Well, what are you going to do with that?" And I responded along similar lines - I can help people, too.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Hivemind: Pedagogy licks and tricks
Nearly a year ago, Darcy posted this questionaire by Mike McGinnis. This was my response at the time:
I've now had students who are at the level of being able and willing to learn some vocabulary, and I find myself being very against teaching all the textbook patterns and licks that I learned myself. It took me as long, if not longer, to realize that those phrases were a means to an end and not the end itself. I remember hitting a wall early on in my jazz studies, realizing that I wasn't truly improvising but merely creating a real-time pastiche of lick A and phrase B.
I'm beginning to think that a better way is to encourage the student to find their own vocabulary. Any student will (or should) have artists that they gravitate towards and identify with - let that be the genesis of their vocabulary, instead of working out of the various compendiums of licks that exist now. Jan Jarczyk once counselled me to take my favourite phrases of a solo, investigate how and why they work, and take them out of the context of the solo and create new permutations: transpose them to other keys, superimpose them on other harmony, etc. Brad Mehldau told me that he would write his own etudes for himself, so that he could practise various technical challenges without having to copy someone else's language. Some of my first lessons with Jeff Johnston were spent writing my own lines over ii-V-I progressions and attempting to arrive at my own sound that way.
I'm not denying the importance of tradition, or of listening to what's come before. In fact, I believe that it's essential to know the history of the music you're playing, and to be able to recall certain stylistic traits of it immediately. But the challenge is to create a relationship with your musical language, and to have that intent behind what you're playing - if I happen to play a Bird or Coltrane lick, it's not done with a wink and a nod, it's done as my genuine musical decision at that given moment.
How have you fellow musicians and educators effectively learned, or taught, improvisation? Is learning licks now a rite of passage for students or is there a better way to do it?
In general, this is something I've struggled with as I've started teaching more.
I've worked very hard to shed a reliance on licks and move towards a more
holistic, in-the-moment approach to improv, which doesn't make me special but
will hopefully make me "me." As such I'm wary of giving my students licks and
phrases to study, but the other ways of teaching improvisation sound so
convoluted to a beginner. The process, like a snake shedding its skin, seems to
be necessary: studying the vocabulary of past and present masters, and then
finding one's own voice within that.
I've now had students who are at the level of being able and willing to learn some vocabulary, and I find myself being very against teaching all the textbook patterns and licks that I learned myself. It took me as long, if not longer, to realize that those phrases were a means to an end and not the end itself. I remember hitting a wall early on in my jazz studies, realizing that I wasn't truly improvising but merely creating a real-time pastiche of lick A and phrase B.
I'm beginning to think that a better way is to encourage the student to find their own vocabulary. Any student will (or should) have artists that they gravitate towards and identify with - let that be the genesis of their vocabulary, instead of working out of the various compendiums of licks that exist now. Jan Jarczyk once counselled me to take my favourite phrases of a solo, investigate how and why they work, and take them out of the context of the solo and create new permutations: transpose them to other keys, superimpose them on other harmony, etc. Brad Mehldau told me that he would write his own etudes for himself, so that he could practise various technical challenges without having to copy someone else's language. Some of my first lessons with Jeff Johnston were spent writing my own lines over ii-V-I progressions and attempting to arrive at my own sound that way.
I'm not denying the importance of tradition, or of listening to what's come before. In fact, I believe that it's essential to know the history of the music you're playing, and to be able to recall certain stylistic traits of it immediately. But the challenge is to create a relationship with your musical language, and to have that intent behind what you're playing - if I happen to play a Bird or Coltrane lick, it's not done with a wink and a nod, it's done as my genuine musical decision at that given moment.
How have you fellow musicians and educators effectively learned, or taught, improvisation? Is learning licks now a rite of passage for students or is there a better way to do it?
Stand in line and vote
This post is blatantly for the Montrealers and ex-Montrealers. The Mirror is once again holding its Best of Montreal poll. When I first moved here it was a pretty good guide for places to check out in the city, and as I've spent more time here it becomes a matter of curiosity as to who will place in which categories - will the perennial victors keep their stronghold or will an underdog make headway?
Last year, through the power of Facebook spam, I saw a lot of messages to stuff the ballot box in favour of certain musicians or organizations. (No disrespect and I'm not naming names - it's totally fair in online voting.) It's obvious that not many people are filling in the field of Best Montreal Jazz Musician, and that it doesn't take a lot to skew the vote. While I'm not imploring you to vote for me in that category (though I'd be honoured if you did), I am asking you to vote honestly in that category and others. In this cultural and economic climate, with grant programs disappearing and budgets constantly being cut, we need ink to be spilled on the people actively on the cultural scene of Montreal. As much as I love Oliver Jones and the late Dr. Peterson, there's many more players active at this instant that don't get enough love. There's promoters and hidden venues doing great things off the radar; give your neighbourhood café the shout-out it may desperately need.
The only trick about the Mirror ballot is that you need to fill out 25 of the categories for your votes to be valid. So please click on over and vote! Results will be published May 14.
Last year, through the power of Facebook spam, I saw a lot of messages to stuff the ballot box in favour of certain musicians or organizations. (No disrespect and I'm not naming names - it's totally fair in online voting.) It's obvious that not many people are filling in the field of Best Montreal Jazz Musician, and that it doesn't take a lot to skew the vote. While I'm not imploring you to vote for me in that category (though I'd be honoured if you did), I am asking you to vote honestly in that category and others. In this cultural and economic climate, with grant programs disappearing and budgets constantly being cut, we need ink to be spilled on the people actively on the cultural scene of Montreal. As much as I love Oliver Jones and the late Dr. Peterson, there's many more players active at this instant that don't get enough love. There's promoters and hidden venues doing great things off the radar; give your neighbourhood café the shout-out it may desperately need.
The only trick about the Mirror ballot is that you need to fill out 25 of the categories for your votes to be valid. So please click on over and vote! Results will be published May 14.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Trio Bruxo +2 post-mortem
Thanks to the select crowd of friends that hauled out to Il Motore on Sunday night. Il Motore is a beautiful new space, a stone's throw from Jean-Talon Market. The building used to be, as Casa booker Steve G. told me, "one of those sketchy video-lottery bars that you wonder how they can still be in business." Our new friends are now great allies and I hope to work with them again soon.
As a last minute addition, Moonstarr spun bossa and MPB beats between the sets, and graciously recorded the show, which turned out pretty well. Look for some of it to wind up on the Trio Bruxo space. For those of you who couldn't make it, and for those that did and wondered what tunes we were playing, here's the set list.
Set 1:
Sururu de Capote (Djavan) [trio only]
Canário do reino (Carvalho/Zapata)
Flor de lis (Djavan)
Lead Me Home (Jean Rohe)
Joana francesa (Chico Buarque)
Casa forte (Edu Lobo)
Piano na mangueira (Tom Jobim/Chico Buarque)
Fugiu com a novela (Vanessa da Mata)
Eta baião (Jackson do Pandeiro)
Set 2:
Brigas Nunca Mais (Tom Jobim)
13 de Maio (Caetano Veloso)
Give It Up (Jean Rohe)
Hombre Triste (Myk Freedman)
Quem te viu, quem te vê (Chico Buarque)
Eu só quero um xodó (Dominguinhos)
Asa branca (Luiz Gonzaga/Humberto Teixeira)
As a last minute addition, Moonstarr spun bossa and MPB beats between the sets, and graciously recorded the show, which turned out pretty well. Look for some of it to wind up on the Trio Bruxo space. For those of you who couldn't make it, and for those that did and wondered what tunes we were playing, here's the set list.
Set 1:
Sururu de Capote (Djavan) [trio only]
Canário do reino (Carvalho/Zapata)
Flor de lis (Djavan)
Lead Me Home (Jean Rohe)
Joana francesa (Chico Buarque)
Casa forte (Edu Lobo)
Piano na mangueira (Tom Jobim/Chico Buarque)
Fugiu com a novela (Vanessa da Mata)
Eta baião (Jackson do Pandeiro)
Set 2:
Brigas Nunca Mais (Tom Jobim)
13 de Maio (Caetano Veloso)
Give It Up (Jean Rohe)
Hombre Triste (Myk Freedman)
Quem te viu, quem te vê (Chico Buarque)
Eu só quero um xodó (Dominguinhos)
Asa branca (Luiz Gonzaga/Humberto Teixeira)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Start Your Engines
The Casa del Popolo family of venues are among my favourites in the city. From the small, intimate Casa to the larger Spanish social hall of La Sala Rossa, and even the short-lived, high school cafeteria setting of El Salon, these rooms book fantastic musicians, support independent and local artists, and have good sound. The latest addition to the group is Il Motore, on Jean-Talon and Waverly. I have the honour and fortune of playing there in three different groups over the next couple of months.
This Sunday, March 22, Trio Bruxo hits Il Motore with some new (to us) repertoire and some very special guests. Trio Bruxo is a newer project of mine, in the vein of the great Brazilian piano trios of the '60s and '70s. I'm joined by Nicolas Bédard on electric bass and Mark Nelson on drums. There may even be a guest DJ in the house. Doors open at 8.
On Thursday, April 2, I'll be playing alongside my good friend Becky Noble. Becky and I went to McGill together and were both out at the Banff Centre in 2005. She's since taken a bit of a hiatus from music and lives back on the West Coast, which is a shame because she's a fantastic composer and saxophonist. A one-night-only sextet has formed to play a mix of Becky's tunes and select covers.
The band is: Becky Noble - alto sax/compositions; Chet Doxas - tenor sax; DRR - keys; Tristan Paxton - guitar; Conrad Good - bass; Adam Miller - drums.
And finally, Sunday May 3 marks the return of Indigone Trio to the stage. Phil, Seb and I are busy with other things but it's always a pleasure to play my music with them. I'm hoping to have some new music written for this show. We'll be joined by some Ropeadope crew for this special showcase event.
This Sunday, March 22, Trio Bruxo hits Il Motore with some new (to us) repertoire and some very special guests. Trio Bruxo is a newer project of mine, in the vein of the great Brazilian piano trios of the '60s and '70s. I'm joined by Nicolas Bédard on electric bass and Mark Nelson on drums. There may even be a guest DJ in the house. Doors open at 8.
On Thursday, April 2, I'll be playing alongside my good friend Becky Noble. Becky and I went to McGill together and were both out at the Banff Centre in 2005. She's since taken a bit of a hiatus from music and lives back on the West Coast, which is a shame because she's a fantastic composer and saxophonist. A one-night-only sextet has formed to play a mix of Becky's tunes and select covers.
The band is: Becky Noble - alto sax/compositions; Chet Doxas - tenor sax; DRR - keys; Tristan Paxton - guitar; Conrad Good - bass; Adam Miller - drums.
And finally, Sunday May 3 marks the return of Indigone Trio to the stage. Phil, Seb and I are busy with other things but it's always a pleasure to play my music with them. I'm hoping to have some new music written for this show. We'll be joined by some Ropeadope crew for this special showcase event.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Addendum
You know, as great as last night's show was, this still makes me jealous: the next installment of the VTech Timeless series at the Luckman Theater in LA will feature Arthur Veroçai and a 30-piece orchestra, Madlib on the decks, and Airto Moreira and 2/3 of Azymuth.
Damn. If you are anywhere in reasonable driving distance from LA, GO!
Damn. If you are anywhere in reasonable driving distance from LA, GO!
Voices and Rhythms of Brazil - Metropolis, 03/10/2009
I'm always amazed at how familial the music scene is here. Especially at world music shows, it often seems like one big family reunion - this was the case at the Boban Markovic concert last summer, and even more so last night at Metropolis. It appeared that the entire lusophone community of Montreal (along with some like-minded pretenders like me) was out in force. A four-hour tribute to bossa, samba, MPB, samba-rock and samba-reggae ensued in the company of locals (ringleader Monica Freire, keyboardist John Sadowy, the inimitable Vovô, and co-musical directors bassist Dan Gigon and saxophonist Jean-Pierre Zanella) and guests from Brazil and Paris, the night featured vocalists Freire, Rodrigo Maranhão, Mart'nália, Celso Fonseca and Margareth Menezes. Starting with the batucada of Estacão da Luz in the middle of the club, the first half featured each singer performing two or three songs, the last of which was generally a cover (Maranhão doing Caetano Veloso's "Você não entende nada," Mart'nália with her re-harmonized and re-grooved version of "Don't Worry, Be Happy," and Fonseca doing Marcos Valle's "Summer Samba"). Someone performed "Chiclete com banana" somewhere in the first set, I don't remember who!
What was truly inspiring, and a welcome reminder, were the versions of ubiquitous bossas that have made their way into the jazz canon - "Summer Samba," "Samba de uma nota só," "Águas de Março," "Água de beber." As a jazz musician, I've heard (and played) some terribly watered-down versions that bear no resemblance to the way the tunes are supposed to be done. Normally I can't stand "Águas de Março" but Freire and Fonseca did it well - and it's such a wordy tune that two native Brazilans needed a cheat sheet on a music stand!
The second set, after a batucada and capoeira interlude, started with Maranhão's version of "Agua de beber," and soon the spirit shifted from tribute concert to all-out festa. Freire got it going with Gilberto Gil's "Aquele abraço." Margareth Menezes, looking like a Bahian Tina Turner, led a sing-along of Jorge Ben's "País tropical" and Chico Cesar's "Mama Africa." The finale featured all five singing Jorge Ben's "Ive Brussel." The night was filmed by Spectra-Amerimage for broadcast - there were more than a few times where I nearly got beaned by a camera arm, and the stage setup had a very 1960s Ed Sullivan feel to it.
What was truly inspiring, and a welcome reminder, were the versions of ubiquitous bossas that have made their way into the jazz canon - "Summer Samba," "Samba de uma nota só," "Águas de Março," "Água de beber." As a jazz musician, I've heard (and played) some terribly watered-down versions that bear no resemblance to the way the tunes are supposed to be done. Normally I can't stand "Águas de Março" but Freire and Fonseca did it well - and it's such a wordy tune that two native Brazilans needed a cheat sheet on a music stand!
The second set, after a batucada and capoeira interlude, started with Maranhão's version of "Agua de beber," and soon the spirit shifted from tribute concert to all-out festa. Freire got it going with Gilberto Gil's "Aquele abraço." Margareth Menezes, looking like a Bahian Tina Turner, led a sing-along of Jorge Ben's "País tropical" and Chico Cesar's "Mama Africa." The finale featured all five singing Jorge Ben's "Ive Brussel." The night was filmed by Spectra-Amerimage for broadcast - there were more than a few times where I nearly got beaned by a camera arm, and the stage setup had a very 1960s Ed Sullivan feel to it.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Heavy Metal Thunder
What happens when a bunch of jazz geeks with a love for rock collide with the director of a Digital Composition Studio, and Bruckner? Find out tomorrow evening in Pollack Hall (555 Sherbrooke W) as members of Kids Eat Crayons perform during MusiMars 2009's Heavy Metal Project, premiering Sean Ferguson's shoot•dash•it. Other pieces on the program include David Adamcyk's remix of Pierre Boulez for Fender Rhodes and narration, Elliot Britton's piece for keyboards, electric cello and V-Drums, and Scelsi's Uaxuctum.
Kids Eat Crayons: Jean-Philippe Major - vocals; David Ryshpan - keyboards; Scott Kingsley - bass; D.W. Lee - V-Drums; with Jimmie Leblanc - guitar; Sean Ferguson - digital processing.
Kids Eat Crayons: Jean-Philippe Major - vocals; David Ryshpan - keyboards; Scott Kingsley - bass; D.W. Lee - V-Drums; with Jimmie Leblanc - guitar; Sean Ferguson - digital processing.
Monday, March 02, 2009
SFJazz Collective - Metropolis, 02/27/2009
The SFJazz Collective is a rarity in many senses: an all-star group that rises above its concept to create and perform music that stands on its own; a leaderless (or multi-led) group of fantastic soloists that coheres into a group sound; a band paying homage to an iconic figure (in this case, McCoy Tyner) that retains their own identity. Tyner's presence, like Monk, looms so largely over his music - it demands a certain amount of his personalized vocabulary, without merely parrotting the trademark Tyner-isms. Pianist Renee Rosnes winked at the classic McCoy language and added her own personal take on the characteristic open fifths, quartal voicings and blistering pentatonic runs.
The concert began with Rosnes' arrangement of Tyner's "Fly Like the Wind." Opening with the lowest A on the piano, impressionistic flurries and a repeated phrase that got passed around the horns before leading into Rosnes' prelude and eventually the head, the arrangement signaled the type of reverent re-imagining of Tyner's music that would follow through the evening. Joe Lovano took the first solo, launching immediately into a double-time feel. At the arrangement's climax it collapsed back into the opening echo phrase, and ended on a resonant C major chord.
Trombonist Robin Eubanks' medley of Tyner's "Indo Serenade" and "Parody" followed. Drummer Eric Harland nailed the vaguely Latin, straight-eighth grooves framing these takes on Tyner's Milestone records from the 1970s. Eubanks parlayed "Indo-Serenade" into odd meters with metric trickery, while never losing the groove or drawing attention to the rhythmic intricacies. The call and response writing reminded me a bit of Guillermo Klein's work. Altoist Miguel Zenon and Eubanks took marvelous solos, with Harland performing a killing interlude into the 6/8 ending of "Parody."
Lovano's "Jazz Free" was a pun and comment on free jazz and truly exhibited the sensitive, empathetic listening going on in this group. The underlying elasticity of time, even when it wasn't stated outright, was reminiscent of Ornette Coleman, with a bass/drum interlude hearkening back to the intro of "Lonely Woman." The collective improvising never got cluttered, coalescing into a series of descending fifths while a soloist continued.
One of the highlights of the set was Dave Douglas' original "Sycamore," with a series of gorgeously simple melodies that effortlessly dovetailed into one another. I don't really have any more notes on this tune, because I was sitting there stunned and moved by the beauty of it. It was very much in the vein of his quintet book, but utilized the added colours of the SFJazz septet effectively. Douglas' playing was revelatory throughout the set - though I've heard him play in multi-horn groups (his Sextet records from the 1990s and early '00s for instance), I've never heard him lead a section's phrasing with such authority and empathy.
Zenon's arrangement of "Four by Five" opened with Harland's broken hip-hop feel and a cyclic repetition of a phrase before launching into a burning Dave Douglas solo in 4/4 swing. Bassist Matt Penman's arrangement of "Three Flowers" was highly inventive, with bass and piano playing the melody, trombone carrying the bassline, and the other three horns alternating between an accompaniment figure and collective blowing. It was subtle but completely effective at changing up the texture of the set. Harland's tune "E-Collective" ended the set with all four horns chanting the tala used throughout the piece, setting the groove that would continue - a nod to Harland's Indian rhythmic explorations alongside Charles Lloyd and Zakir Hussein.
Lovano's arrangement of "Aisha" served as the encore, with Douglas in cup mute. A simple, gracious nod of honour to McCoy and a fantastic parting gift to the audience.
The concert began with Rosnes' arrangement of Tyner's "Fly Like the Wind." Opening with the lowest A on the piano, impressionistic flurries and a repeated phrase that got passed around the horns before leading into Rosnes' prelude and eventually the head, the arrangement signaled the type of reverent re-imagining of Tyner's music that would follow through the evening. Joe Lovano took the first solo, launching immediately into a double-time feel. At the arrangement's climax it collapsed back into the opening echo phrase, and ended on a resonant C major chord.
Trombonist Robin Eubanks' medley of Tyner's "Indo Serenade" and "Parody" followed. Drummer Eric Harland nailed the vaguely Latin, straight-eighth grooves framing these takes on Tyner's Milestone records from the 1970s. Eubanks parlayed "Indo-Serenade" into odd meters with metric trickery, while never losing the groove or drawing attention to the rhythmic intricacies. The call and response writing reminded me a bit of Guillermo Klein's work. Altoist Miguel Zenon and Eubanks took marvelous solos, with Harland performing a killing interlude into the 6/8 ending of "Parody."
Lovano's "Jazz Free" was a pun and comment on free jazz and truly exhibited the sensitive, empathetic listening going on in this group. The underlying elasticity of time, even when it wasn't stated outright, was reminiscent of Ornette Coleman, with a bass/drum interlude hearkening back to the intro of "Lonely Woman." The collective improvising never got cluttered, coalescing into a series of descending fifths while a soloist continued.
One of the highlights of the set was Dave Douglas' original "Sycamore," with a series of gorgeously simple melodies that effortlessly dovetailed into one another. I don't really have any more notes on this tune, because I was sitting there stunned and moved by the beauty of it. It was very much in the vein of his quintet book, but utilized the added colours of the SFJazz septet effectively. Douglas' playing was revelatory throughout the set - though I've heard him play in multi-horn groups (his Sextet records from the 1990s and early '00s for instance), I've never heard him lead a section's phrasing with such authority and empathy.
Zenon's arrangement of "Four by Five" opened with Harland's broken hip-hop feel and a cyclic repetition of a phrase before launching into a burning Dave Douglas solo in 4/4 swing. Bassist Matt Penman's arrangement of "Three Flowers" was highly inventive, with bass and piano playing the melody, trombone carrying the bassline, and the other three horns alternating between an accompaniment figure and collective blowing. It was subtle but completely effective at changing up the texture of the set. Harland's tune "E-Collective" ended the set with all four horns chanting the tala used throughout the piece, setting the groove that would continue - a nod to Harland's Indian rhythmic explorations alongside Charles Lloyd and Zakir Hussein.
Lovano's arrangement of "Aisha" served as the encore, with Douglas in cup mute. A simple, gracious nod of honour to McCoy and a fantastic parting gift to the audience.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Rocking la maison!
Cheers to Andrew Waller at CJSW-FM (Calgary)'s Breaking the Tethers for playing our music last night. Also, hats off to Ron Steeds at CKCU-FM's Now's the Time for his longstanding support of Indigone, and his inclusion in his "String Driven Things" episode a while back; to the Douze Pouces gang for this crazy review; and to John Murph at WPFW-FM (Washington, DC), for including us in a hope-filled set a few weeks ago.
Indigone Trio & Strings' Cycles should now be at the libraries of most campus/community radio stations across Canada, and at a select few in the Northeast US. Keep an ear out - if you haven't heard us yet, you should soon. For any readers outside of Canada and the northeast US, let me know what stations you listen to!
Indigone Trio & Strings' Cycles should now be at the libraries of most campus/community radio stations across Canada, and at a select few in the Northeast US. Keep an ear out - if you haven't heard us yet, you should soon. For any readers outside of Canada and the northeast US, let me know what stations you listen to!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Fieldtrip + 2 - Maison du Jazz, 02/16/2009
The Fieldtrip boys were back in town on Monday, with their guests Kelly Jefferson on tenor and soprano saxophones, and Jim Head on guitar. Bringing together different generations of McGill alumni, the group played new music by co-composers Pat Reid and Colin Power. I only caught the second set, but every time I see these guys, they've come more into their own as a band. Pat and Colin both have branched out in their writing, with more through-composed tunes, avoiding the head-solo-head format and taking their time with melodic material. I've had the immense pleasure of playing with Pat, Colin and drummer Mark Nelson on many occasions (Mark even subbed in the Indigone CD release), and it's quite remarkable how much those three have achieved a band sound, and how they retain it while still growing as musicians and as a band.
Kelly and Jim found their place in the band sound quite well; while they did have their fair share of "featured soloist" spotlight, neither of them seemed out of place in the sound. Kelly's one of the musicians I grew up around in Toronto, hanging out at The Rex as a kid; his sound has always been big and vocal. He paired well with Colin's alto on the front line. Jim was finishing up his Master's while I was in undergrad, and his melodic concept was always exceedingly inventive. It was great to hear him crunch it up on one of Pat's new tunes, "A Wolf in a Sweater" (dedicated to a certain public figure). They're recording a new album in Toronto this week and then they hit The Rex on the weekend - if you're in Toronto and reading this, go.
Kelly and Jim found their place in the band sound quite well; while they did have their fair share of "featured soloist" spotlight, neither of them seemed out of place in the sound. Kelly's one of the musicians I grew up around in Toronto, hanging out at The Rex as a kid; his sound has always been big and vocal. He paired well with Colin's alto on the front line. Jim was finishing up his Master's while I was in undergrad, and his melodic concept was always exceedingly inventive. It was great to hear him crunch it up on one of Pat's new tunes, "A Wolf in a Sweater" (dedicated to a certain public figure). They're recording a new album in Toronto this week and then they hit The Rex on the weekend - if you're in Toronto and reading this, go.
Moondata LOVEProject - O Patro Vys, 02/14/2009
Two happenings that profoundly solidified my love for Montreal while I was in university were the Moondata LABProjects, a monthly event at O Patro Vys, and the weekly Kalmunity sessions at Sablo Café. Both unite musicians in improvisational glory, with brief discussions of direction mere hours beforehand. Kalmunity is still going strong every Tuesday, but Moondata had taken a nearly two-year absence while founders Matt Lederman and Vid Cousins went on tour with many of Canada's indie darlings, and co-founder Rhyna Thompson continued her management duties.
Moondata was always intriguing to me because the musicians that appeared onstage often came from wildly disparate scenes. It was not uncommon to see Chet Doxas playing tenor alongside Kid Koala, or to have crooner John Labelle front a band of indie upstarts. And of course, with any evening of mostly improvised music, some of them were hit and miss - generally, they were hits.
Love has always brought the best out of the Moondata collective - while I missed the last Valentine's soirée with Labelle and company, I did see the one the year before, featuring Patrick Watson and Elizabeth Powell weaving love songs over a band of (then)-couples. No surprise then that the long-awaited "reunion" would fall on Valentine's Day. This time around it was less a collision of divergent forces than a group of friends (on stage and in the audience) coming together again for a shared experience. The band featured Matt & Vid on guitars and fx, joined by McGill alumni Sarah Pagé (harp), Andy King (trumpet), and former Indigone drummer Liam O'Neill, as well as Mishka Stein of the Patrick Watson band on bass, Andrew Barr on drums and percussion, and guest vocalist Lhasa. Much of the first set was grounded in atmospheric post-rock, with Barr on steel drum and waterphone, and the whole band starting one improvisation with various whirling air tubes (I can't remember the name of that instrument). King's harmon muted trumpet blended almost too well with Lhasa's formidable kazoo playing. The final tune of the first set featured a monster groove and collective handclaps.
The second set continued along its path with what Lederman called the "avant-garde" portion of the evening "because love can be scary," with Pagé assuming the waterphone this time while heavily effected guitars and trumpet swirled. There were many more double-headed grooves with Liam and Andrew locking in really well. The double drum set-up has been a staple of Moondata, and it's always been a revelation to see how the drummers, ranging from Bell Orchestre's Stefan Schneider to Kalmunity's Jahsun, have hooked up. Sending the night off with a "dance tune," the group proceeded to wink at, salute and deconstruct four-on-the-floor house, culminating in a wild jumble of sound. A far more engaging soundtrack to Valentine's Day than the norm.
Matt and Vid are moving more into the audio and production side of the world, but perhaps someone can assume the mantle of Moondata from them. I and many other listeners realized how much we missed them. More on the show from Sarah Brideau.
Moondata was always intriguing to me because the musicians that appeared onstage often came from wildly disparate scenes. It was not uncommon to see Chet Doxas playing tenor alongside Kid Koala, or to have crooner John Labelle front a band of indie upstarts. And of course, with any evening of mostly improvised music, some of them were hit and miss - generally, they were hits.
Love has always brought the best out of the Moondata collective - while I missed the last Valentine's soirée with Labelle and company, I did see the one the year before, featuring Patrick Watson and Elizabeth Powell weaving love songs over a band of (then)-couples. No surprise then that the long-awaited "reunion" would fall on Valentine's Day. This time around it was less a collision of divergent forces than a group of friends (on stage and in the audience) coming together again for a shared experience. The band featured Matt & Vid on guitars and fx, joined by McGill alumni Sarah Pagé (harp), Andy King (trumpet), and former Indigone drummer Liam O'Neill, as well as Mishka Stein of the Patrick Watson band on bass, Andrew Barr on drums and percussion, and guest vocalist Lhasa. Much of the first set was grounded in atmospheric post-rock, with Barr on steel drum and waterphone, and the whole band starting one improvisation with various whirling air tubes (I can't remember the name of that instrument). King's harmon muted trumpet blended almost too well with Lhasa's formidable kazoo playing. The final tune of the first set featured a monster groove and collective handclaps.
The second set continued along its path with what Lederman called the "avant-garde" portion of the evening "because love can be scary," with Pagé assuming the waterphone this time while heavily effected guitars and trumpet swirled. There were many more double-headed grooves with Liam and Andrew locking in really well. The double drum set-up has been a staple of Moondata, and it's always been a revelation to see how the drummers, ranging from Bell Orchestre's Stefan Schneider to Kalmunity's Jahsun, have hooked up. Sending the night off with a "dance tune," the group proceeded to wink at, salute and deconstruct four-on-the-floor house, culminating in a wild jumble of sound. A far more engaging soundtrack to Valentine's Day than the norm.
Matt and Vid are moving more into the audio and production side of the world, but perhaps someone can assume the mantle of Moondata from them. I and many other listeners realized how much we missed them. More on the show from Sarah Brideau.
Friday, January 16, 2009
A fine balance
Fellow pianist/writer Peter Hum over at the Ottawa Citizen has been posting a steady stream of blogs discussing his experience with free/avant-garde/creative jazz with candor. The latest entry includes excerpts from Ottawa pianist Steve Boudreau (whom I met at the Kenny Barron masterclass at the National Arts Centre), currently studying at NEC. Boudreau writes:
I think the highest regard goes to musicians who can integrate these (free) elements with their own music. So not just out stuff, but a good mix of musicality with a total open mind.
This summarizes my own experience with avant-leaning music. My favourite musicians are those that can play both completely open and free, as well as in song-form or through-composed settings, and do so with equal conviction and clarity. Through free improvising, my approach to song forms and compositions retains that sense of freedom. And conversely, by playing a variety of different songs and compositions, be it jazz standards, pop tunes, ethnic folk songs or classical repertoire, I become more varied in my interactions in free improvising. I find that balance truly fascinating. One of the most eye- and ear-opening experiences at the Banff Centre was hearing Dave Douglas burn on bebop tunes at a jam session in the pub. Memorably, Douglas said that "all 'free' means is the freedom to make any musical choice at any given time," which runs counter to those who posit that many free players play free because they can't do anything else. It may be true of some, I suppose.
The avant-garde can be daunting, because there are so many subsets of it stylistically, and even within certain scenes, the styles of player to player (or the same person project to project) can vary widely. It's only when I was confronted with "avant-garde" music and started to deal with it on its own terms, away from descriptions by journalists or other musicians, that I started to enjoy it and embrace it. Two moments catalyzed my exploration of avant music:
On a high school band trip to Chicago, we went to see Medeski Martin & Wood in an acoustic setting with Eight Bold Souls opening, at Symphony Centre. As a DownBeat-reading adolescent jazz snob, I knew the Eight Bold Souls were part of the AACM. My only knowledge of AACM music was, maybe, a couple of Art Ensemble tracks where they were all playing "little instruments," and photos of Lester Bowie in his white lab coat. I had just gotten into MMW's groovier stuff like It's a Jungle in Here and A Go Go (with Scofield). I went in expecting to love MMW and despise Eight Bold Souls. It was the opposite: Wilkerson and co. played most of the music from Last Option, with tunes like "Pachinko" and "Brown Town" swinging in their raggedly jolly way, and more brooding tunes brought out by the unconventional and bass-heavy instrumentation. The MMW set, very similar to their album, Tonic, went way over my head at the time. Medeski and Martin would hint at these deliciously funky grooves, and instead of indulging them, find any way to subvert them. As a kid, this was intensely frustrating. It was only years later that Tonic, and that style of group interplay, really clicked for me. I wish I had the tapes of that show now.
The other spark was through CKUT. One of the first Jazz Euphorium shows I hosted solo was a preview of the Suoni Per il Popolo festival. Many artists on the program I knew by name but had never checked out. Steve Guimond, the program director at the time, asked that I do a feature on the upcoming Suoni shows. I headed into the library with dread, pulling albums out by artists coming to town. The one that really knocked me out was Roy Campbell's Ethnic Stew and Brew. I knew of William Parker's playing through some of his playing with Matthew Shipp and David S. Ware; I had given the most cursory of listens to that stuff in the past and flat out didn't like it. I was not expecting the infectious bent reggae of the Pyramid Trio, and I had new ears for Parker's music. With that mindset, I approached many artists, old and new. Some of it I still don't care for, honestly, but I've fallen in love with a whole host of music (Braxton's 70s work, Henry Threadgill, William Parker, Roy Campbell, Marc Ribot, Ken Vandermark and friends, among many others) that I would have dismissed out-of-hand previously.
The final recommendation I'd make for those dipping their toes into the waters of the avant-garde is to go see free improv live, if you can. There's something about the physicality of certain improvisers, being witness to the decision/music-making progress, that gives it a certain kind of coherence that doesn't translate on record all the time. I don't know that I'd listen to a Roscoe Mitchell solo album, but his solo concert last year was truly impressive, and a great part of that was being able to see what he was doing.
I think the highest regard goes to musicians who can integrate these (free) elements with their own music. So not just out stuff, but a good mix of musicality with a total open mind.
This summarizes my own experience with avant-leaning music. My favourite musicians are those that can play both completely open and free, as well as in song-form or through-composed settings, and do so with equal conviction and clarity. Through free improvising, my approach to song forms and compositions retains that sense of freedom. And conversely, by playing a variety of different songs and compositions, be it jazz standards, pop tunes, ethnic folk songs or classical repertoire, I become more varied in my interactions in free improvising. I find that balance truly fascinating. One of the most eye- and ear-opening experiences at the Banff Centre was hearing Dave Douglas burn on bebop tunes at a jam session in the pub. Memorably, Douglas said that "all 'free' means is the freedom to make any musical choice at any given time," which runs counter to those who posit that many free players play free because they can't do anything else. It may be true of some, I suppose.
The avant-garde can be daunting, because there are so many subsets of it stylistically, and even within certain scenes, the styles of player to player (or the same person project to project) can vary widely. It's only when I was confronted with "avant-garde" music and started to deal with it on its own terms, away from descriptions by journalists or other musicians, that I started to enjoy it and embrace it. Two moments catalyzed my exploration of avant music:
On a high school band trip to Chicago, we went to see Medeski Martin & Wood in an acoustic setting with Eight Bold Souls opening, at Symphony Centre. As a DownBeat-reading adolescent jazz snob, I knew the Eight Bold Souls were part of the AACM. My only knowledge of AACM music was, maybe, a couple of Art Ensemble tracks where they were all playing "little instruments," and photos of Lester Bowie in his white lab coat. I had just gotten into MMW's groovier stuff like It's a Jungle in Here and A Go Go (with Scofield). I went in expecting to love MMW and despise Eight Bold Souls. It was the opposite: Wilkerson and co. played most of the music from Last Option, with tunes like "Pachinko" and "Brown Town" swinging in their raggedly jolly way, and more brooding tunes brought out by the unconventional and bass-heavy instrumentation. The MMW set, very similar to their album, Tonic, went way over my head at the time. Medeski and Martin would hint at these deliciously funky grooves, and instead of indulging them, find any way to subvert them. As a kid, this was intensely frustrating. It was only years later that Tonic, and that style of group interplay, really clicked for me. I wish I had the tapes of that show now.
The other spark was through CKUT. One of the first Jazz Euphorium shows I hosted solo was a preview of the Suoni Per il Popolo festival. Many artists on the program I knew by name but had never checked out. Steve Guimond, the program director at the time, asked that I do a feature on the upcoming Suoni shows. I headed into the library with dread, pulling albums out by artists coming to town. The one that really knocked me out was Roy Campbell's Ethnic Stew and Brew. I knew of William Parker's playing through some of his playing with Matthew Shipp and David S. Ware; I had given the most cursory of listens to that stuff in the past and flat out didn't like it. I was not expecting the infectious bent reggae of the Pyramid Trio, and I had new ears for Parker's music. With that mindset, I approached many artists, old and new. Some of it I still don't care for, honestly, but I've fallen in love with a whole host of music (Braxton's 70s work, Henry Threadgill, William Parker, Roy Campbell, Marc Ribot, Ken Vandermark and friends, among many others) that I would have dismissed out-of-hand previously.
The final recommendation I'd make for those dipping their toes into the waters of the avant-garde is to go see free improv live, if you can. There's something about the physicality of certain improvisers, being witness to the decision/music-making progress, that gives it a certain kind of coherence that doesn't translate on record all the time. I don't know that I'd listen to a Roscoe Mitchell solo album, but his solo concert last year was truly impressive, and a great part of that was being able to see what he was doing.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Sent you a message, sent you an e-mail
I've spent the holiday weeks rediscovering the joys of the internet: browsing clips on YouTube, and rediscovering the radio station functions on last.fm (hat tip to James Hale). One site in particular has really piqued my interest, though - Indaba Music. After many years of attempts for musicians to jam together, whether in real-time or not, Indaba seems to have married some of the better concepts of Music/Web-2.0 of the past couple of years. I first read about the site in October when they were running a remix competition with The Roots, one of many contests they have held. Similar to Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Dave Douglas and of course the Biennale project, The Roots put the stems of "Criminal" (from Rising Down) up on Indaba for anyone to remix; the contest part of it entailed that the top 10 would proceed to a second round, and the winner would be invited to work on a session live with The Roots. I signed up to participate but never got around to it.
The latest project goes one further: K-Os has put up stems of his entire forthcoming record, and will release a companion remix record drawn exclusively from Indaba submissions. I've remixed three of the songs.
Now lest anyone think that Indaba is geared strictly to the hip-hop or electronica communities, previous competitions have featured Yo-Yo Ma and Joe Lovano. In addition to the competition, members can upload their own sessions, private or public, and collaborate with others. I find it a highly organized system: when browsing sessions, the genre of the project and what the leader is looking for come up as tags. While the membership can be skewed towards hip-hop and electronica, I've seen that some forward-thinking jazz musicians such as Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Greg Osby and Meilana Gillard have profiles up; I've even discovered the profile of Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, a choral director with whom I worked in Toronto. Indaba looks truly promising in finding new collaborators and seems to be an efficient method of sharing ideas. I still love recording live-off-the-floor, as evidenced by the Indigone Trio album. I prefer, if at all possible, to work shoulder-to-shoulder with collaborators, as Heliponto and I did at the Red Bull Music Academy. Failing that, swapping files via e-mail, or in a streamlined session, may lead to new creative avenues.
The latest project goes one further: K-Os has put up stems of his entire forthcoming record, and will release a companion remix record drawn exclusively from Indaba submissions. I've remixed three of the songs.
Now lest anyone think that Indaba is geared strictly to the hip-hop or electronica communities, previous competitions have featured Yo-Yo Ma and Joe Lovano. In addition to the competition, members can upload their own sessions, private or public, and collaborate with others. I find it a highly organized system: when browsing sessions, the genre of the project and what the leader is looking for come up as tags. While the membership can be skewed towards hip-hop and electronica, I've seen that some forward-thinking jazz musicians such as Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Greg Osby and Meilana Gillard have profiles up; I've even discovered the profile of Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, a choral director with whom I worked in Toronto. Indaba looks truly promising in finding new collaborators and seems to be an efficient method of sharing ideas. I still love recording live-off-the-floor, as evidenced by the Indigone Trio album. I prefer, if at all possible, to work shoulder-to-shoulder with collaborators, as Heliponto and I did at the Red Bull Music Academy. Failing that, swapping files via e-mail, or in a streamlined session, may lead to new creative avenues.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Montreal Sessions December 30, 2008
Free-for-All #2
*Sam Davidson Group - "Seven and Three" (Perceivable Changes)
James Davis Quintet - "For Another Time" (Angles of Refraction)
*Namedropper - "Beginner's Hoot"
Oliver Nelson - "Hoedown" (Blues & The Abstract Truth)
Wayne Shorter - "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum" (Speak No Evil)
Herbie Hancock - "Eye of the Hurricane" (Maiden Voyage)
*Turtleboy - "Drug of Preference" (s/t)
Interview with Jon Lindhorst (Turtleboy)
*Lindhorst/Ryshpan - "Invaders from the Deep" (live on air!)
*Turtleboy - "Etude for Right Hand" (s/t)
Todd Sickafoose - "Warm Stone" (Tiny Resistors)
*Sara Latendresse - "Why?" (Naked)
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society - "Transit" (Live at Le Poisson Rouge)
John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble - "Folkmoot" (A Blessing)
Azymuth - "Os Cara La" (Butterfly)
Ed Motta - "Coincidencia" (Poptical)
Curumin - "Mal Estar Card" (JapanPopShow)
*Indigone Trio & Strings - "Smacked" (Cycles)
*Sam Davidson Group - "Seven and Three" (Perceivable Changes)
James Davis Quintet - "For Another Time" (Angles of Refraction)
*Namedropper - "Beginner's Hoot"
Oliver Nelson - "Hoedown" (Blues & The Abstract Truth)
Wayne Shorter - "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum" (Speak No Evil)
Herbie Hancock - "Eye of the Hurricane" (Maiden Voyage)
*Turtleboy - "Drug of Preference" (s/t)
Interview with Jon Lindhorst (Turtleboy)
*Lindhorst/Ryshpan - "Invaders from the Deep" (live on air!)
*Turtleboy - "Etude for Right Hand" (s/t)
Todd Sickafoose - "Warm Stone" (Tiny Resistors)
*Sara Latendresse - "Why?" (Naked)
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society - "Transit" (Live at Le Poisson Rouge)
John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble - "Folkmoot" (A Blessing)
Azymuth - "Os Cara La" (Butterfly)
Ed Motta - "Coincidencia" (Poptical)
Curumin - "Mal Estar Card" (JapanPopShow)
*Indigone Trio & Strings - "Smacked" (Cycles)
Monday, December 29, 2008
RIP Freddie Hubbard
Another master gone. I thought Freddie might have been able to battle back from his most recent bout of illness.
Ethan's already got a great post up in remembrance. Hubbard's moments on Blues and the Abstract Truth and Maiden Voyage were intrinsic parts of my formative jazz years. When I went through my adolescent jazz snob phase, with an avid interest in 1960s Blue Note albums, Hubbard was the beacon of what the trumpet could do in forward-thinking jazz. As I explored the various albums Ethan mentions (many of which I haven't listened to in their entirety, shame on me) Hubbard was one of the first musicians I consciously recognized as breaking the sub-genre "boundaries" that are purported by certain jazz historians and journalists. When I finally listened to Red Clay and the later CTI recordings. the energy and creativity lurking even in the most tepid of settings was fascinating and inspiring. I'm going to go (re-)visit some of those albums in the coming days and weeks.
Ethan's already got a great post up in remembrance. Hubbard's moments on Blues and the Abstract Truth and Maiden Voyage were intrinsic parts of my formative jazz years. When I went through my adolescent jazz snob phase, with an avid interest in 1960s Blue Note albums, Hubbard was the beacon of what the trumpet could do in forward-thinking jazz. As I explored the various albums Ethan mentions (many of which I haven't listened to in their entirety, shame on me) Hubbard was one of the first musicians I consciously recognized as breaking the sub-genre "boundaries" that are purported by certain jazz historians and journalists. When I finally listened to Red Clay and the later CTI recordings. the energy and creativity lurking even in the most tepid of settings was fascinating and inspiring. I'm going to go (re-)visit some of those albums in the coming days and weeks.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Montreal Sessions December 23, 2008
Viva Brasil!
Airto Moreira - "Zuei" (Promises of the Sun)
Azymuth - "Partido Alto" (Light as a Feather)
Banda União Black - "Abelha Africana" (s/t)
Caetano Veloso & Banda Black Rio - "Odara" (Bicho Baile Show)
Arthur Veroçai - "Presente Grego" (s/t)
Jorge Ben - "Pais Tropical" (1969)
technical difficulties: when trying to ground oneself from static electricity, don't do it near the DJ mixer. Also, avoid wearing wool sweaters when dealing with electronics...
Djavan & Chico Buarque - "A Rosa" (Djavan)
3 Na Massa - "Estrondo" (s/t)
*Monica Freire - "Beira" (Na Laje)
Jackson Conti - "Berimbau" (Sujinho)
Curumin - "Compacto" (JapanPopShow)
*Monica Freire - "Todo Dia" (Na Laje)
Edmilson do Pifano - "Forró de dois amigos" (Soprando no Canudinho)
Jackson do Pandeiro - "Cabo Tenorio" (O rei do ritmo)
Jean Rohe - "Eta Baião" (Lead Me Home)
Forró in the Dark - "Riacho do Navio" (Bonfires of São João)
Luiz Gonzaga & Camargo Guarnieri - "Paraiba" (s/t)
Ivan Lins - "Formigueiro" (A noite)
*David Ryshpan - "Oceano" (live on air!)
Kiko Continentino - "Soul Niteroi" (El Pulo de Gato)
Interview with Samito Matsinhe
Arthur Maia - "Cama de Gato" (Planeta Musica II)
Mu Carvalho - "Acenda e Fogueira" (Ao Vivo)
Zimbo Trio - "Bebê" (s/t)
Hermeto Pasocal - "Papagaio Alegre" (Lagoa da Canoa...)
Milton Nascimento - "Raça" (Milton)
Timbalada - "Ginga pa Balé" (Rough Guide to Bahia)
Airto Moreira - "Zuei" (Promises of the Sun)
Azymuth - "Partido Alto" (Light as a Feather)
Banda União Black - "Abelha Africana" (s/t)
Caetano Veloso & Banda Black Rio - "Odara" (Bicho Baile Show)
Arthur Veroçai - "Presente Grego" (s/t)
Jorge Ben - "Pais Tropical" (1969)
technical difficulties: when trying to ground oneself from static electricity, don't do it near the DJ mixer. Also, avoid wearing wool sweaters when dealing with electronics...
Djavan & Chico Buarque - "A Rosa" (Djavan)
3 Na Massa - "Estrondo" (s/t)
*Monica Freire - "Beira" (Na Laje)
Jackson Conti - "Berimbau" (Sujinho)
Curumin - "Compacto" (JapanPopShow)
*Monica Freire - "Todo Dia" (Na Laje)
Edmilson do Pifano - "Forró de dois amigos" (Soprando no Canudinho)
Jackson do Pandeiro - "Cabo Tenorio" (O rei do ritmo)
Jean Rohe - "Eta Baião" (Lead Me Home)
Forró in the Dark - "Riacho do Navio" (Bonfires of São João)
Luiz Gonzaga & Camargo Guarnieri - "Paraiba" (s/t)
Ivan Lins - "Formigueiro" (A noite)
*David Ryshpan - "Oceano" (live on air!)
Kiko Continentino - "Soul Niteroi" (El Pulo de Gato)
Interview with Samito Matsinhe
Arthur Maia - "Cama de Gato" (Planeta Musica II)
Mu Carvalho - "Acenda e Fogueira" (Ao Vivo)
Zimbo Trio - "Bebê" (s/t)
Hermeto Pasocal - "Papagaio Alegre" (Lagoa da Canoa...)
Milton Nascimento - "Raça" (Milton)
Timbalada - "Ginga pa Balé" (Rough Guide to Bahia)
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Montreal Sessions December 16, 2008
Electro-Soul
*Moonstarr - "Broken Bossa" (Instrumentals Forever)
Heliponto f/ David Ryshpan & Mara TK - "Algodão Doce" (Eletronia)
Kez YM - "A Cup of Ocean" (Sweetly Confused)
*David Ryshpan - "Serpent's Cave" (BNL MTL remix)
*Arch_Typ - "3333" (Next Stop)
Ron Blake - "Tom Blake [DJ Spinna RMX]" (Sonic Tonic)
Kat Heath/Torreblanca/Sarah Lahey - "Qué Esperas?" (Various Assets 2007)
Luis Davis f/ Ben Lamar - "Hype Clouds" (Peace Love and Sound)
Sly & the Family Stone - "Sing a Simple Song" (Stand!)
Medeski Martin & Wood - "Think" (Shack-Man)
Herbie Hancock - "Watermelon Man" (Headhunters)
Stevie Wonder - "Creepin'" (Fulfillingness' First Finale)
*GrooveAttic - "By My Side"
Interview w/ Dali & Metik
*Dali/Metik/The Doctor - "Use Me" (Live on air!)
*Dali - "How Sweet it Is"
Electric Wire Hustle - "Perception"
Flying Lotus & Andreya Triana - "Tea Leaf Dancers" (Various Assets 2006)
Pat D & Lady Paradox - "Summertime [Think Twice rmx]" (Kind of Peace)
Elektro4 & Bombay Sapphire - "Elektro4 for President" (Drop the Needle vol. 1)
*Dali - "New Beginnings"
Radio City f/ Bajka - "The Hop" (Music is my Art)
*Incubator - "Dakar Pockey" (Next Stop)
Peixe Kru - "Nostaugia"
*Moonstarr - "Broken Bossa" (Instrumentals Forever)
Heliponto f/ David Ryshpan & Mara TK - "Algodão Doce" (Eletronia)
Kez YM - "A Cup of Ocean" (Sweetly Confused)
*David Ryshpan - "Serpent's Cave" (BNL MTL remix)
*Arch_Typ - "3333" (Next Stop)
Ron Blake - "Tom Blake [DJ Spinna RMX]" (Sonic Tonic)
Kat Heath/Torreblanca/Sarah Lahey - "Qué Esperas?" (Various Assets 2007)
Luis Davis f/ Ben Lamar - "Hype Clouds" (Peace Love and Sound)
Sly & the Family Stone - "Sing a Simple Song" (Stand!)
Medeski Martin & Wood - "Think" (Shack-Man)
Herbie Hancock - "Watermelon Man" (Headhunters)
Stevie Wonder - "Creepin'" (Fulfillingness' First Finale)
*GrooveAttic - "By My Side"
Interview w/ Dali & Metik
*Dali/Metik/The Doctor - "Use Me" (Live on air!)
*Dali - "How Sweet it Is"
Electric Wire Hustle - "Perception"
Flying Lotus & Andreya Triana - "Tea Leaf Dancers" (Various Assets 2006)
Pat D & Lady Paradox - "Summertime [Think Twice rmx]" (Kind of Peace)
Elektro4 & Bombay Sapphire - "Elektro4 for President" (Drop the Needle vol. 1)
*Dali - "New Beginnings"
Radio City f/ Bajka - "The Hop" (Music is my Art)
*Incubator - "Dakar Pockey" (Next Stop)
Peixe Kru - "Nostaugia"
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