Jazz in Kentucky

Sep 20 2015

Jazz in Kentucky: São Paulo Underground at Dreamland

 

sao paulo undergroundIf you’re in or around Louisville, KY today, you’ll want to catch the São Paulo Underground at Dreamland.  This Sept. 20, 2015 show starts at 8pm.  It’s likely to be one of the best shows you’ll see all year.

The SPU are a trio of Rob Mazurek, Mauricio Takara and Guilherme Granado performing an updated version of 1960s Brazilian Tropicalia music, blended with modern post-rock and modern jazz dynamics, and boosted with a mad scientist mix of laptops, effects, looping, and electronica.  Mazurek will primarily be blasting away with raw power on cornet, Takara will be adding the guitar-like rhythmic action of the Brazilian cavaquinho and the enthralling melodicism of the rabeca (basically, a Brazilian fiddle), and Granado will be running down the grooves and boosting the effects on his various keyboards and armory of electronic effects.

This is dance hall music for the mosh pit crowd.  It’s frenetic music with a thrilling groove… music with which to bounce off the walls of a tiny space.  It’s celebratory music that isn’t afraid to fight for its joy.  And most important, this is fun music that translates to a fun time at a live show.

You want to know what you’ll be getting?  Hit the play button below and let the musicians tell you…

The show is being held at Dreamland, which is located in Louisville’s NULU neighborhood.  Tickets are twenty bucks.  Doors open at 7:30pm, music starts at 8:00.

More details at the Dreamland site (LINK).

Dreamland is located at 810 East Market Street. Here’s A LINK to a google maps page for directions.

Here’s something I wrote when the SPU played at a different Louisville venue a few years ago (LINK).  And here’s something I wrote when Mazurek came through town earlier this year with a slightly different ensemble.  This particular show was also at Dreamland (LINK).

Go check ’em out.  It’ll be the best twenty bucks you’ve spent all year.

 

By • Announcement - Music, Jazz in Kentucky • 0

May 18 2015

Jazz in Kentucky: Ross Hammond – “Flight”

 

Ross Hammond - "Flight"Today, guitarist Ross Hammond will be making a tour stop in Kentucky at Lexington’s Morris Book Shop.

While readers of this site (and my old columns for eMusic & Wondering Sound) will recognize Hammond’s name for his unique blend of rock & jazz for small ensembles, his current project has Hammond as a solo act, sticking to blues & folk tunes far more than jazz, and utilizing 12-string and slide guitars rather than his typical electric slash & burn.

Hammond’s latest release is the highly embraceable Flight, and is far more likely to appeal to fans of Leo Kottke than Grant Green.  His use of the 12-string brings the greatest rewards, and his range of original tunes provides all kinds of room for nuance and grand pronouncements, both.  And the album’s down-home tranquility is likely to instill some lazy Sunday morning atmosphere into any time or day you hit the play button.

Here’s the song “Womuts!” from Hammond’s album, Flight…

Available at:  Bandcamp | eMusic | Amazon

*****

The show is being held at:

Morris Book Shop
882 E. High Street
Lexington, KY  40502
(859) 276-0494

The show starts at 6:30pm sharp.  There’s a $5 suggested donation in lieu of an actual ticket charge, but I don’t believe they’ll be turning anyone away at the door if money is tight and five bucks is too steep for you at this time.  Go out and enjoy some good music.

Though Lexington was once his home turf, Hammond is now well-entrenched in the California music scene, so take advantage of the opportunity to hear him when he swings through town.

*****

Ross Hammond - "Cathedrals"And if you want a different view of Hammond’s music, check out his 2013 release, Cathedrals.  You can read more about it (and listen to an album track) here, on this site (LINK).

 

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Apr 22 2015

Rob Mazurek & Black Cube SP at Dreamland

 

Rob MazurekMost impressive about a Rob Mazurek live show is the way in which he’s able to generate a huge, dense sound while creating an intimate setting.  The music is often in your face, but that’s not necessarily how it’s presented.  Instead, somehow, Mazurek concerts end up possessing a noble elegance and riveting magnetism that diffuses a defensive reaction to potentially aggressive music.  Part of this has to be attributable to his talent at meshing a number of seemingly diverse influences into thick, warm blanket of sound easy to embrace, even at the peak of its volatility.  Another major contributing factor to this effect is the sincerity and genuineness of his music.  It comes from the heart and it’s often whip-smart cerebral.  His Sunday night show at Louisville’s Dreamland was a case in point.

Performing with Black Cube SP, a mixed cast of his São Paulo Underground (Guilherme Granado and Mauricio Takara) and Thomas Rohrer, Mazurek and crew were touring in support of the late-2014 recording Return the Tides: Ascension Suite and Holy Ghost… a profound recording created shortly after the passing of Mazurek’s mother.  Rob Mazurek - "Return the Tides"With the album, Mazurek sought to create music that achieved a cathartic outpouring of emotion, serving as a rite of passage for both his mother and himself.  It was recorded in one take and initially not intended for release, but its sheer power and beauty convinced them to make it publicly available.  It is nothing if not sincere and genuine, and it’s this kind of soul-on-the-sleeve honesty that renders Mazurek’s music so compelling and his shows strangely intimate and personal, even as his ensemble generates sufficient force to tear down walls.

On Sunday night, those walls belonged to Louisville’s Dreamland, a venue that has been (slightly) re-purposed from its sole use as the theater for the Louisville Film Society to holding a regular array of concerts.  Once part church and administrative offices, the small stage is fronted by rows of pews, and the angles of the ceiling and walls and beams give the impression of a place where prayer has gone down before.  On this evening, Mazurek delivered some spirituality of his own.

Mazurek Dreamland 1

He opened with “Let the Rain Fall Upwards,” a long-form piece from Return the Tides, and returned later with the the album’s title-track.  True to form, Mazurek offered up both tracks in ways that made them sound simultaneously familiar and quite different.  Melodic fragments tugged the ear in the direction of memories of the recorded music, while diversions, improvisations and heart-displayed-to-the-world leaps of imagination nurtured the music into something completely new.

Mazurek split time between his cornet and a bedside table of electronics and effects.  He’d conjure up the low hum of thick drones, spike passages with wild keyboard phrases, and occasionally shout wordless harmonies into the mic.  He also added in a variety of percussive instruments… a responsibility shared by each of the quartet members.

Thomas Rohrer spent most of the show’s duration on the rabeca.  Native to Brazil, it sits like a viola and pours like a Jimi Hendrix guitar solo.  Expressive as hell with a dreamy delivery that can mimic the flow of water, Rohrer utilized its harmonic and rhythmic attributes nearly as often as its breathtakingly melodic talents.

The richness of their rhythmic approach shined through strong on their rendition of “Primitive Jupiter.”  Whereas the original, performed by Mazurek’s Pulsar Quartet, played it pretty straight with a jumping, but insistent tempo, Mazurek’s crew on this evening accentuated the beats to build up a danceable groove, but layered it with all kinds of nuance to where it was just as likely to make a cerebral connection as it would make the foot tap or the head bounce.

Mazurek Dreamland 2

Guilherme Granado and Mauricio Takara were the behind the steering wheel of that rhythmic attack.  Granado effected this via a mix of synths, keyboards, sampling and percussion.  His mad scientist work distilling grooves and spraying beats across the room incited motion even during the thickest of harmonic passages.  Takara was relentless on the drum set, whether working up a torrent of rhythm or dialing it way down to a sound more appropriate for a church environment.  He occasionally switched things up on cavaquinho, a Brazilian stringed instrument from the guitar family.

Mazurek and crew ended the show with “Skull Caves of Alderon,” from his 2013 octet recording, Skull Sessions.  It was an album that had him honoring both the post-bop experimental influence of his Chicago days and the Tropicalia folk-jazz sound from his time in Brazil.  Considering the expanse of influences that shape and form his music in the present day, on the evening of this show, it was a nifty choice with which to end the night.

Mazurek is still on tour.  Learn more on his site (LINK).

Rob Mazurek - "Return the Tides"Read more about Mazurek’s album Return the Tides: Ascension Suite & Holy Ghost, here on this site (LINK).  It was slotted as the Best of 2014 #2 Album of the Year.

And be sure to check out Dreamland for upcoming shows.  Musicians, this is a legit possibility for a tour stop.  Get in touch with them if you’re also hitting cities like Nashville, St. Louis, Indianapolis or Cincy.

Concert photos courtesy of Kevin Coultas.

***

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Apr 12 2015

Jazz in Kentucky: Dreamland Improvisational Jazz Festival

 

Rob MazurekA promising development on the jazz scene here in Kentucky is an old venue given a new purpose.  Dreamland has been hosting concerts regularly now, crossing over many genres, but typically by artists that fall outside the mainstream.  Next weekend, April 16th-19th, will be their inaugural Improvisational Jazz Festival.

Here’s the line-up:

  • Thursday, April 16: Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston
  • Friday, April 17: Jack Wright’s WREST
  • Saturday, April 18: Ken Vandermark & Tim Barnes
  • Sunday, April 19: Rob Mazurek’s Black Cube SP

All shows begin at 8pm.

And here’s a bit of background for each show:

 

Thursday, April 16: Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston

Trevor Watts Veryon WestonSaxophonist Watts and pianist Weston are vets of the UK improv scene.  The list of their collaborations contain enough musicians to make up an entire wing in the jazz hall of fame.  For now, they’re working as a duo.  Their nifty 2012 release Dialogues In Two Places is one you’re gonna want to look at.  For this show, expect plenty of quick-footed stream-of-conscious interplay, where sublime moments emerge from a fog of chaos.

Here’s a link to their Facebook page (LINK).

Here’s a live performance video to get a sense of things (LINK).

*****

Friday, April 17: Jack Wright’s WREST

Jack WrightSaxophonist Wright is another vet of the jazz improv & experimental scene, and he’s a guy who’s been willing to chat up anybody on sax, whether they’re a jazz giant or a complete newbie.  This has led to conversational skills that result in some fascinating moments.  He’s currently touring with bassist Evan Lipson and percussionist Ben Bennett… his Wrest trio.  Do not expect any pretty interludes for this one.  Dissonance will rule the day.  But out of these highly charged, fully improvisational performances can occur the most inspired passages… that’s the gift of witnessing a performance like this.  Also, sometimes it’s just fun to listen to the way the notes collide with one another, where poetry gets warped and bruised and the flaws are as revealing as the occasional moments of unison.

Here’s a link to Wrest’s website (LINK).

Here’s a link to a Soundcloud page with a stream of a live show (LINK).

*****

Saturday, April 18: Ken Vandermark & Tim Barnes

Ken VandermarkOh hell yes.  Multi-reedist Vandermark is a huge part of Chicago’s thriving jazz improv & experimental scenes.  His various ensembles have created some of the most alluring music out of dissonance and conflict, where captivating melodic passages suddenly coalesce from seemingly disparate streams of improvisation, and strangely tuneful sections appear out of nowhere, but make perfect sense as they occur.  Percussionist Barnes, the artistic director of Dreamland, has an impressively diverse range of collaborations, from Okkyung Lee to Nate Wooley to Wilco/Kotche/et al.  I can’t even begin to guess what form or shape this music will take on Saturday, but this is one you don’t want to miss.

Here’s a LINK to my recommendation of a recent Vandermark recording.  You should go buy it.

Here’s a LINK to explore more of Vandermark’s music.

*****

Sunday, April 19: Rob Mazurek’s Black Cube SP

Rob Mazurek - "Return the Tides"Oh for the love of god, you need to go to this show.  Cornetist Mazurek is one of the most creative musicians living today.  His recent release, Return the Tides: Ascension Suite and Holy Ghost was the Bird is the Worm Best of 2014 #2 album of the year.  His Black Cube SP ensemble is a mix of his São Paulo Underground and other familiar artists, and their blend of Brazilian Tropicália, modern jazz, and indie-rock is as powerful an expression of sound as you’ll find.  It’s got the same kind of punch as Miles Davis’s Tribute to Jack Johnson, but an even denser, complex sound.

Read my recommendation of this album (LINK).  It also contains links to all kinds of information about the artist and album.

Here’s some music from the album Return the Tides…

*****

Visit the Dreamland site for more information (LINK).  This is a great opportunity to check out some excellent music.  Try to see at least one of the shows.

Their location:

Dreamland – 810 East Market, Louisville, KY 40202

Also, to all you touring musicians, if you’ve setting something up that hits cities like Cincinnati, St. Louis, Nashville and Indy, you might want to get in touch with Dreamland as a possible tour stop in between those towns.

Cheers.

By • Jazz in Kentucky • 0

Jul 21 2014

Jazz in Kentucky: Upcoming shows from Brad Linde’s Team Players, Pat Metheny, and Chris Schlarb

In local news, there’s some solid music coming up on the calendar.

I’ve got three shows to tell you about.

*****

Brad Linde’s Team Players in Lexington on Tuesday, July 22nd at Natasha’s Bistro & Bar and in Louisville on Wednesday, July 23rd at Dreamland.

Brad LindeThe quartet of saxophonists Brad Linde and Billy Wolfe, guitarist Aaron Quinn, and drummer Deric Dickens have their feet planted dead center of the modern jazz scene.  That perfect mix of post-bop structure and free improv activity means it’ll be show where a typical Jazz sound will undergo sudden changes in tempo and direction, either taking sharp turns at unusual angles or simply shedding its form in a mass sonic dispersal.  Or, said differently, it’s music that will switch between the familiar and the strange, challenging and fun, both.  The quartet is currently touring in support of their new album, Draft.

They’ll be playing at Natasha’s Bistro & Bar in Lexington on Tuesday, 7/22/14, and then the following night, Wednesday, they’ll be at Dreamland on 7/23/14.  Natasha’s has a solid history of hosting jazz shows, and Dreamland appears to be a re-purposed venue, expanding out from more than just movies.   Colin Stetson performed there recently, and definitely seems like a viable option for touring jazz artists to make a Louisville stop.

The Natasha’s Lexington show starts at 8pm.  Tickets are $6.

The Dreamland Louisville opens the doors at 7pm.  Tickets are $7.

Find out more about the artists and venues by following the links attached to their names above.

*****

Pat Metheny Unity Group in Louisville on Sunday, July 27th at Kentucky Country Day School Theater

Pat MethenyWidely considered one of the all-time great guitarists, Pat Metheny & his Unity Group bring their jazz-pop fusion to Louisville in support of their new album, Kin.  While generally known for his sometimes too-syrupy brand of jazz fusion in the eighties, Metheny has, in fact, expanded the breadth of his creative range far outside that too-small characterization.  A memorable recording with Ornette Coleman, also one on the John Zorn Book of Angels project, his solo mechanized Rube-Goldberg project, Orchestration, as well as his collaboration with modern great, Brad Melhdau all serve of evidence that Metheny’s creative development didn’t end decades ago.

His new album, Kin, is a pretty strong effort, and while it expresses itself different from recordings of the past, it still has many of the trademark Metheny characteristics.  You’re going to get your thick melodies, there’s going to be plenty of dramatic surges of intensity, and there will be a pop music lightness to all of it.  These are good things, and live, it’s going to translate even better than on the recorded medium.

As one might expect of a musician of Metheny’s caliber, his Unity Group is comprised of Jazz all-stars, with Chris Potter on woodwinds, Antonio Sanchez on drums, Ben Williams on bass, and multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi.  They’re touring in support of their new album, Kin.

The show is being held in Louisville on 7.27.14 at the Kentucky Country Day School Theater. which has also hosted jazz shows featuring Laurence Hobgood and Ernie Watts.

Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm.  Tickets range between $55 – $65.

*****

Chris Schlarb in Owensboro on Tuesday, July 29th at Daviess County Public Library

Chris Schlarb tour photoGuitarist Chris Schlarb is touring in support of his new album Making the Saint. Half of the I Heart Lung free improv duo, Schlarb made his mark on the scene with the increasingly complex Psychic Temple project, which incorporated live and pre-recorded music in a majestic pastiche of artists, instruments, and genres, and included collaborations with an all-star cast from jazz, rock, metal, and classical fields. Now he’s stepping back. While secluding himself in middle-of-nowhere California, locked in a century-old cabin with just his guitars, some electronic effects and recording equipment, Schlarb laid down an EP of new music. This guitar-centered ambient recording doesn’t do anything to harm his reputation as an artist who transcends genre classification. Music that should appeal to fans of Brian Eno’s ambient work or the guitar-dreaminess of Roy Montgomery, Schlarb offers up much of the odd serenity and warped imagery that informed previous recordings, but where before they were elements of a larger whole, on his current project, he immerses himself into the heart of it all.

Expect to be taken along for that same ride.

Schlarb will be stopping in Kentucky at the Daviess County Public Library (Owensboro, KY) on Tuesday, 7/29/14, with the show scheduled to start at 6:30.

Here’s a LINK to the library site, where you can find more details.

For those of you unable to make the Owensboro gig, he’s playing the night previous in Cincinnati and the subsequent night he’s got a show up in Indianapolis. Here’s a LINK to Chris Schlarb’s site, for additional information.

And here’s a LINK to Schlarb’s Bandcamp page, where you listen to & purchase his new album, released on the Asthmatic Kitty label. And not for nothing, also check out both of his Psychic Temple recordings… it’s some of the most amazing music that’s come out over the last handful of years.

*****

And, yes, I’m still attempting to keep my Notes From The Holler site relevant.  Subscribe so you don’t miss out on the infrequent times I post show announcements and reviews there.  Eventually I’ll move all of my Jazz in Kentucky posts off Bird is the Worm and keep it separate on Notes From The Holler.  Eventually.

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