Category: Personal

Similar in the Opposite Way is #8 on offBeat Magazine’s “Top 40 CDs of 2009” list. Read the article here. We’re in there with some pretty good company. If you haven’t yet heard Similar in the Opposite Way, click here.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking part in a benefit concert for Marva Wright. Marva is a New Orleans singer who has suffered from two strokes recently, and is still early in the recovery process. Regardless of the state of one’s health insurance, when a musician can’t work she/he doesn’t have income, so these sorts of benefits are very common. There was a nice crowd there yesterday, and hopefully much money was raised to help Marva and her family get through this time.

In addition to the philanthropic aspects of these events, they are also times when communities of musicians gather, which can lead to some unique musical happenings. George Porter Jr and the Runnin Pardners serves as the house band, and we (or parts of our band) backed many of the performers. There were many highlights, I got (bad camera phone) pictures of a couple.

Herman Ernest (Dr. John’s drummer who is recently recovering from cancer surgery) was there and it was great to see and ear him. Someone else was playing bass at this point, but Porter couldn’t stay away so he joined Herman on cymbal.

I’ve played the Meters classic “Just Kissed My Baby” with George many times, but never with Kirk Joseph on sousaphone and George singing. Ivan Neville played organ and sang parts of the lead too.

“Hey Pocky Way” with Cyril Neville on drumset and Porter on bass is about as cool a New Orleans music experience as one can get.

It was quite an afternoon.

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.

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.

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.

Photo by Gary Sullivan

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.