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Nellie McKay – Oregon reviews coming by Tuesday
Nellie McKay’s I Want To Live! show in Eugene on Friday was brilliant! Portland is tonight. Here’s a small taste from Eugene…
More photos, reviews and setlists for both Oregon shows will be up by Tuesday early morning.
~Dan
Nellie McKay in Oregon *this* weekend
Nellie McKay plays the Shedd in Eugene on Friday, March 2nd and the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland on Sunday, March 4th. Tickets are still available for both Oregon shows… so, get on it. You won’t be disappointed! I’ll have a review with setlists and photos of both shows posted early next week (likely by Tuesday).
I Want to Live! a musical death row revue, conjures the life story of “a woman of dubious moral standards often a guest in seedy bars.”
New York Times’ Stephen Holden writes, “Inspired by the 1958 movie of the same name, I Want to Live! combines Nellie McKay’s virtually unlimited gifts as a singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, ukulele player, mimic, satirist and comedian into a show that is much deeper than its surface might suggest. In the most lighthearted way they evoke a heartless environment of social injustice in which people who fall through the cracks are invisible to everyone else.”
“Pretty darned unique,” adds Michael Musto of the Village Voice.
“The McKay voice is a knife edged with honey. Which is good, because the words she writes are razor sharp beneath a homespun mantle.” – Tony Gieske
It’s a rare treat to have Nellie in our neck of the woods; so I’ll be at both the Eugene and Portland shows. :)
~Dan – np: TW Walsh – Songs of Pain and Leisure
REVIEW: John Scofield Quartet @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 10/26/11)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I showed up slightly late due; so came in right after they started their second song… and I hunkered down for some great music. John Scofield Quartet features John on guitars, Michael Eckroth on piano, Ben Street on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums.
The band played a mix of slower ballads and more upbeat tunes. John’s latest album, A Moment’s Peace, is slower and gentler, and the lead-off track “Simply Put” was the first tune I caught in the set – fantastic jazz balladry. The quartet then moved into some covers, “Relaxin’ at Camarillo” (Charlie Parker) and “I Will” (the Beatles). I didn’t catch the name of the tune right after “I Will,” but it was SMOKIN’…
Other songs I caught during the Quartet’s long set were “My Foolish Heart,” “Hackensack” (Thelonious Monk), and “Green Tea.” John is a phenomenal guitarist. The show was a bit more reserved than I was going in expecting (compared to his work with Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood), but it was a treat to watch a master at work. They wrap up their mini-West Coast tour this weekend at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley in Seattle.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- John Scofield’s Site
- John Scofield’s Social Media Links (see below)
- The Shedd’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
~Dan – np: Under Byen – Samme Stof Som Stof
JOHN SCOFIELD QUARTET PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
John Scofield @ the Shedd (photos by the weekend)
UPDATE 10/29 – REVIEW POSTED
Brilliant show by the John Scofield Quartet last night at the Shedd in Eugene, Oregon…
Busy week for me at work, plus Pomplamoose tonight at the Doug Fir Lounge (Portland). Look for the Scofield Eugene photos and a review by the weekend.
Cheers!
~Dan
MRT – The Living River 6/3 (photos)
The McKenzie River Trust benefit concert, The Living River for the benefit of the McKenzie River, with Misty River & Doug Smith at The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts, Eugene, Oregon – Friday, June 3rd, 2011:
Photos by Margaret O’Brien (emobie photography)
http://emobiephotography.com/
emobie on Facebook
http://mckenzieriver.org/
http://www.mistyriverband.com/
http://www.dougsmithguitar.com/
~Dan – np: Les Rhinocéros – Les Rhinocéros 
MRT’s Misty River benefit show (Eugene, OR)
Busy weekend… hitting the road for Seattle shortly for U2…
Last night was the McKenzie River Trust benefit show “The Living River” at The Shedd (Eugene, OR) with finger-picking wonder Doug Smith & folky group Misty River. It was a delight.
emobie photography was in the house snapping away some photos. I’ll post them here with her permission once they are processed (by Tuesday for sure).
In the meantime, check out the websites for MRT & the performers:
http://www.mistyriverband.com/
http://www.dougsmithguitar.com/
~Dan
REVIEW: Madeleine Peyroux @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 4/5/11)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Madeleine Peyroux has a new album coming out called Standin’ On the Rooftop. The album, coming out June 7th on Decca, features Marc Ribot on guitar/banjo along with Me’shell Ndegeocello on bass. No word on tracklist for the full-length, but she just released a preview EP called The Things I’ve Seen Today, which features the title track co-written by violinist Jenny Scheinman and a delightful cover of The Beatles’ “Martha, My Dear” (click picture to the right for samples).
This show in Eugene was her second time through in as many years. I don’t recall if the band members were the same as last time, but regardless, they were all fantastic musicians. While Ribot/Ndegeocello/Scheinman were not in the live band, all four band members created a vibe conducive to taking in Madeleine’s golden vocal chords.
They played a fairly jazzy set, and Madeleine’s lush vocals bounced around in more of a jazzy singer-songwriter feel than I remembered her from before. As you’ll be able to see from the setlist below, she played a lot of the new material from the forthcoming album – much of it I was unable to unidentify. If you have any assistance on the setlist, let me know in the comments.
Setlist: over 90 minutes
- unknown
- The Things I’ve Seen Today
- Martha, My Dear [The Beatles]
- “Muddy Mississippi”
- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go [Bob Dylan]
- “seen my reflection underneath the moon”
- “here we are… I’m only human”
- Don’t Wait Too Long
- Don’t Pick a Fight With a Poet
- “Meet me in Rio”
- “involuntary pass/past(?)”
- Dance Me to the End of Love [Leonard Cohen]
- unknown love song
- Instead [with band introductions & solos]
- Encore: J’Ai Deux Amours
- “I hear music” [with band solos]
Fantastic show. Madeleine was fairly chatty and in a great mood. The Eugene crowd was fairly subdued, except for a particular “amateur comedian” named George who interacted a bit with Madeleine – which at one point said she should have him open for her. :)
Be on the lookout for her new album in June. She’s hitting a few more West Coast & Canada dates (as well as a NYC date) between now and the end of June. Check out more tour dates below.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Madeleine Peyroux’s Site
- Madeleine Peyroux’s Social Media Links (see below)
- My Other Related Reviews~
- The Shedd (Eugene – March 2009)
- The Shedd’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Next show for me… quite possibly Ani DiFranco at McDonald Theatre in Eugene (4/12).
~Dan – np: Platypus – When Pus Comes to Shove
MADELEINE PEYROUX PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Madeleine Peyroux Spring/Summer 2011 Tour Dates:
3/31-4/02 – Seattle, WA @ Jazz Alley
4/03 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
4/05 – Eugene, OR @ Shedd Institute for Arts
4/06 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Wells Fargo Center
4/08 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts
4/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Luckman Theater
4/11 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobero Theatre
4/13 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
6/17-19 – New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
6/22 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
6/24 – Victoria, British Columbia, Canada @ Royal Theatre (Victoria
International Jazzfest)
6/25 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada @ Centre for the Performing Arts
(Vancouver International Jazz Festival))
6/26 – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada @ Winspear Centre for Music (Edmonton Int’l
Jazz Festival)
6/28 – Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada @ Theatre Granada
6/29 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada @ Theatre Maisonneuve (Fest Int’l De Jazz De
Montreal)
6/30 – Quebec, Canada @ Raoul-Jobin Hall (Palais Montcalm)
Erik Friedlander to play John Zorn (1/8/2011 in Eugene, OR)
New York cellist Erik Friedlander is coming back to Oregon. I saw him last year in Portland performing his Block Ice and Propane songs. This time, he’s coming to Eugene to play his songs from John Zorn‘s Masada Book Two: Volac.
The solo cello show will be Saturday, January 8, 2011 @ 7:30 at the John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts in Eugene, Oregon.
Tickets are on-sale now. For more info:
http://theshedd.org/divP/series.aspx?event=1868
Check out the album, Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 8 (Volac)…
~Dan – np: My Brightest Diamond – A Thousand Sharks Teeth
REVIEW: Nellie McKay @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 10/29/10)
I wasn’t able to attend the Nellie McKay show at the Shedd in Eugene on Friday (due to Sufjan Stevens in Portland the same night). I was completely torn, but I’ve had the opportunity to see Nellie several times since living here in the PacNW (four times in 3 years) and Sufjan far fewer times (i.e.- none).
I did send someone in my place… here are some lovely photos and a write-up of the show taken by guest blogger Margarita O’Brien from Emobie Photography…
many more photos below
Margarita’s write-up of the show:
Let’s face it. I just love Nellie McKay. I am extremely grateful that The Shedd here in little ol’ Eugene, Oregon, keeps managing to bring her back. She has serious musical talent, diversity, and a quirky, silly sense of humor that I dig. That makes a great show when she’s solo, but holy cannoli, there was a five piece backup band! THAT makes for a phenomenal, knock-your-socks-off show.
The introductions for the band members were extremely silly (“And just released on bail for jay walking…”) and the crowd was enthusiastic so I will likely have the names completely wrong and I am seriously sorry about that, ‘cause these guys were the bomb diggity. It was seriously hard to hear with the laughing and cheering. Corrections greatly appreciated!
Guitar: Terry Park?
Bass: Willy Harvey
Sax: Mark Fischer?
Trumpet: Willy Mario?
Drums: Benjamin Barnum?
“That’s right! We have two willies!”There are few things I tire of more quickly than a show with a “sound” that never changes.
Me-“Is this still the first song? Good Glory, it’s long.”
Dan-“This is the fifth song.”
Me-“*Giant Eye Roll*”This exchange could not happen at a Nellie McKay show. She skillfully flutters her way through Big Band, Reggae, Jazz, Blues, Pop, sweet old Doris Day tunes (and a number of Ella Fitzgerald tunes this time). The band was right there with her making everything fuller, brighter, grander, and making it difficult for some folks to stay put in their seats.
The crowd was fairly enthusiastic and really seemed to love “Mother of Pearl.” This is Eugene after all. There were even a couple zombies dancing around at the end.
Go See Nellie! She’ll make you think. She’ll make you laugh. She might make you whistle.
Setlist:
- Bruise on the Sky
- Sentimental Journey [Doris Day]
- Do Do Do [Doris Day]
- Caribbean Time
- Dispossessed
- Meditation [Doris Day]
- Georgy Girl [The Seekers] (dedicated to Barbara Billingsly)
- Vote for Mr. Rhythm [Ella Fitzgerald]
- Bluebird
- No Equality
- The Portal
- Dig It [Doris Day]
- It’s Alright With Me (with skat)
<<intermission – costume change>> - A-Tisket, A-Tasket [Ella Fitzgerald]
- Beneath the Underdog
- Crazy Rhythm [Doris Day]
- Early Autumn [Ella Fitzgerald]
- A Wonderful Guy [Doris Day]
- Don’t Fence Me In [Ella Fitzgerald] (with group whistle)
- Mother of Pearl (crowd favorite)
“I’m Sarah Palin and I approve this message” - Adios
- ¡Bodega!
“Support the Arts, but sponsor a Bodega.” - Coosada Blues
- I’ve Got Rhythm (impromptu instrumental as she ran to get her notes)
“Don’t worry folks, they’re professionals!” - Broadway Melody
- Really
- Unknown Reggae (veggie anthem)
- Encore: Zombie
Nellie’s 10/29 KLCC interview is here:
http://klcc.org/audio/NellieMckay102910.mp3
Nellie is out supporting her latest album, Home Sweet Mobile Home. Check it out here:
More 2010 Tour Dates:
Oct. 30th SF Jazz Festival – San Francisco, CA
Nov. 1st Kuumbwa Jazz Center – Santa Cruz, CA
Nov. 4th The Roxy – West Hollywood, CA
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Nellie McKay’s Site
- Nellie’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Emobie Photography (on Facebook)
- My Other Nellie McKay Reviews~
- Berbati’s Pan (Portland – Mar 2010)
- Jazz Alley (Seattle – Sept 2009)
- Doug Fir (Portland – Aug 2008)
- The Shedd (Eugene – Oct 2007)
- The Shedd’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
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~Dan – np: William Ryan Fritch – Library Catalog Music Series: Music for Honey and Bile
NELLIE McKAY PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Margaret O’Brien – emobie photography,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (14 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (33 pics)
REVIEW: Jake Shimabukuro @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 3/16/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Jake Shimabukuro is an amazing guitar player. The media that he uses to express that phenomenal talent is on the diminutive instrument known as the ukulele. The ukulele’s use is more popular in traditional Hawaiian music, but it has made its way into mainland pop music recently via the likes of Ingrid Michaelson, Amanda Palmer, and one of my favorites – Nellie McKay (review / ukulele pic).
Well, Jake brings his music from Hawaii, but he is nothing resembling a “traditional” Hawaiian ukulele player.He is a master fret-worker on the ukulele and brings sounds out of it that you wouldn’t necessarily find on the islands.
Jake Shimabukuro hit the stage around 7:30pm. His set bridged gaps between traditional Hawaiian music, to jazz, to blues, to classical, to folk, to classic rock, to bluegrass, to flamenco, to traditional Japanese music. He played a few new tunes from his forthcoming album including “143” and “Piano-Forte.” The latter was written with two piano parts (left and right hand), and due to Jake only containing the standard issue “two hands” only played the left-handed rendition. We’ll have to wait for the album for the full version.
Here’s what he blessed us with last night…
Setlist: about 90 mins
- 143
- Blue Roses Falling
- Me & Shirley T.
- Let’s Dance
- Dragon
- “Bowing for the Queen” story
- In My Life (Beatles)
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Beatles)
- Sakura Sakura
- Piano-Forte (left hand rendition)
- Trapped
- Five Dollars Unleaded
- Orange World
- Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
- Encore: Crazy G
Jake was a very talkative person, full of stories about song origins and his childhood: the too many sugary drinks induced “Me & Shirley T.,” the Carlos Montoya-influenced flamenco number “Let’s Dance,” the Bruce Lee meets Eddie Van Halen song “Dragon” (beautifully full of finger taps), playing with Bette Midler and bowing a lot for the Queen of England, the Ralph McDonald (of Jimmy Buffett’s band) 9/8-time rhythm that inspired “Trapped,” and riding around Hawaii in his dad’s old pickup truck. Full of stories, full of excellent melodies and wicked fast hands – Jake Shimabukuro was a treat.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Haftor Medbøe Group – A Box of Monkeys -EP-
JAKE SHIMABUKURO PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (3 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (12 pics)
REVIEW: Bill Frisell Trio @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 1/23/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I saw Bill Frisell about a year and a half ago with Eyvind Kang & Rudy Royston… fantastic show, but more on the experimental, avant-garde edge (my review of that June 2008 show). Last night’s show was a trio of guitarist Bill Frisell with bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen (Sex Mob, Electric Masada, etc):
They hit the Shedd stage around 7:30pm. Differing from the retro live photo above, Tony Scherr was on electric bass. Kenny Wollesen played a standard kit, and Bill Frisell had a few guitars, pedals, gear to loop his sounds… and a big screen above them to show the congruous films as they played.
At the beginning of the show, Bill explained the accompanying film pieces: four by Seattle animator Jim Woodring, one by Bill Morrison, and two Buster Keaton classics. The band started out with a Jim Woodring computer animation – all black and white, but with many interesting, morphing shapes. The music started off slow, had some interesting wandering scales with a nice build and finish. The animation was quite enveloping, and the 10 minute piece seemed to fly by…
I was only allowed to take photos for the initial fifteen minutes, but the rest of the Woodring cartoons were somewhat related to the initial computer animations – 
many of the same morphing shapes show up, whether in a character, a beer tap, or a lamp. The primary character in the animations was “Frank.” We follow him around in his travels that either end in a big mess, a violent picnic, or death.
The second Woodring piece introduced us to the aforementioned “Frank.” He tooled around his house and then went up into the hills to some odd looking palace, and when he returned, his house had been ransacked by some fat, troll-like human character. The animation appeared to be paper-based stop-motion animation. The music had a Floratone or possibly Disfarmer feel… I actually recognized the melody that Bill played midway through, but can’t place it now.
The third piece was another Woodring “Frank” animation, but this time with either colored paper or possibly fabric animation. 
The setting was a picnic and got fairly violent near the end. The piece was shorter (maybe 5 minutes), which led into the fourth and final Woodring piece… a claymation “Frank” with a devil-type character. The music had a nice groove, and the animation ended with the beer tap looking piece of furniture tipping over to expose the phrase “And You Call Yourself a Gentleman.”
Up next were three silent films… and quite frankly, I lost the music in the viewing. I think the music worked really well and enhanced the pieces, but it definitely fell to the background of what I was paying attention to …
The first was a short film called The Mesmerist by Bill Morrison featuring a re-worked 1926’s film The Bells which featured Boris Karloff. It had been altered from the original, and I’m not sure what was part of the original and what was part of the re-imagining. It started with a very old, sepia & scratchy feel and grew into more animated splotches. The storyline is of an innkeeper who murders a rich visitor and is haunted by the murder he committed.
Up next were two Buster Keaton films… The High Sign (1921) and One Week (1920)…
Each film was in the 15-20 minute range. I was quite amazed at Buster’s utterly ingenious physical comedy. I was familiar with his work a little bit (trumpeter Dave Douglas and his Keystone band has used Buster Keaton in the past). The first one was a gangster caper with a really basic (but stupendous) cross-section of a house with tons of trap doors and moving walls. The second one was of a cheap home that was hurriedly built after a wedding with hilarity ensuing. For the video (with non-Frisell music) check out YouTube of The High Sign and of One Week.
Seven songs, 90 minutes… the Trio took a bow and left the stage. They hit the stage one last time for a short animation of Woodring’s Frank called Whim Grinder:
I enjoyed the film and animation accompanying Frisell’s music; though, I’ll say again that the music really dropped to the background on some of the wild imagery of the Frank cartoons and storylines & physical comedy going on in the films. Upcoming tour dates of Frisell’s include Eyvind Kang/Rudy Royston dates, some Ron Carter/Paul Motion dates, some 858 Quartet dates, and these Scherr/Wollesen dates (which would presumably feature the films/animations as well)…
- 1/24/2010 – Seattle, WA – Triple Door
- 4/2/2010 – Savannah, GA – Savannah Music Festival at Charles Morris Center
- 4/3/2010 – Savannah, GA – Savannah Music Festival at Charles Morris Center
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Bill Frisell’s Site
- Bill Frisell on MySpace
- Tony Scherr’s Site
- Tony Scherr on MySpace
- Jim Woodring – Animator
- The Shedd Institute
BILL FRISELL TRIO PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (10 pics)
REVIEW: Madeleine Peyroux @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 3/25/09)
Great show last night… Madeleine Peyroux and her jazzy quartet played a smooth hour and half set at the Shedd. I’m really coming to love the early start time, no opener, and home at a reasonable time shows at the Shedd. No pictures or (accurate) set list from me for this show… I was in a hurry and drove straight in from work in Portland to make it time for the show.
Madeleine had a backing quartet made up of a piano/keyboard/organ/melodica player, an electric/upright bassist, a mandolin/guitarist, and a drummer/cardboard box player. They were a really well put together band…
Songs I remember them playing:
Dance Me to the End of Love, Bare Bones, You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go, La Javanaise, Love and Treachery, Our Lady of Pigalle, I Must Be Saved. They came back for an encore dedicated to Barack Obama (There’s Something Grand).
Great, soothing show. Wonderful, lush, Billie Holiday-esque vocals, great accompaniment. If she comes through your town, check her out! Oh, she also has a new CD out, Bare Bones:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.madeleinepeyroux.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/officialmadeleinepeyroux
- http://www.theshedd.org/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Totally side note cool news…
- Tool is touring this summer.. read more at Blabbermouth.
- Medeski Martin & Wood‘s Radiolarians II is coming out April 14th.
~Dan – np: Buckethead – Colma
REVIEW: SFJazz Collective @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 3/19/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
This is my second time seeing the SF Jazz Collective. Last time (Feb 2008) was a tour dedicated to Wayne Shorter. This time, it was a McCoy Tyner-focused tour. The same line-up as last year, except for this show we were missing Stefon Harris’ vibraphone playing. Perhaps he wasn’t able to make it or isn’t in the touring version of the band this spring. He’s on all of the promo photos. Regardless, they likely wouldn’t have had room for him, as it was a packed stage at the Shedd with the seven members of this tour: Dave Douglas (on trumpet), Joe Lovano (on tenor sax), Miguel Zenon (on alto sax), Renee Rosnes (on piano), Robin Eubanks (on trombone), Matt Penman (on bass), and Eric Harland (on drums).
The show started promptly at 7:30pm, and the band hit the stage after a short introduction. I’m getting spoiled with these Shedd shows: no opener, 90-120 minutes – – boom goes the dynamite, and then you’re done and home at a reasonable time (we even got home in time to watch 30 Rock; i.e.- the best show on network TV right now).
The band started in a way quite opposite to what I just told my wife… “oh, SF Jazz isn’t avant-garde, they’re much more poppy / groove-oriented.” Well, I’d never heard McCoy Tyner, and the first song started out with a bunch of free jazz “noodling” that almost sounded like a warm-up. I like this kinda of stuff (hey, I’m a big John Zorn fan)… but I looked over at my wife, and she had this look of, “oh, crap, this is gonna be a long night.” Well, this noodling quickly turned into the swinging, groovy jazz fest that I came to know from the prior SFJC show and their CDs. So, I think my wife had a good time despite the uncertain start. :)
(Robin, Dave, Matt, Joe)
Setlist: [solos noted as best I remember… I likely forgot to note some of them]
- Fly with the Wind – by McCoy Tyner, arranged by RR
- Three Flowers – by McCoy Tyner, arranged by MP; solo: DD
- Yes We Can (Victory Dance) – by Robin Eubanks; solo(s): RE, DD, RR
- Sycamore – by Dave Douglas; solo(s): MP, JL, MZ, JL & MZ trade-off
- Jazz Free – by Joe Lovano; solo(s): basically everyone
- No Filter – by Miguel Zenon; solo(s): RE, MZ (was on fire) (*fave of the night*)
- Encore: Concensus – by McCoy Tyner, arranged by EH; solo: DD
Oddly enough, they had a congo drum over to the right but never used it… well, other than for Miguel to rest his hands on occasion. Oh well… they treated us to 90 minutes of some great, smokin’ jazz… so, 7 songs over 90 minutes – – you do the math. The show was a wonderful treat, and I hope they keep this up in the coming years.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- SFJazz Collective
- Dave Douglas (trumpet)
- Dave Douglas on MySp
- Joe Lovano (tenor sax)
- Miguel Zenón (alto sax) – 2008 MacArthur Foundation Grant recipient
- Robin Eubanks (trombone)
- Renee Rosnes (piano)
- Matt Penman (bass)
- Eric Harland (drums)
- Stefon Harris (vibraphone – not at the show)
- McCoy Tyner (SFJC ’09 tributed artist)
- http://www.theshedd.org/
~Dan – np: Paul Brody’s Sadawi – Kabbalah Dream
SF JAZZ COLLECTIVE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Jeremy Pelt Quintet @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 1/16/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Brilliant show last night at the John G. Shedd Institute… I literally walked in at 7:30pm, just as the Shedd was announcing the Jeremy Pelt Quintet to come out and play. Whew… barely made it. Jeremy Pelt and crew came out and played 7 pieces over 90 straight minutes with very few breaks to talk between the songs.
(click for larger)
I’d never seen Jeremy Pelt before, but I had gotten into him via Ken Laster’s great In the Groove and Beyond podcast a couple of years ago. The band was Jeremy Pelt (bandleader, trumpet), JD Allen (tenor saxophone), Danny Grissett (piano), Dwayne Burno (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). They were hot… most of the songs were definitely extended jams over what’s put down on their latest record, November, which I picked up at the show.
Set list: (as called from the stage)
- Avatar
- Clairvoyant
- Phoenix
- Nephthys (based on the Egyptian goddess, not the Egpytian online movie rental store Netflix…)
- Shirley Horn’s You Won’t Forget Me (dedicated to the recently passed trumpet great Freddie Hubbard)
- (JPQ pianist) Danny Grissett’s Untitled
- 466-64 (based on JP’s visit to Nelson Mandela’s jail cell)
Great show. The hour and a half passed by too quickly. Apparently Jeremy Pelt comes through Eugene often (every year or so); so I’m looking forward to seeing him again in the future. He’ll be at the Shedd again in early March 2009 for the multi-day Jazz Fest / Party, but I don’t think I can make it.
The appropriate links:
- http://www.peltjazz.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/maxjazz (his record label)
- http://theshedd.org/
Next show… Skerik’s McTuff at Sam Bond’s on Thursday. I’m there if I’m not beaten down by busy season work…
~Dan – np: Jeremy Pelt – November
JEREMY PELT QUINTET PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Bill Frisell, Eyvind Kang & Rudy Royston @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 6/7/08)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Last night was my first time seeing all three gentlemen: Bill Frisell, Eyvind Kang, and Rudy Royston. I hope it is not my last.
I’m a big fan of Eyvind from his work with Secret Chiefs 3, Mr. Bungle, solo works on Tzadik & Ipecac (and other indie avant labels). On the upper right of every page on this blog, I have a quote attributed to Eyvind Kang: “I believe that music should be grown on trees, to be plucked like a fruit without the extravagance of harvest.” There’s just something about jazz (and the show last night) where this is most appropriate. Sure, much of Bill Frisell’s music is structured, melodic, and hinting at a modicum of “harvest,” as it were. However, it definitely lives and breathes and is open for exploration within the structure.
Probably the best proof of this with regards to last night’s show was that Eyvind (viola) and Rudy (drums) had only met 4 or 5 hours prior to the show. This was the world premiere of the Frisell/Kang/Royston trio. Judging by how they played so well together, I would have thought they met at least 7 hours prior. ;) No, seriously, they seemed like long-time jam partners. It was great to see the immediacy of the musical “fruit plucking.”
The trio played just over 90 minutes straight-through (with one short break prior to an encore piece), probably anywhere between 6 or 8 pieces. They started with 5 minutes or so of experimental flexing, bordering on avant-garde. By the next piece, Bill Frisell began laying down the melodies that worked well with this trio setting. Many times Eyvind and Bill mirrored each other’s melodies, but Eyvind still was able to cut loose on his own. Rudy knew how to play subtly, but he did let loose a few times as well, especially near the end of their set.
I just got Bill’s new one (History, Mystery); so I don’t know if the songs were from that or not, or just base melodies with improvisation. The set as a whole was very melodic, yet explorative. At several times, Bill pulled out what I thought was an e-bow, but it ended up being a music box that he was playing near his guitar pickup then through an echoplex-type looping device. Very harmonic tones… which would have been intriguing to have gotten from using guitar harmonic picking and an e-bow… alas, I was wrong.
Odd note: again, this was my first time seeing Bill Frisell. Does he always avoid facing the audience? He seemed to be facing towards Eyvind the whole night (so slightly away from the crowd). I never saw his hands or the front of the guitar all night. Odd, but at least the sound was sublime.
This was Bill’s fourth show at The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts over the years. That’s a good indication that he’ll be back. To that I say, “yay!” I hope he brings Eyvind and Rudy with him.
The appropriate links:
- http://www.myspace.com/billfrisellofficial
- http://www.myspace.com/floratone (recent collab with Bill, Eyvind, Matt Chamberlain, Tucker Martine, et cetera)
- http://www.billfrisell.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/eyvindkangeyvind
- http://www.myspace.com/rudyroyston
- http://theshedd.org/
In completely unreleated to Frisell/Kang/Royston news, but posted here since I didn’t want to add another post to “the pile”… you can listen to Sigur Rós‘ upcoming album (Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust) streaming here before it comes out in a couple of weeks: medsud-dot
Enjoy!
~Dan – np: Ken Laster – Jazz & Beyond podcast (link)
FRISELL / KANG / ROYSTON PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
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