Category: Music

Our responsibility as performers

Yesterday I had a great hang with Thollem McDonas, who is in town to perform on the Open Ears Music Series tonight. The conversation turned to audience development at one point, and we were discussing ways to connect audiences and music that might not know they like each other yet. This led to thoughts about our responsibilities as performers, mainly the idea that we have the responsibility to always give honest and convicted performances. We can’t decry a lack of audience for our music, if we aren’t giving those audiences the real deal every time.

I am sure this isn’t anything we don’t already know, but it was on my mind…

Richard Kamins | See! Hear!: Music from Here and There

One of the beauties of the internet, and posting full show archives, is that your show can be reviewed by writers whose expense accounts likely won’t cover cab fare from Hartford to New Orleans. I got a nice email from Richard Kamins, who writes about music for the Hartford Courant, letting me know that he had reviewed the JAQ show at Open Ears, via the mp3 archive. Pretty cool, eh?

To make it even cooler, it is a great review. Click the link below and scroll down to read it.

Richard Kamins | See! Hear!: Music from Here and There

Chicken wire ?!?

When I was in college, one of our favorite past times, when we were too broke to go out and hear music, was watching the Blues Brothers (the real one, not that 2000 sacrilege). Many of my early gigs were with horn sections in cover bands, and Blues Brothers fare was a staple of our rep.

These days, I get to play a bit with the fabulous blues singer Luther Kent. It is a large band with 6 horns, and when the right rhythm section is there, they are bad enough to turn goat piss into gasoline. Imagine my delight last night, when Blue Lou Marini showed up and sat in for much of the second set. His presence lit an extra little fire under the band, and he seemed like a genuinely nice cat. It was lots of fun.

Time Out Chicago: Changing of the avant-garde

Time Out Chicago: Changing of the avant-garde

Time Out Chicago ran this nice article on the Chicago free jazz scene in general and Umbrella Music in particular, in advance of the Umbrella Music Festival this week. The article is a good layman’s introduction to that scene and a bit of its history.

Those guys have all been great to me whenever I have been in Chicago. The Lucky 7s have played most of their venues, and their organization serves as a loose model, and solid inspiration for the Open Ears Music Series that starts here in New Orleans next week.

Everybody digs Matt Wilson

A few months ago Matt Wilson seemed to be all over every jazz mag that showed up in my mailbox. I didn’t really know his work, other than having heard him with Lee Konitz’s New Nonet at the 2006 Chicago Jazz Fest.

I guess all the press made me curious. The first thing of his that I picked up wasn’t his recent release that spawned the media blitz. Somewhat randomly I downloaded his album Humidity. I grabbed it in the middle of one of those eMusic end-of-the-month-grab-fests, that occur when I lose track of how many tracks I have (or haven’t) downloaded. It sat in my new music playlist for a while. One day in the car I heard something that grabbed me, and realized it was this album. It has the combination of things I like in music. Some groove, some humor and irreverence, some great improvised moments…

A few months later I heard a cut from the press pushed new CD (Scenic Route) on XM, so I grabbed it as well. A rather different vibe from Humidity, but a similar essence. More Matt Wilson that I liked.

Not too long after that a Cryptogramophone pre-release of “The Big Picture” by Trio M showed up in my mailbox, and who was the M in the drum chair, but Matt Wilson. The other M’s are Myra Melford and Mark Dresser. Another good CD with the drummer everyone digs.

I don’t think I have a man crush yet, but Matt if you read this and need a trombone player for your next project…

“Music of the Spheres”

I love getting to play new music. This week I am playing with the Louisiana Philharmonic for the world premiere of Stephen Dankner’s Symphony #8. This will be the third subscription series program I have played with the LPO in the last few months, and each program has had a piece by a living composer, and the composer has been present each time as well. I think it is fabulous that this orchestra has the courage to program new music.

The LPO website has cool podcasts that give a little overview of each concert, often with conversations with composer or guest soloists. Check out this week’s here:“Music of the Spheres” LPOd | Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Rooted in history

The November DownBeat features Steve Wilson in the “Backstage with…” section. The following exchange made me think.

What do you look for in your sidemen?

Musical ability and a respect for the legacy and history of the music. I’m looking for someone who understands that you cannot go forward until you look back. Pushing envelopes can be great and significant. But if it’s not rooted, it tends not to have the same substance and integrity.

What is rooted envelope pushing? Which parts of the legacy and history of the music must be respected? Is it possible to create music that has substance and integrity but is not rooted in some tradition?

I don’t mean this to be some sort of poke at Steve Wilson, I like the work of his that I have heard (mostly old Dave Holland and Chick Corea). His answer just made me question my relationship to the tradition. I know I have done my J.J. homework, but I don’t sound much like him these days. Am I disrespecting that tradition? I don’t know the music of Cecil Taylor like I possibly should. Am I disrespecting the free tradition? Is there anything that I can do with substance and integrity?

Comments encouraged.