Number 60 December 25, 2010

A couple of weeks ago I saw the great John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension at Zellerbach.  With Gary Husband  on keyboards and drums, Etienne M'Bappe on bass, and Mark Mondesir on drums, the group is one of the more fully realized electric bands John has had in recent years.  They play with a high degree of empathy and energy.  Like his idol, John Coltrane, John has always had an overtly spiritual aspect to his playing.  He is trying to take you somewhere.  My label, Valence Records had an ad in John's tour book, which was a thrill.  Kai Eckhardt , who has recorded The Search and Reincarnation with me, is also on The Valence Project.  And of course Kai played with John on the legendary Live at The Royal Festival Hall and Que Alegria recordings.

Number 59 December 8, 2010

Mike Stern brought a true super group to Yoshi's SF last weekend:  Dennis Chambers on drums, Anthony Jackson, on bass, and Randy Brecker on trumpet.  They have all played together in various permutations many times over the years.  And in keeping with my ideas of direct transmission, Mike played with Miles in his comeback band in the early 80's.  Dennis has played with John McLaughlin, and now plays with Santana.
Benny Rietveld, who is a dear freind and produced my record Come To Me, played with Miles for about 10 years, and has been with Carlos since Miles' passing.  The music was fresh and wild and inspirational!

Number 58 November 19,2010

Last Sunday I saw the amazing Roseanne Cash at The Palace of Fine Arts as part of SF Jazz & Beyond.  Her father Johnny Cash will of course always be one of the most important figures in American music.   When she was 14, Johnny recorded "Girl of the North Country" with Dylan, making her "the coolest girl in the world!".  When she was 18, Johnny gave her a list of what he felt were the indispensable 100 country songs, some of which are on her 2009 release, The List.  Her performance was astounding; I'd always meant to check her out, and this was the first time I heard her live.  "I wonder what the 101st song would be?" and then she did a fabulously spooky version of "Ode to Billy Joe".  It's hard to beat Bobbie Gentry's version, but she did.  Her band, especially guitarists Richard Hinman and John Leaventhal, her husband, were perfect.

Number 57 November 13, 2010

Last night I saw the legendary Placido Domingo in Cyrano De Bergerac.  Written by Franco Alfano , most famous for finishing the last act of Turandot, it was first performed in Rome in 1936, and fell into obscurity.  Placido is largely responsible for reviving it, notably in a 2005 production at The Met.  Cyrano has marvelous melodies, and it is said Puccini admired Alfano's orchestrations.  Placido is not only one of the most important opera singers in its 400 year history, he is one of the most important artists in any genre.  True to life itself, he can move from comedy to tragedy in the course of a single musical line.  The general director of  both Los Angeles Opera and Washington National Opera, he has also conducted over 450 performances.  The cast of Cyrano was perfectly balanced, and Placido's protege  Ainhoa Arteta          was breathtaking as Roxane. 

Number 56 November 8, 2010

Friday I saw Buika at Zellerbach as part of Cal Performances.  She was born on the island of Mallorca to immigrants from Equatorial Guinea, and grew up in the Gypsy flamenco barrio on Mallorca.  Her family was virtually the only black family in town.  I have written many times that all indigenous musics have many influences, and that a new world music is being formed and evolved constantly.  Buika is influenced by flamenco, fado, African pop, Afro-Cuban and salsa, jazz, and R&B.    And she sings in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.  At times her vocalese channels Miles Davis, and even Weather Report. Her backing trio were all born in Cuba, and now live in Spain.  Fernando Favier , Ivan Lewis , and Dany Noel were perfect support.  As with Mariza, with whom she has recorded, I believe she is a "must see".  Her latest recording, "El Ultimo Trago" is a tribute to Chavela Vargas.

Number 55 November 11, 2010

Last Friday I saw Bitches Brew Revisited at the Palace of Fine Arts, as part of SF Jazz.  There has been a renewed interest in electric period Miles Davis in recent years.  Yo Miles  , which dates from 1999, was probably the first revival.  Miles From India  and Marcus Miller and Christian Scott's Tutu Revisited both have musicians who actually played with Miles, to better effect.  After the successful  marginalization by Wynton Marsalis and Ken Burns of late 60's and 70's Afro-American music, including electric Miles, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, and Butch Morris, among many others, I knew it would take a generation for a new appreciation for this music to arise.  Bitches Brew Revisited has two musicians that Miles would have used, Cindy Blackman and the great Blood Ulmer (whose compatriot, Sonny Sharrock did play with Miles).  The rest of the band, I'm afraid, would not have been up to Miles' high standards.  In truth, none of the revival bands have the emotion or taste of the original music, because they lack the genius himself, Miles Davis.  Better to try and make some new music, as Christian Scott has set out to do.  Asked why he wasn't interested in re-creating earlier periods of his music (Kind of Blue in particular) Miles deadpanned "Ain't that why there's records?"

Number 54 October 24, 2010

Last night I saw Taj Mahal, Foday Musa Suso, and Vieux Farka Toure` play the Paramount Theater in a "Blues Meets Africa" concert as part ot the SF Jazz fall series.  All three musicians have played in the past with Vieux's legendary father, Ali Farka Toure`.  Of course African and African American musics have been cross-polinating for many years.  And music is truly color blind.  Vieux's band, with a deep beautiful African groove,  had two very young white American players:  Tim Keiper    on drums, and Eric Herman on bass, in full African garb.  Taj was very moved to be playing the Paramount with such gifted musicians. 

Number 53 October 11, 2010

Every musical instrument has its own story.  I've written about some of my guitars in the past.  I've always thought the Gibson Byrdland, with a Venetian, or soft cutaway, is one of the prettiest electric guitars.  A thin arch top, it is voluptuous and has a wide tonal range.  It has been played by guitarists as diverse as Roy Clark , Blood Ulmer, and John McLaughlin .  In August 2007 I finally decided I had to have one.  I didn't want to patronize a supermarket music store, so I contacted my friend James Casella, who owns Blue Note Music, in Berkeley.  Being a responsible retailer, he tried to talk me out of it:  "You do realize it's a 3/4 neck?" (I have fairly small hands, albeit with a very wide stretch).  I insisted, ordered a blonde with Venetian cutaway, and prepared to wait for what I was assured would be a year or more. Much to my delight James called me in October to tell me the guitar was ready.  (Gibson waits until they have several orders to do a production run.  I got lucky).  It was stunningly beautiful.  When I got it home and looked inside the f hole at the label, it read "The top, back, tone bars, and air chamber of this instrument were assembled, tuned, and the assembled instrument tried and approved October 11, 2007(signed) James W. Hutchins."  My Byrdland was finished on my birthday!  I don't know what the odds of that are, but they must be much greater than 1 in 365.

Number 52 October 4, 2010

The SF Jazz Fall season is starting, so I'll be writing a lot about music over the next weeks.  Last night the legendary Henry Threadgill played the Herbst theater with his group Zooid.  Very free and and beautiful music, not unlike Ornette Coleman in its polytonal and polyrhythmic textures.  Drums, acoustic bass guitar, tuba, cello, and Liberty Ellman on guitar.  A lot of lower register information, with the guitar on top, and Henry's alto sax, flute, and bass flute in the middle, commenting and leading.  Liberty used to live in the Bay Area, and we would play a lot of the same clubs.  He's been with Henry for 10 years or so.  For this gig he was playing an acoustic steel string guitar; it looked like an old Kay or Corina.  The last time I heard Liberty he was sounding like a modern George Benson.  This was much more "out".  Just as I play in many different formats and styles, I realize that even I tend to catagorize musicians and assume that what I hear on a given night is the way they always play.  The genius of musicians like Threadgill, Ornette, and Butch Morris is that they continually challenge and re-orient our expectations.

Number 51 September 14, 2010

History is not linear.  One step forward, two steps back, as  Lenin wrote.  From the first sound recordings to the phonograph record (some have argued that 78s and 45s sound better than 33 rpm) recordings generally sounded better and better.  With the advent of digital cds and compression, sound quality declined, albeit without the annoying hisses and cracks of phono records.  The MP3 was most likely the nadir of sound quality, and a generation or two don't really know what good sound quality is.  No less a critic of digital sound than Neil Young   has said that sound quality will improve when the sampling rate goes way up. (He's been saying this for over a decade!)  I believe we are finally turning the corner.  The Sonoma System, developed by Gus Skinas and a team of Sony engineers a few years ago, samples at 2.8MHz.  2.8 million bits a second, in contrast to the 44.1kHz of a cd.  Called Direct Stream Digital, it has the warmth and clarity of analogue tape.  Gus graciously brought out a Sonoma System for the solo violin recording of Emily Palen we did at Grace Cathedral. The DSD files can be read by several consumer level products.  Along with the 96kHz downloads that are available from most of the artists that Cookie Marenco records, high resolution music is a revolution long overdue.

Number 50 August 19, 2010

Tibetan Buddhism has a concept of direct transmission.  If you studied under a master, you have his wisdom directly transmitted to you.  If you studied under one of his disciples, you have an indirect transmission, which still can be just as valuable.  The American Dzogchen teacher, Surya Das , studied with the great Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.  I've had the privilege of sitting with Surya.  It has often amazed me how close the direct transmissions can be in music.  For example, I've had the privilege of playing with Ray Charles, (one night as a sub in England in the early 70's), jamming with Van Morrison and Jean Luc Ponty, and playing with Chico Hamilton.  Also with the organists Brother Jack McDuff and Jimmy McCracklin, who between them have hired just about every important guiarist you can imagine.  But what amazes me even more is how close the indirect, or just one step removed, transmisssions can be.  My dear friend Benny Rietveld, who produced my recording Come to Me, has played with Santana for twenty years, and before that with Miles Davis!  (There is a very short list of whom Benny has not played with).  Kai Eckhardt, who plays with me on The Search and Reincarnation, has played with John McLaughlin and Wayne Shorter (both of whom played famously with Miles).  And my dear Eddie Duran, who I call my root guru, played with Charlie Parker! 

Number 49 August 4, 2010

I attended the California Audio Show as a guest of my producer Cookie Marenco, and her label Blue Coast Records.  Gus Skinas brought out his Sonoma Systems recorder from Denver.  This is the same system we used to record Emily Palen on solo violin at Grace Cathedral.  I performed for a live recording session on Friday afternoon, and Emily and Jason McGuire and Keith Greeninger and many other friends of Cookie performed throughout the weekend.  It was gratifying to see how appreciative the audiophiles were of live, improvised performances.  I got the impression most of them don't go out to hear live music very often. You can listen to our performances, and download them, by going to the Blue Coast web site and registering for free.

Number 48 July 21, 2010

Today is the official launch of The Valence Project! http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/07/prweb4274354.htm

As you can see from the press release, the recording was conceived, written, and executed in a very innovative and unique way.  I've always loved the Duke Ellington quote, that "Success is doing the right thing, at the right time, with the right people."  With Brain, Kai Eckhardt , Melissa Reese , Emily Palen,  Jon Herrera, Deborah Charles, Eamonn Flynn and many other great musicians, the vibe was fantastic.  The cover art is by Krisztina Lazar. There was such mutual respect and admiration, and enthusiasm!  Engineered and produced by my dear friend and collaborator Cookie Marenco , I think you'll agree it has an awesome vibe.

Number 47 July 6, 2010

Collaborations are a wonderful, and unpredictable thing.  Consider the new recording by Pepe Habichuela featuring Dave Holland.  Both are legends, from completely different backgrounds.  Pepe, a leader in flamenco guitar for 40 years, and Holland at the forefront of jazz since the '60s, including Silent Way    and Conference of the Birds.  Both artists are fantastic listeners, the most important thing for a musician. I had forgotten that Pepe had collaborated with Don Cherry many years ago, and has experimented with Indian music and the Bollywood Strings.  The recording is named Hands, and is highly recommended.

Number 46 June 13, 2010

Friday we saw the great Marcus Miller in a tribute to 80's period Miles, highlighting the music from Tutu.  With him were the heir to the throne, Christian Scott on trumpet, the 22 year old Alex Han on alto and soprano, Louis Cato on drums, and Frederico Gonzales Pena on keyboards.  It was a magic night.  Marcus, of course, was the producer, arranger, and composer of much of the music on three Miles recordings: Tutu, Amandla, and Siesta.  He invented a backdrop for Miles's playing as profound and complimentary as Gil Evans   did 30 years before.  I've always believed that Wynton Marsalis's attempt to marginalize the generation of great Afro American avant garde artsists who came before him, from Cecil Taylor to Ornette Coleman to my friend Butch Morris and of course Miles Davis from Silent Way on, would eventually fail.  A new generation of musicians would come along who would recognize that Bitches Brew is every bit as valid and beautiful as Kind of Blue.  (As Ralph J. Gleason's liner notes stated at the time). Wynton has already tried to mariginalize Christian Scott, but he can't.  Christian is young, black, charismatic, angry, from New Orleans, and infintely more talented than Wynton ever dreamed of being.  When first approached to do the tribute, Marcus hesitated, wondering how Miles would have felt.  He decided to use young musicians who were not born when these recordings were made, a brilliant descision.  Like all great players, Christian knows the entire history of the music, and in addition to channeling Miles, one can hear Freddie Hubbard , Dizzy, and even Louis.  And, he's rolled that into a very unique and compelling voice that I believe is the new leader of the music.  (Good night, Wynton). Alex Han, at such a young age, is completely commanding, and again has not only fully absorbed the music of Kenny Garrett , but also Charlie Parker and even Johnny Hodges, as was apparent on a beautiful duet with Marcus, who played bass clarinet, on Prelude to a Kiss.

Number 45 June 4, 2010

Tuesday I saw the great Pat Martino at Yohi's SF. Pat is a living master of the music; one of the musicians like McCoy Tyner , Jeff Beck, Ravi Shankar, Ornette Coleman, and a few others that I see whenever I can.  This gig featured Tony Monaco on Hammond B3, and Jason Brown on drums.  Pat's website is a wonderful resource for guitarists.  Like all great musicians, I believe Pat can touch people who don't normally listen to this kind of music.  From the stage he told an anecdote about introducing Les Paul (at whose house he was boarding) to Wes Montgomery between his sets when Pat was 17 or so.  Wes told Les that he was one of his two biggest heroes, along with Charlie Christian.  After his gig, he went back to Wes's club, and Pat, Wes, Les, and George Benson and Grant Green all went out to breakfast at 4 AM!

Number 44 May 28, 2010

Last Sunday I went to a memorial benefit at the Spreckles Center in Rohnert Park for the great luthier Taku Sakashta, who was tragically murdered a couple of months ago.  Many of my luthier friends were there, including Al Milburn and John Mello.  I had approached Taku through mutual friends, Al and Yukimasa Kasuya about ordering a guitar last year, but Taku was very booked up.  The benefit had performances by The Black Market Blues Band, which featured my friend Joe Mloganoski, who co-owns Two-Rock Amplification, and Eric Gales, not to be confused with the late, great Eric Gale.  Tuck and Patti, who live in the area, and who I haven't seen in years, moved my friend Krisztina Lazar to tears.  The headliner was Robben Ford, with special guest Boz Skaggs, both of whom were playing Taku's guitars.  It was a very beautiful and fitting tribute.  Our time on this planet is very short, and I realized some years ago that whether we live to be very old, or die young, it is how we live, and that we live, that is important.

Number 43 May 17, 2010

Sonny Rollins last Thursday at Zellerbach as part of Cal Performances was fantastic, as always.  His first solo was a monumental 10 or 15 minute sermon that is tied for the most amazing display of energy and emotion I've ever heard in person from a sax player.  The other solo was just last year by Kenny Garret with The Five Peace Band and Kenny is half Sonny's age.  A living master, a genius, and one of the last living links to be-bop and hard-bop (musicians rightly never like labels, but Sonny invented the post be-bop sensibility) every show is nothing but the truth.   Kobie Watkins on drums was one of the most dynamic and manaically driving drummers I've ever seen, and reminded my of Al Foster's work with Miles and Sonny.  He had the entire auditorium pulsing.  With the ever steady and groovey Bob Cranshaw on bass, and the percussionist Victor See-Yuen, each tune had a perfect groove that made the 90 minute set seem like one short tune.  One of the secrets of Sonny's artistry, (and Miles') is that at heart the tunes are simple, even though the virtuosity is high.  A modal tune, a blues, a calypso, a standard.  Quotes from nursery rhymes.  I once heard him play a version of "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?" that I sing in my mind almost every day.  See Sonny Rollins while you can! 

Number 42 May 14, 2010

Another week of great and varied music performances.  Last Saturday night I saw Laurie Anderson at Zellerbach Auditorium.  I've seen Laurie many times, and she is always witty, thought provoking, and profound.  This piece, Homeland, was partially commissioned for the Vancouver Olympics and also by Cal Performances and BAM.  As with most of Laurie's pieces, it was multi-media, with computer and video driven projected images, an electronic score, and two jazz sax players wailing away behind back-lit screens.
Laurie made use of her by now familiar electronically altered voice.  Often used as a wry voice of mail authority, she stated that in this piece she wanted more of a dialogue between that voice and her own.  It's often easy to overlook what a wonderful violinist she is.  The piece was partially inspired by the recent death of her mother.  Very few artists can range from pathos to humor to political outrage in 90 minutes, and have it all somehow work.

Number 41 May 11, 2010

Last Friday I saw George Winston at Grace Cathedral    Emily Palen, who we recorded At Grace in January, attended the concert with me, and was very inspired.  After the concert our friend Brian Martin introduced us to George.  During the show George spoke of his influences; Vince Guaraldi, all the great stride pianists, and The Doors.  He played pieces by Vince, and ended the concert, before the encore, with Riders on the Storm.  He also played a solo harmonica piece, and a slack key Hawaiin piece on acoustic guitar.  His demeanor is very warm and humble. He invites a local action group to each of his events to raise money, for San Francisco it was St. Anthony's.  While my tastes lean toward the more adventurous, he is very inspiring in that he has followed his bliss, to paraphrase Joeseph Campbell, and plays from the heart. 

Number 40 April 29, 2010

Charles Lloyd at The Palace of Fine Arts as part of SF Jazz this last Sunday was magical.  He is one of my biggest musical influences.  I realized years ago that many of the open voiced major ninth chords I love to play, and which are unusual voicings for a guitarist, come from Keith Jarrett's work with Charles' early quartet.  The current quartet, with Reuben Rogers on bass, Jason Moran on piano, and Eric Harland on drums is perhaps his best since that fine group.  I just redicovered his first recording, "Of Course, Of Course",  with Ron Carter ,Tony Williams  , and Gabor Szabo.  Charles Lloyd was the music director for Chico Hamilton when Gabor was in the band.  I had the priviledge of being in Chico's band in 1979 and 1980, and I was flattered that I reminded him of Gabor.  It amazes me what a direct link there is between musicians.  Along with Wayne Shorter and Cecil Taylor, Charles Lloyd remains at the forefront of pushing the music forward, something very few artists can do at an advanced age.

Number 39 April 21, 2010

I saw Pharoah Saunders at Grace Cathedral Friday.  It was interesting having recorded Emily Palen solo there in January to listen to a completely different instrument and approach.  I've seen many beautiful concerts there over the years; Don Cherry and Cecil Taylor being perhaps among the most memorable.  I've seen Pharoah many times over the years, and have always been struck by how profoundly African his sound is.  Lat night I saw Baba Maal at Zellerbach, and again am reminded of the debt we owe Mother Africa.  A wonderful feedback loop of cultures, as Baba is influenced not only by Senegale traditions but also Afo-American and Afro-Cuban music.  And the contribution of salsa and Puerto Rican rhythms are there also. On the latest Valence Project song, "I Am Shiva" I was wondering what to do for a guitar part.  And the music of Tanariwen    came to mind for the rhythm guitar part, and I was on my way.

Number 38 April 14, 2010

We are mixing a new song for The Valence Project.  It was written and recorded the way we have been working so far.  Kai Eckhardt  laid down eleven bass tracks.  Then Brain recorded a drum track, also to 2 inch tape.  While he was looping the tracks in Logic, Melissa Reese and I were writing lyrics.  We often like to incorporate several themes and even points of view.  I had been speaking with her about the origin of the words thugee and hashishin.  Also, a freind had mentioned to me that men looked at her as if they wanted to put her in a cage and own her.  We spoke of some people's need to feel betrayed. All of these ideas somehow wound up in the song, "I Am Shiva".  Our producer Cookie Marenco has been invited to be an Artist In Residence at Indaba  and will be writing a weekly blog for 2 months on how The Valence Project collaborates in the studio.  The blog will be entitled "The Art of Collaboration".

Number 37 April 6 2010

This speech was forwarded to me by my good friend Mark Baillie.  It is Greg Bennett addressing the NAMM SHOW attendees.  I think it is one of the most wonderful expositions on why we create music.

Enjoy!

Number 36 March 29,2010

Another wonderful week of art events.  Last Thursday we went to a performance piece by Krisztina Lazar at the Swell Gallery, an extension site of the Art Institute  , the REAL art school in town.  Krisztina, as you may know, did the cover painting for The Valence Project.  She was body painting and throwing herself against the canvas tacked to the wall.  Very edgey, and beautiful.  Saturday was The Merce Cunnham Dance Company at Zellerbach.  The piece was Cunningham's last, "Nearly 90" with music by John Paul Jones  and
Takehisa Kosugi.  One is reminded of the quote that "Talent does what it can, genius does what it must."
And then last night a benefit performance in a private home at the top of Belvedere for the Marin Symphony by my dear friends Caminos Flamencos.   Yaelisa, Jason, Felix and Fanny were brilliant, and stunning set against the bay and San Francisco skyline.  My only regret was missing Ralph Towner Saturday, but I guess even I can't be two places at once.

Number 35 March 20, 2010

Last night we saw Keith Jarrett at Davies Hall in a rare solo performance. I first saw Keith Jarrett in the 60's with the Charles Lloyd Quartet at the Avalon Ballroom opening for Albert King, the headliner being B.B. King. Forest Flower was a very important recording for me as a young musician, and much of my chord voicings on guitar, with widely spaced major 9/13s for example, come from Jarrett. Of course his marvelous work with Miles, and then the many ECM recordings, have been inspirational. But especially during his solo concerts the last few years, he will berate the audience for coughing, eliciting boos and jeers. His sarcastic timing is better than most professional stand-up comics (he did a diatribe in 2000 at a concert on hanging chads and the rigged election that was worthy of Lenny Bruce) but it is very disconcerting to me. At one point I thought he was about to leave the stage. Then, by way of winning the audience back, he asked for requests, and played a lovely "What Is This Thing Called Love". At the end he played five or six encores to standing ovations, an audience member shouting out that "the riff raff are gone". People do cough; at Keith Jarrett concerts and Rubenstein concerts and Horrowitz concerts. Equally as distracting are Jarrett's vocalese and foot tapping, and body contortions. I can get past those easily enough; he's done them to a lesser degree all through his career. But the insulting the audience routine has become schtick; John McEnroe screaming at the umpire, a parody of a parody, and for me it has finally come to cheapen the experience.

Number 34 March 14, 2010

Last Thursday SF Jazz hosted an event at Amnesia they call Hot Plate. It features local musicians performing tribute concerts to jazz greats. This night Peter Horvath and friends performed the 70's funk music of Herbie Hancock. Ray Obiedo, an old friend, was on guitar. Ray played in Herbie's band in the late 70's. It was a great night of music by players who have all known and played with each other for many years. I realized that many of them have recorded with me: Marc Van Wageningen (with his brother Paul on Ananda) Karl Perazzo (on Come to Me) and Peter Horvath (on Reincarnation). I suddenly realized how blessed I am to know so many wonderful musicians.

Number 33 February 26, 2010

In my last blog I mentioned the great performer Angelique Kidjo.  Another amazing artist who I always try to see is the fado singer Mariza.  I first saw her several years ago, as part of the SF Jazz Festival.  Portuguese and African, tall and so commandingly beautiful, I found myself weeping at her first notes.  To my right a couple of seats over, no less a cynic than Tom Waites, was also weeping.  The ability to convey profound and complex emotions to an audience is such a gift.  Carlie Parker, Eric Clapton, Ella Fitzgerald, all have that quality.

Number 32 February 22, 2010

I had a wonderful musical weekend. Friday we played at Café Claude, and Emily Palen joined us for two sets. She always adds a wonderful energy. Saturday I saw Angelique Kidjo at Zellerbach. I’ve seen her many times, and this was perhaps the best. Originally from Benin, she employs musicians from all over Africa; and has been influenced by almost all the major African music styles from high life to soukous, and also by American blues and rock and roll artists. A consummate showperson, she not only dances around the entire auditorium, she has the audience on stage and dancing for the final songs.

Sunday was Tinariwen at The Palace of Fine Arts as part of SF Jazz spring season. I was struck by how diverse and huge the African continent is. Nomadic Touareg tribesmen from Mali, their biography will amaze you. Guitars and bass and dumbek, with no trap set. Closer culturally and geographically to Egyptian music. I played their cd for Cookie and Brain for inspiration when we started The Valence Project. Now that I’ve seen them live, I’m an even bigger fan.

Number 31 February 18, 2010

Fear as a motivator.

Jeff Bridges was being interviewed by Charlie Rose a few weeks ago, promoting Crazy Heart. Asked if he was ever nervous while filming, he told the story of shooting a scene with Robert Ryan many years ago at the end of Ryan’s career. It was a western, and Bridges and Ryan were seated at a table for the scene. The crew had to wipe Ryan’s sweat off the table. “Still nervous after all these years Bobby?” asked Bridges. “I’d be really scared if I wasn’t scared” was the reply. “Of course I’m nervous”, Bridges told Rose. “You want to get it right”.

The great guitarist Pat Martino describes writing original tunes a few years ago. Having played standards for many years, he was afraid to write his own songs, and so he forced himself to do it. Humans maybe the only creatures capable of doing that which they fear, intentionally.

Emily Palen confided in me a week or so before we recorded her at Grace Cathedral: “I’m getting pretty scared”. Which I took as a good thing. When I mentioned the idea of a solo recital there as a cd release celebration, she said “That’s pretty scary. Let’s do it!”

The Valence Project recording was scary for me, working in a completely new, and experimental way. I think it has a great energy to it, in large part because the musicians were all in uncharted territory.

Emily Palen at Grace Cathedral

I first met Emily a couple of years ago busking in front of Niman Marcus. Her playing was extraordinary, and it seemed very brave to me for a beautiful young woman to be playing in the middle of Union Square with all the traffic and bustle. We exchanged cds, and I mentioned that I would like to work with her some time. As she was classically trained, and then moved into rock, her improvisations are very fresh to me. I saw some of her gigs with her band Dolorata, and in duo with Katie Colpitts, also of Dolorata. Emily played with my band at Yoshi’s, and was spectacular. I thought my rhythm section might intimidate her, but she was fearless, and was a big hit. And then I heard her play a solo gig at a wine bar, and was stunned. I realized that in playing in all these different settings, each song she played was a complete composition in and of itself, that could stand alone, even if the other musicians were removed. I realized it would make a beautiful recording. When I mentioned it to my producer and engineer Cookie Marenco, she was immediately enthusiastic, and suggested Grace Cathedral for a live recording.

I live about ten blocks from Grace, and walked up there several times. I wasn’t sure it would be quiet enough with the cable cars and road noise, but when we finally checked it out after hours with the doors closed, Emily sounded wonderful, and there was no discernable street noise. We booked two nights, Monday January 11, and Wednesday January 13. (There was another event on the 12th). We had to set up before 5:15 service, and could only record from six to nine PM each night. We were using the Sonoma DSD Recorder, which has phenomenal sound, and a great array of microphones.

I knew from the moment Emily starting warming up that we would get great performances. It was a very emotional first night for Emily, but she played beautifully. The second night was more relaxed, as we knew we already had a great recording, and Emily’s violin and the Cathedral became one instrument. We were using the vestry as a control room, and on the second night we were shocked to hear a piano and choir practicing above us. Fortunately the sound didn’t bleed into the Cathedral, and Emily couldn’t hear it. When we finally tracked the choir master down, he offered to not use the piano. (It occurred to me he’s probably paid by the rehearsal). It remained an irritant to those of us in the control room, but fortunately didn’t interfere with the recording, or Emily’s brilliant playing.

It was so lovely to walk from my house in the afternoon to Grace, take the crew to dinner, and then hear Emily play for a few hours, that for days afterward I wanted to walk up the hill and repeat the experience. It could be the coolest thing I’ve ever been involved in.