poet, interviewer, musician, traveler
I can’t pretend to an extensive knowledge of classical music in general or Brahms in particular. All I can say is that this is wonderfully soft and lush and gorgeous and rich. I’ve played it two days in a row at the store and people keep coming over to ask about it.
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Take one of the great musical groups of, well, ever. Add arrangements by Allen Toussaint, one of the best arrangers ever to put pen to paper. Throw in a live concert environment. Stir. You’ve got a fabulous live album. This is The Band doing what they did best: playing deep, soulful rock music.
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Stone. Classic.
I mean COME ON, this record has “Chain Of Fools,” “Since You’ve Been Gone,” and the absolutely deadly “Ain’t No Way,” which my friend bassist John Kennedy describes as “baby-makin’ music.” The band alone is worth the price of admission — Spooner Oldham, Jimmy Johnson, Bobby Womack, Joe Newman, King Curtis, Frank Wess, and many more.
Did I already say “stone classic”?
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This one took me by surprise. I mean, nobody spins a Lou Reed record expecting happy pop music, but that’s what a lot of the songs are on New Sensations. They’re not vapid or simplistic, but they have backbeats and major chords and happy guitar solos. Lyrically, Reed is still willing to pull off some scabs, but even when he’s telling it like it is, there’s a knowing smile in his voice.
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napkin poem
how many times in how many bars
on how many napkins
text bleeding into the cheap paper
better suited for soaking up
condensation and mistakes
the band is playing “A Felicidade”
we are talking but not talking
text and subtext and saxophone
trying to avoid monkey clapping
loose lips sink ships
/ / /
28 February 2014
Zola, State College
Never heard “A Felicidade”? Enjoy.
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American Fool
It was the summer that John Cougar’s “Hurts So Good”
owned the airwaves. I remember it was playing
in Todd’s room when I got there. Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Our family’s last stand in our home state before
the final dissolution. Before we spread across the country
like dandelion seeds scattered by a strong wind.
It was also the summer of the Kinks’ “Lola,” introduced
to me by a Doctor Demento parody called “Yoda.”
“Y-O-D-A Yo-Da.” All three of those songs are bound up
in my memory like the sight of the sword Todd laid
on his bed, a gift from the grandfather we didn’t share.
The one who’d been an officer in the Knights of Columbus.
It was the last summer of trips to see Plymouth Rock
or the replica of the Mayflower. (“April showers bring
May flowers. What do May flowers bring? Pilgrims!”)
After that, seeing Todd meant a trip to Wisconsin.
It wasn’t the same. Even later when I moved to Arizona
where he lived, things had changed. Too much time.
It was the summer I came home from my grandparents’ place
round as a beach ball from all the Ring Dings I’d eaten,
sitting in front of the little TV in their den watching Star Blazers.
My parents made me run a mile a night until I was less round.
One of many clues I didn’t notice until three decades later.
By then the bullet had hit and passed through, leaving a scar.
21 December 2013
Oak Street
I turned to Twitter (follow me) and Facebook (friend me) many times this year for ideas about things to read, listen to and watch. Then I compiled those suggestions here. And now I’ve compiled the compilations. Enjoy!
I’m drinking lukewarm chamomile tea
— I have no idea what chamomile is —
listening to an American musician performing in Paris
when she asks the crowd if they’re having a good time
they say “yes” not “oui”
Bongocero
(for Arturo O’Farrill)
the meaty slap of flesh on flesh
the pop of skin on skin
fingertips, the side of the thumb
legs a vice to hold the shells
the heart of the matter is a mix
of rhythm and freedom
of accompaniment and improvisation
of ancient order and modernity
then from the back of the stage
the trumpets kick in
and the bongocero drops his drums,
which fall to the stage with a thud
now it’s skin grasping wood striking metal
as the bell cuts through
the urgent stabs of the horns
and gives a lift to the dancers
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-go
Jason Crane interviews vibraphonist James Westfall, bassist Dan Loomis and drummer Jared Schonig, known collectively as The Wee Trio. Their first record, Capitol Diner Vol. 1 (Bionic Records, 2008) features original music, jazz standards … and Nirvana. The trio explores the music they love through the lens of collective improvisation, and the results are fresh, fun and worth repeated listening. Find out more at theweetrio.com.
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Jason Crane interviews the members of the trio Fly: bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Jeff Ballard and saxophonist Mark Turner. Fly is very much a collective effort — the group operates with a leaderless philosophy in which everyone contributes equally. As a result, the trio has come up with some fresh and exciting sounds as they try new combinations and new ways to balance their respective instruments. All three musicians are very much in demand as sidemen, too. A full transcript of this interview is available at AllAboutJazz.com.
Jason Crane interviews organist Barbara Dennerlein about her pipe organ recording Spiritual Movement No. 2 (Bebab Records, 2008). The album was recorded at one of Germany’s most famous churches in front of a very appreciative audience. In this interview, recorded before a concert in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Dennerlein discusses jazz on the pipe organ; why organists should use their feet; and how she adapts to the challenge of seldom having her own instrument on stage.
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Jen and I saw Los Lobos at The Egg tonight. The set list included Tejano classics, Jimi Hendrix, the Dead, and a whole bag of original music from one of the greatest bands of all time.
I said it. One of the greatest bands of all time. These guys are absolutely amazing, more than 30 years after it all started in East Los Angeles.
Here are some selections from tonight’s set list, in no particular order:
David Hidalgo still sings like an angel and plays guitar like the devil. And his squeezbox is the bomb!
Cesar’s got all the blues he needs and some cumbia on top.
Louie spent time tonight on drums during the tejano set, and then ripped out several guitar-god solos during the impromptu Hendrix medley.
Conrad Lozano? Love him. And who knew that he sang the harmonies on “Will The Wolf Survive?”
Steve Berlin took it to the woodshed on the bari.
Cougar Estrada kept it all together on the drums.
If all you know about Los Lobos is La Bamba, it’s time for you to experience the full reality. If they come anywhere near you, go see them.
Added “bonus” photo:
Kristi Gustafson from the Times Union took this photo of Jen and I at the Los Lobos show
My very good friend Satoru Ohashi is playing trumpet in this video, recorded Nov. 30, 2008 in New York City:
Leave a CommentLast night, Jen and the boys and I went to see some percussion ensembles from the Albany Youth Symphony Orchestra. The concert was at the Massry Center for the Arts at the College of St. Rose. The Massry Center is a brand new performance and rehearsal building with state-of-the-art facilities.
Unfortunately, it also has one major design flaw. The light switches that control every light in the auditorium are located about three feet up on the wall outside the auditorium, and the switches blink.
How do I know this? Because while the theater was filling up and the final ensemble was finishing its rehearsal, my two-year-old son, John, saw the pretty blinking light and pressed all the switches, turning off every light in the auditorium. Some people started leaving. My wife overheard one patron say, “They must not want us in there now.”
I saw what John had done and turned the lights back on. The rehearsal finished, and the rest of the show went off without a hitch. But some architect ought to be giving the college a refund for that part of the design. Or they should have a “no two-year-old boys” policy.
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