Dave Holland's Prism at SF Jazz

I've been busy starting new recording projects (including TVP II) and realize I still need to write about the brilliant Bay Area debut of Dave Holland's Prism in February at SF Jazz.  Holland has been at the forefront of new music for over 40 years, and is still fresh, challenging, and inventive.  Originally discovered by Miles playing at Ronnie Scott's in London, he replaced Ron Carter in the Quintet.  With Chick Corea on electric piano, and Jack DeJohnette on drums, within two years the music changed from the still largely acoustic Filles de Killimanjaro, to Silent Way, to Bitches Brew.
A new cd/dvd set live from Europe in 1968 demonstrates just how powerful this "missing" Quintet was.  And Holland was at the very core of the change - even recommending former roommate John McLaughlin to Miles.  After Miles, Holland recorded Conference of the Birds with Sam Rivers, Barry Altschul, and Anthony Braxton for ECM, which marked another major change in improvised music.  On both acoustic and electric bass he has been on countless important records.  Two of my favorites are So Near, So Far - Joe Henderson with John Scofield and Al Foster, and Hands, with the great flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela.

Prism features Kevin Eubanks on guitar, Eric Harland on drums, and Craig Taborn on acoustic and electric piano.  Freed from the constraints of his long time gig on the Tonight Show, Eubanks was fiery and inventive; nearly harmelodic in a Blood Ulmer way.  Harland is majestic and wildly creative, and Taborn was a revelation.  Souful, funky, and with a mastery of harmony, Taborn is a perfect foil for the continuously creative Holland.  Always a very generous leader, Prism performs compositions by all the members.  Past, present, and future all are a split second away when Holland plays.  And if it is somewhat reminiscent of the best of 60's fusion, it should be.  Dave helped invent it!

Mariza at SF Jazz

Mariza is my pick for the most dynamic performer on the planet.  I first saw her years ago at the Henry Kaiser Auditorium in Oakland.  The usually jaded Tom Waites was weeping a few seats away from me.  And I have tears in my eyes from the moment she takes the stage.  How much is her amazing stage presence, how much the notes I know will be coming, how much some triggering of my Sephardic blood, I don't know.  But she seems to have this effect on most of her audience.  Fado is by nature heart wrenching, and Mariza is blessed with a huge voice and incredibly  intuitive musicianship.  From full blast to a whisper, every note is a revelation, every note a sweet arrow in the heart.  Every nuanced move, dance step, hand gesture, intensifies the theme of the song.  One is reminded of Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis (a great singer of songs, as Gil Evans said) with the rare ability to project duende with a note, a gesture.  She has been playing large halls for years, and I was apprehensive the intimate Robert Miner Auditorium would be too small a venue.  Many a great artist overplays a small room.  "Ah, this reminds me of a taverna".  She walked through the audience, whisppered to them, sang without a mic.  Mariza, African and Portuguese, born in Mozambique, and raised in Lisbon, was raised in her parents' taverna singing fado from the age of five. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariza   For this series of concerts she has Jose Neto on guitarra, Pedro Joia on guitar, Nando Araujo on bass, and Vicky Marques on drums. They played with an understated elegance, obviously delighted to be playing for such a gifted performer.  In a black beaded backless gown, and a royal blue belt cinched at her long waist, Mariza is the epitome of fado.  Her performance of Amalia's Primavera, "My great passion" was riveting.  If you never see another performer live, see Mariza.

Zakir Hussain at SF Jazz

Last month I attended my first performance at the new SF Jazz Center Robert N. Miner auditorium.  Bob was a dear friend of mine, and he loved jazz.  While a very private guy, I think he would have thought it pretty cool to be remembered this way.  Is is a beautiful and intimate hall.  I'll write more about the first concert,which was Dave Holland's Prism, in my next post.  Last night's concert was Zakir Hussain, and it was amazing.  Zakir is perhaps the most accomplished musician of any genre currently living (as was Ravi Shankar).  Staggering technique, a great listener, a deep spirituality, and a sense of humor and showmanship allow him to chaarm and amaze even those unfamiliar with Indian classical music.  The purpose of this concert was to introduce young musicians to the west that Zakir believes are the leaders of the future.  Rakesh Chaurasia (the nephew of Hariprasad  Chaurasia, who I saw perform an amazing concert with Ravi and Ali Akbar Khan at Berkeley Community many years ago) on bansuri  (bamboo flutes) Niladri Kumar on sitar, and Ganesh Rajagopalan on violin.  As Zakir stated, it is an unusual instrumentation for Indian classical music.  Each instrument was featured in a raga.  They would start with the traditional alap, and then expand and build tension and tempo.  There was a distinct western edge to some of the themes, and occasionally a music cue would trigger a rehearsed unison band line, ala Weather Report or late 60's Miles.  And like Miles, it was obvious that Zakir was there to listen to his young players.  Often with eyes closed and hands folded in his lap for the alaps.  And then, with the flick of a wrist, a world of explosive percussion would wash over the audience.  Aficionados and novices alike are stunned by his virtuosity.  He reminds us that  time and polyrythyms are infinite.  As Charles Mingus said, he plays around the core of the beat, without ever having to state it.  Niladri hit harmonics and double stops (which aren't used in Indian music) and bent notes in western blues and rock scales, as well as the traditional rags.  The second set took on an even more overt western tinge, with quotes from Smoke On The Water, and the theme to The Good, The Bad, and Thge Ugly (which even Zakir quoted).  These players have mastered their music, and feel free to incorporate other musics within the framework of their art.  Just as jazz and rock and roll have influenced young flamencos, and of course Indian music has influenced rock and roll, and jazz, for over 50 years.  Bravo Zakir!

Pat Martino at Yoshi's SF

The legendary Pat Martino played Yoshi's SF last Saturday as an organ trio with Pat Bianchi on organ and Carmen Intorre on drums.  Bianchi and Intorre play with a musicality and fire that belies
their youth.  I've had the privilege of seeing Pat Martino for many, many years, and I don't think I've ever heard him in better form.  He started out playing in organ trios with Brother Jack McDuff,  (with whom I've also had the prvilege of playing) and has returned to this format occasionally in the last few years.  He started the set with the Charlie Christian tune Seven Come Eleven.  It's hard to imagine the influence Charlie had on bebop; he was the Jimi Hendrix of his day.  From stating the melody onward Pat dove deep into postbop upper extensions and polyrythmic lines.  In fact the entire set was an exercise in making jazz standards that are forty to seventy years old vibrant, modern and even edgey.  The set included Full House, by Wes Montgomery, All Blues by Miles, and Footprints by Wayne Shorter.  All are tunes I still love to play.

April 28 2012

Paco de Lucia played the Paramount Theater last night as part of SF Jazz.  I have a pretty strict definition of genius:  an artist who changes the way practitioners think of the medium.  Picasso, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix.  You can work through them, but you ignore them at your peril.  Miles said "I changed the music five or six times", and indeed he did.  Birth of the Cool, Walking, Kind of Blue, ESP, Silent Way, Bitches Brew, changed the way we thought, and felt, about music.  Paco, from his astounding work with Camaron, to Entre Dos Aguas, to Siroco, Zyryab, and Luzia, continually changes the way flamencos view their art form.  Originally criticized by "purists", his command of traditional material and technique is without equal.  His genius is in continually evolving and renewing the art form.  He is one of a handful of the most accomplished musicians on earth; Ravi Shankar comes to mind. This concert featured the great vocalist Duquende, and the spectacular young dancer Farru.  Paco was greeted with a standing ovation.  As is his custom, the opening piece was solo, a beautiful rondena.  The encore segued from Guardian Angels by John McLaughlin (which they used to play together) into Entre Dos Aguas.  In between were two hours of seamless magic.  Bravo Paco! 

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. 

February 1 2012

The new Sony release "Miles Davis Quintet - Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Volume 1" is a must have.  The second great Miles quintet, with Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter is documented live on two cds and one extraordinary dvd.  The set list is virtually identical each performance, with radically different interpretations of each tune.  Miles would lead into each tune before the end of the last, creating seamless concertos.  Herbie has described what they did as controlled freedom; they would play within the form of the tune, and then go outside.  A look, or a motif, would signal when it was time to return to the form.  Weather Report would later incorporate this technique, as does The Kai Eckhardt Band, with whom I'm recording my latest cd.

The Tremendous Contribution of the Gypsies

 I haven't posted in over a month, and have been very busy playing and attending concerts.  I realized that there was a coincidental theme to the shows I've seen this month:  the tremendous contribution of the Gypsies to world music.  Everyone from Beethoven to Chopin to Miles Davis has been influenced.  There were probably two great migrations from the east across Europe; around 700 AD and again around 1200.  Early last month I saw the SF Opera production of Bizet's Carmen, a wonderfully balanced cast with a fabulous performance by Kendall Gladen.  Then the Compania Flamenca of Jose Porcel, in a tribute titled Gypsy Fire.  Last night my beloved Caminos Flamencos played a 10th anniversary show titled Solo Flamenco with Juan Ogalla, Yaelisa, Fanny Ara, Melissa Cruz, and Jason McGuire AND Chusco on guitars.  Chusco was raised in the caves of Granada.  Jason is from Texas, and one of the dancers was Japanese.  All first rate performers of the music.  So it has become universal, even as the Gypsies struggle for freedom and basic human rights to this day.  This afternoon I saw the Takacs Quartet, playing Janacek and Ravel,  both highly influenced by Gypsy themes.  And one of the founders, Karoly Schranz, says his earliest musical experiences were listening to Gypsy bands in Budapest restaurants.     

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 65 February 17, 2011

I've written about Esperanza Spaulding (blog number 24) in the past.  I was so delighted that she won a Grammy for Best New Artist.  Her web site has a gracious and generous thank you note.  She points out that there are many new and wonderful things going on in this music called jazz.  Christian Scott is another brilliant young artist who was nominated for best performance.  Jazz goes in and out of fashion, which is why I believe it is always vital; it gets a chance to mutate and evolve when it is under the radar.  Christian would be much more famous if jazz were in a higher profile in the media.  Wynton Marsalis fit the Reagan years perfectly, and became very famous, with far less talent.  Miles Davis, The Beatles, and until last Sunday, Neil Young, never received a Grammy.
Congratulations Esperasnza!  Go Girl!

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/02/esperanza_spaulding_1.php

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 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.