March 1, 2012

Last Friday the dave Holland Overtone Quartet played the palace of Fine Arts Theatre as part of SF Jazz Spring Season.  It is a marvelous example of mature and young musicians inspiring each other.  Holland roomed with John McLaughlin in London, and introduced Tony Williams to John via a tape.  Dave played on Bitches Brew with Miles, and is on the Miles dvd at The Isle of Wight concert.  He has been at the forefront of new music all his professional life.  His 1972 recording, Conference of the Birds, with Sam Rivers, Anthony Braxton, and Barry Altschul, set new directions for acoustic explorations.  Last year he recorded Hands, with Pepe Habechuela, among the most soulful of flamenco guitarists.  Joining Dave for this concert were Chris Potter, one of the leading tenor players of his generation, Jason Moran, and the brilliant Eric Harland.  They each compose for the quartet, and while Dave is the leader and senior artist, it is a truly a collaborative effort. 

October 17 2011

Genius is a word used too often.  But the SF Jazz Festival the last two weeks has indeed presented genius.  By my definition, a genius changes the way we perceive a discipline.  Einstein, Picasso, Charlie Parker.  October 1 at the Paramount the young genius Esperanza Spaulding and her Chamber Music Society played. The next night Wayne Shorter and his quartet were at Herbst.  Then Ravi Shankar on October 7 at Davies.  Now 91, I've had the privilge of seeing Ravi for over 40 years.  With his daughter Anoushka a recent mom and not on this tour, I was afraid age might finally catch up with him.  It hasn't; he's still the finest musician in the world, of any genre.  And last night, McCoy Tyner, who I've also had the privilege of seeing since my teens, played Herbst with the fabulous Chris Potter on tenor.