Jeff Albert's blog and podcast home
One of our dogs (I am pretty sure I know which one) got a hold of a copy of the new Lucky 7s CD Pluto Junkyard, and chewed a bit of the corner. The disc should still work fine as a music delivery device, and the package is now a one of a kind. I’ll send it for free to the first person to email the mailing address to which they would like the slightly chewed CD to be mailed, to me at jeff (at) scratchmybrain (dot) com.
A couple of nice reviews of some of my recent recordings have just been published.
Jay Collins’ review of Similar in the Opposite Way appears in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Cadence.
New Orleans-based trombonist Jeff Albert is one of that city’s creative music scene’s leading lights, a feat for a locale that seems a far cry from improv hotbeds found elsewhere. Though he has worked with some of the region’s legends, as well as a host of various collaborators and stylistic orbits, his interests appear to lie squarely within the improvisational Jazz domain. To wit, Albert has a particularly strong connection to Chicago, with Albert’s excellent Nolo/Chi town project, the Lucky 7s, with fellow bone player, Jeb Bishop, speaking to such impressions of the “New Orleans/Chicago continuum.” This inside/outside fence-straddling also inspires Albert’s quartet on Similar in the Opposite Way, his second release from this ensemble.
The ten cuts heard here, played marvelously by Albert in the company of his front-line foil (alto saxophonist Ray Moore) along-side the rhythm pairing of bassist Tommy Sciple and drummer Dave Cappello, provide a glimpse into Albert’s compositional mindset, one that mixes jazz snappers, improv sparks, funky grooves, all with an undercurrent of Blues. As for the record’s most approachable numbers, a speedy swing vamp of the title track eases the program in, while the jagged march of “9th Ward Trotsky” offers a glimpse into the simpatico relationship between Albert and Moore, and “Bag Full of Poboys” presents the album’s most jovial moments due to its earthy strut. Speaking of pulse, the Sciple-Cappello team is charismatic throughout, with a propulsive wing locked down on “Folk Song” and the resilient beat on the closer, “Rooskie Cyclist.”
The band also exudes enthusiasm when taking improvisatory leaps. A restless sentiment inspires “I Was Just Looking For My Pants” that trapezes between jagged jaunts to airy whispers, with all members adding their individualist charms, while rhythmic complexity marks the scrappy “Chalk and Chocolate” and the joyously jittery “Morph My Cheese.” With Albert’s capacious compositional foundation drawing upon multiple influences, an intriguing front line interplay and stalwart rhythmic crunch, Similar in the Opposite Way presents superlative creative music.
The October 2009 issue of Relix features this review of the Lucky 7s Pluto Junkyard:
The 60’s era spirits of Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch and Archie Shepp’s group with Bobby Hutcherson permeate the Lucky 7s Pluto Junkyard. The links to those stellar jazz references are a certain looseness mixed with an urge to swing, as well as the omnipresence of the vibraphone. Trombonist Jeff Albert, straight out of New Orleans by way of Chicago, leads his septet through a variety of moods, from energetic “#6” to somber and the unexpected “Pluto Junkyard” and “Ash.” As with the previous Farragut, Pluto Junkyard mixes elements of traditional jazz counterpoint with a free-jazz spirit, similar to Dolphy or Shepp, but more so on the traditional side. Albert creates a fresh, small orchestra vibe similar to Dave Holland’s recent quintets with help from fellow trombonist Jeb Bishop, cornetist Josh berman, tenorist Keefe Jackson, bassit Matthew Golombisky, drummer Quin Kirchner, and especially vibist Jason Adasiewicz.
Note: The Lucky 7s are actually co-led by Jeff Albert and Jeb Bishop, I am not sure why the review mis-represented that.
Bassist, composer, and great musician Ben Allison has a new CD out. I haven’t heard it yet, but it is on my “to get” list. I have several of his older recordings and they are uniformly great.
He is taking one of the more interesting angles in web 2.x promotion, by inviting his audience to cover, remix, or make a video with his music. Watch his intro below, or hit the youtube page for more info.
Screening at 8pm of “New Orleans Music Renaissance“ documentary film followed at 10pm by a live performance of Ed Petersen & the Ultimate Test
Admission is $15.00
More Information at UNO Music Dept 280-6039 or New Orleans Jazz Celebration 309-5299
“October 14th marks the fourth anniversary of the reopening of Snug Harbor in the wake Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing federal flood. It was an important moment, not only an act of resilience, but in a way an act of defiance. The feeling of those days is perhaps best expressed by a photograph (attached) of the late George Brumat, Snug Harbor’s former owner and guiding spirit. He’s standing in front of the club wearing a ball cap and a blue t-shirt. Behind him, strung up just inside the plate glass window, is a piece of poster board with a message written in broad tipped felt marker, a message of resilience and defiance: “Fear Not Brothers and Sisters…’Jazz City’ Will Swing Again….Peace! ‘Snug Harbor.’” For many of the folks who never left, as well as those among us who came back to New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of “The Thing,” the photograph was iconic and its message became a mantra. George died in July of 2007. But the message lives on.
To celebrate not only the anniversary of Snug’s post-K re-opening, but also serving as a benefit for the Jazz Scholarship Fund set up at the University of New Orleans in George’s honor, we have a very special evening. First, at 8pm there will be a screening of “New Orleans Music Renaissance,” a documentary film on the post-Katrina music community in which George is featured. The film, by French film maker Virgile Beddok, is generously offered through the New Orleans Film Festival.
At 10pm, Ed Petersen & the Ultimate Test, the first band to play the Snug Harbor after Katrina, October 14, 2005 will take the stage. The Test includes Steve Masakowski on guitar, Don Vappie on bass & Ricky Sebastian on drums. Come help us celebrate the undeniable fact that Jazz City is swinging again…with a vengeance*.
* If you can’t make it on the 14th but feel compelled to help preserve the memory and legacy of Snug Harbor’s founder by giving a little something to the George Brumat Jazz Scholarship at the University of New Orleans you can send a check made out to the U.N.O Foundation, noting the Brumat Scholarship in the memo line to this address.
U.N.O. Department of Music
2000 Lakeshore Drive
New Orleans, LA 70184”
Jazz: The Music of Unemployment: Doing what scares you
While not a fan of the blog link me too thing, I am about to do just that. Click the above link and read what Durkin has to say about the “why” of what we do. It answered some questions that I have asked myself.
It’s a protest, really. A piece of performance art. An existential gesture of radical self-determination. The physical evocation of an alternate reality. A demonstration that even under the worst circumstances, it’s important to hold your ground.
I don’t have time to write a real review, but I have to tell you, “THIS CD IS GREAT! BUY IT! LISTEN TO IT OFTEN!”
Today I realized that it has been almost a month since I posted here. Wow, it seems like just a week or so. School, family, and music have been keeping me busy, and recreational writing is the first thing to go when I have so much required reading and writing to do. I am learning some new languages (French, ChucK, and Max/Msp) right now, and it is taking up lots of time. The good news is that my French friends can understand my French, and today I got Max and ChucK to talk to each other, so things are going well on those fronts.
I’ve been playing lots of good music too, which makes everything else easier to deal with. Last weekend I got to play with Joe McPhee and Michael Zerang (along with Rob Cambre, Donald Miller, and Bhob Rainey), and it was great. Joe and Michael did a duo show Thursday night, which was wonderful, and having the chance to play and hang with them Friday night was a musical and personal highlight.
I had every intention of blogging in detail about my great weekend at the Chicago Jazz Fest, but that’s not going to happen. There have been some good play by plays in other places, and google can help you find those.
I will offer a few notes:
– The folks in Chicago do their jazz fest right. It is exceedingly well programmed, and the people seem to really appreciate it.
-George Lewis is super bad…in the good way. The trio with Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell, and George Lewis is an absolute don’t miss. If you get the chance to hear them, don’t miss it.
-I got to hang with my cousin Matt, which was very cool, and he came out to hear the Lucky 7s. He even wrote about the experience.
-This sign was seen on the door at the Lucky 7s gig on Sunday (the last night) of Jazz Fest. I love Chicago.
On August 29th, the Jeff Albert Quartet played a midnight show at Snug Harbor. The earlier shows featured John Ellis and Double Wide. That same night, Ken Vandermark was playing in NY with Nasheet Waits, Jason Moran, and Eric Revis. I made a little deal with Matt that I would live tweet the John Ellis show, and he would live tweet the NY show. He did, I didn’t, and now I owe him a blog post on the night.
A brief aside about live tweeting first. It is really hard to form and transmit coherent 140 character thoughts while listening to music. I’m still not sure if I think that level of intellectual processing while an audience member makes the experience better or worse.
Ok, John Ellis’ band is fun to listen to, and they throw down. The rhythm section of Jason Marsalis (drums), Matt Perrinne (sousaphone), and Brian Coogan (organ) has the rare ability to get groovy-party-space and pushing-towards-abstraction-space to peacefully co-exsist. It is tough to make one move body parts and be musically surprised simultaneously. These guys can do that.
The front line consisted of Ellis on tenor sax and bass clarinet, Alan Ferber (trombone) and Gregoire Marét (harmonica). The material makes good use of the timbral possibilities of that combination. Marét is super underrated. He takes the very cool sound of the harmonica and uses it to make wonderful modern sophisticated exciting music. The band recorded a new CD in the days after this performance, so be on the lookout for that.
In other news, Lubricity had a post on language used to identify music and musicians. Alex had issues with the word “jazzer.” I get his point. Any time a word is used as a way to limit someone else, that gets problematic. I would have no problem trying to expunge “jazzer” from my lexicon.
The term that really sets me off however is “legit,” when offered as the alternative to “jazz.” If one thing is described as legit (legitimate), inherent in that description is the idea that the thing not being described is illegitimate. If I say “get the brown shirt,” you know that the other shirt is not brown.
Some argue that “classical” is an inaccurate term when describing non-jazz because it is also used to describe a particular historical period and style. I say that record stores and music marketers would not use a term that is vague or leads to uncertainty. If it is good enough for Barnes and Noble, it has to be better than legit.
Others argue that no slight is meant when they use the term “legit.” Regardless of one’s intention, the word has a pretty specific meaning. Again, if I call the brown shirt “orange” and then say, “well you all know what I mean, and I’m not intending to insult the brown shirt, I just like to call it orange because I am too lazy to adjust my usage to better reflect reality,” I am still using the word “orange” incorrectly.
So there’s the short version of my word rant…I’ll have to reword all of my jazzer and legit guy jokes, and that will be ok.
These three discs have been in my changer for a while, but I am just now getting around to writing a little something about them.
In the past, I’ve made no secret of my enthusiasm for Matt Wilson’s music, and his new quartet disc, That’s Gonna Leave A Mark, just kicked that enthusiasm up another notch. The music is swinging and adventurous and fun and socially conscious. It balances inside and outside exceedingly well. Get this CD!
Adam Kolker’s Flag Day features Kolker on tenor sax, John Abercrombie on guitar, John Hébert on bass, and Paul Motian on drums. This disc can seem a bit understated at times, since it doesn’t go for high levels of exuberance, but maintains steady melodic flow and controlled expression. It is soulful in an intellectual way. I know that seems like a contradiction, but it doesn’t have to be.
A friend gave me this self titled CD by a band called Rail. I had never heard of them, but the music is interesting. They call it “heavy duty post jazz.” I might have called it instrumental indie rock played by guys with some jazz in their background. Either way it is pretty interesting. CD Baby has sound samples.
This past weekend I played at Mountainside Mardi Gras, at Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver, with George Porter Jr. and the Runnin’ Pardners. Red Rocks is a uniquely picturesque setting in which to play and hear music. The sound was good, the people were very nice, the catering was a little weak, but all in all it was a great experience.
It was quite a New Orleans musician hang back stage. I saw several old friends that I hadn’t seen in quite some time, even though we live in the same city. I also got to spend some time with my good friends, and former New Orleanians, Scott and Susan and their kids.
On the way home, the TSA agent in Denver confiscated (actually, technically, I surrendered it) my almost empty tube of toothpaste because the container was larger than three ounces. She admitted that there wasn’t even three ounces of toothpaste in the tube, but the tube was too big, so I was asked to surrender it, which I did without incident.
It amazes me that someone in the TSA hasn’t ended this farcical war on moisture. It seems from the occasional looks on their faces, that even the TSA agents in the airports know how ridiculous it is to confiscate almost empty toothpaste tubes. Maybe we can get the Mythbusters guys on this. See if they can blow something up with an almost empty 6.5 ounce Crest tube, or any combination of liquids in quantities of 3.5 ounces.