Number 71 May 30, 2011

I mentioned in my last blog that I've seen  several revelatory concerts this year.  Last week it was Four Generations of Miles at Yoshi's Oakland, with Mike Stern, Sonny Fortune, Buster Williams, and Jimmy Cobb.  Each of them played during very important and innovative stages of Miles' career.  Playing standards associated with Miles, from Stella by Starlight to Green Dolphin Street to Straight No Chaser, they were at once celebratory and fresh.  Music is one of the few disciplines where the elderly can (if they are brilliant) push a younger and equally talented musician.  Roy Haynes does this regularly.  And Jimmy Cobb, who is probably the only person still alive who was in the studio for the Kind of Blue sessions, pushed Mike Stern rhythmically as if he were still 20 years old.

Number 70 May 21, 2011

I've mentioned that I was so busy with The Valence Project debut gig at Yoshi's that I haven't had time to write about some great shows of the last few weeks.  Jeff Beck's tribute to Les Paul at The Fillmore, with the Imelda May Band as his backup was just stunning.  Rock, jazz, rockabilly, it's all there at his fingertips.  And Imelday May, and her husband Darell Higham, are the real deal.  Born in Dublin, she has that Celtic connection to American roots music that runs very deep.  Which brings me to seeing Robert Plant at The Greek Theater with Band of Joy.  Yes, the first tune was Black Dog.  And there was a cover of the Airplane's She Has Funy Cars.  ("Thank you San Francisco!")  Twirling the mic stand constantly, there is a certain confidence that comes from being a rock star for 40 years.  And Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller were mind blowing.  One of the best concerts I've ever seen.

Number 69 May 1, 2011

I haven't posted in a while, because we've been so busy with The Valence Project and our first gig at Yoshi's SF.  All agreed it was a huge success.  With band members Brain, Kai Eckhardt, Emily Palen, Melissa Reese, Baron Shul and yours truly, everyone in the band had a blast.  It also gave us lots of ideas for the future.  We did video the performance, and also recorded it on a Korg DSD 1 bit machine, so there will be youtube footage and downloads for theose who missed the gig.  I'll be writing about a couple of great shows I saw last month in the next few days.