http://www.edoctorsmith.com/index.htmlHot News!enuser@domain.comCopyright 2011 Eric Smith2010-06-27T13:15:46-07:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:16:53 -0700user@domain.comblog2010-06-27T13:15:46-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/04a0a31b11b8b424fefc187d57d7f06f-87.html#unique-entry-id-87http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/04a0a31b11b8b424fefc187d57d7f06f-87.html#unique-entry-id-87
Not just another funk/world/rock/jazz/classical ensemble, Eclectica is a virtuoso groove event. This genre-defying band features the 5 time Grammy Award–winning drumming of Roy "Futureman" Wooten, of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and electric violin virtuoso Tracy Silverman, heralded by the BBC as “the greatest living exponent of the electric violin.” Bass legend Steve Forrest, (replacing Kyle Whalum), rounds out the ensemble. Eclectica weaves sound-pieces together with a groove that is alive from the first note to the last encore, with sing-along choruses and creative jams that can lead in any direction. With 3-part vocals and inspired synchronicity, Eclectica is a celebration and a concert on the same stage.

Jim Beal Jr., writer for the San Antonio Express-News interviewed the band during a festival last year, and was able to get some fantastic insight into the creation of this unique trio. Beal writes, "When it comes to naming bands, truth in advertising does not always figure into the decision. For Nashville-based Eclectica, the name is on the mark. "What comes out of us is kind of funky rock, jazz and classical," said violinist Tracy Silverman. "There are elements of all those things in the music, which is why we call the band Eclectica."

Eclectica began with Silverman, Wooten and bassist Kyle Whalum (currently on the road with James Otto) and recorded their debut CD, "Streaming Video Soul" (Gutbucket Records). Forrest is Eclectica's current bassist, replacing Whalum for their recent tours. There are some great tunes on this album, including my personal favorite "Nawlins". There is an amazing live video of Eclectica performing this song with an orchestra that must be seen to be believed.

"I think people have open minds and ears when it comes to music," Silverman said. "I think people would rather hear more than one style of music. And, we don't want to get bored. We like to jump around. We have eclectic backgrounds. The music business tends to be very restrictive for artists. If you have a hit, you get labeled as that for the rest of your career. It's good for marketers, but not for artists."

Beal continued with a bio of the band, "Eclectica is not about to get labeled, at least not easily. Silverman grew up in New York. He started playing violin at 4. By the time he was 8, he was in the Juilliard School pre-college. He started winning competitions at 12 and graduated from Juilliard at 20. In 1994, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and joined the Turtle Island String Quartet. In the early 2000, Silverman started collaborating with contemporary classical composer John Adams, who composed the electric violin concerto "The Dharma at Big Sur" for the violinist.

Wooten is an inventor, composer and percussionist. With the Flecktones, he performs with a customized electric guitar-synthesizer, "The Synthaxe" which he renamed, the "Drumitar". Wooten also fronts the orchestral "Black Mozart Ensemble". With Eclectica, Wooten plays acoustic drums. Bassist Forrest, from Nashville by way of Memphis, is a first-call musician who has worked with Tony Joe White, Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris as well as with jazz bands and the Wooten Brothers and Friends group."

"Me and Roy bumped into each other a few times. He asked me to play on some of his projects. He's always doing something interesting," Silverman said. "I had this vision of a band with me, Roy and a keyboard player. It evolved into Eclectica. We decided to make a record and see if anybody would book us." Recording for Eclectica is not much different from playing live. "We recorded live, like we were jamming, to try to maintain that feeling," Silverman said. "I think we did well in the studio because we like to give ourselves some freedom. Live, we approach the music more like jazz players. We leave things open-ended. That makes every night different."

Something else that's different is Silverman's violin. It's a six-string instrument made by luthier Danny Ferrington. "It's tuned in fifths and has two lower strings," Silverman said. "It actually changes everything. I can play chords. And I developed a technique I call 'strum bowing.' I also use a strap and play the violin kind of like a guitar." With Eclectica, vocals also figure in, but not necessarily vocals in the traditional sense. "My original intent was for vocals to be about 50 percent of the time," he said. "It's primarily an instrumental band, but I think solely instrumental bands can be kind of boring. The vocals give us a little different texture..."

Eclectica hasn't appeared much on the west coast, confining their performances to Nashville and the east. I'd keep an eye out for this lovely trio; Silverman is amazing on electric violin, both Whalum and Forrest bring the funk and it's a real treat to hear and see Futureman on a tiny acoustic kit, tastily using wooden brushes and crisp cymbal work. More drummers should take his softer, yet confident approach. Meantime, pick up a copy of "Streaming Video Soul", a fine blend of jam-band-meets-Hendrix from three musical virtuosos.]]>user@domain.comblog2010-07-27T13:13:02-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/53d18e0e6c676066f0d9af91df706153-86.html#unique-entry-id-86http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/53d18e0e6c676066f0d9af91df706153-86.html#unique-entry-id-86
Perhaps the most incredible drummer of our time is the world renown Billy Cobham. With a career spanning 4 decades, Cobham has performed with pianists Horace Silver and George Duke, legendary trumpeter Miles Davis, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, vibraphonist Milt Holland and jazz guitarist John McLaughlin, to name but a few. Cobham has also performed with the Grateful Dead and their tribute group, "Jazz is Dead", with the famed Peter Gabriel, Level 42 and many, many more. An inductee into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame, Cobham is best known primarily for his jazz-rock drumming. Cobham’s latest release, “Palindrome” on the Multimedia Concepts label, is a return to those roots.

Percussionist, writer and educator Reid J. Kennedy reviewed Palindrome last January for the Jazz Police. It so closely echoed my own view of this album, that it bears quoting here. Kennedy writes, “The album opens with an updated arrangement of Cobham’s “Moon Germs,” originally released in 1975 on the Total Eclipse record. With its funky bassline, solid pocket, and tight horn lines, this track is a suitable microcosm for a majority of the album. “Moon Germs’” use of guitar and keyboard riffs is another common thread within Cobham’s arrangements. “Two For Juan,” revisited from 1987’s Picture This, opens with a driving theme played over the drummer’s relentless backbeat. The combination of instrumentation and melodic material produce a theme suitable for an action sequence on Miami Vice.

The tune takes a different direction as keyboardist Christophe Cravero and trombonist Marshall Gilkes take turns blowing over an interlude prior to the return of the initial groove and guitar solo. A mountain climb toward the original theme ensues, not complete without some space for Cobham. “Obliquely Speaking” is one of five new compositions on the album, though it bares multiple similarities to “Two For Juan.” The use of steel pan adds a tropical flavor to this track.

By the fourth tune, “Isle of Skye,” the ensemble sound is firmly in place. Listeners know what to expect at this point, and those in search of groove-oriented music with a Latin tinge will not be disappointed. This second new composition on Palindrome offers a few calming moments when the music breathes a relaxing sigh. “A Day’s Grace,” from 1981’s Flight Time, begins softly before giving way to the straight-eight feel that propels the tune. Guitar, keyboard, and violin all receive solo space before the melody returns. Percussionist Marco Lobo adds some tasteful rhythms to the conclusion. Riff-based “Mirage” is reminiscent of the Dave Weckl Band with shades of Dave Holland with Billy Kilson, and even recordings of Michel Camilo. It was originally recorded on the Focused album in 1997.

A close listen to “Cancun Market” reveals the level of intricacy that encompasses many of the melodies Cobham composes. Nearly two minutes of syncopated rhythms comprise the head and give way to a steel pan solo played by Wilbert “Junior” Gill from Cobham’s “Culturemix” band. Guitar and keyboard solos follow thereafter, prior to the head out. “Torpedo Flo” is in six and morphs through a variety of grooves and feels in that time signature.

Trombonist Gilkes returns for a tasteful ride over Cobham’s relaxed, pseudo-samba feel that continues during the keyboard solo, as well. “Alfa Waves,” originally from 1995’s The Traveler, is a samba in three and features the “string” section of the group. Bassist Philippe Chayeb, who is solid throughout the entire album, opens the blowing and is followed by violin and guitar solos. It should be noted that the violin parts are played by keyboardist Cravero. Interestingly, this tune is placed directly after the only other tune in three (or six) on the record. “Saippuakivikauppias,” the palindrome song, concludes the album. The catch here is that, like the title, the tune is the same forward and backward.”

All in all, Palindrome is a softer Cobham album and as Kennedy noted, many of the songs are from Cobham’s thirty year catalogue. I recognized many of the strains from Cobham’s earlier albums, particularly “Total Eclipse”, “Life and Times” and “Inner Conflicts”. For me, Palindrome combines all of the elements of Cobham’s rich musical past, from the ‘70s era of the Brecker Brothers to the Culturemix band of 2003 with Junior Gill.

Kennedy rightly concluded, “Cobham’s Palindrome looks into the past while moving forward with contemporary ideas. There is no denying the drummer’s ability to play in the pocket, and with this release, he has made clear his musical preferences as they stand in 2010.”]]>user@domain.comblog2010-07-01T13:10:53-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/28cad1b233cf0c609364b0d3cd8820e3-85.html#unique-entry-id-85http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/28cad1b233cf0c609364b0d3cd8820e3-85.html#unique-entry-id-85
Outsound Presents, the home grown artist nonprofit collective of the Bay-Area returns July 18th - 24th for the 9th Annual Outsound New Music Summit, one of the most comprehensive experimental music festivals on the West Coast with another unique roster of talent. The festival seeks to build on its reputation for diverse and critically-acclaimed performances with headliners that run the gamut from the films of Martha Colburn, multi-phonic drummer Alex Cline, the siren voices of Amy X Neuburg to the unabashed performance noise of Chen Santa Maria.

Every summer since 2002, the New Music Summit spends a week in July showcasing some of the most innovative and pioneering new music that is happening in California and beyond. At first a celebration of the eclectic vanguard artists on the DIY Edgetone Records Label, the Summit now features a broad range of artists from across the US, Europe, Australia and Japan. It features world premieres and exclusive debuts, raging free improvisers to microtonal composition to experimental electronics to harsh noise, reflecting an incredible range of genre busting exploration and sonic creativity. The Summit promotes intermedia, fostering cross-pollination between disciplines of music, sound art, visual and media arts. It is committed to bringing highly innovative music and art to a growing audience seeking a new experience.

The 9th Annual Outsound New Music Summit takes place July 18th through the 24th at the San Francisco Community Music Center, the Summit’s home for the past three years. The festival schedule includes the much anticipated yearly Touch the Gear tm, a free hands-on expo Sunday July 18th where attendees can experience new sounds and the devices that make them. A build your own cardboard synthesizer (Skatchbox) demonstration Monday July 19th with grandmaster instrument builder Tom Nunn, pre-concert artist talks, and four nights of music featuring a diverse lineup of artists.

The schedule includes a rare collaboration between Los Angeles iconoclast drummer Alex Cline and former Shadowfax ‘extended technique’ and ‘frequency manipulation’ guitarist G.E. Stinson. Performance vocal art by the Cornelius Cardew Choir, Amy X Neuburg, and “spoetry” (spam poetry) from Reconnaissance fly. The program also includes a full night of experimental films by musician conceptual artist Martha Colburn with music by pianist Thollem Mcdonas, and the internationally-exhibited 2009 60X60 Film Mix from Voxnovis featuring sixty local and international composers to film by Patrick Liddell in sixty minuets.

The mission of Outsound Presents is to raise public awareness of avant-garde and experimental music and sound art. All events and works supported by the organization focus on the creation of experimental music, avant-garde musical composition, found sound, improvisation, creative music, new music, noise, musique concrète, minimalism, invented instruments, genre-bending music, and sound that is sculptural or textural in nature. Outsound Presents events also include film, dance, and intermedia works. Through its two year around music series, its fledgling community education program OutSpoken, and a palette of artist services, Outsound Presents connects audiences to new work and the innovative artists creating it.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Sunday July 18: Touch the Gear
Ever wanted a closer look at the gear on stage? Wish you could try it yourself? Touch the Gear is Outsound’s free public OutSpoken event that allows audiences to roam among over 25 artists and their sonic inventions, asking questions, making noise and learning how these often one-of-a-kind set-ups work. It’s a hands-on, family-friendly environment that demystifies the technology while inspiring creativity. 7-10 pm

Monday July 19: How to build a Skatchbox - Demonstration
At this OutSpoken event participants will lean how to build their very own experimental musical instrument from a cardboard box. Inventor Tom Nunn will explain the techniques and demonstrate the processes used. 7-9pm

Wednesday July 21: Blurred Lines
Experimental films by Martha Colburn, with a live score by Thollem Mcdonas. Also, the internationally- exhibited 2009 60X60 Film Mix from Voxnovis.com, featuring sixty local and international composers to sixty one-minute films by Patrick Liddell.

Thursday July 22: Sound in a Blink
a night of free improvisational music with Hunt/Allen/Orr (featuring Joshua Allen, Timothy Orr, & Randy Hunt). Also, Emily Hay /Motoko Honda duo - and to top it off, legendary drummer Alex Cline with guitarist G.E. Stinson.

Friday July 23: MultiVox
A night of performances infused by voice and performance art with Reconnaissance Fly, the Cornelius Cardew Choir, and Amy X Neuburg.

Saturday July 24: Soundscapes
A night of sculpted noise art with phog masheeen, Headboggle, Kadet Khune, and Chen Santa Maria.

The 9th Annual Outsound New Music Summit
July 18 - 19 Free public events start at 7pm July 21 - 24
Artist Q&A: 7:30pm Music Performances start: 8:15pm
San Francisco Community Music Center 544 Capp Street (between 20th and 21st Streets) San Francisco, California
All Ages | Wheelchair Accessible July 21-24: $12 General ($10 advance) / $8 Student Festival Pass $45 ($40 advance)
Advance general tickets at In Ticketing http://www.inticketing.com/evinfo.php?eventid=97125]]>user@domain.comblog2010-08-14T13:06:21-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/1449d344fb3744ab924787fdca8f4a17-84.html#unique-entry-id-84http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/1449d344fb3744ab924787fdca8f4a17-84.html#unique-entry-id-84
Alongside the late Tony Williams and Billy Cobham, Lenny White is part of my personal trinity of the greatest drummers of all time. I have seen all three, many, many times over their storied careers. There are none better. Williams, Cobham and White redefined jazz drumming in the '70s, giving birth to the jazz-rock era and paving the way for all who came behind them. According to Abstract Logix, his label's website, "Following his triumphant worldwide reunion tour with Return To Forever in 2008 and separate trio tours in 2009 with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke and pianist Hiromi with Clarke, White was primed to put out his own recording, his first as a leader in ten years. With "Anomaly", the pioneering jazz-rock drummer returns to his roots, blending powerhouse backbeats and improvisational abandon in a bold, unapologetically aggressive manner that characterized the early 70s fusion movement. On that RTF tour he told sold-out crowds every night: “This is not a boy band, this is a man band. And we need to take back the music as musicians”. White rolls into Yoshi's in Oakland August 24th-25th with his "Anomaly" band.

“And I really meant that,” says White. “We need to restart a revolution so that we can take back the music and stop the fluff. And I’m hoping that this new album is a representation of that.” Accompanied by a crew of unsung guitar killers in Nick Moroch (a former member of White’s Astral Pirates), David Gilmore, Tom Guarna and David Bendeth, keyboardists George Colligan, Bernard Wright, Donald Blackman, (another Astral Pirate) and Vince Evans and bassists Victor Bailey, Richie Goods, Charles Fambrough and his RTF bandmate Stanley Clarke, White unleashes with Zeppelinesque fury on Anomaly, his tenth overall recording as a leader.

“I really wanted to rock out on this project,” says White. “Early on, David Bendeth said to me, “No one has made a jazz-rock or fusion record with the sound of a rock record.” So I said, “Let’s do it!” And one of the things for me that was a real boost before we got into recording was reading something that John Bonham had said in a book about the making of several famous Led Zeppelin tracks. Now, I have been a Led Zeppelin fan forever and ‘Black Dog’ had always been my favorite Zeppelin tune. But I actually recently rediscovered ‘In My Time of Dying,’ which became my new favorite Zeppelin tune. So I’m reading through this book and I got to the point where Bonham’s talking about constructing the track ‘In My Time of Dying,’ and he says, “We were kind of rocking a little bit more from a progressive standpoint at this point, and I had been listening to Tony Williams, Billy Cobham and Lenny White.”So that really made my day.”

Anomaly, it turns out, is an apt description for a record that defies all industry trends with its sheer audaciousness. “I would’ve never been able to make a record like this if I were on a major label today,” says White. “Most record companies are very myopic in how they market things. So they want you to do one particular thing and you’re not supposed to stray outside of the line. I don’t know any musicians who are myopic but when they come under the umbrella of major labels, they suddenly become that way because that’s what is demanded of you when you are part of a stable of artists”. But on this project, White was free to explore his musical vision with a no-holds-barred approach.

He opens the collection with the riff-driven funk-rock of ‘Drum Boogie,’ a tune he wrote for his Lenny White Group more than 25 years ago. Nick Moroch takes a particularly blistering guitar solo here. “Nick is an undiscovered guitar hero. A lot of people know about him but not enough. He’s really a brilliant musician. He can play any style, any kind of guitar. He’s amazing.”

The crunchy, grunge-toned ‘We Know’ is decidedly in a Zeppelin vein and features a fleet-fingered piccolo bass solo from Stanley Clarke. Producer David Bendeth also turns in a scorching guitar solo on this aggressive number. “David is one of the top rock-pop producers in the world today,” says White. “He’s produced recordings for platinum acts like Paramour and Breaking Benjamin. And the truth is, he used to play in my band long ago. When I called him to work with me on this project I went by his studio in New Jersey and he told me, “Man, I owe all of this to you because you kicked my butt so bad when I was in your band that I learned a lot and I use everything that you taught me with all these groups. “So it was great to be able to reconnect with him on this project.”

White’s longtime friend, singer/producer and collaborator Nicki Richards is featured singing on ‘Forever.’ Some liquid lines from Widespread Panic guitarist Jimmy Herring coolly shade her soulful vocals. Guitarist David Gilmore brings in his composition ‘Dark Moon,’ which features Bernard Wright on piano and Victor Bailey in a rare turn on upright bass. Gilmore’s fluid solo here is spectacular. “I went to Russia and took David as a part of my group there,” says White. And during that tour, David wrote this song for me. We pulled it out for this session and recorded it, and David sounds fantastic on it.” “Then on another tour we went to Warsaw with Polish pop singer Tatiana Okupnik and opened for the Rolling Stones.

White offers an intriguing re-imagining of Joe Henderson’s ‘Gazelle,’ a composition that he recorded with the tenor sax great in 1970 on the live Milestone album ‘If You’re Not Part of the Solution, You’re Part Of The Problem.’ White turns in an extended drum solo on this fresh remake of the Henderson staple. “That’s always been one of my favorite tunes of Joe’s,” he says. “I just decided to put a different slant on it.”

Guitarist Tom Guarna contributes the exotic ‘If U Dare,’ which he imbued with his distortion-laced tones and considerable chops. “Tom’s another one of these unsung guitar heroes out here. He’s one of those guys that the public doesn’t know that well. And I really do like to bring the focus on great musicians that people don’t really know about. Tom can really play! And he’s a science fiction fan too, so that worked for me.”

‘Election Day’ is a big triumphant-sounding number that pays tribute to the historic election of President Barack Obama. Almost orchestral in scope, it’s a kind of heavy metal ‘Fanfare for the Common Man.’ As heavy as James Gang, Grand Funk Railroad and Led Zeppelin rolled into one, this aggressive track features a remarkably grungy wah-wah synth solo by Wright and a stinging six-string solo by Moroch. “I wanted to have a rocking track that had strings like Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir,’” says White. “And this fit the bill.”

‘Coming Down’ is harmonically sophisticated tune in six with a cool distortion guitar solo from Guarna while ‘Anthem’ is George Colligan’s humungous-sounding arena rock number. Guarna erupts on this emotionally-charged power ballad like Tommy Bolin on Billy Cobham’s Spectrum.

White and his longstanding friend and drumming colleague Mike Clark (from Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters) join together for a two-drum jam on ‘Catlett Out of the Bag.’ Opening with a quote from jazz drumming great Sid Catlett’s ‘Mop Mop’ lick, it develops into a funky, organ-fueled groove with punchy horn section and Maceo Parker-styled alto sax work by Danny Walsh, another White regular. “Mike and I go back almost 40 years,” he says of Clark. “We played together a few years ago in a band we started called New Brew. For this track we just went in the studio and jammed with Jerry Z, the organist who plays in Mike’s band. I have no problem playing two drum things because I do it from the perspective of having one guy with eight arms. And then afterwards we overdubbed some horns on there so it would sound like a big jam band.”

Perhaps the most stirring tune on the collection is ‘Water Changes Everything,’ an exotic African flavored number featuring a vocal choir consisting of Chris Williams, Vanese Thomas, Gregg Clark, Irene James, Michelle Weeks-Reynoso and Nicki Richards. White explains the meaning behind this powerful original. “Basically, I had written this piece of music and after the fact a friend of mine told me about a charity called Water where they build wells in Africa where people don’t have any water and have to travel six hours to get water in some cases, and it’s not really drinkable water. So we put some words together to address this issue and I got some of my great singing friends to sing on it. I wanted it to be like a ‘We Are The World’ kind of thing, where everybody sings a piece of the verse. And I think you get the message.”

Another thought-provoking number is the hugely orchestral ‘The Wait Has Lifted the Weight,’ White’s spoken word meditation on the Obama Presidency. As he explains: “The actual piece was a part of an opera I’m composing. When Obama’s election happened, I thought about a whole bunch of things and I wrote down what I was thinking about. And I would’ve loved to have gotten Laurence Fishburne or a great voice like James Earl Jones to speak those words. But it didn’t work out, so I decided to go on and do it myself. What I was talking about was that for so long black people in the United States have been waiting to have some sort of major respectability boost. And I think with a black president people are starting to shift their attitudes. And you know, we’ve been waiting a long time. So now that wait, which is time, has lifted this weight.

Bonus tracks on Anomaly (not available for Stateside release) are White’s ‘Inside Strait,’ a revved-up funk rocker he penned more than 20 years ago, and Colligan’s slamming jazz-rock number ‘Arpanet,’ which features more sizzling six-string work from Guarna and a soaring Mini Moog solo by the composer.

Largely self-taught on drums, native New Yorker White broke into the jazz world in 1968 with alto saxophonist Jackie McLean. The following year he participated in Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, generally regarded as the album that birthed the fusion movement. He subsequently recorded with a Who’s Who in Jazz, including trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw, tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson, Gato Barbieri and Stan Getz and renowned composer-bandleader Gil Evans, among others. As a member of Return To Forever from 1973 to 1976, White gained a solid reputation as one of the top fusion drummers of the day. “I'm basically a jazz guy, and that’s what I grew up playing,” he says. “But when this new thing happened with jazz-rock through Bitches Brew and bands like Tony Williams Lifetime and Return To Forever, I found myself on the ground floor of a movement. And this musical movement co-existed with other forms of music that came in during the latter part of the 20th century.

“I was fortunate when I started to make music,” he continues. “I made music at the same time that Igor Stravinksy was making music, at the same time that Jimi Hendrix and James Brown were making music, at the same time that Duke Ellington and Miles Davis and John Coltrane were making music. Led Zeppelin co-existed at the same time that Return To Forever did. All these artists co-existed at the same time and I listened to all that music and was influenced by all of it. So now when I put together an eclectic project I sometimes hear people say, “Oh man, what is he trying to do” ”But the truth is, I’m not trying to do anything. I’m just representing the music that I came up listening to.”

He represents it well on Anomaly."

Lenny White and "Anomaly" featuring Jimmy Herring, Chris Goods, Vince Evans and Tom Guarna
Tuesday, August 24th
8PM Show: $22
10PM Show: $14

Wednesday, August 25th
8PM Show: $22
10PM Show: $14]]>user@domain.comblog2010-09-27T13:04:02-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/daa331063b3953b8a895cd045b491523-83.html#unique-entry-id-83http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/daa331063b3953b8a895cd045b491523-83.html#unique-entry-id-83
Last November, Gadd brought an all star line-up to Yoshi's in San Francisco with keyboardist Joey DeFrancesco, saxophonist Ronnie Cuber and guitarist Paul Bollenback. Now comes a live album featuring that band, "Live at Voce". A well-respected drummer who has appeared in many types of settings in many genres, Gadd's impressive technique and flexibility have been influential during the past 20 years. He started playing drums at the age of three, sat in with Dizzy Gillespie when he was 11, and after extensive study and a stint in the Army, Gadd became an important studio drummer beginning in 1972. Among his more significant jazz associations have been with Chick Corea (starting in 1975), Bob James, Al DiMeola, Tom Scott, Grover Washington Jr., David Sanborn, the group Stuff, the Manhattan Jazz Quintet, and his own impressive band (the Gadd Gang) which recorded for Columbia in 1986 and 1988.

Gadd's website features a review of the aforementioned album, recounted below by Malcolm Moore who wrote, "This has been a simply stellar year for Steve Gadd. Between tours, recordings, and performances with world renown artists such as Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Alain Clark, and Edie Brickell, he somehow also managed to record and produce 3 albums himself, the first of these being Steve Gadd & Friends "Live at Voce."

It’s the debut CD by a band that has actually been touring sporadically since 2007. Steve Gadd & Friends is comprised of Gadd on drums, Joey DeFrancesco on Hammond organ and trumpet (!), Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax, and Paul Bollenback on guitar. Even though Gadd is a master at all genres, it’s easy to tell that this is the type music he truly enjoys playing the most. The music seems to effortlessly breathe with its deep groves and emotional expressionism. It was recorded at an intimate setting, in Scottsdale Arizona, at Voce’ Lounge. If you listen with headphones on, it’s as if the band is playing right in front of you. You can hear the ambiance of the gig; counting off of the tunes, people cheering, shouting, and clapping, and the clinking of occasional drink glasses.

On one hand it’s a nod to the past, as Gadd and Cuber played for many years together in The Gadd Gang. But on the other hand, they’re charting new territory with DeFrancesco taking it into the stratosphere with the Hammond and Bollenback painting the canvas with a fusion that seamlessly glues it all together. The music is immediate and intense. Despite the laid back feel of "Bye Bye Blackbird ", with its hip brush strokes, muted trumpet, dripping guitar phrases, and submarine sax, these four gentlemen are symbiotic, fluid, and cohesive. They conjure up myriad sonic landscapes outside of space and time by dousing the audience with pure musical joy.

Gadd always knows when to leave space and just groove, but he also provides some brilliant and dazzling drum solos, too. "Sister Sadie" is a perfect example. What starts out as a blazing strait-ahead tune, with Cuber blowing bolts of lightening, and then Bollenback flailing away into hidden fretboard realms, gradually turns into Gadd trading fierce fours with DeFrancesco. He throws off the snares, picks up the brushes, and then unveils a tribal masterpiece. Just as enjoyable and revealing is his new take on the Gadd Gand classic "Way Back Home." This version is a bit wider, looser, and dirtier, with the raunchy sax and organ screaming back and forth like rabid, territorial jazz cats. Gadd rips into his solo here with the exuberance and finesse of a wise master craftsman.

"Them Changes" is a chef d'oeuvre that only seasoned professionals like these four friends could cook up and then actually pull off. It’s an abstract and Barfly-esque study in funk. Twists and turns abound as they speak in music to each other. Their interplay is beatific as the euphoria fills the room. In a time where most music relies on computer enhancements, this is an organic anomaly straight from the source. If this is their debut recording, one can only image what they will do next! Don’t miss out on this astounding new release..."]]>user@domain.comblog2010-10-27T13:02:06-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/94a7cd11993fb0da3a3e40f1583197c4-82.html#unique-entry-id-82http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/94a7cd11993fb0da3a3e40f1583197c4-82.html#unique-entry-id-82
One of my favorite keyboardists passed away suddenly in his sleep last month, the incredible T. Lavitz. I first saw Lavitz many years ago with the famed Dixie Dregs, and later as a founding member of the Grateful Dead-inspired "Jazz is Dead", alongside Alphonso Johnson, Billy Cobham and Jimmy Herring. Lavitz's death at a young age comes as shock to the jazz-rock world. Lavitz began his intensive study of classical and jazz piano at age seven. At the same time, the Beatles invaded America, igniting in Lavitz a lifelong love of rock music.

Born on April 16, 1956, Lavitz grew up in New Jersey. He started taking piano lessons at the age of seven and was offered a scholarship at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan where he studied before attending the University of Miami's School of Music. By twenty-two, Lavitz was asked to join the "rock, jazz, and everything else" instrumental band, the Dixie Dregs. It was a dream come true, because they were one of his favorite bands, even at that relatively early stage in their career. This first taste of fame happened during the last few days of 1978, lasting until the band split in 1983, by which time Lavitz had been voted "Best New Talent" in Keyboard Magazine's readers poll and the band had garnered four Grammy nominations.

Since then, Lavitz has released eight albums as a leader, consisting mostly of his own compositions. Additionally, Lavitz produced the cult favorite, "Players," which features stellar performances by Jeff Berlin, Steve Smith, and Scott Henderson. Some of the artists featured on Lavitz's other albums include fellow "Dregs" Steve Morse, Jerry Goodman, Rod Morgenstein, Dave LaRue and Mark O'Connor, as well as college alumni Danny Gottlieb and Bruce Hornsby. Other contributions have also been made by Alex Ligertwood, Maria Muldaur, Jeff Richman, Michael McDonald, Paul Barrere, Catfish Hodge, Oteil Burbidge, Dennis Chambers and many more.

In addition to the Dixie Dregs, Lavitz performed around the world with Widespread Panic, Mothers Finest, Jefferson Starship, Billy Cobham, and Bill Bruford. As the list of critically acclaimed recordings grew, Lavitz had said some of his favorite sessions were done with Nils Lofgren, Pat Benatar, The Bluesbusters, Peter Himmelman and perhaps most fondly "...I'll always be a Dreg".

On Valentine's weekend 1992, the Dixie Dregs did a live reunion album for the newly reformed Capricorn Records in Atlanta, Georgia. "Bring 'em Back Alive" and the subsequent "Full Circle" studio disc each garnered Grammy nominations (bringing the total to six), and earning Lavitz the coveted "Jazz Keyboardist of the Year" award in Keyboard Magazine's readers poll.

Lavitz was also a founding member of Jazz is Dead, an instrumental exploration into the music of the Grateful Dead. Lavitz had been joined in this project by Rod Morgenstein, Billy Cobham, Jeff Sipe, Alphonso Johnson, guitarists Jimmy Herring and Jeff Pevar and most recently, bassist Dave Livolsi. The band now boasts three CD's, "Blue Light Rain," "Laughing Water" and "Great Sky River," all of which are available on Zebra/Warner Bros., and a new as yet untitled studio album.

The last week of August 1999, the Dixie Dregs were reunited again for six shows, at which time a new album, "California Screamin'" was recorded at the Roxy in Hollywood, California. They had such a good time together that a commitment was made to hit the road for a new tour early in 2000, and each subsequent year as well. The latest "run" of Dregs dates took place in California, during the first week of Jaunary 2007.

In 1991 Lavitz was invited to join Widespread Panic after playing keyboards on their first album for the revived Capricorn Records label. Lavitz toured with Widespread Panic from April of 1991 through the end of that year, but left the band as the Dixie Dregs reunited and re-signed with Capricorn Records in 1992. The re-formed Dixie Dregs shared a bill with Widespread Panic at two events in February 1992 with Lavitz performing with both bands; these were his final two appearances as the keyboardist for Widespread Panic. The Dixie Dregs recorded 'Bring 'Em Back Alive' during a tour in February. Violinist Allen Sloan, who had become an anesthesiologist, was unable to continue touring and was replaced by former Mahavishnu Orchestra violinist Jerry Goodman.

That year Lavitz won the 'Jazz Keyboardist of the Year' category of Keyboard Magazine's Annual Readers Poll. 'Full Circle', the first Dregs studio album in 12 years, was released in 1994. Another solo album 'Gossip' was recorded before Lavitz joined Jefferson Starship in 1996. Jazz Is Dead was formed at the end of 1997 with Lavitz, Herring, Johnson and Cobham interpreting the Grateful Dead's music in a jazzy, instrumental vein. "Blue Light Rain" was recorded during the first tour in 1998. Cobham was replaced by Rod Morgenstein and Jeff Sipe by the time the second album 'Laughing Water' was released.

The Dixie Dregs did a short tour in late August 1999. The band was joined by original members Andy West and Allen Sloan. Lavitz continued touring with Jazz Is Dead and also whenever possible with the Dixie Dregs.

In the first part of the new millennium Lavitz took part in several projects. 'Endangered Species', with Herring, Richie Hayward and Kenny Gradney was released in 2001, 'Cosmic Farm', with Rob Wasserman, Craig Erickson and Sipe, was released in 2005 and 'Boston T Party', with Dennis Chambers, Jeff Berlin and Dave Fiuczynski, was released in 2006. In the summer of 2006 he began teaching at the Summer Performance Program at the Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA.

Back in the studio at the start of 2007, the music for "School of the Arts" was composed. "This is some of my best stuff in a looong time" Lavitz says. Released in October of 2007, this is his first for Magnatude (Magna Carta) Records, and boasts an allstar cast which consists of Dave Weckl, John Patitucci, Frank Gambale, Steve Morse and Jerry Goodman. Regarding this lineup, the response from Lavitz is "...honored to have my music played by guys like this!"

We're going to miss you T.]]>user@domain.comblog2010-11-27T12:59:05-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a6286e05cffe7dbba3c2b4b711d83729-81.html#unique-entry-id-81http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a6286e05cffe7dbba3c2b4b711d83729-81.html#unique-entry-id-81
Edo Castro is one of the Bay Area's most prolific bassists and composers. His previous albums, "Edo" and the critically acclaimed "Phoenix" both on the Passion Star label, saw Castro's love of jazz, textures and his Matheny-like passion for perfection reach new heights. Now comes Castro's most ambitious work to date, "Sacred Graffiti". Castro brings together the members of his "Expandable Trio", guitarist Erik Lindquist and drummer Alex Aspinall, as well as stellar musicians like trumpeter Mark Isham and virtuoso bassist Michael Manring to produce a sonic soundscape that will treat the listener to the breadth and depth of his musical prowess.

Castro is a master of the 7 string bass, looping, and like the legendary Manring, adept with the use of a device called the "Ebow". The Ebow allows a guitarist or bassist to electronically vibrate their strings, producing some of the most beautiful textures you are ever likely to hear. Add Castro's use of a Roland guitar/bass synthesizer and you are in a new aural territory. Some of the best examples of this technique on the album, are the gorgeous and moody "Drifting Across the Night Sky" and the sinewy "When the Stars Fell On You".

Castro hasn't forgotten his jazz roots. "The Gathering", featuring saxophonist Dan Zinn, harkens back to the flavor of his earlier albums and "Bent Blues" features Castro's Expandable Trio group in top form, alongside keyboardist Greg Sankovich. The Matheny-esque guitar work of Lindquist on "Left of Center" is another fine outing by the quartet, with nice brushwork by Aspinall on drums.

Castro also assembled some of the finest musicians around to augment this recording; Michael Manring on "57th Latitude", Percy Jones on "Evidence", David Friesen on "A Travel Lodge Moment", trumpeter Mark Isham's beautiful turn on the title cut, "Sacred Graffiti", and many others, including local percussionist extraordinaire Jonathan Moe.

I might add that Castro has added some "graffiti" in some interesting spots on the album; phone messages, phonograph crackles, thunder, lightning and more. I nearly pulled over while listening to the title cut in my car, when the sound of sirens suddenly crept up. I may have been driving too fast while listening to Isham's trumpet solo!

All's well that ends well however, as Castro's beautiful coda, "A Thread of Blue (Fine)", closes the album. There is something for everyone on this album, new age textures and ambient passages, to thoughtful and uncompromising jazz compositions. Fans of Castro may have wished for an album of all textures, or all original jazz. They may indeed be forthcoming. One thing is clear, there are many, many great ideas in the mind of Edo Castro waiting to come out. In the meantime, we will be content with the canvas of textures he has painted with "Sacred Graffiti".

Castro will have his CD release show Sunday, November 14th from 6-9:30 at Studio 333 in Sausalito. Joining him will be members of the Expandable Trio, as well as saxophonist Dan Zinn and keyboardist Greg Sankovich. Also joining Castro are two other musicians on the album, Chris Stafford and Richard Gee. Opening will be the Michael LaMacchia Trio.

]]>user@domain.comblog2011-11-27T12:45:25-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/560417940d973353c483150f5ea3fbe2-80.html#unique-entry-id-80http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/560417940d973353c483150f5ea3fbe2-80.html#unique-entry-id-80
Back in 2000, I'd been completely blown away upon seeing a rather scintillating, "Trilok Gurtu & the Glimpse" show, at Yoshi's in Oakland. Touring in support of his "Kathak" album, Trilok also featured the incredible bass genius, Kai Eckhardt; their rendition of Trilok's "Seven Brings Return" is still among my very favorites. Somehow, I had the incredible fortune of getting the front table, and to see Trilok's unique, "Indian subsonic bass" kit in action, up-close and personal. Now I'd seen Trilok plenty of times before, but never quite like this. To make things even more interesting, the tabla master, Zakir Hussain was also in the audience that night and actually leaped onto the stage during the set, to join Trilok in an absolutely mesmerizing and unbelievable duet for the ages.

Indeed, I'm no stranger to Trilok and his incredible music; from his work with Oregon, ("Ecotopia", "45th Parallel", "Always, Never and Forever"); his duets with Joe Zawinul; the incredible trio with the aforementioned Eckhardt and the incomparable guitarist, John McLaughlin; his Arkeology group with Jan Garbarek; to his great solo albums; including his latest, "21 Spices" with Simon Phillips & orchestra, to name but a few.

I've always been fond of that blend of Indian-jazz-world music, dating back to Shakti, Ravi Shankar and even my earlier work with the wonderful bassurist John Wubbenhorst and that "irascible" tabla player, Sandip Burman; both exceptional players and masters of playing odd-metered ragas. It was Wubbenhorst and Burman who afforded me the opportunity to perform alongside one of my longtime idols, the incredible pianist and harmonica player Howard Levy, and another hometown friend, guitarist Paul Bollenback. Those sounds, groups and experiences only whetted my appetite for even more.



It goes without saying that Trilok Gurtu is one of my all-time, favorite percussionists, yet it is also the unique sound of his drums that equally astounded me. They were basically these two, 2" flat, metal or wooden pieces with 6" or larger holes punched out of them; with each hole covered with the appropriately sized drum head. Somehow, these things sounded simply incredible; deceptively small, yet surprisingly full. They still had a degree of warmth and didn't "clang" like the smaller, metallic demons known as Remo's "Roto-toms". The Rotos were full of attack; but they didn't have the combination of both attack and subsonic bass sound that the Trilok kit had. If the Rotos "clanged", then the Trilok drums "clacked", with a deep-dish helping of bass tom sound thrown in.

I'd first thought they were some form of Indian djembe, or bongos, or maybe just a strange drum version of a Peruvian "cajon". I could tell that the drum heads were tuned just a little bit slack to get that "clacky" tone, but that didn't account for the entire sound. Turns out they were a little bit of both; custom made for Trilok, and believe it or not, one of a kind. Well, I simply had to know how they were actually made and if possible, get one of my own. The mystery deepened...



In 2000, I saw this Remo promo ad (seen above), on the old Harmony Central website. To my delight, it depicted the complete Trilok kit, plus all of the new Remo "Trilok Percussion", including Trilok's snare and "kick-conga". After weeks of searching, multiple phone calls, letters, emails, and internet searching, I finally heard back from Remo. It seems they made a custom set for Trilok, but basically didn't have Trilok's approval to go forward. That, it seemed, was the sad end of my quest for a geniune, Trilok Gurtu Signature Remo kit...



Ironically, my search for a subsonic drum alternative however, brought me back to the world of drummer Bill Bruford and the British percussionist Pete Lockett, via their "Network of Sparks"; an all percussion album with Lockett at the helm. I discovered that like Trilok, Lockett also played a rather unique kit. Although Lockett sounded fabulous on his kit, his drums were nothing like Trilok's in shape or size; the only similarity perhaps, being the drum head sizes, tabla and choice of cymbals. Lockett did however, employ a variation of the elusive "Indian subsonic bass sound". Unfortunately, it didn't quite have that unique "cajon" sound, and reminded me at times of a more conventional kit. Admirable as it was, it still wasn't it.



One day, during my front-of-house engineering days at the State Theater in Falls Church, Virginia, I actually came across a rider and stage plot for Trilok and his band, detailing his desire to mic the two subsonic drums, and EQ them to favor the bass frequencies. I always knew amplification played a role with those drums, but I had no idea how much a little bit of EQ could turn a few muffled, semi-slack heads into one of the coolest sounds I'd ever heard coming from a drum.

Now I turned my attention to audio and sure enough, I came across a quote or two about the world of Indian percussion and their patented "subsonic sound". That ultimately led me to a website, and a guy by the name of Paul from the percussion forum, Drumdojo.com...

"If you have ever had the pleasure of seeing Trilok Gurtu, Johnny Kalsi or Pete Lockett play their version of a western drumset, you can't help but be struck by the sound of the kick drum (usually played by the left hand). There is a little secret to how that sound is achieved, one could argue that it ignores the conventional tone generation principles of the head delivering the tone. In fact it is working below the lowest tuning point of the head and is subsonic in many cases. It works because the mic still picks up the low freq of the membrane movement and also a good balance of impact from the beater. It's very simple and hugely effective, the sole restriction however is that it requires to be amplified using a large diaphragm mic to function effectively.

Here's how it is done...

Remove the head from the drum
Pad the bearing edge so that there is no contact between it and the head
Place the head on the drum and ensure that the first inch or so of the head is in contact with the padding.
Tension the drum so that nothing rattles or is going to work loose but there should be little tone
Place a large diaphragm mic about 2" below the centre of the drum
Wind up the PA
Stand back & enjoy..."

Secret revealed. Now all I would need are the drums and the amplification. I had a great little, 5" x 10" Pacific Coast Percussion snare drum already, and of course, Mackies aplenty, so I was good to go on everything, except the most important piece: the cajon-style, subsonic drums. I was after the "Trilok sound", and with Remo out of the picture, the other drums would simply have to be made. The 6", 8", 10" and 14" maple shells came via NY Percussion, and the 24" x 24" sheets of maple I got from a local lumber yard. I have a 12 piece Simmons Electronic kit, and I always loved the hexagonal look, so the shape of the drum housing was actually the easiest to come up with.

In Washington, D.C. I had my good friend and master carpenter Nick Carson, to help me build all of the original "Drummsticks"; his garage had everything; glue, clamps, saws, miters, you name it. Unfortunately, I was now in San Francisco, so I needed to come up with something that logistically, was at least on the Pacific Ocean...

The building would come in the form of my wife's Uncle Herb up in Coos Bay, Oregon. Herb is a retired Dentist, pilot, sailor, model airplane enthusiast, and a master carpenter. Herb took my plans, threw them into his CAD software, and printed them to scale. We zipped down to his shop and two days later the drums were clamped, screwed, glued and ready to go. We made two sets of drums in all; one would be black lacquer, the other, natural maple...



Kate Aragon, my good friend and bassist-turned-luthier, was fresh from her "luthier & instrument making classes" in Georgia, and agreed to take the refinishing on. Like my Zendrum and my last Drummstick, I opted to go for a glossy, black lacquer finish first. While drums were "in the shop", I did more research on the world of the "Indian subsonic bass sound". Many percussionists around the world actually employ it to some acclaim.

One day I came across a shop in Berkeley that custom made cajons with drum heads. They only specialized in converting cajons however, yet they showed me I was on the right path. Later, while performing at an outdoor jazz gig with my Unidentified Flying Quartet, I saw a group with a percussionist using one of those cajons to great effect. As it turns out, he was in fact the renowned producer, drummer and artist, Pc Munoz. Pc and I hit it off immeadiately, and he informed me he was actually playing a "Marimbata"; a cajon-like box with Brazillian-style drum heads; it was not unlike Trilok's kit, except with thinner heads and played by hand. I promised him I would let him know when my drums were done, and that we would have to jam!



Indeed, my design, works much like a flat cajon/Marimbata, as does Trilok's. I was really after that sound, so armed with some Remo pinstripe heads, muffl' rings for the 10" and 14" heads, tension rods and rims from Sam Adato's Drum shop on 9th Street, and some hardware from Cole, I was good to go. Next thing I know, Kate brought over the drums, as well as the refinished snare...



After some wrangling with my Ultimate Support/Gibraltar drum rack set up, I finally added all of the new hardware, tension rods, clamps, L-rods, muffl' rings, pinstripe heads and rims. It was almost time to test drive the drums for feel, tone and placement. So far so good. I can already visualize my cymbal and hi-hat placement, even ddrum triggers and my Roland Octopad for the electronics. First things first however, for up next for me will be the "holy trinity" of the Indian subsonic bass sound: the proper tuning, muffling and EQ.


]]>user@domain.comblog2011-12-05T12:42:13-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/4a47371e6f38c7774018899ded9e3e8e-79.html#unique-entry-id-79http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/4a47371e6f38c7774018899ded9e3e8e-79.html#unique-entry-id-79
Producer, singer and songwriter Allen Clapp, the resident genius behind the pop enclave known as Mystery Lawn Records in Sunnyvale, is back, perhaps with his greatest effort to date. Clapp and his lovely partner in crime, bassist Jill Pries have culled the very best minds and musicians in the Mystery Lawn garden shed to flesh out Clapp's latest pop opus, "Mixed Greens". Armed with members of his own "Orange Peels", "The Corner Laughers", William Clere and a host of others to harvest and grow some of the best crops to ever spring from the mind of Clapp, and a very rich and verdant mind it is.

Readers of Beyond Chron will know that I have shown a predilection towards instrumental music, so when Clapp sent me Mixed Greens, I was blown away by the opening cut, "Picnic at the Hermitage", a gorgeous pop dirge that was frankly like nothing I'd ever heard from him before. Reminiscent of Clapp's production of the Corner Laugher's earlier hit, "Stonewords", (a personal favorite), Clapp's stripped away vocals, piano and keyboard textures immediately captivated me and only hinted at what else might be in store.

Clapp's other instrumental, "In the Halls of the King of the Land Beyond the Sun", had Clapp's beloved organ, Fender Rhodes, a vintage Roland Space Echo and British flavored pop-groove we've tasted before in his albums with the Orange Peels. Still quite edgy, yet sweeter, a distinction that separates this album from the aforementioned "Peels".

Mixed Greens also features some of Clapp's niftiest acoustic/electric guitar work and pretty groovy songwriting. I particularly enjoyed the "twangy" edge of "Treeline". Clapp and the Orchestra really rocked it on this one. I'm a little ol' "skool", so forgive me if it also triggered any memories of shows back in the day with Mick Fleetwood and my beloved Christine McVie.

Clapp's "Downfall No. 3" and I'll confess, I couldn't stop listening to "Back 2 Normal", another one of my personal favorites that actually reminded me of something from Todd Rundgren's "Something/Anything" era; another departure for Clapp that illustrates his pop virtuosity.

On songs like the piano driven "All or Nothing", "If the Wind is Right", the beautiful "Autumn Heart" and "The Winter in You", Clapp and his "orchestra" really captured his sound in ways not heard on any of his previous efforts; expansive, full, yet delicate and thoughtful.

Allen Clapp and his Orchestra's "Mixed Greens" is perhaps his best crop to date, and his greenhouse, aka the "Mystery Lawn Studio" has become something of a sustainable garden of musical delights. Sometimes you can indeed, go "back to normal", but I'm hoping Clapp and his Orchestra stay just a little bit crazy.


John Moremen's Flotation Device



What more can I say about the talented, multi-instrumentalist and composer John Moremen? Moremen has recorded and performed as a guitarist or drummer with a wide array of musicians and genres; Half Japanese, Roy Loney and the Phantom Movers, the Orange Peels and the Neighbors - and his own recording career has seen releases on the Bus Stop Label and Popstatic Records - but in a way, this is Moremen's debut album.

As a solo artist, Moremen's work has traditionally fallen into the power-pop category, but "Flotation Device" (2011, Mystery Lawn Music) finds the man coloring way outside the lines.

Eschewing the distraction of lyrics and vocals on this collection of tunes, the arrangements become more evocative and mysterious - allowing Moremen to paint pointillistic impressions of moments in time and imaginary landscapes.

On "Flotation Device," Moremen is like a jazz great playing in a fictional rock band made up entirely of himself. Performing all the instrumental parts on this album, Moremen freely navigates between drums, bass and guitar while never losing site of the end goal: songs that move, shake and rattle with palpable energy.

Call it 21st century mood music; call it a West-Coast guitar freakout; call it what you will - John Moremen is entirely at home in the grooves of this record, and whether you're from the left coast or right, it places you square in the mindset of this gifted San Francisco composer.


Allen Clapp and his Orchestra + John Moremen's Flotation Device
Friday, December 2 @8:30-11:30 pm
Hotel Utah Saloon
500 4th Street & Bryant, San Francisco, CA 94107
]]>user@domain.comblog2012-01-12T12:39:47-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/2cc3bd70b0dcbb6534cc0386a218de7d-78.html#unique-entry-id-78http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/2cc3bd70b0dcbb6534cc0386a218de7d-78.html#unique-entry-id-78
Kazumi Watanabe lives up to his name as the Japan’s world-class, top jazz guitarist. His quick tempo weaves fascinating ad libs and affluent melodies; he has been noted for elaborately combining various performing techniques and infusing rich expressive power to each and every note to create a one-of-a-kind “Kazumi Sound”. He has made the world his stage for over 40 years, transgressing genres and borders to perform with an outstanding number of domestic and international artists. The natural-born improviser also builds a unique world of composition and arrangements, always pioneering frontier instrumental music. After the series of fantastic musical statements with the Mo Bop Trio, Kazumi returns in the same electric format with Janek Gwizdala on bass and Obed Calvaire and Horacio 'El Negro' Hernandez on drums with his latest album, "TRICOROLL".

According to Kazumi's website, he was "born 1953 in Tokyo, Kazumi Watanabe took the piano at the tender age of seven, but picked up the guitar at age 12 inspired by the Ventures. At 15, he was stunned by the music of Wes Montgomery and turned his aspiration to jazz. He made his debut at age 17 with Infinite and was quickly hailed as the guitar prodigy extraordinaire. While playing in Japan’s top-profile groups led by artists such as Masaru Imada, Sadao Watanabe, and Isao Suzuki, he led his own band as well. From around Olive Steps (1977), he rode the wave of popularity of fusion and guitar music, taking in not only jazz fans but also rock fans under his wings.

In 1979 he formed KYLYN with then-up-and-coming stars in the Japanese music scene, namely Ryuichi Sakamoto, Akiko Yano, and Shuichi “Ponta” Murakami, and went on to release an album, perform live, and tour. KYLYN earned the recognition as the legendary band that had made a tremendous influence on the Japanese music scene thereafter, with each member still playing pivotal roles in respective scenes. In the fall of that year (1979) Kazumi participated in Yellow Magic Orchestra’s world tour as guest guitarist. His play won rave reviews in everywhere he went, which catapulted his name to international fame.

TO CHI KA (1980), produced by Mike Mainieri, marked an unprecedented sales figure and brought Kazumi to the forefront of the fusion scene. The release was followed by an 11-city tour with Mainieri on vibraphone, Warren Bernhardt on piano and keyboards, Marcus Miller on bass and Omar Hakim on drums. Then up to 1985, he made more epoch-making steps than you could count, such as playing alongside Eddie Gomez and Steve Gadd in the Japan tour of STEPS, a group of cream of the New York-based musicians, as well as the Brecker Brothers Band’s performances at New York’s Seventh Avenue South and their Japan tour, and bassist Jaco Pastorius’ Japan tour to name a few.

On the other hand, Kazumi continued to push the envelope of fusion in Kazumi Band, his own band formed with musicians of notable, extraordinary techniques such as saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu, keyboardist Masanori Sasaji, bassist Kenji Takamizu and drummer Hideo Yamaki. With another band MoboⅢ, a trio with bassist Greg Lee and Shuichi “Ponta” Murakami, he toured the United States performing 17 shows in 12 cities including New York, enjoying high acclaim in each city. Furthermore, recorded with ultra-heavyweights such as Marcus Miller (bass), Omar Hakim (drums), Robbie Shakespeare (bass), Sly Dunbar (drums), and Michael Brecker (saxophone), album Mobo earned high acclaim as a work of experimental approaches to a new sound. During this time, Kazumi produced a number of seminal works in the history of fusion, and established his stature as Japan’s top guitarist.

In the late 80s, Kazumi actively explored new fields and recorded an album in London with drummer Bill Bruford, the British rock giant renowned for his activities in King Crimson, and bassist Jeff Berlin. The unit toured twelve cities in Japan, and went on to record another album in London as well as doing many more tours, winning overwhelming support from progressive rock fans across the nation. He also led a band with Kei Akagi on keyboards, Bunny Brunel on bass, and John Wackerman on drums, touring 9 cities in the United States and performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. On a tour sponsored by The Japan Foundation, he visited Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, and China, and performed with local musicians.

In the 90s, Kazumi began to immerse himself into acoustic guitar as well, combining it with electric to further expand his musical field. He played strings of European dates such as Barcelona (Spain), Italy, and France with leading free jazz pianist Yosuke Yamashita, as well as Bulgaria and Lisbon (Portugal) with bassist Nobuyoshi Ino, all enjoying high acclaim.

Starting with a guitar duo on Tokyo Music Joy with John McLaughlin back in 1987, Kazumi has presented and continues to present to this day the best part of collaborations with world’s high profile guitarists, exciting enthusiasm in many guitar fans. The long list of collaborated guitarists include Al DiMeola at the Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival in 1993, Larry Coryell on recording sessions and tours, Babik Reinhardt, son of Django Reinhardt at the Django Festival in 1997, Toninho Horta, Ralph Towner, Roland Dyens, and Martin Taylor.

After participating in the Yatsugatake Music Festival directed by contemporary music composer Toru Takemitsu in 1992, Kazumi forged close ties with classical guitarists as well, and began to receive more requests of music contributions and arrangements. This led him to begin exploring the world of unplugged guitar music, and to experiment resonance with the vibrancy of classical music halls.

As for muscular electric music, Kazumi formed RESONANCE VOX that was active from 1991 through 1996. On the other hand, he led ASIA FANTASY ORCHESTRA in 1995, a 32-piece orchestra of Asian musicians from various genres. The orchestra performed in four cities namely Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Tokyo, as well as African countries as part of the “Taiko Meets Jazz” project. While rooting in his Japanese identity, the improviser developed a global communication field that went beyond the borders of genres.

In 1998, Kazumi recorded Dandism in New York, a tight duo album with pianist Makoto Ozone. The following year he recorded live at the Bottom Line in New York with his New Yorker friends Mike Mainieri (vibraphone), Larry Coryell (guitar), Akiko Yano (piano), John Patitucci (bass), and Mino Cinelu (drums), resulting in One For ALL, a perfect live album to curtain the 20th century.

Stepping into the 21st century, Kazumi released Beyond The Infinite, a guitar suite to commemorate the 30th year of his career as a guitarist. Upon composing and arranging the music, he drew on his improviser’s side and created his own unique world, making the suite a borderless work of art that freely transgresses genres such as classical music, contemporary music, jazz, rock, and folk. The suite was premiered and released as an album as well. Later, it was rearranged as an orchestral suite and was premiered in 2006 conducted by Seikyo Kim.

In February 2003, Kazumi released Guitar Renaissance, the first album in his career he performed completely solo. In May that year, he recorded Mo’Bop in New York as the New Electric Trio with bassist Richard Bona and drummer Horacio el Negro Hernandez.

The trio was highly publicized when they world premiered at Tokyo Jazz 2003. Since then for the next four years, he continued to release and perform series of acoustic and electric projects in parallel.

With his solo performing skills that he matured with Guitar Renaissance series, he increased his efforts in his solo activities in Europe in 2006, performing in Rome and Paris, as well as participating in a guitar festival in Iceland. At the same time, he launched the Asian Super Guitar Project with guitarists from Korea and Hong Kong. Fruiting album Guitar Sam Guk Ji, the trio performed in Japan and Korea as well as various jazz festivals in Asia.

In 2007, Kazumi produced Castle In The Air, a collaborative project with pianist/composer Koko Tanikawa, his musical and personal partner since 1997, who had been producing his overall activities from album making to live performances. The album was released in late 2007. As part of the duo unit also named Castle In The Air, he supported Koko’s worldview and music, rooted in her deep insight on world environment and the concept of coexistence with nature. The unit also contributed music for the live-action version of movie Grave Of The Fireflies that hit theaters in 2008.

In the midst of such myriad activities, Kazumi also launched the “Return To Jazz Project” to focus on his point of origin. He released Jazz Impression in fall 2009, and continues to perform live all across the nation as a duo with bassist Yosuke Inoue and occasionally with guest artists.

In the four-city, seven-show China tour sponsored by The Japan Foundation in 2009, Kazumi presented a stereoscopic rendition of contemporary music with jazz saxophonist Masato Honda, Koko Tanikawa, and Chinese Pipa player Jiang Ting, which enjoyed high acclaim. This experience made him realize a new enthusiasm and potential in contemporary China especially in terms of jazz and fusion, as well as the importance of nurturing young local jazz players.

2010 has seen a string of events commemorating Kazumi’s 40th career anniversary as a guitarist, including a concert with an orchestra in July where he played all movements of Concierto de Aranjuez, the gold standard of guitar concertos, with a pick. Being the first person in all genres to take on such a challenge, the concert naturally garnered much attention. On top of this, he will perform at Tokyo Jazz in early September leading "TO CHI KA 2010”, a one-night-only reunion with then-tour mates Mike Mainieri (vibraphone), Warren Bernhardt (piano/keyboards), Marcus Miller (bass) and Omar Hakim (drums) for the first time in 30 years, raising expectations among long time jazz/fusion fans. Recently, he also performed at the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto as part of a special unit deriving from the Toru Takemitsu Tribute project that had enjoyed rave reviews at the Japan Week 2008 in Washington DC. The unit will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York and in Orange County in December.

Kazumi has enjoyed numerous exposures on TV, radio, and their special programs, including regular appearances on Yumeno Rannyusha on Kansai TV for six years since 1990, as well as instructing in Acoustic Guitar for Beginners on NHK’s educational channel in 2003. On radio, he deejayed on Dogatana World: Kazumi Watanabe’s Good Vibration and navigated NHK FM’s Jazz Tonight for two years since 2005. He shares his experiences in his musical life in print media as well, contributing essays occasionally and regularly.

Contributing music to and sometimes participating in musicals and plays such as DJANGO 1953, Barcelona Story, Blood Wedding, and Kaihogen to name a few, Kazumi has collaborated with a wide variety of performing arts such as dance, Noh dramas and traditional Japanese music, exerting his high flexibility and capability. He enjoys his stature as a first-call guitarist in film music, composing and performing theme tunes and music to grace important scenes.

Kazumi Watanabe is currently guest professor at the jazz course of Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. He has received the prestigious Fumio Nanri Award in 1991.

After a 5 year hiatus from the fusion genre, the “Mobop” guitarist, Kazumi Watanabe returned with a new power trio. This new Blu-Spec CD contains 9 compositions including 6 new originals, a cover version of Yellow Magic Orchestra’s “Rydeen” and Kazumi’s take on “The Sidewinder” (Lee Morgan) & “Moment’s Notice” (John Coltrane). The new trio includes Kazumi Watanabe, electric guitar, guitar synth; bassist Janek Gwizdala and drummers Obed Calvaire & Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez (4 tracks each)."

Sadly, we don't get to see Kazumi very often in the US. This latest effort is a reminder how much we are missing from Japan's greatest guitarist.
]]>user@domain.comblog2012-02-24T12:37:22-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/1711753acec2c32fc83a22c89bdbd5eb-77.html#unique-entry-id-77http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/1711753acec2c32fc83a22c89bdbd5eb-77.html#unique-entry-id-77
The Flecktones reemerged last year with a new album "Rocket Science", on a new label, (eOne records) and announcing that for "the first time since 1991, pianist/ harmonica player Howard Levy has returned to the fold alongside bassist Victor Wooten, percussionist/Drumitarist Roy “Futureman” Wooten and banjoist bandleader Fleck to create some of the most forward-thinking music of their long, storied career. While all manners of genres come into play – from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances – the result is an impossible to pigeonhole sound all their own, a meeting of musical minds that remains, as ever, utterly indescribable. Simply put, it is The Flecktones, the music made only when these four individuals come together." Next Thursday night, the Flecktones return to the Regency Ballroom alongside violinist Casey Driessen.

Longtime followers of Fleck recall that he took up the banjo at an early age, growing up in Manhattan of all places, eventually migrating to Nashville. Once there, he aligned himself with the now legendary "New Grass Revival", with Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer. Desiring to combine bluegrass with jazz, rock, and world music, Fleck began seeking other like minded folks to give life to those ideas. Not long after that, he teamed with virtuoso harmonica player Howard Levy, one of the world's greatest electric bassists Victor Lemonte Wooten, and his eccentric brother, percussionist Roy "Futureman" Wooten. "Futureman", had apparently taken a $10,000 "Synthaxe" guitar synthesizer, cannibalized it, and turned it into an electronic "drumitar", half guitar, half drum machine.

The result was spectacular, as they created a sound unlike anything heard before them. After years of touring the globe, and several successful albums, a road weary Levy left the group and was eventually replaced by saxophonist Jeff Coffin. Since then, the Flecktones have performed with an incredible array of musicians; Phish, Dave Matthews, Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis, a Tuvan throat singer named Ondar, Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain, reed master Paul McCandless, steel drummer Andy Narell, Jean-Luc Ponty, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke others.

With the departure of Jeff Coffin to the Dave Mathews Band, The Flecktones regrouped and with the return of Levy, produced one of their best albums in years. I particularly enjoyed the delightfully complex "Life in Eleven" and the grooving, vintage-Flecktone sounding "Gravity Lane". Over the years the members of the Flecktones have enjoyed the benefits of recording and touring with many of the musical greats.I could clearly hear the influence that virtuosos Corea and Clarke had on both Fleck and Victor Wooten. Wooten spent time on the road with Corea and later with Clarke and bassist Marcus Miller in SVT. Fleck's tour with Clark and Ponty was amazing, as was his duets with Corea. Fleck's composition "Storm Warning" was written for the Ponty-Clarke-Fleck group, "Trio".

While all manner of genres come into play from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances the result is an impossible to pigeonhole sound all their own, a meeting of musical minds that remains, as ever, utterly indescribable. Simply put, it is The Flecktones, the music made only when these four individuals come together. "I didn t want to just get together to play the old music", Fleck says. "That s not what the Flecktones are about. Everybody s full of life and ideas and creativity. I was intrigued by what we could do that we had never done before."

It was also great to hear Howard Levy back together with the Flecktones. The warmth of his harmonica playing and his uncanny ability to play it simultaneously with piano is simply amazing. Levy also contributed some new compositions to the album ; The aforementioned, quick little 11/8 piece "Life in Eleven", "Joyful Spring" and the intriguing "Sweet Pomegranates".

Futureman continues his foray into the world of innovative acoustic and electronic percussion with a solo piece entitled "The Secret Drawer". There is quite a bit more acoustic drumming from Wooten on this album, and his library of deftly played samples never seems to end. One of the best parts of the Flecktones has been having the Wooten brothers for a rhythm section, a tandem Fleck himself has called "dangerous".

Spinner's Tad Hendrickson upon reviewing this album wrote, "Originally, the Flecktones' studio albums were made up of stuff that had been worked over on tour, but this time around the band had to write, rehearse and record without playing it live. "Although nothing replaces refining a song on tour in front of an audience, the old hands have a pretty good handle on the material and it came together fairly quickly", according to Fleck, meaning that "there is a freshness to the material that might not have happened otherwise."

"Although on par with the three classics with Levy, 'Rocket Science' has a more collaborative approach than the band's initial releases. Fleck had distinct ideas and objectives for the band in the early days, which meant that the band wasn't always open to what Levy brought in, writes Henrickson. "Whereas the earlier version of the band was more about a focused sound, this time around the band is looking to broaden its approach and try new things..."

Rocket Science is indeed a snapshot of the musical journeys taken by the four original Flecktones, a melding of those experiences in songs and culminating in a sound that is undeniably theirs. The wonderful chemistry that existed among that quartet back in '89 is still evident today, making Rocket Science perhaps the Flecktones best effort to date.]]>user@domain.comblog2012-03-08T12:33:18-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/bdb7ed5a8a5e4bebeef253252bc0a08d-76.html#unique-entry-id-76http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/bdb7ed5a8a5e4bebeef253252bc0a08d-76.html#unique-entry-id-76
Back in 2000, I had the pleasure of working with the legendary guitarist Ronnie Montrose at Northern Virginia's State Theater. I was no stranger to Ronnie's music; from his stint with Van Morrison to his work with the late, great drummer Tony Williams. As the show progressed, I found myself mesmerized by his elegant musicianship, fluid playing and incendiary style. At one point during the show, I was so enthralled that I forgot to turn up one of his guitars between songs. Ronnie whispered into the microphone and said with a smile, "Oh Doc?…" In a flash, I faded him up and once again bathed the theater in his gorgeous tones. Ronnie was a gentleman, an inspiration and one of the greatest guitarists to ever come from San Francisco.

Much has been written about Ronnie since his passing; his website informed fans with a brief synopsis of Ronnie's last few months...

"A few months ago, we held a surprise party for Ronnie Montrose's 64th birthday. He gave an impromptu speech, and told us that after a long life, filled with joy and hardship, he didn't take any of our love for granted.

He passed today. He'd battled cancer, and staved off old age for long enough. And true to form, he chose his own exit the way he chose his own life. We miss him already, but we're glad to have shared with him while we could…"

Music legends aren't born easily. It has to be just the right band, with just the right sound, coming along at just the right time. That band was Montrose, and that sound was heavy, melodic, no-holds-barred rock and roll.

The critics called them "a scorching outfit…" "incredibly impressive…" "part [Jeff] Beck, part Led Zeppelin, and three-fourths nitroglycerin…" "sheer rock and roll ecstasy."

The original Montrose remains the stuff of rock and roll legend, the ultimate stateside power trio with vocals. The songs are a virtual greatest hits of American hard rock: "Rock the Nation," "Bad Motor Scooter," "Space Station #5," "I Got the Fire," "Jump On It," and the immortal "Rock Candy." The fans have been begging for more ever since.

But Ronnie Montrose has always followed his heart. Ever anxious to take his music to the next level, in 1979 he founded the trailblazing band Gamma, a group whose trio of ahead-of-their-time albums were an explosion of guitar and synthesizer pyrotechnics anchored by a bluesy edge.

Between and beyond these band forays, Montrose the player devoted himself to exploring instrumental guitar music on landmark albums like Open Fire and The Speed of Sound. Fans periodically clamored for another taste of the original Montrose power trio format, but he wouldn't revisit Montrose – that huge, heavy sound; those rich, pealing riffs -- until the time came when he could do it with total conviction.
That time is now…"

Indeed, Montrose did return, albeit briefly, "full force, playing the tunes that rocked a nation with heart-thumping, foot-stomping, fist-pumping energy…"

After that show nearly twelve years ago, I apologized to Ronnie for my brief lapse. He laughed of course and told me that if his playing made me agog, he was "doin' something right…"

I learned a lot from Ronnie that day; about sound, mixing guitars, (Ronnie was the first guitarist I'd ever seen use a complete. rack-mounted mixer system, with JBL speakers to die for); what it was like playing with Tony Williams, and how much he lamented Tony's passing.

Ronnie is truly now among the pantheon of great musicians; we'll not see his like again.]]>user@domain.comblog2012-04-12T12:29:09-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7159ced4cb553babe7f5db4264c3321a-75.html#unique-entry-id-75http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7159ced4cb553babe7f5db4264c3321a-75.html#unique-entry-id-75
he modern world of digital music streaming has opened a Pandora's Box of issues and challenges for artists and labels, both indie and mainstream. Famed guitarist Robert Fripp (King Crimson/David Bowie/Brian Eno), and other notable musicians have been litigating against companies like Grooveshark, for using their music without permission and or adequate compensation. Spotify, one of the newest and biggest companies to offer online streaming, has also come under scrutiny for the amount of monies actually paid to their artists.

Anil Prasad, one the most respected music journalists in his field and author of the critically acclaimed book, Innerviews, (a culmination of some of his fantastic interviews with many of the world's best musicians), recently flew to New Zealand to present the keynote address for the "2012 Sounds Aotearoa Music Expo", on the pros and cons of streaming. It was an informative presentation that gave the viewer an impressive overview of where we've been, where we are and where we may be heading in this labyrinth known as digital streaming. Prasad has graciously allowed me to present his latest version, specifically designed for US audiences that will hopefully clarify the conundrum facing musicians today.

Prasad begins by walking viewers down memory lane through the "tangled" history of online music, beginning with Napster in 1999, the first of the peer-to-peer services; the advent of Limewire and KaZaA in 2002, the seemingly indestructible Pirate Bay in 2003 and MegaUpload in 2005, escalating the era of music and video filesharing and piracy to unprecedented heights.

To combat the pirates, services like iTunes, Amazon, emusic and others were born, ushering in a new era of legal streaming. Prasad notes that despite those efforts, music sales continued to decline, much to the chagrin of the RIAA, the Recording Industry of America. Lawsuits soon followed, snaring college students, grandmothers and yes, even dogs. Of the $64 Million spent, only $1.4 Million was ever recouped.

Prasad also cites some compelling data to illustrate the disparity between the payouts by services like iTunes and the newer services like Spotify. At first glance, these services look great. Imagine paying $5 to $ 10 per month for unlimited access to all of your favorite music for your computer, or mobile device. Your entire library in the palm of your hands sounds pretty nifty.

The big issue notes Prasad, comes from the disparity in the payouts to the musicians and songwriters. Prasad looks at Spotify for example, which has about 15 Million users and growing, with a target of 100 Million. In 2011, Spotify took in $266 Million and with groups like Sony, BMG, Warner, Universal and EMI as investors, it's 300 employees will be sitting pretty when they go public.

How much of that revenue is actually going to the artists? "Spotify pays out $0.005 per play to musicians. If you compare that to US minimum wage for example, ($7.25 per hour), one song would have to be played 1,450 times to equal $7.25", notes Prasad. By comparison, a typical indie artist makes $14 on a $15 CD, and $8.40 from $12 album on iTunes. On Spotify, the same album would have to be played 100 times in order for the artist to make $6!

It is this kind of unsustainable math that has artists in an uproar. "How can I survive selling music if it's streaming dirt cheap, 24x7 on any device?" Artists like the Paul McCartney, Adele, Cold Play, Tom Waits, Black Keys, Porcupine Tree, Zoe Keating and even Pink Floyd among others, decry this way of making a living through streaming and are withholding their music from Spotify, much to their chagrin.

Prasad believes there is hope for artists, but they will have to take control of their destiny, citing alternative monetization methods like Bandcamp, Top Spin, CD Baby, Cash Music, and even Kickstarter, allowing the artist to keep a much larger percentage of their revenues as well as promoting through great social networking.

I believe Prasad is correct in his assessments, as it will likely take as he puts it, "An artist and fan revolt, the lack of new music, and fading back catalog interest", to change the paradigm. Piracy may never die, but it is imperative for these new services to "fairly compensate artists". If not, artists and the fans alike will be giving in to what some have called the new, legal piracy. "The future, is in the artists hands", says Prasad."If you can make the streaming work for you great, but do it intelligently."


]]>user@domain.comblog2012-05-05T12:26:43-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/f7168e4d69dbf4f7beb11069149375d9-74.html#unique-entry-id-74http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/f7168e4d69dbf4f7beb11069149375d9-74.html#unique-entry-id-74
I still have fond memories of growing up in DC, and part of the music scene that made us groove was our very own, unmistakable "Go Go" beat. Everyone was diggin' it; from the kids drumming on their 5 gallon, plastic buckets at Dupont Circle, to the latinos jamming in the parks of Mount Pleasant, Go-Go was everywhere. During my halcyon days back in '99 as a volunteer and webmaster at DC Vote, (a non-profit dedicated to educating the public about DC's lack of real congressional representation), we often needed to put on events to heighten the public's awareness. There was only one man whose music we knew would inspire any DC crowd; the "Godfather of Go-Go", the one and only Chuck Brown. Chuck was a huge advocate for DC's voting rights and would go on to perform many concerts for our organization over the next few years. Last year, I happened to be back in DC on U Street, when suddenly, my friend and I spotted the legendary Chuck Brown on our way over to Ben's Chilli Bowl. Ironically, I'd just heard his latest CD, "We Got This", with his fabulous new tune "Love", featuring Ledesi, Marcus Miller and Jill Scott. "Yo Chuck!" we yelled, and he flashed that famous Chuck smile. Chuck Brown passed away this week at the age of 75, and we will sorely miss one of the great, musical geniuses the Washington, DC area has ever known.

The name Chuck Brown might not mean a whole lot to people outside the D.C. area. In D.C., Brown was widely known, even revered, as the Godfather of Go-Go, a title he's held since the late '70s. Though he started out as a jazz guitarist, Brown invented go-go, a style that incorporates funk, jazz, R&B, hip-hop and dancehall, and has mostly stuck with it ever since. "We Got This" is perhaps Brown at his finest, groove bustin', Go-Go best…

“The Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown was the undisputed, sole founder and creator Go-Go music", as noted on his website, is "a hypnotically danceable genre deeply rooted in funk and soul that he developed in the early 70’s , and the only form of expressive culture to originate in the District of Columbia. Foreshadowing rap and many of the major popular R&B styles of the past three decades, Chuck's signature style earned him a place in American musical royalty. This esteem was maintained by the reputation of his legendary live shows, heavy on audience participation and built around “the beat” to create an unparalleled non-stop party atmosphere.

While searching for a sound to call his own in the 1960s, Chuck was deeply inspired by artists like James Brown. He latched onto the Latin percussion groove from the band he played with at the time, Los Latinos. Combining this with his roots, his love of blues, jazz, gospel, soul, and African rhythms, Chuck began to develop his own unique sound. Starting out playing top forty, Brown would break-it-down between songs with percussion and audience call and response, and keep the music going, and the dance floor packed.

His first hit was “We the People” on the debut album of the same name in 1972. Next came the album Salt of the Earth, with the hit “Blow Your Whistle” (sampled by Grammy winner Eve in 2007 in her hit “Tambourine”), and one of the most sampled break beats of ALL time from “Ashley’s Roach Clip” (including Eric B and Rakim, LL Cool J and countless others). In 1978, the Soul Searchers became Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, and Chuck’s original composition “Bustin’ Loose” took the #1 spot in Billboard, on Source/MCA Records. The song was used in Grammy winner Nelly’s 2002 smash “Hot in Herre,” and continues to be one of the most relevant and often sampled funk songs ever written (“Bustin’ Loose” is currently featured in a national television campaign for Chips Ahoy).

After substantial touring across the US, but no money to show for his success, Chuck found himself looking for inspiration. He found it in his next hit, the Billboard charting “We Need Some Money,” which propelled him around the world again. Brown then revisited his love of jazz and created the “Go Go Swing Medley,” introducing people around the world to classics by Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, and James Moody, spun in Chuck’s inimitable way. Released independently and later on Polygram Records, Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers once again reached an international audience through a 1985 at Holland’s North Seas Jazz Festival. In between sets by Curtis Mayfield and James Brown, Chuck schooled everyone on the genre he created. That same year, Chris Blackwell introduced the movie “Good to Go,” a much hyped but poor reflection of the scene. Nonetheless other artists, such as Salt N Pepa, Kurtis Blow, and Grace Jones, began incorporating his sound in their music. Brown continued to record, perform in the US, with stints in Europe and Japan in the nineties.

After a string of live recordings, he met at the time an undiscovered, shy talent by the name of Eva Cassidy in the early nineties. His lifelong dream of singing with a lady, springing from his love of duets by the likes of Louis Armstrong with Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Eckstine with Sarah Vaughan, came to fruition with the critically acclaimed and worldwide release of “The Other Side” by Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy (which contained the original recording of the worldwide Eva Cassidy hit “Over the Rainbow”). He dedicated a jazz standards album to Ms. Cassidy after her tragic loss to cancer.

In 2001, he released the Billboard charting “Your Game... Live at the 9:30 Club” which was voted as one of the top 10 albums of 2001 by Billboard’s R&B Editor, Rapper Chuck D and others. A live DVD came next, called “quite possibly the greatest live concert video/DVD I have ever seen” by Murder Dog Magazine. The same year a double remastered “Best Of” album was released. In 2006 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Chuck a “Lifetime Heritage Fellowship,” the Federal Government’s highest honor for folk and traditional arts, and Chuck also performed at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. The following year his “We’re About the Business” CD debuted as the #1 independent album and #2 R&B album in Billboard. The National Visionary Leadership Project recognized Chuck’s contributions in shaping American history in 2007, joining previous honorees such as Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, BB King, and Earth Kitt.

Most recently Chuck recorded with artists as diverse as Thievery Corporation, Brian Culbertson and Jeff Majors. A street in Washington DC was recently renamed “Chuck Brown Way.” His most ambitious recording, a three disc set “We Got This” was released on September 21, 2010. It contains a live concert DVD shot in HD, a live concert audio CD and a CD of bonus new studio material including collaborations with the aforementioned Ledisi, Marcus Miller and Jill Scott. At 74 years of age, Chuck Brown remained not only culturally and musically relevant, but a tireless and constant tour de force in American music."

Yo Chuck, you got this….
]]>user@domain.comblog2012-06-07T12:22:23-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/032d97d9ab70e8375fb292762ab1afd1-73.html#unique-entry-id-73http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/032d97d9ab70e8375fb292762ab1afd1-73.html#unique-entry-id-73
John Moremen is almost impossible to explain. A session-man, side-man, band leader and collaborator extraordinaire, the San Francisco musician has recorded with experimentalists Half Japanese and MX-80, backed legendary Flamin' Groovies front man Roy Loney, written with The Minus Five's Scott McCaughey and fronted his own bands. And that's alongside over a decade as a member of Bay Area popsters, The Orange Peels, first as their drummer and now as their lead guitarist. Yet none of that explains what he does on "Flotation Device," where he navigates surf, NRBQ-esque roots rock and Monk-like bop with a deft hand.

In the spring of 2011, Moremen started working on some instrumentals for fun, but over the course of a few months found himself completing over 20 songs. After each one was finished, Moremen would post them online as a work in progress.

"I was kind of going back to something I did when I was in my teens, where I would come up with these instrumentals and then as quickly as possible, sit down and record the drums, guitar and bass. The whole process from writing to recording was almost instantaneous," Moremen says. "It was a routine I had and it was a really fun thing for me and I wanted to tap into that again."

Soon friends and fellow musicians were asking whether he was actually making an album. Working with producer (and Orange Peels band mate) Allen Clapp, the two mixed, mastered and sequenced fifteen of the songs into "Flotation Device."

"John is too ridiculously talented. Everyone knows this," Clapp says. "Flotation Device is like what it must be like inside John's head: Thelonious Monk, Robert Fripp, Jimmy Page all hanging out on the San Francisco coast..."

Performing all the instrumental parts on this album, Moremen freely navigates between drums, bass and guitar while never losing sight of the end goal: songs that move, shake and rattle with palpable energy. From "Stay Inside," which refers to his theory about listening and learning music to "Outta Here," motivated by the homerun call of San Francisco Giants announcer Duane Kuiper, while "Skybar" is a little musical candy bar with its separate sections. Call it 21st century mood music; call it a West-Coast guitar freak-out; call it what you will —Moremen is entirely at home in the grooves of this album.

John Moremen's Flotation Device
with Chris Xefos-bass, Ian Robertson-guitar, Adam Symons-drums
Friday, June 8th @The Make Out Room
w/ The Hollyhocks
3325 22nd Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
@ 7:30 pm, 21+]]>user@domain.comblog2012-07-01T12:18:45-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/788b76a74b0bd8a38c15ffbb788408fb-72.html#unique-entry-id-72http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/788b76a74b0bd8a38c15ffbb788408fb-72.html#unique-entry-id-72
The San Francisco Bay Area’s underground music scene covers a tremendous range of styles and artists. What they share is a love of improvisation, and of new or unusual compositions and sound-making techniques. Coming out of genres as diverse as jazz, electronica, contemporary composition, world music, hip-hop, and metal, the performing artists are led by their desire to learn and impart something new about music. The Bay Area new music scene often works outside of traditional venues, creating special environments for new kinds of sound. Outsound volunteer curators are dedicated to presenting the cutting edge of sound and music composition and performance.

The Outsound New Music Summit runs from July 15th-21st, and marks its eleventh consecutive year in 2012 with a night of wildly imaginative poetry with Ronald Saur, rAmu Aki, and Carla Harryman along with some of the Bay Area’s finest improvisers. Also featured will be a night of new compositions, featuring John Shiurba’s 9:9 Ensemble. A night of extended percussion ensembles with Falkortet, and Benjamin Ethan Tinker’s Seems An Eternity follows, and the festival ends with an all blow out night of master improvisers from both East and West coasts…multi-instrumentalist and award-winning composer Vinny Golia as well as keyboardist Dave Bryant (from Ornette Colman’s Prime Time). In addition, the Johnny Appleseed of improvisation Jack Wright will play solo.

Sacramento living legend Tony Passarell will bring his “Thin Air Orchestra” to play the Summit for the first time! The festival kicks off Sunday, July 15, 7:00 p.m., with its always-popular Touch the Gear night, a free hands-on expo where attendees can experience new and exotic instruments and electronic gear and make some of their own unique sounds.

The 2012 Outsound New Music Summit
July 15th-21st
San Francisco Community Music Center
544 Capp Street @ 20th
San Francisco, CA click for map
Q&A Sessions 7:15 -7:30 pm
Performance 8:15 pm


Sunday July 15: Touch the Gear Expo! 7-10pm Free Admission
A hands-on experience of sound producing gear and instruments!
Touch the Gear is a hands-on, family-friendly event that allows the public to roam among 25-30 musicians and inventors with their various different configurations of “gear.” -- Everything from oscillators to planks of wood with strings attached. Everyone gets to ask questions, make sound and experience how these set-ups work. It’s an environment that demystifies technology while inspiring creativity.

Monday July 16: Composers Symposium 7-9pm Free Admission
Compositional Process and Changing the Rules
2012 composers John Shiurba, Christina Stanley, Benjamin Ethan Tinker, and Matthew Goodheart will discuss the elements of their compositional styles and how they navigate the worlds of modern compositional techniques, combined with individual forms of experimentation. There will be a Q&A segment for attendees of this free public
event.

Wednesday July 18: Sonic Poetry
Unique word and sound fusions and fissions
poets: Ronald Sauer, rAmu Aki, Carla Harryman
Musicians: Jacob Felix Heule, Jordan Glenn, Karl Evangelista,
Jon Raskin, Gino Robair
In a special Outsound presentation, three leading Bay Area poets collaborate with some of music’s top improvisers to create new word and sound compositions in this evening of visionary literary experimentation.

Thursday July 19: The Composers Muse
World debut performances from some of the Bay Area’s most adventurous composers
Christina Stanley's Skadi Quartet,
Matthew Goodheart’s recursive physical object electro-acoustics
John Shiurba's 9:9

Friday July 20: Thwack, Bome, Chime
an evening of structured percussion
Dave Douglas' The Walls Are White With Flame
Benjamin Ethan Tinker's “Seems An Eternity”
Falkortet
Showcasing the wide and wild world of modern percussion in all shapes, sizes, and sounds.

Saturday July 21: Harmolodics Workshop w/ Dave Bryant
2-4pm Free Admission
Pianist Dave Bryant will present material gleaned from his years of performance and study with Ornette Coleman
on Harmolodic Theory and practice.

Saturday July 21: Fire & Energy
Masters of improvisation from East & West Coast meet for the Summit Finale
Jack Wright
Dave Bryant Trio
Vinny Golia Sextet
Tony Passarell's Thin Air Orchestra
A massive blowout of seasoned veterans of the improvised-jazz-inspired-music collide on this final night
of the 11th Annual Outsound New Music Summit.]]>user@domain.comblog2012-08-27T12:11:46-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/578dfe0acdf0c3660bebe64c041f9f4f-71.html#unique-entry-id-71http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/578dfe0acdf0c3660bebe64c041f9f4f-71.html#unique-entry-id-71
Back in 1987, I was blown away by Bill Bruford's first Earthworks group, Kazumi Watanabe's trio with Jeff Berlin and of course, David Torn's "Cloud about Mercury" band with Mark Isham and Tony Levin, featuring Bruford's post Patrick Moraz/King Crimson era Simmons SDS7 electronic drum kit. I was so enamored of this new technology and music, that I soon embarked on creating my own version. Thanks to a basic 5 piece, Simmons SDS 9 kit given to me by my good friend Stephen Bray, I was off and running. The addition of 5 more Simmons pads, (courtesy of my chums at Guitar Center), Roland's newest MIDI drum brain, the PM-16, the Roland TR-505 drum module, and a Yamaha TX-7 synth, I was able to duplicate many of the sounds and patterns played by Bruford on his Yamaha DX21, Simmons SDS 7 and MTM modules.

The advent of the more affordable Roland, Yamaha, Akai and Alesis drum brains, soon led to the demise of the overpriced and unreliable Simmons. When Bruford debuted the new $10,000 SDX in 1990, it was already too late, despite its computer and sampling capabilities. The SDX would infamously fail Bruford at a Yes show at Madison Square Garden. Bruford was done, never to play electronic drums again and Simmons would never recover.

Bruford went on to form an all acoustic version of Earthworks in 1999, however I had stayed true to the world of electronic percussion, creating the Drummstick and following the path of Futureman of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. "The Beast", as Bruford once called the Simmons kit, would now sit idly by, as the more mobile Drummstick rig became my instruments of choice.

Ultimately, like Bruford, I too returned to the world of acoustic percussion. With a home studio and the space to practice, the beloved Gretsch returned with a vengeance. That being said, as an audio engineer and a musician playing both the Drummstick and later the Zendrum, I had been spoiled by the awesome sounds they generated, the reverb and delay at my fingertips, not unlike the days of the Simmons kits. This wasn't always possible at many of the venues I played at, and my desire for the best aural experience I could create gnawed at me whenever I encountered those challenging gigs.



Bruford retired from live performances in 2009; I had the pleasure of seeing him and speaking to him before his show with Michael Borstlap in Bath in 2007, not knowing it would be one of his last. I loved his symmetrical drum set-up, his last unique drum configuration. Once again, I used an old chess adage, and that is to "understand a grandmaster, play his games and repertoire to get inside his head". And so it was with Bruford. No drummer has influenced me more. From the Roto-tom kit 1980s, the Simmons of the 1990s, to the symmetrical set-up of the 2000s.

Following my most recent creation, the "Indian Subsonic Bass Drum Sound" kit based on the amazing sounds and kits of Trilok Gurtu, I found that once again, the desire to control the audio became paramount, next to performing naturally. It soon became clear that to achieve that consistent sub-sonic sound would require the very best mixing, not always possible or practical at most of the venues or musical situations I find myself in. What to do? Well, it was time to revisit the world of electronics and "V-Drums". After some research, my path was clear: Convert the kit to a V-Drum kit...

In 1997, Roland's new "V-Drums" revolutionized the world of electronic drums, wiping out the rubberized world of Roland, Alesis, Simmons, Yamaha, Dauz, and others. Newer trigger technology, coupled with the advent of "mesh drum heads", did away with the "practce pad" feel and response of electronic drums. The Roland V-Drums, like all new technology, wasn't cheap either ($7000!), so drummers and drum companies started to convert regular acoustic drums into V-Drums. Companies like Hart Dynamics, Ddrum and Pintech jumped on board, offering even hybrid kits. The jury may be out, but in my experience with using triggers on acoustic drum heads, they just didn't seem to track as well as on mesh heads. The other issue for drummers using hybrid kits is there is no way to control the acoustic volume, especially in settings where volume is an issue; apartments and clubs where you have to smack the heads to trigger them properly. With that in mind, I went for Hart Magnum Mesh heads and Ddrum triggers for the "Trilok Kit" and mated them to my newly minted Alesis Trigger I/O. The result was 90% successful...



Every drum triggered extremely well, except for the kick drum. No matter how I adjusted it, the Ddrum Red Shot didn't seem to like the DW5000 bass drum pedal. One of the things I noted during my research was that many of the DIY drum trigger folks would mount the trigger inside the shell with the piezo placed on a bar, mounted on two L-Brackets, and a piece of foam covering the pick-up. Using an adjustable drum muffler from an old snare drum, one of my Pintech triggers and an L-Bracket, I drilled several holes to both mount the muffler, the L-Bracket and the 1/4" jack for the piezo. This allowed me to adjust the sensitivity of the Pintech, (attached by velcro to the muffler). I used some zip-ties to secure the 1/4" jack to the L-Bracket and positioned it so would mount flush to the shell of the bass drum. I also used one of the tom leg holders to attach the "Trick Floor Tom - Bass Drum Converter.

The LP Claw system that came with it, also never felt right, so this was a real improvement moving the holder to the bottom of the drum. Not only did it work, it was even better than the Ddrum Red Shots. Nothing like having a piezo right under the fingertips/sticks, just like the Drummstick and Futureman's new "Drumitar". This got me thinking... Could I create a symmetrical "V-Drum" kit, made up of smaller acoustic drums with Pintech triggers, mesh heads and adjustable drum mufflers? The answer is yes of course! Ironically, I had most of the tools and the ingredients already. There was no way I was going to use the Gretsch kit; it's way too beautiful and sounds totally amazing as is.

The Ddrum D2 14" x 16" floor tom had already been converted via the aforementioned method. I also had the snare drum as well, a 5" x 10" PDP "popcorn", however this time I removed the Red Shot trigger and added the Pintech. Once again, I drilled the holes and after a few adjustments, it worked as well as the Red Shot, with the added feature of plugging the 1/4" jack directly into the shell.



All I needed now were more mufflers, L-Brackets and 4 more toms. It also dawned on me that I could duplicate the actual sizes of Gretsch toms and the symmetrical look and feel. Turns out that Ddrum makes an "Add-on Pack" for the D2 kit, featuring a 7" x 8" tom and a 12" x 14" floor tom. I got a great deal from "2kool4skool" on ebay and got a used 5 piece D2 from Guitar Center.

The Ddrum add-on pack also comes with double tom stands, so serendipitously, my Ultimate Support cymbal arms will fit nicely with them, solving the cymbal placement issue for me. A trip to Sam Adato's Drum shop and I got all the lugs, clamps, and claws I needed. 4 more mesh heads and I would be good to go!

The Ddrums soon arrived and the mesh heads from Guitar Center showed up around the same time. I decided however, to use the Ddrum Red Shot triggers on the Ddrums instead of the Pintechs. Less holes to drill, plus the Red Shots seemed to work great. In another experiment, I hooked up my Roland TD-7 to the triggers, but they didn't work anywhere near as well as the Alesis Trigger I/O, (with the exception of the "Reverb" kit).



The Ddrum bass drum was huge, so I opted for the converted D2 floor tom/bass drum. Using the Roland FD-7 Hi-Hat trigger pedal, a Pintech "Dingbat" trigger bar and my Hosa snake, I was actually able to re-create a trigger set-up that would mirror the Zendrum. I now had an electronic-acoustic hybrid kit, virtually identical to the Gretsch kit; silent mesh heads that could be unleashed with my audio set-ups. The Alesis Trigger I/O was programmed use the "Dingbat" as my sample trigger device, and I selected the MIDI note numbers to correspond to each and every drum and "Triggerlicious" was born.

The conversion has been a success; I even used it in a session the following weekend and it performed like a champion. You can indeed, convert an acoustic drum kit to a "V-Drum" electronic kit with all the features you can imagine and more. All it takes is a great MIDI interface, mesh heads, great triggers, an inexpensive drum kit and the desire to be just a little creative...:)

]]>user@domain.comblog2012-09-27T12:09:19-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/abb4a595c03d429957e1cbdc5bf4de13-70.html#unique-entry-id-70http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/abb4a595c03d429957e1cbdc5bf4de13-70.html#unique-entry-id-70
If you haven't had a chance to catch drummer Jack DeJohnette's incredible trio, featuring virtuoso pianist Chick Corea and bassist Stanley Clarke, you'll have to settle for the 10:00 pm shows Friday and Saturday night at Yoshi's on Fillmore. All of the 8:00 pm shows have been sold out, and rightly so. Born in Chicago in 1942, DeJohnette is widely regarded as one of jazz music's greatest drummers. Part of a four night "birthday celebration", the 70 year old DeJohnette has been delighting audiences on this tour and has shown no signs of slowing down.

Jack DeJohnette has collaborated with most major figures in jazz history. Some of the great talents he has worked with are John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Sun Ra, Jackie McLean, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Keith Jarrett, Chet Baker, George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Ron Carter, Lee Morgan, Charles Lloyd, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Abbey Lincoln, Betty Carter and Eddie Harris.

DeJohnette's drumming, though originally influenced by masters including Max Roach, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Art Taylor, Rashied Ali, Paul Motian, Tony Williams, and Andrew Cyrelle, has long drawn from sources beyond “jazz.” More than thirty years ago, he was already describing his work as “multi-directional music.”

“As a child I listened to all kinds of music and I never put them into categories. I had formal lessons on piano and listened to opera, country and western music, rhythm and blues, jazz, swing, whatever. To me, it was all music and great. I've kept that integrated feeling about music, all types of music, and just carried it with me. I've maintained that belief and feeling in spite of the ongoing trend to try and compartmentalize people and music.”

Jack’s wide-ranging style, capable of playing in any idiom while still maintaining a well-defined voice keeps him in constant demand as a drummer, bandleader, and as a sideman.

On January 10, 2012 Jack was honored as a recipient of a 2012 NEA Jazz Master Award for his lifetime achievement. He has been recognized for his extraordinary contribution to advancing the jazz art form and for serving as a mentor for a new generation of young aspiring jazz musicians.

THE JACK DEJOHNETTE TRIO feat. Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke
Yoshi's San Francisco on Fillmore
Sep 05-Sep 8, 2012
FRI. 8pm $50 SOLD OUT /
10pm $50 (limited tickets remain)
SAT. 8pm $60 SOLD OUT /
10pm $60 (limited tickets remain)
]]>user@domain.comblog2012-10-18T11:58:48-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/06442889c339a80f9b4a5de6cece4990-69.html#unique-entry-id-69http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/06442889c339a80f9b4a5de6cece4990-69.html#unique-entry-id-69
I once had the privilege of working with the great saxophonist David S. Ware back in 2000, when he came to Virginia's State Theater for a jazz festival, and touring to support his latest album on Columbia Records, "Surrendered". With his brightly colored clothes flowing about him, Ware launched into a sonic performance that I will never forget. Last night, at the age of 62 . Ware, a leading free jazz player during the last 20 years, passed away. A statement from Patricia Parker, wife of Ware’s long-time collaborator bassist William Parker, was shared on the jazzcorner.com’s bulletin board: "Tonight, a giant has fallen. David S. Ware, the great saxophonist, died tonight, October 18, 2012. What an incredible loss! What a great musician and spirit! His tremendous sound, his spirit, his music, is irreplaceable… Music holds Us… when there is more information we will let you know... -Patricia"

The Ottawa Citizen's Peter Hum wrote, "Ware was 62. When he was 60, after nearly a decade of dialysis treatment, Ware underwent a kidney transplant. Ware’s Wikipedia entry states that the operation took place after a kidney was donated in response to an email message sent out to nearly 1,000 of his fans. Aum Fidelity recently sent out this update on Ware’s health, stating that he was”physically not doing well at all, though his spirit is in a very positive place.” The update solicited cards and emails of support from Ware’s fans to be shared with him…."

"In the 1990s, Ware formed a celebrated quartet that included pianist Matthew Shipp and Parker, as well as drummers such as Susie Ibarra…. At one point Ware was signed to Columbia Records, thanks to the advocacy of Branford Marsalis. Ware released more than 25 records under his own name, most of which were on small labels such as DIW and Thirsty Ear. Earlier, as a sideman, he recorded with pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Andrew Cyrille.

Ware was also the subject of several short films. A 1994 Dutch documentary called In Motion concentrated on the fact Ware drove a cab for many years in New York. “The film makes the influence of the speeding traffic on Ware’s music tangible,” states one synopsis. More recently the David Lynch Foundation released the film David S. Ware: A World of Sound." You can watch the 14 minute documentary here… Here too, is recent concert footage of Ware and his quartet, live in Vilnius. We will miss you my man...






]]>user@domain.comblog2012-11-27T11:55:00-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c8d70eeda3784e774ea3802b0f784986-68.html#unique-entry-id-68http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c8d70eeda3784e774ea3802b0f784986-68.html#unique-entry-id-68
Bassist, and multi-talented musician Les July first came to light back in the 1980s, following in the footsteps of his Queens, New York mentors, Marcus Miller and Lenny White. July has been described as "an extremely unique self-contained recording artist-producer who sings, writes and plays several instruments." His new project, "Dreamland" is a 'double album on one CD'. It's a unique combination of great, catchy songs, intelligent, thought provoking lyrics, world class musicianship and great production. All coming from one person who has been known to "exhibit paranormal tendencies."

An endorsement from music visionary icon, Kate Bush has brought July worldwide attention via YouTube. His recordings that feature his trumpet playing has drawn many comparisons to Miles Davis. As a producer, his knowledge of multiple genres of music and his ability to 'mash them up', has led to work with artists of many different cultures.

While in Los Angeles, July gave of his time by volunteering at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center as a Music For Healing therapist and he has worked with top artists in every vein of contemporary music from Slash to k.d. Lang to Dr. Dre to Herbie Hancock. He produced a short form documentary " On The Fly with Les July ", that chronicles his eclectic life and career in Hollywood, Ca. and features everyone from Stevie Wonder to Adam Sandler. This documentary not only showcased July's wide ranging musical talents, but his on-camera personality as well.

July recently moved back to NYC, where his first gig was opening for Todd Rundgren to a sold out crowd at B.B. King's. With recognition in all genres of contemporary music, July has managed to escape categorization as an artist, producer and musician.

On Dreamland, July is undoubtedly inspired by Rundgren's legendary solo recordings, not only sings, but plays and mixes all of the instruments on the album; bass, guitar, drums, keyboards and the aforementioned trumpet. July's guitar solo work on the grooving "Clocked", "All This Time" and "Shipwrecked" reveals yet another hidden talent, as does the Spanish-flavored acoustic guitar on "Want To" and the Miles-inspired trumpet on "Whenever"- a gift for good, old-fashioned, songwriting; a lost art in an age of laptops, samples and software.

Fellow writer and musician Paul Myers, author of 'A Wizard A True Star : Todd Rundgren In The Studio, aptly wrote that "Les July's Dreamland is a catchy and well-played set of crafty songs that make you think, dance and feel. And in this increasingly desensitized world, the ability to still feel anything at all cannot be taken for granted…"

I have to concur; a great effort by July and I look forward to more work from this "disgustingly talented" musician.
]]>user@domain.comblog2012-12-27T11:52:49-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/9c71773ebcb55d1eef3e3182657f885b-67.html#unique-entry-id-67http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/9c71773ebcb55d1eef3e3182657f885b-67.html#unique-entry-id-67
Last Christmas Eve saw the closing of yet another one of San Francisco's best loved musical emporiums, Sam Adato's Drum Shop at 9th and Folsom. Adato's Drum Shop was a mecca for Bay Area drummers and percussionists for nearly 20 years. I actually bought a beautiful rosewood, 6 piece Gretsch kit from Sam back in 2003, and countless more drum parts and pieces over the next 10 years. A master drummer, Adato arrived from Santa Cruz and opened amid the musical heyday of the '90s. Adato survived the arrival of Guitar Center; the sudden appearance of a new, trendy competitor that actually opened across the street from him a few years ago and just as quickly went out of business; and a car that actually crashed through his shop window that fortunately took out very little of his merchandise.

Adato cites the internet; ebay and Craig's List, as well as the skyrocketing rents and guerrilla meter maids as the culprits in his decision to relocate to Eugene, Oregon, and I don't doubt him. Adato also lamented that "Parents don't come in to buy their kids a new drum set for Christmas anymore."

Adato is something of a purist; a rocker equally at home with the drumming of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, Carmine Appice of the famed Vanilla Fudge, or the jazz of the late, great Louie Bellson. When he wasn't at his shop, he'd be recording or gigging at the Warfield or the Fillmore with his band, The Bridge. You wouldn't find any electronics at Adato's drum shop, he was all acoustic percussion, all the time. Needed a part or repair? You went to Sam's. If he didn't have it, he'd get it for you.

Adato didn't mention it specifically, but there may be yet another culprit. For better or worse, we now live in a new, musical world of electronic V-drums, digital DJs, beat boxes and a host of other realities that compete for the hearts and minds of tomorrow's young percussionists and have changed the face of the modern drummer. Adato's recent closure is part of a trend that knows no abating.

Lecturing at a college in Sweden last year, retired drummer Bill Bruford, known for his work with the groups Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and his jazz combo Earthworks, spoke about his musical past, the challenges for the creative musician in today's market, as well as speculating on the future of the modern drummer. No stranger to the industry, its demands and limitations, Bruford noted the rise of technology; the ability to make an album in one's living room; the advent of the sampler, the laptop and the lonely world of "having an orchestra in a box" to work with. The music industry has changed; the good ol' days are gone and there will be no putting that genie back in the bottle.

There are still conservatories, "percussion institutes", and lessons one can take, even on line, but in a world where technology, video and audio also compete for the modern musician, the drum set is sadly becoming an option for fewer and fewer musicians. Nowadays you can buy software and pads, play through your stereo, pack up and head to the club, spinning your tunes and beats in real time. Coupled with the monetary reality of today's digital downloading world, the drummer, (already the butt of every band joke ever imagined), finds him or herself in increasingly smaller company.

Bruford hopes that the modern drummer will be something of a hybrid; part acoustic, part electric, sampling, looping and playing rhythms that challenge the listener more than the pedestrian 4/4 grooves that dominate the contemporary music scene today. He may well be right in the end and he should know; Bruford was part of the electronic drum revolution before it was fashionable or reliable. With reliability and quality an issue, he eschewed the electronics and returned to his first love- jazz.

I tend to agreed with Bruford; he cites the creative hotbed of Brooklyn, NY as the home of some the best young drummers to combine the hybrid approach, looping, sampling and yes, drumming in real time with a maturity beyond their years.

San Francisco's loss is Eugene, Oregon's gain. Ironically, Adato was able to benefit from the Bay Area's real estate market enough to find a new home and new shop there. Eugene, (home of the dreaded Oregon Ducks), is a fantastic college town that could provide the perfect setting for the next chapter in the life of one the best drummers and musical mentors San Francisco has ever had. Last month, the Board of Supervisors even honored Adato for his efforts at City Hall, and deservedly so.

They say all good things must come to an end… Here's to Sam Adato's new beginning, and to what Bruford called the "industry of human happiness"… Making spirits dance through music- and drumming.]]>user@domain.comblog2013-01-27T11:50:38-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/78431949260844312137fae1e83d6f7d-66.html#unique-entry-id-66http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/78431949260844312137fae1e83d6f7d-66.html#unique-entry-id-66
San Francisco's newest venue, located on Franklin near City Hall, is the SFJazz Center which opens January 23rd with "a star-filled line up “consecrating” the stage of the Robert N. Miner Auditorium." Hosted by Bill Cosby, the concert will include pianists McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea, saxophonist and long time SFJazz Collective alum Joshua Redman, legendary vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, Esperanza Spalding, Mary Stallings, John Handy, Pete Escovedo, the SFJazz Collective, and the new SFJazz Center Resident Artistic Directors Regina Carter, Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, John Santos and Miguel Zenón amongst other special guests.

This one-time-only gathering of jazz stars will be at the center of the Opening Night celebration, which will include pre- and post-parties to celebrate the opening of the first stand-alone building for jazz in America. If you don't have tickets to this sold out show, fear not- NPR will be streaming the concert live WWOZ, WBGO and NPR Music will team up for a live radio and online video broadcast of the concert, (http://www.npr.org/event/music/169066093/live-from-sfjazz-center-opening).

According to NPR's website, "Thirty years after presenting its first concerts in San Francisco, the organization SFJAZZ has built a permanent home and performance venue. The SFJAZZ Center, conceived as the first stand-alone building for jazz in the U.S., opens with a star-studded concert on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT."]]>user@domain.comblog2013-02-27T11:44:11-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/f1d195a1e96b244664b5d18f774a3235-65.html#unique-entry-id-65http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/f1d195a1e96b244664b5d18f774a3235-65.html#unique-entry-id-65
On her 2011 album, Voice, Hiromi sought to capture people's "inner voices" and strove to create what she called a "three-dimensional sound." For that album, the Japanese composer/pianist assembled a trio that included herself and two veteran players - contra-bass guitarist Anthony Jackson (Paul Simon, The O'Jays, Steely Dan, Chick Corea) and drummer Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who, Judas Priest, David Gilmour, Jack Bruce). While Hiromi had played with Jackson prior to recording Voice, she had never recorded an entire album with either him or Phillips.

"I had such a great time recording with them, and we went on the road together and that was even more fun," she says. "As soon as we started playing live shows, we grew up as a band. It was the biggest fun I've ever had in my life musically. That's why I wanted to do another record. I couldn't let it go. I wanted to do it again." Next April, Hiromi will bring her "Trio Project" to the SF Jazz Center, and next week, her new album is set to be released.

While on the road, Hiromi started writing music for a follow-up, Move, set for U.S. release on March 5, 2013 on Telarc, a division of Concord Music Group. (European release date is October 2, 2012.) "Because I had been playing with Anthony and Simon for quite a bit, I just started to understand their characteristics, and I could find a hidden gem in their playing," she explains. "As a composer, I really wanted to write the songs especially for them, and I wanted to extract the unique beauty of their playing."

When it came time to go into the studio to record Move, the trio was able to record quickly and effortlessly since many of the songs had been road-tested. Recorded by GRAMMY®-winning producer and engineer Michael Bishop at Aire Born Studios in Zionsville, Indiana, Move, like Voice, has an overriding theme, which Hiromi describes as "time in one day."

"You wake up and go to work and then hang out," she says. "The album is like a soundtrack for a day." The opening title-track begins with an undulating piano riff that mimics the sound of a ringing alarm. "It's one of the most difficult pieces I've ever written," says Hiromi. "I had great musicians with me, and we worked hard on that song. In the studios and rehearsals, we spent a lot of time to play it right. It's very tricky because when a song sounds difficult, it's not fun. It has to groove and it has to go beyond ‘this is a difficult song.' It has to make you groove and feel the rhythm. To reach that point really took some time."

The groove deepens on "Endeavor," a tune that starts off with a funky guitar riff that gives way to beautiful piano solos before diving back into the funk. "It has a lot of tricks with rhythm so that when you're feeling the groove and shaking your head with the music, it slips backwards," explains Hiromi. "Then it slips back again. It has a lot of tricks rhythmically. I really like putting these small treasures in the songs because it's like treasure hunting."

The album's centerpiece is a three-part suite divided into segments entitled "Reality," "Fantasy" and "In Between." "I really like writing suites," says Hiromi. "I've done it a couple of times in the past and it's good for the writer to come up with a big story. I always want to tell stories with my music. I always see visuals, and I always think about music like a select story. I have so much fun writing these songs that are about contrary things like your frustrations and also the fight in yourself. It took awhile to finish and there is a main theme in each song so by the third piece, if you listen to it carefully you will hear the main theme. I like that kind of musical trick."

The album comes to a close with "11:49 PM," an 11-minute song designed to mark the end of one day and the beginning of a new one.

"Before you go to bed, you think through what you have been through and you think and all these emotions come out," says Hiromi. "I think the nighttime is the most emotional time of the day, especially when you're at home. I don't know what makes people think that but it's just the night. People show so much more emotion and heart in that particular time of the day. I started to write a song about it. Whenever I wrote [‘11:49 PM'], it was always at nighttime. I went through all these emotions."
]]>user@domain.comblog2013-03-27T11:18:59-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/f0622831a27ac6eacfc648cc2dd1f8d7-64.html#unique-entry-id-64http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/f0622831a27ac6eacfc648cc2dd1f8d7-64.html#unique-entry-id-64
Fans of the legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins should enjoy the sounds of the Wilbur Rehmann Quartet: Special Edition, performing this Friday night at the Sheba Lounge on Fillmore. An accomplished alto, tenor and soprano saxophonist, Rehmann is considered one of the "elder statesmen of jazz" in his native Montana, and for his annual SF performance, he will be joined by pianist, composer Nora Maki, 7 string bass virtuoso Edo Castro, and BeyondChron's very own E. "Doc" Smith, on Zendrum. Rehmann's "Special Edition" quartet is primarily an electric group that will be performing some of the music made famous by his friend and mentor Rollins, as well as the likes of John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and originals by both Smith and Castro. A frequent visitor to the Bay Area, Rehmann's return has been a long time coming, and most welcome.

Rehmann, grew up in Burlington, Iowa listening to the last of the traveling big bands in the late forties and early fifties. As a teenager, he got interested in bebop and wanted to know not only why they played like that, but how. Now he knows, and he plays it on the alto, soprano and tenor saxophones. In 1954 he began playing the saxophone in public school and started his first group, "The Reformers Combo," in high school. An admirer of many great saxophone players from Charlie Parker to Stan Getz, he has been particularly inspired by the mentoring and music of Sonny Rollins. Rehmann's trademark sound is uniquely his own, and watching and listening to him play is a joy. His regular quartet in Montana, featuring legendary guitarist Blackie Nelson, his son, the "disgustingly talented" Ken Nelson on bass and keyboards, and the remarkable Dennis Unsworth on drums, have delighted "Big Sky" audiences for years.

The group's three albums, Back Home Jazz (1996),  Mann Gulch Suite, (1999), and Old Friends and New (2011), have an underlying message unique to jazz, (or any other genre to be fair); protecting the environment. Rehmann's concern for a clean and healthful environment, and his desire for everyone to be made aware of the effects of pollution and global warming, are clearly a motivating, if not inspiration force in his music, and a passion shared by many of Rehmann's friends and colleagues, including the legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Rehmann's delightful cover of Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream", is another fine example of his spacious, airy sound of "Big Sky" jazz, free to roam and soar, swoop and swing. "Rehmann and his Quartet," wrote Mike Clark of the Great Yellowstone Coalition, "have brought to us a sense of joy, wonder and solitude with their original jazz interpretations, which explore the interior landscapes of the American West and the meaning of wilderness". Rehmann's "Going Down the Gulch" is but one of many fine examples of that style, and embodies a true "Big Sky Jazz" sound. His most recent album, Old Friends and New, is his best yet, and his quintet's new interpretations of some great classics by Rivers, Pat Matheny, Michael Brecker and Horace Silver. This is a passionate outing by two genuine jazz veterans and the joy of playing with their family and indeed, new friends.

The "Special Edition" Quartet

E. "Doc" Smith has performed and recorded with a wide array of artists in both jazz, rock and world music, including Howard Levy, Paul McCandless, Paul Bollenback, Brian Eno, Bon Lozago, Ed Howard, Paul Wertico, Jack DeJohnette, and many more. His work with Brian Eno and the group the Same, featuring now famed composer Carter Burwell, and Stephen Bray, led him to join Bray and his platinum selling work with the pop singer Madonna. Smith worked with Bray and Madonna for several years, and on many of her greatest albums, including Desperately Seeking Susan, True Blue, Who's that Girl?, Express Yourself, and Pre-Madonna-The New York Years.

Smith's twenty plus years of percussion work, also led to the creation of his one-of-a-kind and critically acclaimed instrument, the "Drummstick". His tours with the group Between the Lines, allowed him to open for acts as diverse as the Neville Brothers, 10,000 Maniacs, and The Violent Femmes. His invention has also led to performances with some truly great musicians from around the globe, including the Indian phenom, Sandip Burman, and perfecting his technique with Roy "Futureman" Wooten, of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. "When Rehmann and I first played together back in 2006, I was using the Drummstick, my drum-guitar, MIDI instrument." These days, Smith is using his Zendrum ZX, a custom, digital drum instrument made for him by the Zendrum Company of Atlanta, GA.

After some gentle prodding and spirited discussions with Rehmann over the years, Smith soon hit upon the idea of a performance, and the electric version of Rehmann's Montana group, the "Special Edition Quartet" was born. "This is always a real treat for me personally, to play with an all-time great like Rehmann and good friends like Edo and Nora,  I hope everyone who comes to Sheba to see us will enjoy it."

SF Bay Area bassist Edo Castro initially was a self-taught bassist but later moved to Chicago and attended The American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He completed his studies and earned a BA in 1987 with a focus on Jazz Studies and electric Bass. He continued to hone his craft in Chicago through 1990.  Returning to the Bay Area, Edo released his first solo effort of original music entitled simply “Edo.” Castro’s 2nd release “Phoenix” (on Passion Star Records) made the 49th Grammy Entry List for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album" in October 2006 as did his third and latest release, Sacred Graffiti, in 2010.

Castro has put his signature on over 20 local CD projects and has performed/recorded with David Amram, Mark Walker, Hassan Kahn, Pete Cosey, Roy Haynes, Fareed Haque, David Onderdonk, Ed Thigpen, Johnny Griffin, Joel Harrison, Jim Trompeter, Ian Doogle, Deborah Winters, Jill Knight, Paul Van Wageningen, Caroline Aiken, Dan Zinn, Bethany Pickens, Michael La Macchia, Armando Peraza, Caren Armstrong, Percy Howard, Mike Molenda, Stu Hamm, Lorn Leber, George Brooks, E. "Doc" Smith, Michael Manring, Mark Egan, Yves Carbonne, Todd Johnson and David Friesen.

Pianist Nora Maki was born in Osaka, Japan. She started her first piano lesson at age 6. She studied classical piano with Katsuyuki Mastui and musicianship with Masaru Adachi at Osaka College of Music. Encountering jazz music in her late teens has changed her way of making music to her own terms.  She studied the piano style of Art Tatum & Oscar Peterson with Minoru Ozone. Interested in jazz & American culture, she was exposed herself to a broad range of American music from Miles Davis to James Brown. After immigrating to United States of America in 1989, she went back to school and studied advanced jazz arrangement, theory, harmony & history and jazz combo under the direction of Andrew Speight at San Francisco State University. Her great passion for music has brought her to much broader music communities. She has also performed her jazz in various settings and shared the bandstand with many area musicians in San Francisco Bay Area. Maki will debut both her acoustic and electric talents to Rehmann's Special Edition Quartet, in what promises to be a lively and memorable show.

The Wilbur Rehmann Quartet: Special Edition
Sheba Piano Lounge, 1419 Fillmore
Friday, February 22th from 9:00 pm - 12:00 am]]>user@domain.comblog2011-04-22T11:14:08-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/ff46b9bcbac783fa3285d29a4ae24b7c-63.html#unique-entry-id-63http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/ff46b9bcbac783fa3285d29a4ae24b7c-63.html#unique-entry-id-63
Composer John Barry was perhaps best known for composing 11 James Bond soundtracks and was hugely influential on the musical style of the 007 series, along with the general feeling of the films. I'll never forget seeing Shirley Bassey of "Goldfinger" fame, belt out that theme at New York's Carnegie Hall, as well as "Moonraker" and "Diamonds are Forever". Barry's music was so influential to me personally, that I actually recorded two of my favorites, "Walkabout" and "Zulu".

In a career spanning almost 50 years, Barry received numerous awards for his work, including five Academy Awards; two for Born Free, and one each for The Lion in Winter (for which he also won a BAFTA Award), Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves (for which he also won a Grammy Award) and Somewhere in Time (1980) (Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture). Barry passed away in January, but his musical legacy will live on forever. To me, Barry was the greatest film composer of all time.

Barry was born John Barry Prendergast, in York, England in 1933, the son of a musically talented mother and a charismatic Irish father. His father, Jack Xavier Prendergast, from Cork, was a projectionist during the silent movie era who ended up owning a chain of movie theaters across northern England. Often, while watching a film, Barry would note with pen and paper, what worked or what did not. His childhood background in movies clearly influenced his music interests.

Although originally a classical pianist, Barry also learned the trumpet and grew interested in composing and arranging music. During his National Service in Cyprus, he began performing as a musician. After taking a correspondence course (with jazz composer Bill Russo) and working as an arranger for the Jack Parnell and Ted Heath's Orchestra[, he formed his own band in 1957, The John Barry Seven, with whom he had some hit records, including "Hit and Miss", the theme tune he composed for the BBC's Juke Box Jury programme, a cover of the Ventures' "Walk Don't Run", and a cover of the theme for the United Artists Western The Magnificent Seven.

Barry was employed by the EMI record company from 1959 until 1962 arranging or-chestral accompaniment for the company's recording artists. From 1962, Barry trans-ferred to Ember Records where he produced albums as well as arranging them. These achievements caught the attention of the producers of a new film called Dr. No who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. Barry was hired and the result was one of the most famous signature tunes in film history, the "James Bond Theme". When the producers of the Bond series engaged Lionel Bart to score the next James Bond film From Russia with Love, they discovered that Bart could neither read nor write music. Though Bart wrote a title song for the film, the producers remembered Barry's arrangement of the James Bond Theme and his composing and arranging for several films with Adam Faith. Lionel Bart also recommended Barry to producer Stanley Baker for his film Zulu.

This was the turning point for Barry, and he went on to become one of the most cele-brated film composers, winning five Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards, with scores for, among others, The Lion in Winter, Midnight Cowboy, Born Free, and Some-where in Time. Barry was often cited as having had a distinct style which concentrated on lush strings and extensive use of brass. However he was also an innovator, being one of the first to employ synthesizers in a film score (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and to make wide use of pop artists and songs in Midnight Cowboy. Because Barry provided not just the main title theme but the complete soundtrack score, his music often enhanced the critical reception of a film, notably in Midnight Cowboy, King Kong, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves.

One of Barry's best known compositions is the theme for the 1971 TV series The Per-suaders, in which Tony Curtis and Roger Moore were paired as rich playboys solving crimes. The theme went on to be a hit single in some European countries and has been re-released on collections of 1970s disco hits. The instrumental recording also features Moog synthesizers.

Barry's work also began to be sampled in the 1990s by artists such as Dr. Dre and Wu-Tang Clan, with his "James Bond Theme" being sampled by performers as diverse as Bonobo, Gang Starr and Junior Reid. Fatboy Slim used the opening guitars from "Beat Girl (Main Title)" for "Rockafeller Skank" from his 1998 album, You've Come A Long Way, Baby. The Sneaker Pimps also sampled "Golden Girl" on their 1996 single "6 Un-derground". Additionally, "You Only Live Twice" was heavily sampled on "Millennium" from Robbie Williams' second album, I've Been Expecting You. (I did much the same on the aforementioned Walkabout and Zulu films).

After the success of Dr. No, Barry scored eleven of the next 14 James Bond films (but with Monty Norman continually credited as the composer of the "James Bond Theme"). In his tenure with the film series, Barry's music, variously brassy and moody, appealed to film aficionados. For From Russia With Love he composed "007", an alternative James Bond signature theme, which is featured in four other Bond films (Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker). The theme "Stalking", for the teaser sequence of From Russia With Love, was covered by colleague Marvin Hamlisch for The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). (The music and lyrics for From Russia With Love's title song were written by Lionel Bart, whose musical theatre credits included Oliver!). Barry also (indirectly) contributed to the soundtrack of the 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale: his Born Free theme appears briefly in the opening sequence.

In Goldfinger, he perfected the "Bond sound", a heady mixture of brass, jazz and sen-suous melodies. There is even an element of Barry's jazz roots in the big-band track "Into Miami", which follows the title credits and accompanies the film's iconic image of the camera lens zooming toward the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.

As Barry matured, the Bond scores concentrated more on lush melodies, as in Moon-raker and Octopussy. Barry's score for A View to a Kill was traditional, but his collabora-tion with Duran Duran for the title song was contemporary and one of the most successful Bond themes to date, reaching number one in the United States and number two in the UK Singles Chart. Both A View to a Kill and the Living Daylights theme by a-ha blended the pop music style of the artists with Barry's orchestration. In 2006, a-ha's Pal Waaktaar complimented Barry's contributions "I loved the stuff he added to the track, I mean it gave it this really cool string arrangement. That's when for me it started to sound like a Bond thing". Barry's last score for the Bond series was 1987's The Living Daylights, Dalton's first film in the series with Barry making a cameo appearance as a composer in the film. Barry was intended to score Licence to Kill but was recovering from throat surgery at the time and it was considered unsafe to fly him to London to complete the score. The score was completed by Michael Kamen. Arnold also went on to score the subsequent Bond films: The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

David Arnold, a British composer, saw the result of two years' work in 1997 with the re-lease of Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project, an album of new versions of the themes from various James Bond films. Arnold thanks Barry in the sleeve notes, referring to him as "the Guvnor". Almost all of the tracks were John Barry compositions, and the revision of his work met with his approval – he contacted Barbara Broccoli, producer of the then upcoming Tomorrow Never Dies, to recommend Arnold as the film's composer.

Sole compositional credit for the "James Bond Theme" is attributed to Monty Norman, who was contracted as composer for Dr. No. Some 30 years later, in 2001, the disputed authorship of the theme was examined legally in the High Court in London after Norman sued The Sunday Times for publishing an article in 1997 in which Barry was named as the true composer; Barry testified for the defense. In court, Barry testified that he had been handed a musical manuscript of a work by Norman (meant to become the theme) and that he was to arrange it musically, and that he composed additional music and arranged the "James Bond Theme". The court was also told that Norman received sole credit because of his prior contract with the producers. Barry said that a deal was struck whereby he would receive a flat fee of £250 and Norman would receive the songwriting credit. arry said that he had accepted the deal with United Artists Head of Music Noel Rogers because it would help his career. Despite these claims the jury ruled unanimously in favour of Norman. On September 7th, 2006, Barry publicly defended his authorship of the theme on the Steve Wright show on BBC Radio 2.

On June 20th, 2011, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a tribute to the late composer to celebrate his life and work. Many of his colleagues from the James Bond franchise will be in attendance, including, Dame Shirley Bassey and Sir George Martin. The event is sponsored by The Royal College of Music through a grant by the Broccoli Foundation. John Barry left behind a musical legacy that will never be surpassed or even rivaled and a look at his list of films staggers the mind. From the brassy textures and orchestra hits, the tension filled, cold war sounds of a hammer dulcimer to the poignant trills of flutes set against an African desert, John Barry's music will leave a mark that will indeed live on and endure the test of time. His talent was truly timeless.]]>user@domain.comblog2010-12-05T11:52:45-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a93f3bdb8af6edab9b6fc743502253c1-62.html#unique-entry-id-62http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a93f3bdb8af6edab9b6fc743502253c1-62.html#unique-entry-id-62
When I last saw the guitarist Mike Stern at Yoshi's San Francisco, he was performing alongside the incredible drummer Billy Cobham, as well as keyboardist Mark Soskin and bassist Victor Bailey. Cobham's reprise of his "Spectrum" era repertoire thrilled the audience, as did Stern's incendiary solos. Later that week, Cobham would play Yoshi's Oakland with an all-acoustic line up, featuring the brilliant trumpeter Randy Brecker, another longtme Cobham alum. Now Stern and Brecker return to Yoshi's for a weekend of music with drum virtuoso Dennis Chambers and bassist Anthony Jackson. Stern and Brecker will also participate in the Jazz Heritage Center's popular lecture series, "We're Talkin' Jazz" on Sunday.

In a career that spans three decades and a discography that includes more than a dozen eclectic and innovative recordings, six-time GRAMMY nominee Stern has established himself as one of the premier jazz and jazz-fusion guitarists and composers of his generation.

In August 2009, Stern released "Big Neighborhood". Aiding him in this latest chapter in his never-ending quest for the new and better groove is a long list of talented guests: guitarists Steve Vai and Eric Johnson; bassist-vocalists Esperanza Spalding and Richard Bona; jamband godfathers Medeski Martin & Wood; drummers Dave Weckl, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cindy Blackman and Lionel Cordew; bassists Chris Minh Doky and Lincoln Goines, saxophonists Bob Franceschini and Bob Malach, trumpeter Randy Brecker and keyboardist/producer Jim Beard.

Meanwhile, Randy Brecker has been shaping the sound of Jazz, R&B and Rock for more than four decades. His trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a wide range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Parliament-Funkadelic to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, David Sanborn, Jaco Pastorius, Horace Silver and Frank Zappa.    
          
On Sunday, there will be an intimate pre-concert talk with these two premiere jazz performers. Mr. Stern and Mr. Brecker will be interviewed by jazz educator and blogger, Wesley Watkins, Ph.D., with time for audience Q&A. This talk is free to members of the Jazz Heritage Center and ticket-holders for any of Mr. Stern's performances at Yoshi's, December 3-5.

The Jazz Heritage Center's Media and Education Center is located at 1330 Fillmore at the rear of the lobby, next to Yoshi's box office.

Mike Stern Band featuring Randy Brecker, Dennis Chambers, Anthony Jackson
Friday December 3, 8PM: $26/ 10PM: $18
Saturday December 4, 8PM/10PM: $26
Sunday December 5, 5PM: $5 kids/$15 adults with kids /$26 general, 7PM: $26
]]>user@domain.comblog2011-01-05T11:48:31-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/5faf6f8219cb8971faadb9a3b2f38203-61.html#unique-entry-id-61http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/5faf6f8219cb8971faadb9a3b2f38203-61.html#unique-entry-id-61
I'd first seen the enigmatic bassist Mick Karn in Los Angeles during his mid-80s tour with guitarist David Torn, drummer Bill Bruford and trumpeter Michael White in support of Torn's critically acclaimed "Cloud About Mercury" album. One of the most memorable moments of that performance was Karn's rendition of "Dalis Car", a popular song from his days with Peter Murphy of Bauhaus and David Sylvian of "Japan". Used to close each show, "Dalis Car" was emblematic of Karn's compositional prowess and unique approach to his instrument. Sadly, after a long battle with cancer, Karn passed away on Tuesday at his home in London.

Karn was born to a Greek Cypriot family of five, in Nicosia, Cyprus, as Andonis Michaelides, which was later modified to Antony Michaelides. In late October, of 1961, the family emigrated to London, England, when Karn was three years old. Karn was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London, and remained based in London until 2004, when he moved back to Cyprus with wife and son, remaining there for six years before moving back to London in late 2010.

The band Japan, whose other members included David Sylvian, keyboardist Richard Barbieri and Sylvian's brother Steve Jansen as drummer, began as a group of friends, who all studied at the same school. As youngsters they played music as a means of escape, playing Sylvian's two-chord numbers – sometimes with Karn as the front man, sometimes with Sylvian at the fore. Guitarist Rob Dean joined the band later. The group would soon become known as "Japan" and in 1974, signed a recording contract with German disco label Hansa, and became an alternative glam rock outfit in the mold of David Bowie, T.Rex, and The New York Dolls.

As the band started to achieve commercial success with the release of their "Tin Drum" album, and "Ghosts", which reached the top five in 1982, tensions and personality conflicts between band members would signal the end of Japan. Tin Drum would be the Japan's final studio album.

Following the demise of Japan, Karn recorded a solo album before forming "Dalis Car" with Peter Murphy of the gothic post-punk group "Bauhaus", who recorded one album in 1984. In 1986, he filled in for bassist Tony Levin on Torn's "Cloud About Mercury" tour; performing first in Germany with Bill Bruford and trumpeter Mark Isham, and later on a tour of the U.S. with trumpeter Michael White, filling in for Isham. Karn continued to work with Torn on other projects, including Torn's "Door X" album and alongside drummer Terry Bozzio. Karn and Torn would also continue to work with together with a number of Japanese musicians, forming the multinational New Wave band, "NiNa". Since then he has worked as a solo artist and as a sculptor, photographer.

Karn has also played on recordings by other artists, contributing bass guitar and saxophone to Gary Numan's "Dance" album, and playing with Kate Bush and Joan Armatrading. In the 1990s, Karn started the "Medium Productions" label along with Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri, two of his fellow former Japan-members, and Debi Zornes. In 1993, Karn released "Beastial Cluster", recorded with Torn, and fellow Japan members Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri. Karn's 1995 album "Tooth Mother" would feature Barbieri and the talented singer Natasha Atlas.

In 2006, the MK Music imprint was established, as a three person operation—with Karn, Zornes and Mike Trenery—and beginning with 2006's "Three Part Species", all releases, including the autobiography, have the MK Music logo on them.

In 2000, Karn worked with Gota Yashiki, Vivian Hsu, Masahide Sakuma and Masami Tsuchiya in the band "The D.E.P., or "Doggy Eels Project". In 2001, he worked with Paul Wong on his "Yellow Paul Wong" release. In 2008, Karn released "Selected", a collection of his music spanning some 13 years.

Karn left London in 2004 to live in Cyprus with his wife and son, financially enabling himself to keep working as a musician/artist. In 2009 Karn also released his autobiography, titled Japan & Self Existence, available through his website and Lulu, which explores not only his music related life before, during and after Japan but his work in sculpture, painting, his childhood, relationships, and family.

In August of 2010, Peter Murphy disclosed via video message on his personal Facebook profile that he would be reuniting with Mick Karn for a week in London, perhaps in November, to begin writing and recording for a second Dalis Car album. Murphy also added that this would be the first time the two had seen each other since 1983. One of Karn's last recordings, "Concrete Twin", was released last year and featured Karn performing on all of the instruments, save drums and percussion, supplied by Pete Lockett.

In June of 2010, Karn announced on his website that he had been diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer; the specific type of ailment was not mentioned. According to Torn, Karn's cancer had apparently already spread and he was undergoing chemotherapy. His website announcement stated that Karn had been struggling financially for some time, and appealed for donations to help pay for his medical care and provide financial assistance for his family. In addition, several people Karn has worked with, in particular Midge Ure, Porcupine Tree, and Masami Tsuchiya, had announced concerts in support of the appeal. According to a website update, the funds raised by the appeal enabled Karn and his family to move back to London where Karn could receive his treatment.

Anil Prassad's music website "Innerviews", succinctly quoted Karn in a 1996 interview that summed up his approach to music. Essentially self-taught, Karn had nevertheless passed an audition with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra on bassoon; it's theft forced Karn to to take up bass and led him to his partnership with guitarist Sylvian.

"I rely very much on my ears", said Karn. "If it sounds as if it's the right thing, then I'll keep it—even if it may not be..." Karn is survived by his wife and son. He will be sorely missed.]]>user@domain.comblog2011-02-05T11:47:52-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a9df3b937b2b4147a738efc61f500b75-60.html#unique-entry-id-60http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a9df3b937b2b4147a738efc61f500b75-60.html#unique-entry-id-60
Audiences around the world have come to know the ambidextrous talent that is British percussionist Simon Phillips. Not unlike the great Billy Cobham before him, Phillips also sports a monster, 12-piece, left-handed drum set, deftly struck with flams and paradiddles aplenty. The group "PSP" developed when Phillips and bassist Pino Palladino recently joined forces on keyboadist Philippe Saisse’s CD “At World’s Edge. It was that collaboration, which sparked the idea of incarnating the trio into a full-fledged working unit. PSP arrived at Yoshi's in Oakland last night and concludes their fiery set tonight.

“I’ve always had such tremendous respect and admiration for Simon and Pino as musicians, so playing with them in this trio is a dream come true for me,” admitted Saisse. “We discovered that we have an incredible synergy, and really compliment each other as live musicians,” added Phillips. The trio will also continue to pursue their solo endeavors as well.

Phillips has all ready completed tours featuring his own band in Japan, Indonesia, and Europe earlier this year, and is working on his own solo record. Palladino, who did recent tours with The Who and The John Mayer Trio, continues to work with Mayer on various projects, and the Welsh born bassist, remains to be one of the most sought after session players in the UK.

British born Phillips moved to Los Angeles in 1992 and set up his Phantom Recording Studios in San Fernando Valley. French born Saisse last year moved to Los Angeles after an 18-year stint living in New York, and now shares space at Phillip’s studio complex. The international rooted ensemble intends to make PSP stick, “We realized after our live gigs together, that what we’re doing musically feels pretty special, “ attests Palladino, “so we’re committed and excited about seeing how far we can take it.”

PSP: Simon Phillips / Philippe Saisse / Pino Palladino
Yoshi's in Oakland
Friday, February 25th
8pm show $24
10pm show $20
]]>user@domain.comblog2011-03-05T11:45:52-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/dea7a1a298fb8599eb808e8099b3c701-59.html#unique-entry-id-59http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/dea7a1a298fb8599eb808e8099b3c701-59.html#unique-entry-id-59
One of the Bay Area's best saxophonists is the incomparable Hermann Lara. Celebrating the arrival of his debut CD, "New Mission", which was recorded live at the historic former Mercury & CBS Records Studios on Mission Street in San Francisco. New Mission delivers 11 original, classic set tunes in an array of jazz rhythms. Legendary guitarist and 6 time Grammy Nominee, Mike Stern, makes a special guest appearance and the all-star packed roster of musicians on this disc deliver what are sure to be some of most exciting musical moments of 2011.

Based in San Francisco, saxophonist and woodwind player, Hermann Lara holds a Bachelor's of Music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA (1996) and a few notches earned in the bandstand as well. As a husband, father, business man, teacher and musician he’s in a unique position to convey the complexities and beauty of modern life in America through music.

Usually found attached to an alto or tenor saxophone, Hermann is equally at home on all the members of the saxophone family. In addition to saxophone, he teaches and performs on flute and clarinet. Born into a musical family and raised in the vibrant and rhythmically pulsing Mission District of the 1970’s, Hermann absorbed the Latin rhythms of his Salvadoran family and the American jazz and R&B supplied by his barrió.

His father, a respected singer and guitarist, filled his household with great Latin American songs of the 1920’s and 1930’s,however, it was his next door neighbor, Art Sato, longtime KPFA jazz stalwart, who fruitfully altered his course by filling his ear with jazz early on. It was the music of Miles Davis, Junior Walker & Bird which kept him up late at night with a Walkman glued to both ears. By age 15, Hermann was performing with other young, local jazz musicians in the Bright Moments’ Music Lovers Club directed by the late bass legend Herbie Lewis.

In addition to studying with Herbie Lewis, Hermann studied at Capp Street’s Community Music Center with Ken Rosen and Lisa Pollard. Studies at the music center led Hermann to the Berklee College of Music on scholarship and to study with world renowned reed masters Joseph Viola, Billy Pierce, George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi and Matt Marvuglio.

Hermann has performed with such music greats as Paquito Guzman, Pedro Arroyo, Giovanni Hidalgo and grammy winner Lalo Rodriguez. He’s recently recorded Fito Reinoso's Ritmo y Armonia, Tito y Su Son De Cuba and singer/songwriter’s JL Stiles and Amelia Ray.

In the SF Bay Area don’t be surprised if you catch him on stage with Michael Lamachia’s Organic Jive Collective, Stymie & the Pimp Jones Luv Orchestra, Bulk, The James Moseley Band, Bolero y Mas, Dandara and the Pragandaia Band, Cubanacan and many more. Hermann is currently a faculty member at the New Mozart School of Music in Palo Alto, CA teaching all the woodwinds and performance studies.

"New Mission" is an album well worth adding to your collection, from one of the most creative minds on the local scene.]]>user@domain.comblog2011-04-13T11:43:43-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/31a8623eeacd7056fb82d49e17ba4394-58.html#unique-entry-id-58http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/31a8623eeacd7056fb82d49e17ba4394-58.html#unique-entry-id-58
This Sunday, the SIMM Music Series continues with a stellar line-up: "The Josh Allen Trio" featuring the amazing guitarist Henry Kaiser, saxophonist Josh Allen, drummer Mike Guarino and the group Forward Energy, featuring Jim Ryan on alto & tenor sax, flute, trumpet, Outsound and Edgetone Record's founder Rent Romus on alto, soprano, & C melody saxes, Scott R. Looney on piano, Eric Marshall double bass and Timothy Orr on drums. This show is guaranteed to challenge the senses and push the musical envelope in ways rarely heard seen or heard.


Josh Allen has created his own personal language on the tenor saxophone with an emphasis on polytonal and asymmetrical phrasing, as well as extending the range and sonic ability of the instrument. Allen does this with constant emphasis and study of the overtone series, and the generation of multiphonics from the application of this process. He is currently teaching Fellowship students at the Brubeck Institute at the University of Pacific. He was born in Berkeley, California in 1972. Like many of today’s prominent musicians, Mr. Allen was a product of the Berkeley public school system, studying saxophone starting at the age of nine under Phil Hardymon. He went on to study with such prominent Bay Area musicians as Bill Aron, Joe Henderson, and Rory Snyder. With his focus squarely on jazz composition and performance, Mr. Allen moved to Southern California in the early nineties to study with Rick Helzer at San Diego State. He became active in the Latin Jazz community, and worked with various musicians such as Dennis Chambers, and Eddie Palmieri. Allen returned to the Bay Area in the mid 90s to finish his Bachelors degree at Sonoma State. His subsequent association with saxophonist Marco Eneidi led to working relationships with musicians such as Glen Spearmann, Matthew Goodheart, Damon Smith, and eventually Cecil Taylor.



Guitarist Henry Kaiser is a modern guitar icon, known for his collaboration with the Grateful Dead, among many others, as well as his own prolific and inventive compositions. Kaiser has helped unfetter the guitar from the conventions of genre-bound techniques, but his instrumental virtuosity and technological breakthroughs are always deployed in the service of deep and immediate personal expression. Likewise, he has developed a highly individual, inimitable style from an uncommonly varied range of influences. Some of his musical sources include traditional blues, East Asian, Classical North Indian and Hawaiian music, free jazz, free improvisation, American steel-string concert guitar, and 20th century classical, but like any probing artist he also draws creatively from other abiding interests, which for Mr. Kaiser include Information Theory, experimental cinema, mathematics, experimental literature and SCUBA diving. (He was employed for the last 15 years as a senior instructor in Underwater Scientific Research at the University of California at Berkeley. Sadly, Berkeley's excellent scientific diving program was terminated in the summer of 1996.) Kaiser's fabulous "Yo Miles" project with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith has been perhaps one of the most ambitious and successful interpretations of the music of Miles Davis from the 1970s.


Commenting on drummer Mike Guarino, Craig Matsumoto of "Memory Select Blog" wrote, "The drums — my god, the drums. I’d never seen Guarino play before, and he’s a monster. Big, loud, fast, precise..."


Forward Energy was founded in 1998 and had it’s first gig at Radio Valencia in San Francisco that year. The group has gone through several incarnations with top Bay Area musicians including: Eddie Gale of Cecil Taylor’s Unit Structures fame, Forward Energy has played up and down the West Coast as well as in the Midwest and New York City. The current formation includes founder Jim Ryan (who played on Steve Lacy’s weekly jam sessions in Paris during the early 70’s) on flute, saxes, and trumpet, and original member Scott R. Looney on piano. Scott received his BA in music from Coe College, Iowa and an MFA from Cal Arts. He has been a pillar of the experimental music community since the late 90’s. The group presently includes Rent Romus (who studied with Stan Getz and is a power both on his horn and as an organizer and promoter of the Bay Area experimental music community) on Saxophones; Eric Marshall is a regular bassist with Eddie Gale’s groups and he works in all genres of the jazz idiom. Percussionist Tim Orr studied with Ed Blackwell and plays all styles from zydeco to free jazz. Recordings of Forward Energy can be found on and also at www.cadencejazzrecords.com/albums/?album=786497526925 Cadence Jazz Records 1162.


SIMM Series with Forward Energy/Josh Allen/Henry Kaiser/ Mike Guarino


Musician's Union Hall
, 116 9th Street, San Francisco, CA

7:30 PM: Forward Energy featuring Jim Ryan alto&tenor sax, flute, trumpet Rent Romus alto, soprano, & C melody saxes Scott R. Looney piano Eric Marshall double bass Timothy Orr drums
8:30 PM: Josh Allen, Mike Guarino, Henry Kaiser

]]>user@domain.comblog2011-04-05T11:42:17-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/022f25c61e4c1c50f7192c73e48f3db1-57.html#unique-entry-id-57http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/022f25c61e4c1c50f7192c73e48f3db1-57.html#unique-entry-id-57
Composer John Barry was perhaps best known for composing 11 James Bond soundtracks and was hugely influential on the musical style of the 007 series, along with the general feeling of the films. I'll never forget seeing Shirley Bassey of "Goldfinger" fame, belt out that theme at New York's Carnegie Hall, as well as "Moonraker" and "Diamonds are Forever". Barry's music was so influential to me personally, that I actually recorded two of my favorites, "Walkabout" and "Zulu".

In a career spanning almost 50 years, Barry received numerous awards for his work, including five Academy Awards; two for Born Free, and one each for The Lion in Winter (for which he also won a BAFTA Award), Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves (for which he also won a Grammy Award) and Somewhere in Time (1980) (Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture). Barry passed away in January, but his musical legacy will live on forever. To me, Barry was the greatest film composer of all time.


Barry was born John Barry Prendergast, in York, England in 1933, the son of a musically talented mother and a charismatic Irish father. His father, Jack Xavier Prendergast, from Cork, was a projectionist during the silent movie era who ended up owning a chain of movie theaters across northern England. Often, while watching a film, Barry would note with pen and paper, what worked or what did not. His childhood background in movies clearly influenced his music interests.

Although originally a classical pianist, Barry also learned the trumpet and grew interested in composing and arranging music. During his National Service in Cyprus, he began performing as a musician. After taking a correspondence course (with jazz composer Bill Russo) and working as an arranger for the Jack Parnell and Ted Heath's Orchestra[, he formed his own band in 1957, The John Barry Seven, with whom he had some hit records, including "Hit and Miss", the theme tune he composed for the BBC's Juke Box Jury programme, a cover of the Ventures' "Walk Don't Run", and a cover of the theme for the United Artists Western The Magnificent Seven.

Barry was employed by the EMI record company from 1959 until 1962 arranging or-chestral accompaniment for the company's recording artists. From 1962, Barry trans-ferred to Ember Records where he produced albums as well as arranging them. These achievements caught the attention of the producers of a new film called Dr. No who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. Barry was hired and the result was one of the most famous signature tunes in film history, the "James Bond Theme". When the producers of the Bond series engaged Lionel Bart to score the next James Bond film From Russia with Love, they discovered that Bart could neither read nor write music. Though Bart wrote a title song for the film, the producers remembered Barry's arrangement of the James Bond Theme and his composing and arranging for several films with Adam Faith. Lionel Bart also recommended Barry to producer Stanley Baker for his film Zulu.

This was the turning point for Barry, and he went on to become one of the most cele-brated film composers, winning five Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards, with scores for, among others, The Lion in Winter, Midnight Cowboy, Born Free, and Some-where in Time. Barry was often cited as having had a distinct style which concentrated on lush strings and extensive use of brass. However he was also an innovator, being one of the first to employ synthesizers in a film score (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and to make wide use of pop artists and songs in Midnight Cowboy. Because Barry provided not just the main title theme but the complete soundtrack score, his music often enhanced the critical reception of a film, notably in Midnight Cowboy, King Kong, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves.

One of Barry's best known compositions is the theme for the 1971 TV series The Per-suaders, in which Tony Curtis and Roger Moore were paired as rich playboys solving crimes. The theme went on to be a hit single in some European countries and has been re-released on collections of 1970s disco hits. The instrumental recording also features Moog synthesizers.

Barry's work also began to be sampled in the 1990s by artists such as Dr. Dre and Wu-Tang Clan, with his "James Bond Theme" being sampled by performers as diverse as Bonobo, Gang Starr and Junior Reid. Fatboy Slim used the opening guitars from "Beat Girl (Main Title)" for "Rockafeller Skank" from his 1998 album, You've Come A Long Way, Baby. The Sneaker Pimps also sampled "Golden Girl" on their 1996 single "6 Un-derground". Additionally, "You Only Live Twice" was heavily sampled on "Millennium" from Robbie Williams' second album, I've Been Expecting You. (I did much the same on the aforementioned Walkabout and Zulu films).

After the success of Dr. No, Barry scored eleven of the next 14 James Bond films (but with Monty Norman continually credited as the composer of the "James Bond Theme"). In his tenure with the film series, Barry's music, variously brassy and moody, appealed to film aficionados. For From Russia With Love he composed "007", an alternative James Bond signature theme, which is featured in four other Bond films (Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker). The theme "Stalking", for the teaser sequence of From Russia With Love, was covered by colleague Marvin Hamlisch for The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). (The music and lyrics for From Russia With Love's title song were written by Lionel Bart, whose musical theatre credits included Oliver!). Barry also (indirectly) contributed to the soundtrack of the 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale: his Born Free theme appears briefly in the opening sequence.

In Goldfinger, he perfected the "Bond sound", a heady mixture of brass, jazz and sen-suous melodies. There is even an element of Barry's jazz roots in the big-band track "Into Miami", which follows the title credits and accompanies the film's iconic image of the camera lens zooming toward the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.

As Barry matured, the Bond scores concentrated more on lush melodies, as in Moon-raker and Octopussy. Barry's score for A View to a Kill was traditional, but his collabora-tion with Duran Duran for the title song was contemporary and one of the most successful Bond themes to date, reaching number one in the United States and number two in the UK Singles Chart. Both A View to a Kill and the Living Daylights theme by a-ha blended the pop music style of the artists with Barry's orchestration. In 2006, a-ha's Pal Waaktaar complimented Barry's contributions "I loved the stuff he added to the track, I mean it gave it this really cool string arrangement. That's when for me it started to sound like a Bond thing". Barry's last score for the Bond series was 1987's The Living Daylights, Dalton's first film in the series with Barry making a cameo appearance as a composer in the film. Barry was intended to score Licence to Kill but was recovering from throat surgery at the time and it was considered unsafe to fly him to London to complete the score. The score was completed by Michael Kamen. Arnold also went on to score the subsequent Bond films: The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

David Arnold, a British composer, saw the result of two years' work in 1997 with the re-lease of Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project, an album of new versions of the themes from various James Bond films. Arnold thanks Barry in the sleeve notes, referring to him as "the Guvnor". Almost all of the tracks were John Barry compositions, and the revision of his work met with his approval – he contacted Barbara Broccoli, producer of the then upcoming Tomorrow Never Dies, to recommend Arnold as the film's composer.

Sole compositional credit for the "James Bond Theme" is attributed to Monty Norman, who was contracted as composer for Dr. No. Some 30 years later, in 2001, the disputed authorship of the theme was examined legally in the High Court in London after Norman sued The Sunday Times for publishing an article in 1997 in which Barry was named as the true composer; Barry testified for the defense. In court, Barry testified that he had been handed a musical manuscript of a work by Norman (meant to become the theme) and that he was to arrange it musically, and that he composed additional music and arranged the "James Bond Theme". The court was also told that Norman received sole credit because of his prior contract with the producers. Barry said that a deal was struck whereby he would receive a flat fee of £250 and Norman would receive the songwriting credit. arry said that he had accepted the deal with United Artists Head of Music Noel Rogers because it would help his career. Despite these claims the jury ruled unanimously in favour of Norman. On September 7th, 2006, Barry publicly defended his authorship of the theme on the Steve Wright show on BBC Radio 2.

On June 20th, 2011, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a tribute to the late composer to celebrate his life and work. Many of his colleagues from the James Bond franchise will be in attendance, including, Dame Shirley Bassey and Sir George Martin. The event is sponsored by The Royal College of Music through a grant by the Broccoli Foundation. John Barry left behind a musical legacy that will never be surpassed or even rivaled and a look at his list of films staggers the mind. From the brassy textures and orchestra hits, the tension filled, cold war sounds of a hammer dulcimer to the poignant trills of flutes set against an African desert, John Barry's music will leave a mark that will indeed live on and endure the test of time. His talent was truly timeless.
]]>user@domain.comblog2011-05-05T11:39:56-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/ff7588814e72e7e1c7582acb04c5e578-56.html#unique-entry-id-56http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/ff7588814e72e7e1c7582acb04c5e578-56.html#unique-entry-id-56
The Flecktones have reemerged with a new album, on a new label, (eOne records) and announcing that for "the first time since 1991, pianist/ harmonica player Howard Levy has returned to the fold alongside bassist Victor Wooten, percussionist/Drumitarist Roy “Futureman” Wooten and banjoist bandleader Fleck to create some of the most forward-thinking music of their long, storied career. While all manners of genres come into play – from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances – the result is an impossible to pigeonhole sound all their own, a meeting of musical minds that remains, as ever, utterly indescribable.  Simply put, it is The Flecktones, the music made only when these four individuals come together."

Longtime followers of Fleck recall that he took up the banjo at an early age, growing up in Manhattan of all places, eventually migrating to Nashville. Once there, he aligned himself with the now legendary "New Grass Revival", with Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer. Desiring to combine bluegrass with jazz, rock, and world music, Fleck began seeking other like minded folks to give life to those ideas. Not long after that, he teamed with virtuoso harmonica player Howard Levy, one of the world's greatest electric bassists Victor Lemonte Wooten, and his eccentric brother, percussionist Roy "Futureman" Wooten. "Futureman", had apparently taken a $10,000 "Synthaxe" guitar synthesizer, cannibalized it, and turned it into an electronic "drumitar", half guitar, half drum machine.

The result was spectacular, as they created a sound unlike anything heard before them. After years of touring the globe, and several successful albums, a road weary Levy left the group and was eventually replaced by saxophonist Jeff Coffin. Since then, the Flecktones have performed with an incredible array of musicians; Phish, Dave Matthews, Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis, a Tuvan throat singer named Ondar, Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain, reed master Paul McCandless, steel drummer Andy Narell, Jean-Luc Ponty, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke others.

With the departure of Jeff Coffin to the Dave Mathews Band, The Flecktones regrouped and with the return of Levy, produced one of their best albums in years. I particularly enjoyed the delightfully complex "Life in Eleven" and the grooving, vintage-Flecktone sounding "Gravity Lane". Over the years the members of the Flecktones have enjoyed the benefits of recording and touring with many of the musical greats.I could clearly hear the influence that virtuosos Corea and Clarke had on both Fleck and Victor Wooten. Wooten spent time on the road with Corea and later with Clarke and bassist Marcus Miller in SVT. Fleck's tour with Clark and Ponty was amazing, as was his duets with Corea. Fleck's composition "Storm Warning" was written for the Ponty-Clarke-Fleck group, "Trio".

While all manner of genres come into play from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances the result is an impossible to pigeonhole sound all their own, a meeting of musical minds that remains, as ever, utterly indescribable. Simply put, it is The Flecktones, the music made only when these four individuals come together. "I didn t want to just get together to play the old music", Fleck says. "That s not what the Flecktones are about. Everybody s full of life and ideas and creativity. I was intrigued by what we could do that we had never done before."

It was also great to hear Howard Levy back together with the Flecktones. The warmth of his harmonica playing and his uncanny ability to play it simultaneously with piano is simply amazing. Levy also contributed some new compositions to the album ; The aforementioned, quick little 11/8 piece "Life in Eleven", "Joyful Spring" and the intriguing "Sweet Pomegranates".

Futureman continues his foray into the world of innovative acoustic and electronic percussion with a solo piece entitled "The Secret Drawer". There is quite a bit more acoustic drumming from Wooten on this album, and his library of deftly played samples never seems to end. One of the best parts of the Flecktones has been having the Wooten brothers for a rhythm section, a tandem Fleck himself has called "dangerous".

Spinner's Tad Hendrickson upon reviewing this album wrote, "Originally, the Flecktones' studio albums were made up of stuff that had been worked over on tour, but this time around the band had to write, rehearse and record without playing it live. "Although nothing replaces refining a song on tour in front of an audience, the old hands have a pretty good handle on the material and it came together fairly quickly", according to Fleck, meaning that "there is a freshness to the material that might not have happened otherwise."

"Although on par with the three classics with Levy, 'Rocket Science' has a more collaborative approach than the band's initial releases. Fleck had distinct ideas and objectives for the band in the early days, which meant that the band wasn't always open to what Levy brought in, writes Henrickson. "Whereas the earlier version of the band was more about a focused sound, this time around the band is looking to broaden its approach and try new things..."

Rocket Science is indeed a snapshot of the musical journeys taken by the four original Flecktones, a melding of those experiences in songs and culminating in a sound that is undeniably theirs. The wonderful chemistry that existed among that quartet back in '89 is still evident today, making Rocket Science perhaps the Flecktones best effort to date.
]]>user@domain.comblog2011-06-05T11:37:28-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/6c15aeabc1af6132c08086c29a409244-55.html#unique-entry-id-55http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/6c15aeabc1af6132c08086c29a409244-55.html#unique-entry-id-55
One of the most popular and my personal favorite of the entire "Law & Order" television franchise, "Criminal Intent" comes to a close this Sunday night after a 10 year run; 7 years on NBC and 3 years on the USA network. Starring the incredible Vincent D'Onofrio as the complex Detective Robert "Bobby" Goren and his partner, Detective Alexandra Eames, portrayed by the equally talented Kathryn Erbe, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" chronicled the exploits of the NYPD's "Major Case Squad". Goren's skill as a brilliant criminal profiler, coupled with the snarky wit of Eames and a bevy of great guest stars, helped make the show one of the best police dramas ever written for television.

Fans of the show fell in love with Goren's idiosyncracies; the way he would bend his body and lean over suspects to interrogate them; his now legendary, long running battle with serial killer Nicole Wallace, played by Olivia D'Abo; his affection for his mom, wonderfully played by Rita Moreno and the discovery that serial killer William Brady, portrayed by actor Roy Scheider in one of his final performances. D'Onofrio and Erbe's performances throughout these personal story-lines took the series into territories not usually seen on the original Law & Order' or in the other spin-offs like. "Special Victims Unit", "LA", "Trial By Jury" and even "Law & Order: UK". Criminal Intent's popularity would also spawn an international version of the series in France, known as "Criminal Investigations", ('Paris enquêtes criminelles").

Goren's relationship with his partner Eames is also one of the best on television, well written and handled with care. Their affection for one another is evident, and the way the writers of the show have forged their friendship through the fire of their cases is remarkable. Considered to be the "Dr. Watson to Goren's Sherlock Holmes", Eames has had a few story arcs as well; solving the murder of her husband, a policeman killed 8 years earlier in the line of duty; living in the footsteps of her retired policeman father; almost shooting Goren while he was secretly undercover and being kidnapped by one of Goren's long-time friends. That Eames was able to escape using her ingenuity rather than be rescued, only strengthened the respect for her character. In a world dominated by men, Eames is tough, yet sensitive and Erbe has portrayed her magnificently.

One of the hallmarks of this, the 10th and final season, has been Goren's weekly, mandatory sessions with police psychiatrist, Dr. Paula Gyson, played by actress Julia Ormond. Her questioning and probing of Goren; his relationship with Eames, his family and his struggles with his psychological demons has made for some riveting television. Both D'Onofrio and Erbe enjoyed the writing shift during the middle of the series to explore the personal aspects of their respective characters. Expect some revelations and resolution during this Sunday's series finale.

Beginning with the 5th season, (and to give D'Onofrio and Erbe a break from their busy schedules), the show also revolved around several other detectives, most notably Chris Noth as feisty Detective Mike Logan from the original Law & Order series and later Jeff Goldblum as Detective Zachary Nichols; the only other male detectives besides Goren to co-star in the series. Other actresses would also sub for Eames; Annabella Sciorra as Detective Carolyn Barek, Julianne Nicholson as Detective Megan Wheeler, Alicia Witt as Detective Nola Falacci and Saffron Burrows as Detective Serena Stevens. Samantha Buck appeared in a few episodes as Detective G. Lynn Bishop as Eames' temporary replacement while Erbe was on maternity leave during the 3rd season.

Goren's psychological issues have drawn both admiration (for his brilliance) and trepidation from his superiors. For the first 5 seasons, Goren and Eames had to answer to Captain Deakins, aptly played by Jamey Sheridan and the Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver, portrayed by Courtney B. Vance. Despite the tension, this quartet worked well together through thick and thin. After the departure of Sheridan and Carver, Criminal Intent moved away from the Law & Order courtroom, focusing more on the detectives within the Major Case Squad. With that in mind, the 6th season saw the addition of Eric Bogosian as Captain Danny Ross and a new triad of tension was born. Bogosian would remain with the show until he was killed off in the 2-part season 9 opener "Loyalty", which paved the way for his ex-partner Zach Nichols, (Goldblum) to team up with Goren and Eames to solve his murder. D'Onofrio and Erbe would leave the show for the rest of the season, leaving Goldblum and his new partner (Burrows) to carry the Major Case workload under the auspices of their newest Captain, Zoe Callas played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. This season, Jay O. Sanders, (who actually played a murderer in the 2nd season opener), came on board as Captain Joseph Hannah, a sympathetic and long-time friend of Goren's from their Police Academy days.

The list of guest stars on Criminal Intent are as impressive as the performances they gave. From veteran actors like the aforementioned D'Abo, Moreno and Scheider, to John Glover, Griffith Dunne, Linda Lavin, Michael Nouri, Judd Hirsch, Rip Torn, Liza Minelli, Whoopi Goldberg, Lynn Redgrave, Michael York, David Keith, Michael Biehn and Brooke Shields to name a just few, or up-and-comers like Elisabeth Moss from the series "Madmen" and even Patti Smith. F. Murray Abraham would also take a turn as as Jeff Goldblum's psychiatrist father, Tony Goldwyn would appear as Goren's brother Frank and Leslie Hendrix would reprise her role from the previous Law & Order series as Medical Examiner Elisabeth Rodgers. She is one of only 5 actors to appear in all of the Law & Order series and spin-offs.

As much as fans enjoyed the eclectic Goldblum, ratings went down and the series seemed doomed until USA announced the return of D'Onofrio and Erbe for one more run. It hasn't been disappointing. Will Goren be able to convince the NYPD of his sanity and his ability to continue? What will happen to Eames? Like Mulder and Scully of the X Files, Criminal Intent shares some of the elements of the tension between Goren and Eames, however, don't expect an X Files-type ending, (I don't see Goren and Eames rowing off to a desert island together). Nevertheless, the writing and stories have been great.

Law & Order is well known for "stories ripped from today's headlines" and wrapping up series neatly, with the door left open for a little ambiguity or perhaps a reunion film in the future. In the series finale of the original Law & Order, fans were left seeing the cast celebrating with Lt. Anita Van Buren, (played by S. Epatha Merkerson), who learned her cancer was in remission. It was a happy moment for fans of the show, especially those who have followed the series from the beginning. I'm hoping for the best for Goren and Eames, especially after all the grisly murders, pathological criminals, serial killers, embezzlers, and even network changes; no two characters in the Law & Order franchise are more deserving of a happier ending. Law & Order: Criminal Intent concludes Sunday night at 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm on USA.

"Doink-doink!"
]]>user@domain.comblog2011-06-05T11:36:17-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c41ea214983d9264da13c6e1aaa8d740-54.html#unique-entry-id-54http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c41ea214983d9264da13c6e1aaa8d740-54.html#unique-entry-id-54
Recently, I came across the album "Pop-Pop", a collaboration of cellist extraordinaire Joan Jeanrenaud, (formerly of the Kronos Quartet) and one of my favorite percussionists, art-funk percussionist/beatmaker PC Muñoz. Described as "an exhilarating mash-up of contemporary classical/new music sensibilities and future-funk/hip-hop sonic aesthetics, Jeanrenaud's polyrhythmic compositions, rendered on both acoustic and electric celli, are paired with skittering electro-funk beats, eruptive drumkit, cajon drums, Hua Pan Gu (traditional Chinese drum), and other percussive elements, making for a refreshing, culturally diverse 21st century sound."

Derk Richardson, Senior Editor of Afar magazine, wrote that "Pop-Pop contains Jeanrenaud’s most playful music to date. There’s a big, implicit grin behind the dance that takes place between the cellist’s percussive bow strikes, pizzicato playing, and swirling arco phrases and the drumming, bleeps, burps, scratches, clicks, mixes, and washes brought in by Muñoz and Lieberman. But this highly re ned music also evokes both contemporary classical and cinematic legacies (Glass? Reich? Riley? Ligeti? Hermann?)."

"And for all the lively tempos, Devo-esque electronic pulses, and edgy avant-rock drumming, a certain darkness pervades many of the tracks. Dramatically ascending and descending glissandos, overlapping mournful phrases from two to six overdubbed celli, a feeling of unrelenting compression and extension, and eddies of dense, shadowy textures all contribute to the inexorable emotional gravity. What pops out from this canny interplay of mechanical and human elements is a complex musical personality as singular and fresh as it is steeped in history and experience."

Working with co-producer Justin Lieberman, the duo tracked the album at San Francisco's Studio Trilogy in a highly collaborative and improvisational fashion. "I had a great time working with PC on beats for a couple of tracks on my last record (the Grammy®-nominated ‘Strange Toys’)," Jeanrenaud notes. "So we thought we'd just dive in completely this time, and also have some fun working with pop-song structures, as well."

"I had a lot of material when I went in to record Strange Toys," says Jeanrenaud during a recent interview with NPR radio host Liane Hansen, "... And I sort of picked what I thought was the best material I had composed over the last several years. This time, I didn't have any material! So PC suggested, 'Well, why don't you just come in the studio, and we'll play around, and we'll just create some music by doing that process, just the two of us collaborating.'"

"Sometimes we'd start with a beat idea....and other times we'd start with a cello line, or an arrangement of a piece Joan had already finished," Muñoz says. "We'd mess around with ideas, and Joan would improvise melodies and themes...then she'd take home the demos, spend some time composing, and return with a piece that we would then start recording for real. It was a lot of fun, and very loose."

"The interesting thing is that when they hear the record, a lot of people might assume that the avant-garde stuff on the album is all from Joan and the funk/hip-hop stuff is all from PC," observes co-producer Lieberman. "But that isn't the case---some of the coolest, hip-hop-like ideas came from Joan, and some of the really out-there ideas came from PC. It was a very high level of collaboration and genre cross-pollination; very exciting to see."

With "Pop-Pop", Jeanrenaud and Munoz have met the challenge of devising new music for cello in the studio, and have come up with some of the most unique and creative music I've heard in some time. "That's why we ended up calling it Pop-Pop," Jeanrenaud says, "because it was the pop record that wasn't actually pop."

]]>user@domain.comblog2011-07-05T11:34:54-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/888d2ef070a5dbd44c72770a078b76dc-53.html#unique-entry-id-53http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/888d2ef070a5dbd44c72770a078b76dc-53.html#unique-entry-id-53
Every summer since 2002, the New Music Summit spends a week in July showcasing some of the most innovative and pioneering new music that is happening in California and beyond. At first a celebration of the eclectic vanguard artists on the DIY Edgetone Records Label, the Summit now features a broad range of artists from across the US, Europe, Australia and Japan. It features world premieres and exclusive debuts, raging free improvisers to microtonal composition to experimental electronics to harsh noise, reflecting an incredible range of genre busting exploration and sonic creativity. The Summit promotes intermedia, fostering cross-pollination between disciplines of music, sound art, visual and media arts. It is committed to bringing highly innovative music and art to a growing audience seeking a new experience. The festival concludes this Friday and Saturday.

The Outsound New Music Summit marked its 10th anniversary in 2011 with a night of wildly imaginative vocals backed by experimental electronic musician bran…(pos); a performance by East Bay improvisatory ensemble Grosse Abfahrt accompanied by German multimedia artist, Alfred 23 Harth (or A23H); a night of new compositions, featuring Gino Robair’s Aguascalientes Ensemble; and a second edition of “Sonic Foundry,” a true “summit” of some of the most inventive new instrument builders, performing five original collaborative pieces.

The festival kicked off last Sunday, July 17th, with its always popular Touch the Gear tm night, a free hands-on expo where attendees can experience new and exotic instruments and electronic gear and make some of their own unique sounds. Over the past nine years, The Outsound New Music Summit, presented by Outsound Presents, the Bay Area organization of independent and experimental music and sound artists, has showcased over 300 artists and groups from the U.S., Europe, Japan and Australia, many of them performing in the Bay Area for the first time.

Past performances have included the legendary Richard Waters, inventor of the water phone, the instrument you’ve heard in movies, TV, and music CDs but probably can’t name; a 2005 collaboration with the Illuminated Corridor collective, which brings music and film into pubic spaces; and Tom Nunn, musician, composer and designer and builder of over 200 new instruments, who returns this year as part of the second edition of Outsound’s “Sonic Foundry” program.

There is more art and sensation to be discovered in music than is contained in hit charts, sound alike trends, or snappy tunes. Or so say a diverse and intrepid band of musicians and sonic artists who improvise performances, make their own instruments, freely cross genres (jazz with classical, say) and media (sound with film or poetry or both), push electronic soundscapes to the edge, and regularly break out in head-banging noise fests. John Cage would approve.

10th Anniversary Outsound New Music Summit
July 17-18 & July 20 – July 23, 2011
Free events start at 7pm; Q&A w/the artists start at 7:30 pm, performances at 8:15 pm
San Francisco Community Music Center, 544 Capp Street (bet. 20th & 21st Streets), S.F. Price: All Ages | Wheelchair Accessible
July 20-23: $12 General ($10 advance) / $10 Student; Festival Pass $45 ($38 advance)
Advance general tickets at Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/174366

Tonight, Friday July 22: ~The Art of Composition~ A night of performances infused with new and exciting compositions with Gino Robair’s Aguascalientes Ensemble performing a musical suite based on scenes captured by Jose Guadalupe Posada in his politically charged engravings of late19th -and early 20th-century life in Mexico, Andrew Raffo Dewer’s Interactions Quartet performing “Strata (2011)”, dedicated to Eduardo Serón, graphic scores by Kanoko Nishi featuring bassist Tony Dryer and Krys Bobrowski’s “Lift, Loft and Lull” a series of short pieces exploring the sonic properties of metal pipes and plates and the use of balloons as resonators, with percussion and objects by Gino Robair.

Saturday July 23: ~Sonic Foundry Too!~ Outsound has teamed up with Thingamajigs to produce the sequel to the first Sonic Foundry held in 2006. To celebrate ten years of innovative programming Outsound Presents 10 Inventors in 5 collaborations! Featuring Tom Nunn, Steven Baker, Bob Marsh, Dan Ake, Sung Kim, Brenda Hutchinson, Sasha Leitman, Bart Hopkins, Terry Berlier, Walter Funk. In these masters of the innovative just the visual alone of metal, wood, strings, plastic, rubber, and paper is bound to inspire. Each duo set will enhance these specialized inventions and the inventors that perform on them.

]]>user@domain.comblog2011-08-05T11:33:16-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7332d50fb4ef8b96a5926215b2ae3fb0-52.html#unique-entry-id-52http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7332d50fb4ef8b96a5926215b2ae3fb0-52.html#unique-entry-id-52
Well, I'll confess. I've always been something of a Silver Age comic book fan. Those classic Marvel comics of the '60s and '70s will always be among my favorites. Captain America had already been around when my Dad was a lad, so I can understand his wry smile when I told him about the return of Captain America with the Avengers in the early '60s. He thought I was talking about John Steed and Emma Peel of course. Today, Cap gets a reboot again, this time on the big screen, after two made-for-TV versions that are among the worst ever made. With Marvel's successful X-Men 1,2,3 and 4, Iron Man 1 &2, Thor, Hulk 1&2, Spiderman 1,2,3 and soon 4, as well as the marginal Fantastic Four 1 & 2, Daredevil and soon Conan, it was only a matter of time before the Star Spangled Avenger would be added to the Marvel/Disney mix. In the original comics, Cap re-emerged in the 1960s from the 1940's. How did this latest reboot of Cap fare, re-emerging in 2010s?

Virtually all of the recent Marvel comics films have grappled with translating those stories and motifs of the Vietnam/Cold War/Counter Culture era of the 60's. Some of those aforementioned films handled that well; Thor, Hulk, Spiderman and yes, now Captain America. In the '60s, Marvel explained that Cap, (very well portrayed by Chris Evans in the film) and his partner Bucky, (also seen in the film and portrayed by Sebastian Stan), were lost in a battle during World War II; in the comic book version, the villain was Baron Zemo, in the film, it's the Red Skull (played by Hugo Weaving). Cap seemingly falls to his doom, Bucky is blown to bits and Cap, (scientifically and genetically enhanced), hits the frigid waters of the North Atlantic, unconscious and frozen in suspended animation for over twenty years. Yeah right? Miraculous...

The real miracle was the late, legendary Jack Kirby (1921-1994), Marvel was fortunate to have the incredible Kirby, artist of the original Captain America comics, draw the reboot along with writer Stan Lee. Kirby was one of the greatest comic artists of all time and it would be he and Lee, who would bring titles like the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Avengers, Hulk, Thor and so many others to life.

In the comics, Cap is initially found in a block of ice by another Golden Age/Silver Age Marvel hero, Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Namor promptly hurls the ice back into the drink, unaware that his fellow hero is inside. Enter the Avengers, Marvel's newest comic heroes featuring Thor, Iron Man, Giant Man and the Wasp, who find the drifting Captain America. Needless to say, a startled Cap revives in a world he never made, however the Avengers would soon make him one of their own after he saves them, and the rest is comic book history. The new film has no Namor unfortunately, and the Avengers are only revealed in the closing credit teaser, with cameos of Samuel L. Jackson as Col. Fury, Robert Downey as Iron Man and Chris Hemsworth as Thor.

There were a few other additions from the comics; Peggy Carter/Agent 13, (portrayed by Hayley Atwell), and "Dum-Dum" Dugan & Gabe Jones, (Neal McDonough & Derek Luke, respectively), were characters from "Nick Fury and His Howling Commandos". Nick Fury is played by Samuel L. Jackson in the Marvel films, however the original Nick Fury in the comics was white. In Marvel's "alternate universes", this is apparently just another 'reality". I keep telling myself that whenever I watch these films, in the hope the stories still work. Some do, some don't. Captain America does.

The biggest challenge for Captain America for me however, is not his story; very well told and acted by Evans and his mentor, Dr. Erskine, delightfully played by Stanley Tucci, (Tommy Lee Jones as Col. Hollips was also well cast), it was how to handle the star-spangled, propoganda, the cartoonish-military machine of the comic book era, without losing Cap's humility, humanity and morality by making it look stupid.

Fortunately, director Joe Johnston does well, given Marvel's "out-of-this-world"-plot. The screen writers also did a good job of putting the struggle of 1940s New York, Cap'/Steve Rogers heroism, and the need to become than just a symbol of democracy for the USO and "the boys over there". These folks could have made this campy and a little hollow. Johnston films it with the right touch of gritty irony emblematic of those Cap stories from "Tales of Suspense"

There's plenty of action too; the evil Hydra, 3-D special effects, pyrotechnics and yes, Cap throws his mighty shield. Marvel's "The Avengers" due out in 2012, is the piece that will unite "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" for a big time throwdown. I'm not going to say "to big to fail", but any film with Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and some of Marvel's nastiest villians would be impossible to screw up. That being, said, I'm really glad that Captain America will also be there to keep them honest. Just like the comics.
]]>user@domain.comblog2011-09-05T11:30:09-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/34f744421571682f9bb591c3a6705589-51.html#unique-entry-id-51http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/34f744421571682f9bb591c3a6705589-51.html#unique-entry-id-51
Return to Forever, one the best jazz fusion bands ever, were spectacular back in 2008, when they performed at the Regency on Van Ness. That exciting tour celebrated a 30 year reunion of the most popular incarnation, featuring co-founders Chick Corea on keyboards, and Stanley Clarke on bass, with drummer Lenny White and guitarist Al DiMeola. An amazing show and subsequent albums, DVDs and live recordings would soon follow. This time RTF re-emerges sans DiMeola, and his stead is guitarist Frank Gambale and an unexpected bonus: France's incomparable jazz violinist, Jean-Luc Ponty. Ponty is no stranger to either RTF, or young Dweezil Zappa, having performed on some of the late Frank Zappa's greatest albums.

The Warfield performance opened with Dweezil Zappa, who had an amazing command of his father's repertoire. Zappa had killer musicians in those days, like the aforementioned Ponty, George Duke, Chester Thompson, Ruth Underwood (she was amazing on marimba & xylophone), Napoleon Murphy Brock, Terry Bozzio, Patrick O'Hearn, Eddie Jobson, just to name a few. That group and the others that followed would go on to play Zappa's most challenging compositions. I'll confess, I'd gotten my first Zappa album, "Freak Out", when I was 12, so I'm no stranger to Zappa's music. That being said, Dweezil and his group performed them with the same mind-bending musicianship, as well as the humor that was part of the Zappa genius. The crowd loved them, and they closed the set with "Hot Rats", featuring Dweezil and joined by Gambale on guitar.

Return to Forever IV started off in Canada before heading to Europe and Zappa Plays Zappa joined them for the beginning of this latest leg. Like Zappa, I'd first seen RTF in the days before DiMeola with guitarist Bill Connors. The addition of Ponty and Gambale has added a unique, new flavor to the group. A leader in his own right, Ponty, still possesses that grace and his gorgeous touch on violin rarely heard in jazz. My favorite part of the show perhaps, was RTF IV's version of Ponty's "Renaissance"; beautifully re-imagined by Corea, Gambale and Clarke, with Ponty easing out of the shadows with his awe inspiring melodies, accented by White's rhythmic prestidigitations.

Watching the quintet, I couldn't help thinking about the other late 70's jazz rock "offsprings" of Miles Davis; Weather Report, and John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra. Of them all, only Return to Forever still remains. Although the members of the Mahavishnu Orchestra still survive, it is unlikely that their line up of guitar, violin, keyboards, bass and drums will every reunite beyond a studio track or two. Last week, I saw the 68 year old Diana Ross still belt it out with the best of them. At 70, Chick Corea is still every bit as amazing.

Perhaps it is only fitting that Ponty, who also once performed with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Gambale joined RTF for this outing, re-imagining their music. Corea, Clarke and White looked particularly happy, clearly enjoying and appreciating the music and the audience. White let the crowd know that he was particularly grateful to be back in San Francisco, (many of his albums were recorded at Different Fur Studios), and recognized them "People who know good music, music that isn't played on radio & MTV, or wherever they play it these days!"]]>user@domain.comblog2008-02-22T11:24:21-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c6d058ff1eeaa5ae666cf51c9f7527dd-50.html#unique-entry-id-50http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c6d058ff1eeaa5ae666cf51c9f7527dd-50.html#unique-entry-id-50
Last Sunday night, Oakland's eclectic Rooz Cafe saw four phenomenal Bay area bassists take the stage to the delight of all. From the classical stylings of the up-and-coming Dave Lockhart; Celtic-Afro funk of Ariane Cap; the ECM flavored virtuoso Edo Castro; to Randy Marshall and his brainchild: "The Solo Bass Night" series. A member of the California Bass Alliance, Marshall "networks with other bay area soloists to bring the bass guitar into the limelight". Amazingly, he does an admirable job of bringing together some of the Bay area's best bassists in a monthly movable feast of looping, bowing, thumpin' and pluckin' good fun.

The show began with Marshall's now familiar foray into the world of the soloing bass player. A truly great bassist in his own right, Marshall's enthusiasm is tempered only by his humility and love of all things bass. His "Bass Solo Night" series are a thing to behold and fertile ground for bassists of all stripes, shapes and colors. Marshall played selections from his latest CD "Gravity", (Digital Garage label), a delightful and worthy effort. His lyrical playing and textured tones also showed an affinity for the late, great guitarist Michael Hedges. Quite a feat to bring that kind of feeling to the bass.

Marshall's lilting "Thin Blue Line II" is a fabulous example of his gorgeous style of plucking; The driving "Phallacy" will have you tapping your feet to a truly infectious groove and I am at a loss to explain how he plays "Bolero" on a bass. Marshall has such a guitar-like quality when he plays it that for a moment or two, I forgot I was listening to a bass!

Marshall's passions aren't limited to just his array of 5-string basses and wondrous effects. Heath Care, the issues of global warming and living in sustainable world are also high on his list. Marshall writes in his recent blog, "As more evidence of climate change continues to mount, it becomes harder and harder to deny the changes taking place all around us. Awareness of our planets health is becoming a daily spot on the news, and even businesses are trying to figure out how to operate in a more earth friendly fashion. There is one industry however that seems to be still operating with it's blinders on when it comes to global consciousness... Health Care."  

"What's being completely ignored in the wake of all that, is just how much health care in general contributes to pollution and global warming. Do you all have any idea how much plastic is wasted every single day inside a hospital? You would gasp if I were able to go into real detail on it. Realize that because of the sterile and clean nature of everything we use to care for patients, we open "single use" plastic items and toss them when we're done by the thousands every day in just one hospital. If you think grocery stores giving out plastic bags is bad, and it is... you would keel over and die if you knew how much raw plastic is being spit out into your environment everyday by your local hospital.... and thats not to mention all the bio waste we put out..."

7 string bass (!) virtuoso Edo Castro is no stranger to Bay Area music fans. Castro was initially a self-taught bassist, but later attended the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. “ My teachers were not only schooling me, they’d recommend me for gigs," Castro marveled. During his stay in Chicago he played with some of the finest young bloods of the music scene at that time, Jim Trumpeter, Fareed Haque, Mark Walker and Hassan Khan. Of course there were the jazz icons, Miles Davis guitarist Pete Cosey and drummer Roy Haynes that Castro was fortunate enough to play with. Castro recalls," After playing a set with Roy Haynes, there was a bunch of us standing around talking to him and out of the blue Roy handed me his card and said, ‘Man when you’re ready, come to New York and give me a call. That was the greatest stamp of approval in front of all my peers.’ I’ve yet to get to New York and collect on that call.”

Castro's incredible ability to loop during his solos and use an Ebow to generate guitar-like sounds was nothing short of remarkable. His song "Remembering" was absolutely beautiful and truly reminded me of the works of another fantastic bassist: Eberhard Weber and his work on John Abercrombie and Jack DeJohnette's classic ECM album "Timeless".

Following Castro was Vallejo-by-way-of-Austria's Ariane Cap. A protege of legendary players like Kai Eckhardt and Victor Wooten, Cap has performed with the Celtic group "Tempest" and is one of the most sought after bassists in the Bay Area. Don't let her gender fool you; as Wooten himself remarked to me recently, "Oh man, this girl can play!"

Cap plays in a myriad of groups, including Richard Lindley's popular 'Palm Wine Boys" Born and raised in Austria, Cap has been musically active since a very early age. "Steeped in classical music," recalls Cap. "I played piano and other instruments until I found the bass. Electric and Upright became my main instruments. I studied Jazz Bass Education at the University of Music in Vienna, Austria, where I finally received a scholarship to attend the University of Miami for jazz studies for a year. (What an awesome school!!). I received a Graduate Certificate of Music in 2000 from USF in Tampa, Florida. I fell in love with the possibilities the States have to offer to a musician and managed to put my roots down in California." Bach, funk, african or celtic, Cap is at home with all of them and her solo pieces are a wonderfully crafted reflection of her worldly travels.

Closing this particular night was the youthful Dave Lockhart, whose blend of Bohemian jazz meets French classical on the double bass was mesmerizing. At first glance, one might mistake Lockhart for a hip-hop bassist, ready to throw down on a Digable Planets CD, or Modeski, Martin and Wood, however Lockhart's solos took the audience through a history of modern, post-classical styles, with a dash of South America and a hint of Bach. Afterwards, Steve, the proprietor of the Rooz Cafe confided in me, "Lot of great talent in here tonight, really great talent". I couldn't agree more.

Marshall and his revolving cast of bassists, featuring Edo Castro, Jeff Schmidt, Andres Cervantes and "Jimbo", will be at the Nomad Cafe in Berkeley on Shattuck, March 22nd for "Solo Bass Night II" and return to the Rooz Cafe in April. You don't have to be a bass player to appreciate these fine Bay area bassists, just a love of music and an open heart.


Randy Marshall
February 29th @The Red Vic Hotel, Haight Street

Randy Marshall's Solo Bass Night II
with Andy Cervantes, Edo Castro, Jeff Schmidt and "Jimbo"
March, 22nd @ The Nomad Cafe
6500 Shattuck, Berkeley, California]]>user@domain.comblog2008-02-05T11:22:18-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/211e8cb3a8a1c9c86a5f0607e529388a-49.html#unique-entry-id-49http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/211e8cb3a8a1c9c86a5f0607e529388a-49.html#unique-entry-id-49
The death of former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer last week in Iceland, brought back a range of emotions and memories of how I began my love of chess. Fischer's meteoric rise captured my imagination and those of my fellow school chums when he played for the title in 1972. Listening to New York commentators like Shelby Lyman, Jimmy Sherwin and Edmar Mednis on the fledging PBS television network; Dispatches from the NY Times columnist Robert Byrne; Kissinger and Nixon pleading with Fischer to continue the match after going down 0-2 and culminating with his eventual victory over the Soviet champion Boris Spassky. The excitement we felt seeing NY mayor John Lindsay bestowing the keys to the city on Fischer was a joy to behold; even the Russians grudgingly applauded him... And then he was gone.

Fischer's mysterious disappearance was followed by the inevitable default of his title to the young Anatoly Karpov in 1975 and a myriad of bizarre sightings; An arrest for vagrancy once landed him in a Pasedena jail; He defeated MIT's Greenblatt computer chess program in 1978; Suddenly surfacing in a parking lot during the final rounds of a U.S. Chess Championship, to the shock of all; Charges of tax evasion and the subsequent State Department sanctions for playing a rematch with Spassky in war-torn Yugoslavia. These tales and many more have been well documented, yet it was his brand of chess, a captivating, attacking, neo-classical, take-no-prisoner approach that gripped and fascinated the entire world and one hopes, how he will best be remembered.

In the years that followed Fischer's victory, chess in the U.S. blossomed and my interest was no different. My good friend and future chess master Vincent Moore ran a local chess shop in Washington D.C.'s Georgetown. I served as a punching bag for most of the players there, until the drubbings finally sunk in and I began to understand why I was losing. Undaunted, I took it upon myself to study and memorize Fischer's seminal book, "My 60 Memorable Games". Clearly one of the best chess books ever written, reading it was almost like Bobby himself was talking to me. On taking on the fearsome Dragon variation of the Sicilian Defense, Bobby wrote, "Pry open the kingside, then sac, sac, sac!" For those of us who have played against it, he spoke volumes with that phase and gave Dragon players reason to cringe.

His records were truly unbelievable: At 14, the youngest Grandmaster ever at the time, youngest U.S. Champion at 15, ripping through the tournaments and Candidate/World Championship qualifying matches virtually undefeated and the list goes on. I was hooked. In 1979 while attending the Corcoran School of Art, I would often play on the chess tables at Dupont Circle and in front of the White House in Lafayette Square Park. So much so that my professor, fearing my grades would suffer, instructed me to do a paper on Marcel Duchamp, where I learned that he was not only an incredible artist, but a chess fanatic and captain of the French Olympic Chess team in 1933, drawing U.S. champion Frank Marshall. Duchamp would continue to play in South America, designing chess stamps and modern chess pieces with friends Max Ernst and Man Ray.

With Fischer all but vanished, the chess boom nevertheless continued in the U.S. and I discovered the brave new world of chess books. Sadly my progress was slow to say the least. Moving to New York City however, certainly helped. A few chess lessons and spending countless hours on the famed chess tables at NYU's Washington Square Park certainly was inspiring. These were the very same tables on which Bobby himself had cut his teeth and today, many of NYC's chess greats can still be seen there. Eventually I would use what I learned from studying Fischer in tournaments, playing for Brown University's 1983 championship chess team, winning a few thousand dollars in New York, Maryland, Boston and Rhode Island, (even beating a few masters along the way!) Alas, there is always someone a little stronger to knock you down just when you think you've got it figured out!

Now Bobby Fischer is gone again, just as suddenly as he arrived and the controversy he generated will surely surround him for years to come. There are plenty of great books on Fischer, including local International Master and Mechanic Institute resident John Donaldson and Eric Tangborn's "The Unknown Bobby Fischer" and wonderful films like "Searching for Bobby Fischer", by San Francisco's Steve Zallian.

Recently however, Fischer's sad and tragic outbursts will also plague him. From his anti-semetic diatribes and praise for the 9/11 attackers, to the sad interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schapp; his arrest and detainment in Japan and finally his exile and death in Iceland, the scene of his greatest triumph. Most chess players will, I hope, remember him for his insightful, clear and uncompromising chess. For some reason, one game of Fischer's has always left me in complete and utter awe. It's not his workman like destruction of Denmark's Bent Larson or his celebrated game against Donald Byrne, where he sacrificed his Queen at age 12 and spun a spectacular mating net, but rather his game against Byrne's brother, the late NY Times chess columnist Robert Byrne during the 1963 U.S. Championship. I've never forgotten it and I present it below. It's how I'll best remember Bobby Fischer.

1963 U.S. Championship
White: Robert Byrne
Black: Bobby Fischer
Grunfeld Defense

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. g3 c6
4. Bg2 d5
5. cxd5 cxd5
6. Nc3 Bg7
7. e3 O-O
8. Nge2 Nc6
9. O-O b6
10. b3 Ba6
11. Ba3 Re8
12. Qd2 e5
13. dxe5 Nxe5
14. Rfd1 Nd3
15. Qc2 Nxf2
16. Kxf2 Ng4+
17. Kg1 Nxe3
18. Qd2 Nxg2
19. Kxg2 d4
20. Nxd4 Bb7+
21. Kf1 Qd7

(0-1) White resigned

E. "Doc" Smith is a former Rhode Island Amateur Champion, and has won divisional titles in the U.S. Amateur Team Championships for Brown University as well as the Rhode Island Chess League Championships. He has also taught chess to kids in S.F. schools, where he has directed several successful citywide tournaments.]]>user@domain.comblog2008-01-05T11:20:26-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d3b8f5950200b2335443e7bfaca50628-48.html#unique-entry-id-48http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d3b8f5950200b2335443e7bfaca50628-48.html#unique-entry-id-48
Always pushing the musical envelope and not content to stay with the same old thing, Grammy-winning guitarist Bill Frisell comes to Yoshi's San Francisco with his trio featuring Joey Baron and Tony Scherr. Frisell is one of the most sought-after guitar voices in contemporary music, and his role as composer and band leader has garnered him increasing notoriety. He won a 2005 Grammy for his CD, Unspeakable, and his recording, East/West, was partially recorded live at Yoshi's. The breadth of his performing and recording situations is a testament not only to his singular guitar conception, but his musical versatility as well. Much has been made of the qualities of Frisell's music that defy categorization and the seamlessness with which his bands have navigated such a variety of styles.

Born in Baltimore, Bill Frisell played clarinet throughout his childhood in Denver, Colorado. His interest in guitar began with his exposure to pop music on the radio. Soon, the Chicago Blues became a passion through the work of Otis Rush, B.B. King, Paul Butterfield and Buddy Guy. In high school, he played in bands covering pop and soul classics, James Brown and other dance material. Later, Bill studied music at the University of Northern Colorado before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied with John Damian, Herb Pomeroy and Michael Gibbs. In 1978, Frisell moved for a year to Belgium where he concentrated on writing music. In this period, he toured with Michael Gibbs and first recorded with German bassist Eberhard Weber. Bill moved to the New York City area in 1979 and stayed until 1989.

He now lives in Seattle. "When I was 16, I was listening to a lot of surfing music, a lot of English rock. Then I saw Wes Montgomery and somehow that kind of turned me around. Later, Jim Hall made a big impression on me and I took some lessons with him. I suppose I play the kind of harmonic things Jim would play but with a sound that comes from Jimi Hendrix", Frisell told Wire. Bill also lists Paul Motian, Thelonious Monk, Aaron Copland, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis and his teacher, Dale Bruning, as musical influences.

Bill recorded his first two albums as a leader on ECM, both produced by Manfred Eicher. Subdued and lyrical in nature, In Line, the first of the ECM recordings, employed both electric and acoustic guitars in a series of solos (including some overdubbing) and duets with bassist Arild Andersen. Second was Rambler, featuring Kenny Wheeler, Bob Stewart, Jerome Harris and Paul Motian. About Rambler, Fanfare said: "Bill Frisell has built a little masterpiece here - not just a showcase for his own instrumental creativity (of which there is much in evidence), but a clever and poetic whole."

Frisell's third album and last for ECM, Lookout For Hope, marked the recording debut of The Bill Frisell Band featuring Hank Roberts, Kermit Driscoll and Joey Baron. Produced by Lee Townsend, the album's diverse material - ranging from country swing to reggae, quasi-heavy metal and backbeat rock with a twist to Monk's "Hackensack" - nevertheless possessed the cohesive and unmistakable personality of a working band on to a sound of its own.

Before We Were Born, Frisell's debut recording for Nonesuch, featured three musical settings: Peter Scherer and Arto Lindsay produced, co-arranged and performed on three Frisell compositions. "Some Song and Dance", produced by Lee Townsend, is a suite of four pieces performed by Frisell's Band with a saxophone section featuring Julius Hemphill, Billy Drewes and Doug Wieselman. Frisell's "Hard Plains Drifter" is an extended work shaped, produced and arranged by John Zorn and played by the Frisell Band. The New York Times observed: "By following through on the implications of his unfettered sounds, Mr. Frisell has made his best album."

Frisell's second Nonesuch album, Is That You?, features nine original Frisell compositions, one by producer Wayne Horvitz and two cover tunes - "Chain of Fools" and "Days of Wine and Roses". With Frisell playing guitars, bass, banjo, ukulele and even clarinet, Is That You? demonstrated with great clarity his pan-stylistic, yet strangely unified musical world. Frisell's third album for Nonesuch, Where in the World?, also produced by Wayne Horvitz, was the band's final recording with cellist Hank Roberts.

Have a Little Faith, Frisell's 1992 Nonesuch recording, was something of a tribute album. Here, he interpreted the music of a number of American composers whose music had inspired him - Aaron Copland, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, John Hiatt, Sonny Rollins, Stephen Foster, Charles Ives, Victor Young, Madonna and John Philip Sousa. The extent to which Bill has made this music his own demonstrates the completeness of its link to his own compositional approach. For this recording Frisell's Band was augmented by Don Byron (clarinet, bass clarinet) and Guy Klusevsek (accordion) and produced by Wayne Horvitz.

This Land, Frisell's fifth Nonesuch recording, consists of all original material with the band and a horn section of Don Byron (clarinets), Billy Drewes (alto saxophone) and Curtis Fowlkes (trombone). Produced by Lee Townsend, the album readily displays the connection between Frisell's own writing and the composers' work to whom he pays tribute on his previous Have a Little Faith. From the standpoint of synthesizing his celebrated composing and arranging talents with exuberant improvising and spirited band interaction, it is a landmark recording, which prompted this description in Rolling Stone: "Strange meetings of the mysterious and the earthy, the melancholy and the giddy, make perfect sense by Frisell's deliciously warped way of thinking. The warpage is catching on and not a moment too soon."

In 1994, Frisell recorded a pair of recordings of music that he composed for three silent Buster Keaton films - The High Sign, One Week and Go West. The band premiered this music along with the films to a spirited and sold-out audience at St. Ann's in Brooklyn in May '93. The pairing displayed a natural affinity between work of both artists. Their works together possess an undeniable sense of adventure and penchant for the unexpected that only enhances the warmth and humanity of both the musical elements and the films themselves. It has proven to be the rare case where the whole truly transcends the sum of its parts. Of the "Go West" recording , Billboard noted: "With this set of music for the classic Buster Keaton film, "Go West," Bill Frisell has crafted one of his finest, most evocative albums. Evincing his best qualities as both guitarist and composer, he harvests melancholy Americana from deceptively modest, episodic themes. Coloring the scenes with acoustic as well as his trademark electric, Frisell produces strangely cinematic motifs on guitar, and his rhythm cohorts - longtime bassist Kermit Driscoll and drummer Joey Baron - provide abundant narrative drive." Both albums were produced by Lee Townsend. Frisell's success with the Keaton films has led him to other film-related projects. He scored the music for Gary Larson's "Tales From the Far Side" animated television special and Daniele Luchetti's Italian feature film, "La Scuola." Some of the music from these projects has been adapted and recorded by Frisell on Quartet, Frisell's Nonesuch recording released in April '96.

The formation of the Quartet, with Ron Miles (trumpet), Eyvind Kang (violin) and Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), was a new working band for Frisell, who had worked with the telepathic rhythm combination of Kermit Driscoll and Joey Baron for nearly ten years. Frisell told Down Beat: “It’s so different from the traditional guitar-bass-drum thing, even though Joey Baron, Kermit Driscoll and I never played like a typical jazz trio. This group, with violin and brass, can play an orchestral range of sounds. It’s gigantic. It’s given me a chance to write and arrange in an even bigger way.” Quartet, was quickly hailed by critics.

Nonesuch released Nashville in April of 1997. Recorded in Nashville and produced by Wayne Horvitz with members of Allison Krauss’ Union Station band - mandolin player Adam Steffey and banjo player Ron Block - the project also features her brother and Lyle Lovett’s bass player Viktor Krauss, dobro great Jerry Douglas, vocalist Robin Holcomb and Pat Bergeson on harmonica. “Comprising acoustic instrumental folk tunes with unpredictable stylistic accents, Nashville boasts a dreamy, seductive grandeur. The backing mandolin/dobro/bass interplay simmers…Frisell himself picks and strings and most of all floats, laying out liquid tones that settle over the melodies like heat haze on a swampy, swimmerless lake.” wrote the LA Weekly.

In January of 1998 Frisell's next project Gone, Just Like A Train came out. On this exceptionally melodic and rhythmically vital instrumental collection of original compositions, Frisell is joined by Viktor Krauss and by Jim Keltner, all star drummer of choice for Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, T-Bone Burnett, George Harrison, John Lennon and The Traveling Wilburys. The Rocket in Seattle wrote that "Frisell has managed to pull together an ad hoc super trio of musicians from drastically different pasts, and they manage to assemble a machine of colossal proportions: part skewered jazz, part roadside folk blues, part gritty rock.…Gone presents Frisell at a creative apex. He's integrated a thoroughly unique understanding of so much American Music… And it's all gift-wrapped in a lean, unimposing trio framework that conveys sheer genius in a million directions… It flies with shining power." Produced by Lee Townsend, the album proved to be one of Frisell's most celebrated and popular to date.

Good Dog, Happy Man, brims full of Frisell's shimmering original compositions. Here he is reunited with the Gone Just Like a Train rhythm section of Viktor Krauss on bass and Jim Keltner on drums and joined by Wayne Horvitz on Hammond B3 organ, multi-instrumentalist/slide guitarist Greg Leisz (known for his work with Joni Mitchell, K.D. Lang, Emmy Lou Harris, Beck and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, among others) plus special guest Ry Cooder on the traditional folk song "Shenendoah". Produced by Lee Townsend, Good Dog, Happy Man celebrates Frisell's emergence as a composer who has created a genre unto himself.

Billboard Magazine once wrote, “Bill Frisell makes such consistently great records that it would be easy to take the guitarist for granted. That would be sad, since no one refracts age-old Americana through a cutting-edge prism with the warm-hearted, fleet-minded individuality of Frisell. With Good Dog, Happy Man, he has crafted one of his earthiest essays yet. Backed by an ultra-hip band, Frisell has forged originals whose folky melodies and big-sky grooves make them seem like old friends in snazzy new clothes.”

Bill’s solo album, Ghost Town was called described as “moody, articulate music is a milestone in the career of a true innovator – enchanting as anything he has done and a clear window into his muse” (CMJ). With producer Lee Townsend, Frisell has created a sonic tapestry that weaves in and out of original material and cover songs, some recorded in multiple layers, others recorded nakedly solo. According to Billboard, “Ghost Town sounds like a classic already”.

For Frisell's acclaimed CD Blues Dream, released on Nonesuch in early 2001, the New Quartet of Greg Leisz, David Piltch and Kenny Wollesen is joined by a horn section of Ron Miles (trumpet), Billy Drewes (alto saxophone) and Curtis Fowlkes (trombone). In many ways it represents a culmination of the strands running through many of the recordings in Frisell's catalogue, combining the homespun lyricism of Good Dog, Happy Man, Gone Just Like a Train and Nashville with the orchestral timbres of Quartet and the expanded tonal palette and harmonic sophistication afforded by a larger group (i.e. The Sweetest Punch, This Land and Before We Were Born.) Produced by Lee Townsend, it has been described as "A rich, eclectic masterpiece." (Blair Jackson, Mix Magazine).

The Autumn of 2001 saw the Nonesuch release of Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones, on which Bill was joined by two jazz legends to interpret a number of the most enduring compositions from his songbook as well as Henry Manicini’s “Moon River” and Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times” in another Townsend-produced set.

The Willies is Frisell’s characteristically inimitable and modern take on bluegrass and country blues with Danny Barnes (from The Bad Livers) on banjo and guitar and Keith Lowe, (known for his work with Fiona Apple, David Sylvian, Kelly Joe Phelps and Wayne Horvitz) on bass. Produced by Lee Townsend and released in June, 2002 on Nonesuch, the material consists of such traditional songs as “Cluck Old Hen”, “John Hardy”, “Single Girl”, “Sugar Baby”, “Blackberry Blossom”, “Sitting on Top of the World”, “Good Night Irene”, “Cold, Cold Heart” and a number of Frisell’s original compositions. John Cratchley, in The Wire described it as follows: “This is music that you feel you have known yet you have never heard before, like some treasured memory of an event that hasn’t happened yet .… It is firmly rooted in the simplest of musical gestures yet manages to build, intricate layer by intricate layer into a manifestation of cultural timelessness …. This is composition of the highest order masquerading as back-porch rambling.”

Frisell’s encounters with such Malian musicians as singer and guitarist Boubacar Traore and percussionist Sidiki Camara, who has played with many of Mali’s most renowned performers, left him eager to further explore the commonalities of African and American roots musics. His grammy-nominated 2003 Nonesuch release, The Intercontinentals, produced by Lee Townsend, is evidence of those impulses. In late 2001, Frisell assembled an intriguing quartet with Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist and percussionist Vinicius Cantuária, Greek-Macedonian musician Christos Govetas on oud, bouzouki and vocals and Mali’s Camara on percussion and vocals. The debut concerts at Seattle's Earshot Festival created quite a stir. Downbeat described the group's music as possessing "fine webs of guitar interlacings, swaying momentum, dense textures and rhythmic urgency." The group was soon expanded to include Greg Leisz (on pedal steel and various slide guitars) and Jenny Scheinman (violin). The material on the album consists of Frisell compositions plus songs by Boubacar Traore, Cantuaria, Gilberto Gil and Govetas. It is an album that combines Frisell’s own brand of American roots music and his unmistakable improvisational style with the influences of Brazilian, Greek and Malian sounds.

Frisell’s 2003 recording with Petra Haden, the self-titled Petra Haden and Bill Frisell, is a collection of their interpretations – some sparsely arranged and others more lushly orchestrated - of songs by Elliot Smith, Foo Fighters, Tom Waits, George Gershwin, Henry Mancini, Stevie Wonder, traditional material, as well as songs written by Frisell and Haden. Frisell, who had known and played with Petra’s father Charlie Haden for many years, was captivated when he went to see Petra perform in Seattle. The two began talking, occasionally performing together, and eventually they began work on their CD, produced by Lee Townsend.

Frisell’s 2004 Nonesuch release, Unspeakable, featuring his long-time rhythm section of Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen as well as percussionist Don Alias, horn arrangements by Steven Bernstein, and Frisell’s string writing for the 858 strings of Jenny Scheinman, Eyvind Kang and Hank Roberts is “a revisiting of an old friendship that stretches back 20 years: a partnership with producer Hal Willner. Taking fragments of obscure vinyl records as a launching point, the duo traverses a landscape that passes, in an almost hallucinatory way, through myriad styles.” – Billboard. The Observer describes it this way: “The brilliant 53-year old guitarist embraces a jazzy kind of post-rock whose most immediate point of reference is the electric Miles Davis. It's a multi-textured, multi-hued disc that never sees Frisell sacrifice his impeccable technique, or neglect the deep structure of his songs, but never sees him forget to have fun either." And the Sunday Independent had this to say about it: "'Unspeakable' radiates the kind of authority that only absolute confidence in the primacy of melody and feel in music can confer." Unspeakable won a Grammy award in 2005 for Best Contemporary Jazz recording.

East/West is a double-live CD featuring Frisell's two working trios. "West" features Bill's trio with Viktor Krauss and Kenny Wollesen and was recorded at Yoshi's in Oakland. "East" features Frisell's other working trio with Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen. It was recorded at the Village Vanguard in New York City. Further East/Further West offers additional material by these two trios available in download format only. Produced by Lee Townsend, Salon.com described it as follows.

"The two trios are vastly different. In general terms, the Krauss trio works by accumulation and aims to mesmerize, while the Scherr trio operates much closer to traditional jazz... Wolleson, essentially a groove player in the Krauss trio (and a monstrously good one), becomes an interactive, improvising presence in the Scherr trio..... In both settings Frisell is a wonder.... For any skeptics of modern jazz, this should be required listening... one of the best of his career."

Other projects include a Burt Bacharach - Elvis Costello CD, The Sweetest Punch, on Decca which features Frisell's arrangements of the same 12 tunes Elvis and Burt recorded together on their pop record for Mercury, Painted From Memory. The record was produced by Lee Townsend and features Bill on guitar, Viktor Krauss on bass, Brian Blade on drums and a horn section comprised of Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, Ron Miles on trumpet, Don Byron on clarinet and Billy Drewes on saxophone. Cassandra Wilson and Elvis Costello lend vocals to a couple of tracks.

In September 1998 Nonesuch released a duo recording of jazz standards by Frisell and labelmate pianist Fred Hersch entitled Songs We Know. Downbeat's 1998 Critic's poll awarded Bill's Nashville "Album Of The Year," and Bill himself, "Guitarist Of The Year" in both 1998 and 1999. His Quartet won the German equivalent of a Grammy, the prestigious Deutsche Schallplatten Preis. Meanwhile, he has been lauded as “Guitarist of the Year” by numerous publications and organizations over the span of many years.

In 2002, Frisell was appointed the musical director of "Century of Song” " by artistic director Gerard Mortier and Chief Dramaturg Thomas Woerdehoff for the 2003-2004 seasons at the Ruhr Triennale Arts festival in Germany. The celebrated series of programs featured guest songwriters, interpreters and performers in collaboration with Frisell not only to investigate their own bodies of work, but to bring a fresh perspective to songs and songwriters that have been influential upon their own music, as well. Guests included Elvis Costello, Suzanne Vega, Van Dyke Parks, Loudon Wainwright III, Rickie Lee Jones, Vinicius Cantuaria, Vic Chesnutt, Ron Sexsmith, Jesse Harris, Petra Haden and Marc Ribot with band members being specially selected for each program. With Lee Townsend producing, the concerts took place in former industrial spaces that have been converted into performance venues in the Ruhr region of Northern Germany.

Moviegoers will hear Frisell playing alongside Bono, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Daniel Lanois on the soundtrack of Wim Wenders' film, Million Dollar Hotel, starring Mel Gibson with a screenplay by Bono. He also composed and recorded original soundtrack music for four recent productions, including American Hollow, an HBO documentary special by Rory Kennedy about an Appalachian family, a public radio program about the human genome called The DNA Files, the music for two Gus Van Sant films - Finding Forrester and the remake of Psycho - and the music for Gary Larson's second animated television project "Tales From The Far Side II." Unspeakable won a 2005 Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

Bill Frisell Trio Featuring Joey Baron and Tony Scherr
Yoshi's on Fillmore
Jan 17, 2008 - Jan 20, 2008
Thurs both shows $22 & $26
Fri – Sun $24 & $28]]>user@domain.comblog2007-12-05T11:19:03-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a26daadccc31462cb4d4b6525142ef4a-47.html#unique-entry-id-47http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a26daadccc31462cb4d4b6525142ef4a-47.html#unique-entry-id-47
My first encounter with the enigmatic jazz pianist Chick Corea, came some thirty years ago with his now legendary group, Return to Forever. That incarnation featured future legends, bassist Stanley Clarke, drummer Lenny White and Bill Connors. If my mind wasn't already blown, it surely was after seeing the next RTF line-up, which featured the debut of a young guitarist named Al DiMeola. For three amazing nights in a row and a mere two blocks from my childhood home near the Carter Barron Amphitheater, I sat in awe of this groundbreaking new music that would ultimately become some of the very best of that bygone, jazz-fusion era.

Since that time, Corea has continued to amaze and astound; incredible solo albums; Grammy awards; his acoustic and electric line-ups; recent collaborations with the likes of banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, and of course his "Elektric Band". This latest version adds Flecktone alumni, bassist Victor Wooten and continues their stand at Yoshi's tonight and tomorrow in Oakland.

Corea's Elektric Band, is one of the most critically acclaimed jazz fusion bands of the past two decades. Following the demise of Return to Forever, Corea established the musical ensemble in 1986. The Elektric Band was a little different in style compared to Return to Forever, in that it signified a move away from rock-oriented fusion into a more Post-bop style. Following a long hiatus, the band reunited to produce "To the Stars" in 2004.

The first Elektric Band album can be described as "jazz-rock", though it is much closer to traditional jazz than the jazz-rock albums of 1970s. The keyboard sounds on the album are typical for the mid-1980s. Weckl's electronic drums dominate the album's sound, with the guitar duties split between Scott Henderson and Carlos Rios. The second album, Light Years (1987) is more funk-oriented than its predecessor. Saxophonist Eric Marienthal joins the band and Frank Gambale replaces Henderson and Rios (who plays still on some tracks) to form what is considered the band's definitive lineup.

The third album, Eye of the Beholder, relies on softer sounds. Here Corea relies on acoustic piano, with synthesizers largely in the background. Gambale also plays acoustic guitar on some tracks, lending a Flamenco-influenced sound to pieces like "Eternal Child." The Elektric Band's fourth album, Inside Out (1991), features some compositions that fall in the post-bop rather than the fusion category. The four-part piece "Tale of Daring", which closes the album, relies on unconventional melodies and relatively free improvisation. But two other compositions, the title track and "Kicker," are more traditional fusion pieces.

Corea still uses mostly acoustic piano, but Gambale plays electric guitar throughout. The last album featuring the band's traditional lineup was Beneath the Mask (1991), a return to the electric jazz-funk of the second album. For the next album, Elektric Band II: Paint the World (1993), only Corea and Marienthal returned from the original lineup. The album's style can be described as modern jazz, crossing between post-bop and fusion. The original members reunited in 2004 for To the Stars (2004), which is stylistically close to the avant-garde and post-bop on Inside Out.

Considering the staggering volume of his recorded output over the past 40 years, it is no overstatement to call Chick Corea one of the most prolific composers of the second half of the 20th century. From avant-garde to bebop, from children’s songs to straight ahead, from hard-hitting fusion to heady forays into classical, Chick has touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his illustrious career while maintaining a standard of excellence that is simply uncanny. By reuniting his ground-breaking Elektric Band and adding the unbelievable Victor Wooten on bass, Corea truly continues to blaze trails through a new frontier of electrifying, creative music.

Chick Corea Electrik Band
With Eric Marienthal, Frank Gambale, Victor Wooten and Dave Weckl
Yoshi's Jack London Square, Oakland
Fri & Sat 8pm & 10pm $45 ]]>user@domain.comblog2007-12-13T11:16:59-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/157ec749a8da4e931a4485794afed89a-46.html#unique-entry-id-46http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/157ec749a8da4e931a4485794afed89a-46.html#unique-entry-id-46
Last May, I attended the 2007 edition of the Bath International Music Festival. In addition to being one of England's most beautiful and architectural cities, Bath attracts some of the greatest musicians from around the globe; Mavis Staples & Jazz Jamaica, the electronica of Arthurs & Bown and People Like Us; the folk stylings of Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill; and the genre crossing Iain Ballamy & Stian Carstensen. My personal favorites however, were the jazz duo of drummer Bill Bruford and pianist Michiel Borstlap. After a high profile and illustrious career as the rock drummer of his generation (with Yes, Genesis and King Crimson), Bruford carved out an equally successful name as a jazz drummer through his jazz-rock ensemble Earthworks. Borstlap is a brilliant pianist, capable of creating solos of dazzling complexity, but also able to employ space and subtlety. Together they adopt a witty, conversational style: the table talk may turn as much to Liszt Scherzos as to jazz standards and free spirited improvisation. Now comes a recording of that performance in Bath and Norway, the aptly named "In Two Minds".

'In Two Minds' is the second CD to come from this pairing of fine musicians, and will no doubt be hugely anticipated by the large and dedicated fan base built up by these two artists in addition to their own separate respective fan bases who have witnessed them in concert since the duo's first formal collaboration back in 2002. Recorded in 2007, 'In Two Minds' features eleven intimate and conversational tracks of new, original material, and a stand-out reading of the Miles Davis classic 'All Blues'. Released on the Summerfold imprint, the Bruford-Borstlap Duo will again be playing selected live dates in the run up to the release of this album, including their London debut at the London Jazz Festival on 24th November 2007.

I saw Bruford's first piano-drum duo with the Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz in 1982, at New York City's now defunct Bottom Line, and later in 1983, at D.C.'s also defunct Bayou. Bruford and Moraz had released two albums, the acoustic "Music for Piano and Drums", and the electronic "Flags". Consequently, these recordings and others have been reissued on Bruford's new record labels: Summerfold and Winterfold. With their first CD, "Every Step A Dance, Every Word A Song", and a DVD titled "In Concert In Holland", Bruford teamed up with Dutch keyboard master Michiel Borstlap, in duets culled from their 2003-2004 European tour. Although the duo's efforts are rooted in jazz, there are hints of the progressive-rock/New Age flavor of "Flags", where Borstlap employs synthesizer for choruses and textures, and Bruford's well known polyrhythmic beats and syncopations that propel this beautiful musical journey.

Bruford met first Dutch pianist Michiel Borstlap in 2002, and they began playing duo shows that were less about the confines of structure and more about what Bruford terms "performance-based" music, music of the moment where spontaneity and interaction were the predominant factors. Gratefully, the duo returns with "In Two Minds", a live recording of their summer 2007 tour of Norway and England.


Michiel Borstlap and Bill Bruford at the 2007 Bath Festival
Photo by Tim Dickeson

The "Left of the Dial" reviewer Glenn Astarita once noted that "Borstlap primarily uses a grand piano as his instrument of choice via a potpourri of swing vamps, and sublime moments, while Bruford's shading exercises, add color and additional warmth. Highlights include segments where the duo expands themes and unexpectedly switch gears as they often instill a polytonal outlook during jazz standards such as Monk's "Bemsha Swing," for example.

The piece titled "Swansong" from their first CD, is a compelling opus that defines the artists' overriding sense of musical intimacy coupled with power and tenacity. Here, Borstlap executes slashing crescendos amid Art Tatum-like chord voicings, as the unit melds quaint balladry with bluesy passages. The fun factor continues with Bruford's drumming onslaught, which serves as a prelude of sorts, to Borstlap's shrewd use of a synth chorale voicing to finalize the piece. Simply stated, it's about synergy and singular techniques rooted with elements of joy and precision.

Canadian Music reviewer John Kelman wrote that "while Bruford and Borstlap are still more concerned with form than, say, Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi-whose recent album with Paul Motian, Doorways , is another beast entirely-the reciprocation between the two jumps out from the first notes of the more structured "The 16 Kingdoms of the 5 Barbarians." Bruford's liner notes allude to the fact that the performance space impacts the nature of the musical dialogue-smaller rooms having "the intimacy of a dinner table conversation between old friends," while larger venues "naturally become a bit more muscular and assertive."

Some of my favorite pieces from the new CD include the log drum driven "Conference of Bees," "The Art of Conversation" and another abstract, yet faithful reading of the classic Miles Davis tune "All Blues". Bruford may gently assert the forward motion, but he's also become a masterful colourist. And while Borstlap's supplementing of his piano with electronic keyboards sometimes gives the duo a broader complexion, the subtleties of their exchange are never overshadowed by sheer demonstrativeness. There were other fine moments from the Bath show not found on the CD, like the hilariously titled "Sharp Objects in Search of Shade" and I'll never forget Borstlap's playful bit of Gershwin at the end of the concert, however the selections chosen for " In Two Minds" are very fine indeed.

"In Two Minds" is yet another step forward for Borstlap, already a well-established European jazz figure, and truly represents one more advance in the pursuit of a more instinctive and natural approach for Bruford, an artist who has, for all intents and purposes, left his rock roots completely behind him. I absolutely loved it.This CD and others from Bruford's ever growing catalogue can be found on his website: http://www.billbruford.com.]]>user@domain.comblog2007-11-05T11:14:48-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c8286b22a63c1745d222433b68b5a8a3-45.html#unique-entry-id-45http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c8286b22a63c1745d222433b68b5a8a3-45.html#unique-entry-id-45
Guitarist, songwriter, drummer and prolific pop-smith, John Moremen has released and re-issued three of his best solo efforts on his Popstatic label; 1991's self-titled "John Moremen", "Punch Me In" from 1996, and his 2002 release, "Vertical", featuring bassist and producer Chris Xefos, guitarist Tim Fuson and drummer D.J. Bonebrake of X and Knitters fame. Moremen is no stranger to the world of California pop, either drumming with the Sunnyvale-based Orange Peels, or playing guitar with Roy Loney; and he is equally at home with the roots rock groups of Northern Virginia that spawned him, groups like the Neighbors, Kevin Johnson and the Linemen and Last Train Home. These albums show Moremen at his best, a wonderfully, rollicking world of rock, pop and wit.

"No Time to be Waiting", the title cut from his latest album Vertical, is a fantastic introduction into Moremen's style, and harkens back to some of his earliest efforts; a driving, tuneful, yet more matured sound. Like a fine wine, you can really appreciate it after hearing the energetic and younger material from his self-titled first album which nevertheless, is one of my personal favorites. Other guest stars like vocalists John Ashfield, Paul Myers and drummer Jeff Potts round out a great album.

Early readers of Beyond Chron may recall that my first ever column back in April of 2004, featured Moremen and his tours with Washington Post columnist Eric Brace's Last Train Home. Since then he's done it all; from his drumming with the likes of John Ashfield, Alison Faith Levy, and Allen Clapp's quartet The Orange Peels; to his experimental power trio of High Vulture with bassist Bill Raymond and MX-80's legendary guitarist Bruce Anderson. Moremen's versatility has unquestionably made him one of the Bay Area's best musicians.

On Punch Me In, Moremen is re-joined by Fuson and vocalist Mark Robinson for more pop fun on the XTC-like "Summer Sauce". Originally recorded in 1996, this CD is a must for Moremen fans. Moremen's use of some very clever chord changes and witty lyrics had me boppin' and bobbin' to "Back Inside (Where I Used to Hide)", a playful, jaunty little tune that reminded me of his days with guitarist Peter Gilstrap and their group "The Neighbors", with a dash of They Might Be Giants thrown in.

The aforementioned "John Moremen" may yet be my favorite, perhaps because Moremen played virtually the entire album by himself. Tight, energetic as hell, and with a little help from Gilstrap and percussionist Peter Yorkunas, turned what began as a demo, into one of Moremen's finest efforts. "You Seem So Happy", "Too Many Times Around My Head", "Broken Heel", and "Sleeping Now", capture the raw essence of Moremen in 1991, a songwriter at "the end of the beginning".

Moremen will no doubt enjoy a CD release party for his Popstatic anthology, and a star studded line-up I'm sure it will be. A new CD is in the works as well, and promises to be another jewel in his indy label crown. From his earliest days with Washington's Alice Despard's Hyaa! and Northern Virginia's The Neighbors; to his forays with Jad Fair and Half Japanese; to the roots rock expressions of Nashville's Last Train Home; and his tours with songwriter Allen Clapp and his pop group The Orange Peels, Moremen has proven his versatility and gift of genuine expression with his music and these timely re-issues.

It's truly Popstatic baby!
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-09-12T11:12:09-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/3a525a2faa67658e912b411fe348c4e6-44.html#unique-entry-id-44http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/3a525a2faa67658e912b411fe348c4e6-44.html#unique-entry-id-44
My first concert featuring the revolutionary prog-rock group Genesis, was at London's Earl's Court in 1977, during the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Sadly, I saw them shortly after the departure of Peter Gabriel, but before guitarist Steve Hackett had left the group. By 1978, two of Genesis' greatest musicians were now gone, and many predicted their swift demise, however drummer Phil Collins would emerge from behind his kit to take the microphone, (replaced first by Bill Bruford and later Chester Thompson on drums), and alongside keyboardist Tony Banks and bassist Mike Rutherford, would propel Genesis to an unbelievably successful career. Now, some fifteen years after their last "farewell tour", Genesis returns to the Bay Area, (San Jose October 9th and Sacramento on October 10th), for the final leg of their "Turn It On Again" tour; rejoined by Thompson and guitarist Darryl Stuermer. "You've got to get in to get out..."

The USA Today's Mike Snider, recently wrote that although the group was "never a favorite with critics, Genesis built a solid fan base over nearly four decades. Now the band is ready for its victory lap. After the North American leg of the group's reunion tour opened in Toronto, Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford will play what they say will be Genesis' final U.S. concerts. Then, as their hit goes, that's all. "Basically, this is the last time we are doing it," Collins says. That the band decided to turn it on again at all is a surprise. The three hadn't released a new album since 1991's We Can't Dance. Collins, 56, officially left Genesis in 1996, and the group last toured in 1992.

After his solo "first final farewell tour" in 2005, "I wanted to sort of retire from touring to be with my kids," Collins says. "If something special came up, I would do it. I just don't want to go on the road for long periods of time." But the group kept in touch over the years, playing impromptu gigs at birthday parties (when Collins turned 50) and weddings (for Collins and original singer Peter Gabriel).

After two Genesis Archive box sets hit stores in 1998 and 2000, rumors of a reunion emerged. In 2004, the three met with ex-bandmates Gabriel and Hackett to discuss a live reunion to play 1974's concept album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. "It would have been quite fun to do on a smaller scale," says Banks, 57. Gabriel was non-committal, so Collins asked Banks and Rutherford whether they wanted to get the three-man band back together. "We couldn't think of a reason why not to, really," Collins says.

Only three of 22 U.S. shows have sold out, but multiple dates in Chicago, Philadelphia and L.A. are a testament to the band's following. ("Many places said we could do two or three nights," Collins says. "But if you do, pretty soon you have 50 shows. I kept putting a lid on it.") Genesis' return probably won't prove as hot a ticket as The Police reunion, says Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni. "The Police have been away longer, and Genesis with Phil Collins still doesn't have Peter Gabriel. So it is a question mark," he says. "But in Europe, they did good business and were playing stadiums."

After the tour ends in October, Collins has nothing in the works. "I'm really looking forward to it," he says. "I've been playing golf."Genesis, on the other hand, has many projects in the pipeline. Rhino released a new two-disc hits compilation Turn It On Again (Tour Edition), and in November, the second box set of remastered Genesis albums arrives. The band's free concert in Rome's Circus Maximus was recorded for a DVD due later this year. The autobiography Genesis: Chapter & Verse was due out Sept. 18.

With this farewell tour and upcoming retrospectives, might the band emerge with an enhanced image? "Certainly, in England, the band gets overlooked," Banks says. "But, honestly, I'm not that concerned anymore. I'm pretty proud." Collins took the range of ages at the European shows as a promising sign. "We've had great reviews in Europe and the U.K. Maybe suddenly the (U.S.) critics could lower their agendas and just go there and say, 'This isn't bad.' "

I'm personally fond of the Gabriel era albums, Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Selling England by the Pound, and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, however Collins, and the much under-appreciated Banks and Rutherford were phenomenal on most of 1980's albums: The Wind & Wuthering, And Then There Were Three, Duke and Abacab. With the addition of the great jazz drummer Thompson, (Freddie Hubbard, Frank Zappa, and Weather Report), and Stuermer, (Jean Luc Ponty), Genesis' live shows were some one the greatest I'd ever seen, and alongside their peers; Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd, remained one of the greatest prog-rock bands of all time.

"I know what I like. and I like what I know..."
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-08-31T11:09:40-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/286bbcf9368c3f8d6d6cf95b13327009-43.html#unique-entry-id-43http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/286bbcf9368c3f8d6d6cf95b13327009-43.html#unique-entry-id-43
My all-time favorite guitarist is none other than the legendary Allan Holdsworth. I first saw him back in the late '70s, in one of the latter incarnations of the Tony Williams Lifetime; next with the British group U.K., featuring Bill Bruford, John Wetton and Eddie Jobson; and later, after seeing subsequent tours with his own incredible trio of bassist Jimmie Johnson and drummer Chad Wackerman, I knew I was witnessing pure guitar genius.

There is no one who sounds like the self-taught guitar wizard, though many have tried. His unique way of phrasing and beautifully crafted chords, is an extremely rare gift. Holdsworth is indeed, one of a handful of musicians who has consistently proven himself as an innovator within the worlds of rock and jazz music.

Many of music's best-known instrumental masters cite Holdsworth as that rare and shining voice—a legendary player who continues to push the outer limits of instrumental technique and the electric guitar's range of tonal and textural possibilities. Despite the uncompromising nature of Holdsworth's predominantly genre-defying solo projects, he's no stranger to all-star jazz festival line-ups or large venue rock audiences. His last performance at Yoshi’s was with Tony Williams alum Alan Pasqua, and recorded live on DVD. Holdsworth returns to Yoshi's for three more unforgettable nights with his long-standing trio featuring Wackerman and Johnson.

Allan Holdsworth is widely regarded by fans and contemporary musicians as one of the 20th century's most prominent guitarists. He is one of a handful of musicians who has consistently proven himself as an innovator in between and within the worlds of rock and jazz music. Many of music's best-known instrumental masters cite Holdsworth as that rare and shining voice—a legendary player who continues to push the outer limits of instrumental technique and the electric guitar's range of tonal and textural possibilities. Particularly during the 90s, Holdsworth has enjoyed the recognition so many musicians strongly feel he deserves, given that he has developed his career outside the big label mainstream and has consistently produced his own recordings with complete creative control since the mid-80s. Despite the uncompromising nature of Holdsworth's predominantly genre-defying solo projects, he's no stranger to all-star jazz festival line-ups or large venue rock audiences. Musician Magazine placed Holdsworth near the top of their “100 greatest guitarists of all time.” There's never been a shortage of media attention or acclaim for Holdsworth's accomplishments and originality. An inductee of Guitar Player Magazine's Hall of Fame, Holdsworth is a five-time winner in their readers' poll.

Beyond his ability in improvising mercurial solos and sculpting the guitar's voice into an ever-expanding range of textures and colors, Holdsworth has dedicated his energies to develop many different aspects of guitar technology. This has included new “baritone” variations of the instrument, his own custom 6-string designs (one most recently manufactured by Carvin), the invention of electronic components for the recording studio, and exploring the possibilities of guitar-based synthesizer controllers. Holdworth's ability to improvise over complex and challenging chord voicing's always reveals a deep emotional base and a strong, imaginative personality that is as instantly identifiable as any among Holdsworth's generation of guitar and jazz masters.

The sounds of Django Reinhardt, Jimmy Rainey, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass , Eric Clapton, and John Coltrane were among this English musician's early inspirations when he began to work professionally as a musician in his early twenties. Born in the city of Bradford , England , Holdsworth had been extensively tutored in aspects of musical theory and jazz appreciation by his father, an accomplished amateur musician. Holdsworth paid his musician's dues early on working the dance-club circuit, where he began to meet fellow musicians who hailed from the south. One of England 's best jazz tenor saxophonists, Ray Warleigh, heard amazing potential in Holdsworth's playing and brought him along to participate in jazz sets at the onset of the 70s, including sessions with Ray at Ronnie Scotts in London .

Holdsworth's career brought him to international audiences suddenly in the early 1970s, when he joined drummer John Hiseman's short-lived but much acclaimed “progressive” rock band, Tempest. A decade later, Tempest vocalist Paul Williams would team up with Holdsworth again to form Holdsworth's IOU band and create their independently-released debut recording, which prompted Holdsworth to move his home from London to Southern California.

Holdsworth's career throughout the 70s saw a series of feast-or-famine periods all too familiar to many of the most talented musicians. By 1975 Holdsworth had developed a reputation as one of England 's best, underrated guitarists in what was then the avant-garde of English instrumental music ensembles, the legendary group, Soft Machine. Holdsworth's trademark sound is evident with a technique that routinely soars with supersonic intensity, and one of its earliest available samplings can be heard on the 1974 Soft Machine studio release, Bundles . While his reputation in Soft Machine attracted international audiences, he also gained the attention of one of jazz's greatest drummers, the late Tony Williams, known for his pivotal role in bringing Miles Davis to explore rock-based riffs and motifs in an improvisational context. Holdsworth recorded on one of the most celebrated fusion albums from the mid-70s, Believe It , (Epic), as a member of the Tony Williams' New Lifetime. This marked the beginning of Holdsworth's career as a legendary journeyman, but one rarely performing before U.S. audiences.

Between 1976 and 1978 Holdsworth's guitar sounds and solos emerged as a mesmerizing tour de force and he participated in many of that era's landmark jazz-fusion and instrumental rock recordings by Jean Luc Ponty ( Enigmatic Ocean ), Gong ( Gazeuse! ), and Bill Bruford ( Feels Good To Me , One of A Kind ). Late in the 70s, the once dominant genre of classic British “prog rock” stumbled on unsure footing as the punk and new wave bands rose in commercial prominence. Drummer Bill Bruford, a founding member of Yes who later joined King Crimson, suggested Holdsworth participate in a new project featuring the formidable rhythm section of King Crimson and a brilliant young violinist/keyboardist Eddie Jobson, who had worked with both Frank Zappa and Roxy Music.

The resulting debut album, U.K . , became what was later considered the last and greatest milestones of 70s progressive rock. The band's sound was at the time both technically and artistically at the cutting edge of rock music, given the coupling of Jobson's innovative use of synthesizers and electric violins, coupled with Holdsworth's unconventional chord voicings, searing solos, and passionate melodic phrases. The U.K. “supergroup” setting was as brilliant as it was short-lived, and egos and questions of creative direction led to a split between Bruford and Holdsworth on one side, and Jobson and bassist John Wetton on the other. In 1996 Guitar World cited Holdsworth's contribution to U.K . as the factor in naming it one of the top 10 rock guitar albums “of all time.”

In 1978, Holdsworth decided he wanted to pursue a different, more live-based direction as opposed to his recent participation in lush, studio-crafted masterpieces. He sought out a more immediate, less intricately arranged band context than what had been established with Bruford, in order to explore a rock-oriented musical context that also explored extended instrumental ensemble improvisations. Holdsworth wanted to rediscover some of the energy and dynamics that had been so memorable in his live performances working with Tony Williams, and reluctantly parted company with Bruford's band. Holdsworth began to develop his own trio with two other Northern English musicians, drummer Gary Husband, and bassist Paul Carmichael, which begun Holdsworth's first touring band as a leader, the now-celebrated IOU band. Their first recording IOU sold exceptionally well for an independent release, and Holdsworth's friend and admirer, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, proved instrumental in securing IOU a recording contract with Warner Bros. Executive Producer Ted Templeman wanted to experiment with a “mini-album” concept, which resulted in the 1984 Grammy-nominated release, Road Games , which featured vocal cameos from long-time Holdsworth collaborator, the legendary Jack Bruce. It also featured a new American line-up, with Jeff Berlin and Chad Wackerman comprising the rhythm section. However tensions with the label over creative control led to a split between Holdsworth and Warner Bros. In 1985 Holdsworth signed with the Enigma label, enjoying creative control, and Jimmy Johnson joined the group after Jeff Berlin's departure to pursue his solo career. Holdsworth then recruited one of the most respected L.A. session bassists, Jimmy Johnson, leader of Flim and the BBs. The last version of the IOU band went back in the studio and with some notable guest appearances (among them bassist Gary Willis and original IOU drummer Gary Husband) contributed to tracks for the highly successful release, Metal Fatigue (1985).

In 1986 the release of Atavachron demonstrated Holdsworth's focus on instrumental music, continuing his core band with Johnson and Wackerman. Atavachron also featured stellar guest appearances by two of Southern California 's most sought after jazz keyboardists, Alan Pasqua and Billy Childs. Like other Holdsworth recordings to follow, it proved to be a summit for great drummers, with guest contributions from Tony Williams and Gary Husband. Husband's increasingly successful career eventually led to Holdsworth's appearance as a studio musician and band member with Level 42 for their 1993 release, Guaranteed . The follow-up to Atavachron , Sand (1988), marked a new period with Holdsworth concentrating on his exploration of the Synthaxe, a revolutionary guitar-like synth-controller.

Holdsworth received the winning award in Guitar Player Magazine's poll as “best guitar synthesist,” for many consecutive years afterward. With Secrets (1990) Holdsworth returned to his association with Enigma records, (which became the Restless label) featuring an album recorded mostly with the great session drummer Vinnie Collaiuta, who later joined Sting's band and had previously worked with Frank Zappa and Jeff Berlin. Secrets further revealed Holdsworth's rich harmonic vision and unleashed more distinctively “Holdsworthian” music, an enigmatic style that continues to invert, push, and transform the boundaries of more conventional rock, fusion, and jazz forms.

During this period the keyboardist from Stanley Clarke's touring band, Steve Hunt, joined Holdsworth's band. In the early 90s, Holdsworth also appeared in a jazz “supergroup” and at festivals with other great jazz and fusion legends, including Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham, and Michael and Randy Brecker among others. 1992's Wardenclyffe Tower furthered an exploration of Holdsworth's own designs for baritone electric guitars (built by luthier Bill DeLap) and broadened the use of his chordal orchestrations and solo phrasings via the SynthAxe. In 1994, Hard Hat Area was released on Restless with the latest version of Holdsworth's band, including Icelandic bassist Skull Sverrisson, Gary Husband, and Steve Hunt, providing one of his most satisfying projects from the quality of group interplay and capturing the band closer to its live performance context. The release of Holdsworth's next album project, None Too Soon (1996) marked a departure in style from this impressive string of previous group projects. It provided Holdsworth the opportunity to showcase his interpretation of some classic jazz standards and several originals by one of England 's best-known jazz pianists, Gordon Beck.

Holdsworth recorded some of his favorite, lesser-known jazz standards, along with several Gordon Beck originals, in a “straight-ahead” jazz vein, drawing upon Beck's talents as an arranger. The rhythm section teamed for the project included bass prodigy Gary Willis and drummer Kirk Covington, both members of the West Coast based fusion powerhouse, Tribal Tech. None Too Soon built upon the same chemistry established in a brief recording session of the same musicians featured on a Beatles guitar tribute titled “Come Together,” (1994, NYC Records) in which this same group covered Beck's arrangement of the Beatles' “Michelle.” In None Too Soon , Holdsworth produced a refreshing jazz recording that realized a different perspective on his playing, while demonstrating his appreciation of standards as penned by John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Django Reinhardt and Joe Henderson. None Too Soon offers listeners a compelling and swinging musical journey, including a riveting, updated interpretation of Irving Berlin's “How Deep Is The Ocean” and a blistering twist on the Lennon/McCartney classic, “Norwegian Wood.”

Building on the supreme sonic craftsmanship Holdsworth realizes in his home studio in Southern California , The Brewery, Holdsworth's latest solo recording is certain to be singled out as one of his greatest musical masterpieces. The Sixteen Men Of Tain marks a further exploration of traditional jazz motifs, and, as a first on his solo projects, an acoustic rhythm section. Holdsworth's tenth solo album marked the debut of a new band formed with bassist Dave Carpenter and drummer Gary Novak, both West Coast session men. First released in 2000, a special edition with two additional tracks was released via Eddie Jobson's label, Globe Music, in summer of 2003. Tain marked a new direction in a forward-looking jazz vein and blended together a new vision explored to a degree in the more traditional jazz arrangements found in None Too Soon.

One frequent topic of discussion among Holdsworth devotees was the fact that after well over a decade of touring with stellar players, Holdsworth had never approved the release of any live recordings by his bands, or any of those with him as a guest performer for that matter. In Fall 2002, Sony Japan released Holdsworth's first ever live recording, featuring Jimmy Johnson and Chad Wakerman in which Sony featured the trio's performance show as a showpiece for their next generation of state-of-the-art five-channel sound technology. In late 2003, Alternity Records will release a second landmark Holdsworth live recording, Then! featuring a quartet performance from 1990 with keyboardist Steve Hunt, along with original IOU drummer Gary Husband, and Jimmy Johnson. Recorded originally in digital 24-track, Then! covers material from a broad swath of Holdsworth's recording career, from his days with Tony Williams' Lifetime up through Hard Hat Area and includes three never-released group improvisation tracks, not to mention some of Holdsworth's most powerful and ferocious solo flights ever captured on tape. Holdsworth spent time later in 2002 completing production duties for the recently released Softworks album Abracadabra , which featured alumnus from different eras of the legendary English experimental band, Soft Machine. Holdsworth toured with the band in Japan in the summer of 2003, which included saxophonist Elton Dean, bassist Hugh Hopper, and drummer John Marshall.

In the past decade Holdsworth has varied his music career, engineering and inventing electronic sound-processing tools, including The Harness. He has several unique electric guitar designs now produced by Carvin, and has worked with luthier DeLap in conceiving custom baritone and piccolo guitars. In fact one of the larger and longer baritones is featured on all three improvised pieces in the new live album, Then! In his expanded and improved home studio, Holdsworth is already writing material for a new album of original pieces, and is planning to participate as a guest musician in several other projects as an engineer/producer. Whether he is playing instruments with the latest electric guitar innovations, piccolo, baritone guitars, or the Synthaxe, Holdsworth remains never quite satisfied in his eternal “quest for the perfect tone."

With the Bay Bridge closing for Labor Day Friday night, San Franciscans may yet have their chance to catch Holdsworth via BART; for those lucky few already in the East Bay, spend some time with one of the greatest electric guitarists of all time.

Allan Holdsworth, with Jimmy Johnson & Chad Wackerman at Yoshi's, Jack London Square
Fri 8pm $24 & 10pm $16
Sat 8pm & 10pm $24 Sun 7pm $24 & 9pm $16
Day of Show: additional $3 per ticket
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-10-05T11:04:31-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/8c3b2cf31c44141290fda1c22d4355bb-42.html#unique-entry-id-42http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/8c3b2cf31c44141290fda1c22d4355bb-42.html#unique-entry-id-42
For those of you who survived last weekend's 3-day, 100 episode marathon of Naruto on Cartoon Network, treat yourself to the final days of "Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga" at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum. Considered by many to be the father of much of the modern-day anime and manga, Tezuka Osamu's Astro Boy paved the way for Japan's entry into the United States market. Astro Boy was one of Tezuka's greatest creations, and he is on display alongside many of his other favorites, including "Kimba the White Lion".

This exhibition is a wonderful tribute to Tezuka Osamu (1928-1989) -- a revered artistic master and pioneer in the world of manga and its offspring anime. In his lifetime, Tezuka created more than 700 titles and 150,000 pages of artwork. His legacy can be seen in the manga and anime being created today, and in this exhibition, a closer look at his work, his themes, and the man himself is given. The Asian Art Museum is the only North American venue to host this special exhibition which began June 2nd, and ends September 9th.

Organized by Australia's National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in association with Tezuka Productions, the exhibition has already shown in two venues in Australia, but this is its premiere in the United States. In addition to the artwork on display, the exhibition will also offer a wide array of public programs, including film screenings, lectures, demonstrations, and a manga lounge where you can try to create manga yourself.

Osamu Tezuka was born in Osaka at a time when Japan was facing its greatest changes and challenges as a nation. Western culture and art, once rare, were now readily available in Japanese society. Young Tezuka was greatly influenced by the early animated films of Walt Disney, and was especially fascinated by the artistry of Disney’s animated masterpieces, Snow White and Bambi.

Before embarking on a career as a manga artist, Tezuka studied medicine, and he later earned his credentials as a doctor. His medical thriller, "Black Jack" is an excellent example of Tezuka taking his interest in the science and ethics of medicine and translating it into compelling storytelling.

While in college, Tezuka began cartooning and created New Treasure Island (Shintakarajima), which sold over 400,000 copies -- a staggering figure for a comic book at the time. His artwork for New Treasure Island is admired for its cinematic quality -- events and emotions unfold as if the reader were watching a film. Throughout his creative career, Tezuka pioneered the East-meets-West storytelling style that greatly influenced the development of modern manga. Later, Tezuka formed his own animation studio and his innovations in this industry influenced the evolution of a homegrown anime/animation industry that flourishes today.


The 1963, black and white, Astro Boy TV series

Tezuka's Astro Boy, told the tale of a scientist whose young son is killed in a car crash. Tormented by madness and racked with guilt, the scientist re-makes the boy as a virtually indestructible robot, and Astro Boy is born. Ultimately rejected by his "father" for being unable to grow up like other children, Astro Boy struggles with his quest to be more than just a robot and his "Pinocchio-like" desire to be a human boy. It is this journey that makes Astro Boy more human than those he tries to save, and the genius of Tezuka that brings those ironies to life.

Tezuka mentored and influenced many contemporary manga artists. His decision to draw characters with large eyes to enhance their expressive, emotional qualities has been passed down to many generations of artists who have followed in his footsteps. Today, the Asahi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper, honors excellence in contemporary manga with the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize.

Dr. Tezuka was not only innovative, he was extremely prolific. In his 40+ years as a cartoonist and animator, Tezuka created 700 stories and 17,000 pages of comic book art, and numerous popular and award-winning animated TV series and award-winning short films and feature-length movies.

Another remarkable aspect of Tezuka's career is his consistent ability to draw compelling, sensitive stories in a variety of genres, for almost all ages of readers. For example, Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion were meant for young boys. Princess Knight was created for Nakayoshi, a magazine for girls. With their complex, nuanced storylines and dynamic compositions, works such as Phoenix and Buddha were clearly meant for older audiences. And yet all of these works, no matter how different in tone, style and intended audience, still retain Tezuka’s style of drawing.

Dr. Tezuka died at the age of 60 in 1989, drawing and writing until the end. His lifework was honored by the opening of the Osamu Tezuka Museum of Cartoon Art in Takarazuka, Japan. Today, more and more of Tezuka’s manga is being translated into English, French, German and is readily available to comics connoisseurs worldwide.

"Friends will cheer you... You're our hero... As you go, go, GO Astro Boy!"]]>user@domain.comblog2007-08-13T11:03:14-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/e3e08fce7d5ad850dffb00aefd40cba0-41.html#unique-entry-id-41http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/e3e08fce7d5ad850dffb00aefd40cba0-41.html#unique-entry-id-41
One of my favorite songs, is a piece entitled "Balatho", written by the brilliant Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu during his tenure with the jazz group Oregon. (I loved "Balatho" so much, that I even played and recorded it with my own group!) A master tabla player as well as trap set drummer, Gurtu has re-recorded this wonderful song on a new CD with Arkè String Quartet called simply, "Arkeology". This latest version is perhaps the best yet, with Gurtu as the only improvising soloist in the ensemble, (on his famed staccato ragas and vocals as well as a multitude of instruments), and contributed three of the ten compositions. The quartet of Carlo Cantini – Violin, Dilruba, Recorder, Kalimba; Valentino Corvino – Violin; Sandro Di Paolo – Viola; and Stefano Dall’Ora– Doublebass, Ukelele, Emincence Bass/Aptflex, contributed the rest.

The reviewer John Fordam wrote, "The Arkè String Quartet have shrewdly and musically lent an ear to a lot of world-music materials - from a softly singing microtonal quality reminiscent of Chinese violin music, to the rhythmic devices of Indian classical music and a Shakti-like Indo-jazz fusion, to a Celtic skip, an ambient tone-poetry sigh and much more. Although the samplings from these different cultures don't entirely escape the local equivalents of hot licks, the CD is indeed, varied, sensitively played and affectingly melodic - and Gurtu's famously tumultuous jamming against it is as inventive as ever."

Gurtu was born into a highly musical family in Bombay, India where his grandfather was a noted Sitar player and his mother Shobha Gurtu, a classical singing star and constant influence. He began to play practically from infancy at the age of six. Eventually Trilok traveled to Europe, joining up with trumpeter Don Cherry (father of Neneh and Eagle Eye) for two years; touring worldwide with Oregon, the highly respected jazz group and was an important part of the quartet that L. Shankar led with Jan Garbarek and Zakir Hussain.

In 1988 Trilok performed with his own group, finally being able to present his compositions on the debut album "Usfret" which many musicians claim as an important influence; young Asian musicians from London like Talvin Singh, Asian Dub Foundation and Nitin Sawhney see him as a mentor and so Trilok's work finds its way onto the turntables at dance clubs years later. But back in 1988 Trilok met The Mahavishnu Orchestra and its leader, John McLaughlin and for the next four years played an integral part in The John McLaughlin Trio.

In 1993 Trilok toured his own trio in support of the album "The Crazy Saints", which featured not only Joe Zawinul but also Pat Metheny. Audiences were enthralled by his compositions that linked subtle Indian rhythms and Indian singing with elements of modern jazz and rock. The following year the band was expanded to a quartet and touring extended to include a US coast-to-coast tour and 40+ European shows.

The composer and band leader had evolved from the Trilok of earlier years: consummate musicianship now joined entertainment skills as his humourous presentations for the group, between bouts of serious music, brought uproarious laughter from his spectators.

Band tours continued annually establishing Trilok Gurtu as a regular and popular visitor to many European and US cities; his group, The Glimpse was formed in 1996 which grew from his musical roots in India's timeless acoustic tradition. By the late 90's they were touring worldwide and appearing in Festivals where he performed alongside the megastars of the entertainment business (Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, REM) as well as his colleagues in the World Music scene like Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, Cesaria Evora and Salif Keita. The "Kathak", "African Fantasy" and "Beat of Love" cds came about in 1998/9, 2000/1 as a direct result of these years: Trilok's music entered a distinctly World Music setting. These Indian/African cds were snapped up, with public and media alike enthralled by Trilok's heady World mixture; a new sound that contained the core of his previous works but expanded on it allowing guest singers like Neneh Cherry, Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjo and Oumou Sangare to display their talents in Trilok's unique world.

When Trilok hit the live performance circuit in 2000 and 2001 with his new group of 3 Indians and 2 Africans, sales of cds zoomed way over those of previous recordings. Audiences saw the group with special guest appearances by Nitin Sawhney, Angelique Kidjo, Salif Keita and "The Beat Of Love" producer Wally Badarou in New York and London. In between a hectic schedule of group performances he has appeared at a number of prestigious solo percussion recitals and given guest performances on albums by John McLaughlin, Pharoah Sanders, Nitin Sawhney, Lalo Schifrin, Gilberto Gil, Bill Laswell & Annie Lennox.

The release of "Remembrance" in 2002 was a major milestone for Trilok. The guests Shankar Mahadevan, Zakir Hussain, Ronu Majumdar and Shobha Gurtu gave superb performances. Reviews in London were all 4**** and better, including The Times, Daily Express, The Guardian, Q, Songlines and FRoots. Combined with extensive touring across Europe and especially Scandinavia, this led to Trilok's second nomination for the BBC World Music Awards and for an EMMA. Stand out performances were at London's Hyde Park for the Queen's 50th Anniversary and in Bombay as part of a global satellite-delivered concert with Youssou N'Dour and Baaba Maal celebrating the BBC's 70th Anniversary of their World Service.

2003 saw a wide variety of over 50 performances all over the globe from Trilok Gurtu in quartet, trio and solo formats. His first collaboration in an orchestral piece took place in Koln in October, with the World Premiere of "Chalan" written especially for him by Maurizio Sotelo. Other key 2003 performances were at Cité de la Musique, Paris in April with special guest Shankar Mahadevan; in Utrecht with Robert Miles, Kudsi Erguner and Hassan Harkmoun and in Sardinia with Dave Holland. The most spectacular was certainly in Copenhagen at "The Images of Asia Festival" where he orchestrated a joint performance of his own band with Samul Nori (Korean Percussionist) and Huun Huur Tu (Mongolian Throat Singers). All this on a floating stage in Copenhagen Harbour at sunset - quite delicious! Exotic cities like Belgrade, Istanbul, Tbilisi and Kathmandu got another chance to enjoy his work and MTV took another clip in Bombay.

Trilok started 2004 with a 10-date tour of Norway in February followed by an extensive tour of 25 concerts in France to announce the release of his eleventh cd "Broken Rhythms". "Broken Rhythms" followed the critical success of "Remembrance", a second album mainly recorded in his home town of Bombay, with a strong selection of Indian singers and musicians. As with all Trilok records, the accent is on rhythm and drumming - but this one more so. Featured collaborations with the Tuvan Throat Singers Huun Huur Tu, the Arké String Quartet and an outstanding screaming guitar part from Gary Moore bring a heady mix of bright and fast with gentle and peaceful. The album was released in France in March 2004 and received 4 star reviews. Two visits to the USA with his group included the huge Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco in front of 20,000 spectators; Italian, Montenegran and Serbian engagements with further French dates in the Autumn completed his year.

"Arkeology" is the union of two seemingly different worlds: Gurtu’s extraordinary rhythmic vitality and versatility and the classic string quartet’s sound reinterpreted by Arkè String Quartet. Here two multimillenial musical traditions merge, melting in melodies, polyrhythms and new counterpoints. Their project is based on a fascinating linguistic research, which has the sole aim of allowing the pure force of the singing and the rhythm to emerge, these being the expressive cores of the Indian and Mediterranean musical traditions. I loved it, and I think you will too.
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-08-05T11:01:04-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/592cd507e55ca8a030117a65da1294cb-40.html#unique-entry-id-40http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/592cd507e55ca8a030117a65da1294cb-40.html#unique-entry-id-40
Max Roach, the master percussionist whose rhythmic innovations and improvisations defined bebop jazz during a wide-ranging career where he collaborated with artists from Duke Ellington to rapper Fab Five Freddy, has died after a long illness. He was 83. The self-taught musical prodigy died Wednesday night at an undisclosed hospital in Manhattan, said Cem Kurosman, spokesman for Blue Note Records, one of Roach's labels. No additional details were available, he said Thursday.

Roach received his first musical break at age 16, filling in for three nights in 1940 when Ellington's drummer fell ill. Roach's performance led him to the legendary Minton's Playhouse in Harlem, where he joined luminaries Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the burgeoning bebop movement. In 1944, Roach joined Gillespie and Coleman Hawkins in one of the first bebop recording sessions.

What distinguished Roach from other drummers were his fast hands and ability to simultaneously maintain several rhythms. By layering different beats and varying the meter, Roach pushed jazz beyond the boundaries of standard 4/4 time. His dislocated beats helped define bebop. Roach's innovative use of cymbals for melodic lines, and tom-toms and bass drums for accents, helped elevate the percussionist from mere timekeeper to featured performer -- on a par with the trumpeter and saxophonist."One of the grand masters of our music," Gillespie once observed.

In a 1988 essay in The New York Times, Wynton Marsalis wrote of Roach: "All great instrumentalists have a superior quality of sound, and his is one of the marvels of contemporary music. ... The roundness and nobility of sound on the drums and the clarity and precision of the cymbals distinguishes Max Roach as a peerless master."

Throughout the jazz upheaval of the 1940s and '50s, Roach played bebop with the Charlie Parker Quintet and cool bop with the Miles Davis Capitol Orchestra. He joined trumpeter Clifford Brown in playing hard bop, a jazz form that maintained bebop's rhythmic drive while incorporating the blues and gospel.

In 1952, Roach and bassist-composer Charles Mingus founded Debut Records. Among the short-lived label's releases was a famed 1953 Toronto performance in Massey Hall, featuring Roach, Mingus, Parker, Gillespie and pianist Bud Powell. But by the mid-1950s, Roach had watched several of his friends -- including Parker -- die from heroin addiction. In 1956, Roach was further devastated when Brown died in a car accident.

After his own struggle with drugs and alcohol, Roach rebounded with the help of his first wife, singer Abbey Lincoln. Married in 1962, they divorced eight years later. Roach re-emerged in the 1960s free jazz era with a new political consciousness. Albums like "We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite" reflected his support of black activism.

Over the next decades, Roach expanded his repertoire and explored new challenges. He taught at the University of Massachusetts, traveled to Ghana in search of new music, and performed with groups from Japan and Cuba. He also formed an all-percussion ensemble known as M'Boom, a quartet and a double quartet that included Roach's daughter Maxine Roach on viola.

Roach even worked with rapper Fab Five Freddy in the early 1980s. Ignoring critics, Roach insisted rap had a place on music's "boundless palette." Roach, who in 1988 became the first jazz musician to receive a MacArthur Fellowship "genius award," said his curiosity reflected his sense of obligation to music. He was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1995.

Max Roach was born in New Land, N.C., on Jan. 10, 1924. His family moved four years later to a Brooklyn apartment, where a player piano left by the previous tenants gave Roach his musical introduction.

Using player piano rolls of Jelly Roll Morton and Albert Ammons, Roach played along by putting his fingers on the keys and pedals as they rose and fell. But he was looking for another instrument to play when he began singing with the children's choir at the Concord Baptist Church.

Roach found a snare drum, and was hooked. His father gave the eighth-grader his first set of drums, and Roach was drumming professionally while still in high school.

He was survived by five children: sons Daryl and Raoul, and daughters Maxine, Ayl and Dara.
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-09-05T10:57:39-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/ff7e30bbaf09d52295563850f5bc6c8c-39.html#unique-entry-id-39http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/ff7e30bbaf09d52295563850f5bc6c8c-39.html#unique-entry-id-39
Growing up in Washington, D.C., I first saw Billy Cobham with guitar virtuoso John McLaughlin and his ground breaking Mahavishnu Orchestra at American University in 1972. After that unbelievable show, Cobham soon became my favorite drummer... He still is. Considered by many to be one of the greatest drummers of all time, Billy Cobham's prolific career has spanned several decades; from his earliest works with pianist Horace Silver and trumpeter Miles Davis; the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Ron Carter, Randy and Michael Brecker, John Scofield, George Duke, Dexter Gordon and Stan Getz; his work with the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and the Dead-inspired "Jazz is Dead"; and last but not least, his many and varied ensembles, from his steel drum-flavored Culture Mix, to his most recent, latin inspired group, Asere.

Cobham's incredible rudimentary skills were second to none; I'd personally seen him over thirty times, and his massive frame and joyous playing will leave anyone who sees him gasping in amazement. Those skills have not diminished one bit, as evidenced in a new DVD, "Billy Cobham: Live at 60". Joining Cobham for yet another concert in Paris, is his Culture Mix group, featuring the great "Junior" Gill on steel drums. With footage and interviews, this DVD is a remarkable window into the life of perhaps the best drummer of ours, or any generation.

Only a few times in history has a musician been singled out as the world-class master of his instrument. Cobham is one of those few artists. For over 30 years, he has received international acclaim as the total consummate percussionist. The legendary Cobham, with his matchless, dazzling, ambidextrous skills as a drummer, has applied the same insistent fervor to his long list of monumental achievements. He’s an accomplished composer and record producer. It is a rarely known fact that he was at the forefront of the electronic music industry and it’s development through Jazz.

He was one of the first percussionists, along with Max Roach and Tony Williams to utilize the Electronic Drum Controller made in 1968 by the Meazzi Drum Company in Milano, Italy while on concert tour with Horace Silver in Europe. He is one of the few Percussionists, specializing in the Jazz drum set to lead his own band. The award winning Cobham has custom designed trend setting acoustic and electronic drum sets and has endorsed products that he created and refined.

Cobham has performed on hundreds of records with his own groups and with some of the music’s most luminary artists, and his trademark - biggest, fastest, explosive drumming - has energized the international stages of concerts, symphonies, big bands, Broadway, festivals, television and video. He has been a teacher of his artistry, giving drum clinics, conducting workshops and symposiums throughout the world. His stylistic influence, which has literally created a category of music, is an outstanding part of the history of modern music.

Since 1980, Cobham has been dividing his time between his home in Zurich and the United States where he lived in New York City and northern California until that time, underscoring his unique internationally influenced origins as a musician. Cobham was born on May 16th, 1944 in Panama, surrounded by talented parents and a brother, Wayne (producer, horn player, MIDI specialist, writer), Cobham’s love for drums was kindled by his cousins who played and constructed steel drums and congas in Panama. Some of his earliest memories are of himself playing timbales.

The Cobhams moved to New York City in 1947, when Billy was 3 years old. He had his stage debut in performance with his father at the age of 8. Cobham developed his seriously voracious appetite for drumming in the highly competitive Drum and Bugle Corps. arena with St. Catherine’s Queensmen, prompting him to attend New York’s famed High School of Music and Art to study music theory and drum technique with seminars by such renowned talents as Thelonious Monk and Stan Getz. Cobham remembers "In those days, Jazz was a bit off-limits to students while classical music was preferred by the education establishment. So, of course students craved to meet jazz artists.

Miles Davis was the most talked about personality of the time and had the best musicians working with him Cobham recalled; "We’d listen to him and analyze, as we did with other professionals. But in those days, all roads did lead to Miles." "He was the goal to shoot for because he had a knack for putting the right components together (musicians and music) to convey the ultimate message through Jazz."

Cobham’s most notable offerings to fusion jazz are his own 35 recordings beginning with "Spectrum", which was released on Atlantic Records in 1973 and reissued on compact disc by Rhino Entertainment in 2001. Amid the re-release of Spectrum, Cobham has several projects in the works including "Drum + Voice" (due via Sony), and a range of educational tools he produces through his own company, Creative Multi-Media Concepts. Among the resources is the book "Conundrum", which is published by Warner Publishing, and a slew of Music Minus One interactive CDs which feature selections from Spectrum and other projects of Cobham's.

Billy Cobham: Live at 60 is a unique moment in time, staged in Paris, France to celebrate the 60th birthday. Surrounded by his band, Culture Mix, Billy takes the viewer through a 75 minute musical experience featuring "Red Baron," "Dessicated Coconuts," "Cuba on the Horizon," and many others. While displaying the virtuosic drumming that Cobham is known for, this DVD puts the viewer right next to Cobham, to share his music, his humor, and his culture as if seated behind the drums along with him. Other featured musicians include percussionist Wilber "Junior" Gill, Marcus Ubeda on the keyboard, guitarist Per Gade, and Stefan Rademacher on bass.
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-07-12T10:54:04-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d950b0f633451c3841645d7d98591b0d-38.html#unique-entry-id-38http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d950b0f633451c3841645d7d98591b0d-38.html#unique-entry-id-38
This year, I am once again honored to be a part of the Edgetone New Music Summit, a fantastic series of concerts featuring some of the Bay Area's best and brightest sound artists, electronic and experimental musicians. Last year's festival ran the gamut: from the eclectic visual sound artist Pamela Z and the afro-jazz of Positive Knowledge; to the other-worldy tinkerings of Bob Marsh and master sound scuptors like Steven Baker and Tom Nunn. There were 16 piece Kelp orchestras and 6 piece Crank ensembles; the "field-scapes" of percussionist Marcos Fernandes, and the wonderfully cacaphonous music of "saxophonists who play other things." This one-of-a-kind festival truly lives up to it's name, "the inner groove on the edge of tone."

Outsound Presents, the leading emerging artist collective and non-profit organization for new and experimental music and sound, returns for their 6th festival, beginning July 22nd and running through July 28th. The festival will feature artists such as Liz Allbee, Tatsuya Nakatani, Marielle Jakobsons, Tom Nunn, Matt Davignon, Bob Marsh/David Michalak, Rent Romus, Thollem Mcdonas, Jon Brumit, Jim Ryan, Wynn Yamami, Lx Rudis, Wobbly, Lance Grabmiller, Robert Anbian and the UFQ, Eddie the Rat, Jesse Quattro, Bruce Anderson, and Gowns.

Every year the Edgetone New Music Summit showcases some of the most innovative and pioneering new music that is happening in California and beyond. The Festivals’ expanded performance schedule includes music and sound from raging free improvisation, electronic manipulation, to harsh noise reflecting an incredible range of genre busting exploration and sonic creativity. In addition, the festival seeks to promote intermedia arts, fostering cross-pollination between music/sound art and experimental flim/ visual arts.

The festival also pays homage to local as well as California’s central role in the development of invention and cutting edge concepts. Historically dating back to the inception of the Barbary Coast of San Francisco in the early 20th century, the San Francisco Bay Area has been and still is the location where many of the founders of new ideas in sound live and have lived including Ives, Pauline Oliveros, Glenn Spearman, Lisle Ellis, and Terry Riley to name a few. Today, the SF Bay Area, in the heart of California, is home to one of the most bustling and expanding new music scenes fostering the next generation.

This year's Summit is sponsored in part by KFJC 89.7 FM, SF Bay Guardian, Elastic Creative, Bayimproviser.com, Harshnoise.com, KUSF 90.3 FM, Studio 401, and the Luggage Store Gallery. A Special Thank You to our individual donors: Roderick Repke, John Lee, Scott Biggs, Linda and David Repke, Suki O’Kane, Matt Davignon, Mark Miller, Philip Everett, Ray Schaeffer, Peter Martin, John Vaughn, & Bill Noertker.

EDGETONE NEW MUSIC SUMMIT ARTIST LINEUP

A complete detailed list of the 6th Annual Edgetone New Music Summit events can also be found at www.edgetonemusicsummit.org.

OUTSPOKEN SCHEDULE

Pre-Concert Composer Q&A
Interactive discussions of techniques and influences with composers, who will share context and insight into the performance work.

Wednesday July 25 at 7:30 pm Community Music Center, San Francisco Speaker: Marielle Jakobson
Thursday July 26 at 7:30 pm Community Music Center, San Francisco Speakers: Wynn Yamami, Jim Ryan and Tatsuya Nakatani
Friday July 27 at 8:30 pm 21 Grand, Oakland Speaker: Bevin Kelley

Panel Discussions
Drawn from Sources:
Inquiries into the sources, intent and challenges inherent in experimental music, and its place in our creative and social fabric.

Sunday, July 22nd 7pm in association with SIMM Series
Ethnic Tradition and Experimental Music
Musicians Union Hall 116 9th St. San Francisco
Moderated by Greg Beuthin (Balé Techlorico)
Artists speak out about how they balance their work to preserve and extend traditions in ethnic music.

Saturday, July 28th 3pm location TBA
This Music Defies Categorization
21 Grand Gallery 416 25th St. @ Broadway Oakland
Moderated TBA
with Peter Martin (Eddie the Rat), Jake Rodriguez (The Bran… POS) and artists TBA
Artists reflect on individual strategies, and the challenges, for creating work from multiple traditions of music, theater and movement.

SUMMIT PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Wednesday, July 25th Pre-Concert Composer Q&A 7:30pm, Performance Starts 8pm
Community Music Center
”Time in Transmission, a night of electro-acoustic performance”
544 Capp St. @ 20th St., San Francisco
Darwinsbitch, Tom Nunn/Matt Davignon, Nihil Communication & butoh danceer Laurie Buenafe Krsmanovic,
Bob Marsh/David Michalak: Doctor Bob
General $10, Seniors/Students $5

Thursday, July 26th Pre-Concert Composer Q&A 7:30pm, Performance Starts 8pm
Community Music Center
”Fields of Flowers , a night of spontaneous composition”
544 Capp St. @ 20th St., San Francisco 8pm
Rent Romus, Steven Baker, Thollem Mcdonas, Jon Brumit: BLOOM with guests
Liz Allbee & Tatsuya Nakatani (PA), Wynn Yamami, Christopher Ariza, Ali Sakkal: KIOKU (NY),
Jim Ryan's Forward Energy Trio featuring Robert Jones(OR) & Andrew Wilshusen(OR)
General $10, Seniors/Students $5

Friday, July 27th Pre-Concert Composer Q&A 8:30pm, Performance Starts 9pm
21 Grand Gallery
”Beat & Beyond, a night extending rhythm and sound”
416 25th St. @ Broadway Oakland
Lx Rudis, Wobbly, Lance Grabmiller, Robert Anbian & the Unidentified Flying Quartet with
E. Doctor Smith & Charles Unger
General $12, Seniors/Students/Artists $8

Saturday, July 28th doors 8pm show starts 9pm
21 Grand Gallery
”Critical Mass, Sounds on the gritty side of the fence...”
416 25th St. @ Broadway Oakland
Jon Brumit & Wayne Grim: Van Boven, Eddie the Rat, Jesse Quattro,
Bruce Anderson Bill Raymond & John Moreman: High Vulture, the Gowns
General $12, Seniors/Students/Artists $8

OUTSPOKEN EVENTS
OUTSOUND, in addition to being one of the largest new music presenters on the West Coast, is also presents
the OutSpoken Education Series consisting of pre-concert Q&A, master classes and artist panel discussions during the Summit event. This year’s presentation is dubbed Drawn from Sources: Inquiries into the sources, intent and challenges inherent in experimental music, and its place in our creative and social fabric.

TICKETS AND INFORMATION
Tickets are currently on sale to the public. Schedule and artists are subject to change.
There are two ways to purchase tickets:
• Visit www.edgetonemusicsummit.org
• Purchase tickets at the door on the night of the performance]]>user@domain.comblog2007-08-01T10:52:25-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d443c504a66392f04554365a27b3c1fb-37.html#unique-entry-id-37http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d443c504a66392f04554365a27b3c1fb-37.html#unique-entry-id-37
A few weeks ago, I was in Cannes, France with ex-patriate cellist-bassist Stanley Adler, reminicsing on our 25 plus year friendship and our time spent performing with Brian Eno and the NYC group "The Same", featuring Clodagh Simonds, Carter Burwell, Chip Johannsen and Stephen Bray. (Eno and Burwell recently reunited with Simonds on her new CD, "Fovea Hex"). Our association with Eno was perhaps the most influential musical force of our lives, and steered us along a creative path we still trod today.

In those halcyon days, Eno was pioneering his video art; a dozen or so video monitors and computer generated images in a SoHo gallery, accompanied by his wonderfully ambient music. This weekend, Eno's vision comes full circle to the Yerba Buena Center with his North American debut of "77 Million Paintings", a video tour de force, art installation and ambient soundscape all rolled into one.

In late 2006, Eno released "77 Million Paintings", a program of generative video and music specifically for the PC. As its title suggests, there is a possible combination of 77 million paintings where the viewer will see different combinations of video slides prepared by Eno each time the program is launched. Likewise, the accompanying music is generated by the program so that it's almost certain the listener will never quite hear the same arrangement twice.

Conceived by Eno as "visual music", his latest artwork, 77 Million Paintings is a constantly evolving sound and imagescape which continues his exploration into light as an artist's medium and the aesthetic possibilities of "generative software". He first created 77 Million Paintings to bring art to the increasing number of flat panel TV's and monitors that often sit darkened and underutilized. Now Eno is also showing large installations of this work, recently at the Venice Bienniale and Milan Triennale, and in Tokyo, London and South Africa. The installation at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will be the North American Premiere of his work.



The installation is indeed mesmerizing; the kaleidoscopic display of the projected images and slow, rhythmic evolution of the artwork create a singular experience for the viewer

The North American Premiere 77 Million Paintings will be held at San Francisco's foremost venue for contemporary art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The art installation will be up for only three nights, and is presented by The Long Now Foundation, a San Francisco non profit dedicated to fostering long-term responsibility. Two evenings are open to the general public and the final night is set aside for members of Long Now, in appreciation of their support for the organization.

In addition to the 77 Million Paintings installation in the Forum, the Grand Lobby will be set up for conversations and refreshments, including a full bar, and will also have demonstrations of Long Now's Clock and Library projects. The Long Now Foundation was established in "01996", (the Long Now Foundation uses five digit dates, the extra zero is to solve the deca-millennium bug which will come into effect in about 8,000 years), to develop the Clock and Library projects, as well as to become the seed of a very long term cultural institution.

The Long Now Foundation hopes to provide counterpoint to today's "faster/cheaper" mind set and promote "slower/better" thinking, and they hope to creatively foster responsibility in the framework of the next 10,000 years. The term was even coined by one of their founding board members: Eno. When Eno first moved to New York City, he found that in New York here and now meant this room and this five minutes, as opposed to the larger here and longer now that he was used to in England. They have since adopted the term as the title of their foundation, and are trying to stretch out what people consider as now.

There is also a Limited Edition 77 Million Paintings DVD available, featuring an exclusive interview in which Eno discusses his creation of the 77 Million Paintings software, the next evolutionary stage of his exploration into light as an artist's medium and the aesthetic possibilities of "generative software." A bonus software disc creates a constantly evolving, slowly changing "light painting" on the screen of your computer or TV with a virtually infinite number of variations accompanied by his music. Also included in this deluxe package also is a 52-page book, featuring an extensive essay by Eno.

Brian Eno's "77 Million Paintings"
The Yerba Buena Center
701 Mission Street, San Francisco
$25, $20 for students and seniors

Friday, June 29th from 8pm till 2 am - general admission
Saturday, June 30th from 8pm till 2 am - general admission
Sunday, July 1st from 7pm till midnight - Long Now Members
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-07-05T10:49:51-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7e1dd555c25b0816fa86c5ed5bd7d348-36.html#unique-entry-id-36http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7e1dd555c25b0816fa86c5ed5bd7d348-36.html#unique-entry-id-36
Today, I'll be attending the 2007 edition of England's famed Bath International Music Festival. In addition to being one of England's most beautiful and architectural cities, Bath attracts some of the greatest musicians from around the globe; Mavis Staples & Jazz Jamaica, the electronica of Arthurs & Bown, and People Like Us; the folk stylings of Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill; and the genre crossing Iain Ballamy & Stian Carstensen.

My personal favorites however, will be the jazz duo of drummer Bill Bruford and pianist Michiel Borstlap. After a high profile and illustrious career as the rock drummer of his generation (with Yes, Genesis and King Crimson), Bruford carved out an equally successful name as a jazz drummer through his jazz-rock ensemble Earthworks. Borstlap is a brilliant pianist, capable of creating solos of dazzling complexity, but also able to employ space and subtlety. Together they adopt a witty, conversational style: the table talk may turn as much to Liszt Scherzos as to jazz standards and free spirited improvisation.

I saw Bruford's first duo with the Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz in 1982, at New York City's now defunct Bottom Line, and later in 1983, at D.C.'s now defunct Bayou. Bruford and Moraz had released two albums, the acoustic "Music for Piano and Drums", and the electronic "Flags". Consequently, these recordings and others have been reissued on Bruford's new record labels: Summerfold and Winterfold. Now, on a beautifully played CD, "Every Step A Dance, Every Word A Song", and a DVD titled "In Concert In Holland", Bruford teamed up with Dutch keyboard master Michiel Borstlap, in duets culled from their 2003-2004 European tour. Although the duo's efforts are rooted in jazz, there are hints of the progressive-rock/New Age flavor of "Flags", where Borstlap employs synthesizer for choruses and textures, and Bruford's well known polyrhythmic beats and syncopations that propel this beautiful musical journey.

The "Left of the Dial" reviewer Glenn Astarita, notes that "Borstlap primarily uses a grand piano as his instrument of choice via a potpourri of swing vamps, and sublime moments, while Bruford's shading exercises, add color and additional warmth. Highlights include segments where the duo expands themes and unexpectedly switch gears as they often instill a polytonal outlook during jazz standards such as Monk's "Bemsha Swing," for example.

The piece titled "Swansong," is a compelling opus that defines the artists' overriding sense of musical intimacy coupled with power and tenacity. Here, Borstlap executes slashing crescendos amid Art Tatum-like chord voicings, as the unit melds quaint balladry with bluesy passages. The fun factor continues with Bruford's drumming onslaught, which serves as a prelude of sorts, to Borstlap's shrewd use of a synth chorale voicing to finalize the piece. Simply stated, it's about synergy and singular techniques rooted with elements of joy and precision.

Bruford met Dutch pianist Michiel Borstlap in 2002, and they began playing duo shows that were less about the confines of structure and more about what Bruford terms "performance-based" music, music of the moment where spontaneity and interaction were the predominant factors.

Canadian Music reviewer John Kelman wrote that "while Bruford and Borstlap are still more concerned with form than, say, Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi-whose recent album with Paul Motian, Doorways , is another beast entirely-the reciprocation between the two jumps out from the first notes of the more structured "The 16 Kingdoms of the 5 Barbarians." Bruford's liner notes allude to the fact that the performance space impacts the nature of the musical dialogue-smaller rooms having "the intimacy of a dinner table conversation between old friends," while larger venues "naturally become a bit more muscular and assertive."

Still, on more introspective pieces including the title track, the anthem-like "Inhaling Shade," and an abstract, yet faithful reading of Monk's "Round Midnight," Bruford may gently assert the forward motion, but he's also become a masterful colourist. And while Borstlap's supplementing of his piano with electronic keyboards sometimes gives the duo a broader complexion, the subtleties of their exchange are never overshadowed by sheer demonstrativeness.

Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song may not be as great a step forward for Borstlap, already a well-established European jazz figure, but it represents one more advance in the pursuit of a more instinctive and natural approach for Bruford, an artist who has, for all intents and purposes, left his rock roots completely behind him.

Next week I'll be in Paris, reporting on the French Open, and Roger Federer's quest for the only Grand Slam tennis title that has eluded him. Standing in his way will be the current champion and arch rival, Rafael Nadal...
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-06-05T10:47:22-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/52595c2ff12c49b348b50de0772cd560-35.html#unique-entry-id-35http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/52595c2ff12c49b348b50de0772cd560-35.html#unique-entry-id-35
"Avant poetry & jazz for time travelers in love"
“From the San Francisco poetry underground comes the voice of Robert Anbian, backed by electronic percussionist E. “Doc” Smith and Bay Area sax legend Charles Unger, plus keyboardist Sam Peoples and bassist Mike Shea. UFQ makes its own magic inspired by the music of Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, and Bobby Hutcherson, with infusions of Brian Eno, the Grateful Dead, and something else.  Notes Anbian:  “I call the post-fusion, world beat jazz these guys play ‘acid-bop’ – it’s got more possibilities for poetry than the typical verse-chorus cadences of popular music.”

Known for his lyrical-epic “WE” series, and such topical effronteries as “Haikus for the White House,” a timely and troubling song and video, Anbian has been described by fellow poet Richard Hack as “a passionate virtuoso steeped in these times and deep with tradition” [whose] “poetry crackles with currency – hiply linguistic turns of natural originality, rhythmically brimming with a tempestuous taste of ecstasy, reason, and love.” Dusty Dog Reviews declared him “a genius or a Venusian.”
 
E. Doctor Smith has played with Brian Eno, Madonna, and Warren Zevon, among others, and is the inventor of the electronic percussion instrument The Drummstick. The Unidentified Flying Quartet, an ever-expanding universe of concepts and players, is his brainchild.  Charles Unger leads the Charles Unger Experience, with Sam Peoples at the keyboard, and can be heard regularly at San Francisco’s Les Joulin's Jazz Bistro and the Rasselas Jazz Club. Mike Shea has played bass for hip-hop groups Subterraneanz and Triple Ave.
 
Anbian and the UFQ join a jazz and poetry revival rooted in the ’50s jazz work of Rexroth, Patchen, Kerouac, and Ferlinghetti, and carried on more recently by Laurie Anderson, John Girono and William Burroughs. “And don’t forget ol’ Charles Cros,” says Anbian. “Rexroth cited Cros’ performances at Le Chat Noir cabaret in Paris in the 1880s as inspiration for his own performances at the Black Hawk in San Francisco.”
 
“Of course, we’re after something a little peculiar, our own mix for the re-mix century….”

Robert Anbian & the Unidentified Flying Quartet
featuring Saxophonist Charles Unger & Percussionist E. ‘Doc’ Smith
CD Release Show
Thursday April 26th, 8pm
Sheba Piano Lounge
1419 Fillmore St., San Francisco
$10 Cover (includes CD)
Doors 7pm w/food & drink service
Phone: 415-440-7414
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-05-05T10:45:58-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a70e44e5e51677c1aa8fe6ccefd33f56-34.html#unique-entry-id-34http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/a70e44e5e51677c1aa8fe6ccefd33f56-34.html#unique-entry-id-34
Often described as both enigmatic and eccentric, and without a doubt, musical genius, Roy "Futureman" Wooten is one of the most innovative, forward thinking figures in modern music. Part of what makes Wooten such an innovative musician is the incorporation of science and invention into his work. His first invention, called the "Drumitar" is used extensively in the music of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, which allows him the ability to replicate the sound of an entire contemporary drum kit, with the movement of just a few fingers on a guitar shaped instrument.

Wooten has embarked upon a new creative journey with "The Black Mozart Ensemble." Bridging the past with the present for a better future, Wooten is composing, producing, and directing a visionary new album/DVD entitled “The Black Mozart.” This project celebrates the life and music of the Black Mozart; Joseph Boulogne de Saint Georges. This 18th Century maestro and swordsman made contributions that revolutionized the world of musical creation. St. Georges used his abilities to find fame and fortune, yet as the son of a slave, remained an outsider. He fought against racism all his life, and can serve as a powerful hero for all of us as we struggle against the racism and divisiveness of today.

Although Wooten is generally considered a background performer, his desire to express his thoughtful meditations often brings him to the forefront, and due in large part to both the Wooten brothers, (his brother Victor is their famed bassist and innovator in his own right), Bela Fleck and the Flecktones' performances are always fresh and alive with improvisation and experimentation.

Wooten's Black Mozart Ensemble is comprised of young virtuoso violinists and cellists under Wooten's direction. The music is complemented by the addition of hip hop artists, and actors/narrators. The music of Black Mozart has a message for the ears, eyes and moves of today’s modern world, and Wooten states that this composition, "The Black Mozart", is a personal statement of New American Classical Roots and Dance Music with social aspirations that embraces all races of humanity.

Using Saint Georges as his inspiration, Wooten has made many innovations in the field of percussive music, having invented a keyboard technique which "utilizes modern science, dynamics and rhythms as melodic elements which draw from Africa to America, Baroque to bluegrass, classical to contemporary... and jazz to juicy funk."

Many may wonder what Wooten alludes to when he speaks of an archetypal principle. An archetype is an idealized model of a person or a copy of a concept or object. Therefore, the words of Wooten are words of a personality that connects to life through his music. Some may question music's ability to affect lives, but Wooten seems to be evidence that it does.

The great jazz drummer Max Roach once said of Wooten, upon seeing him perform, that he knew that “that was the most creative approach to drumming he had ever seen.” His second invention, the “RoyEl,” resembles a piano but plays notes not found in the traditional western music scales. His third invention, the Dorothy Graye, also resembles a smaller piano and is dedicated to his mother Dorothy who inspired a practice method to learn the keys. This instrument is based to play off of the composer’s scriabin color to sound keys, with the universal mathematics guiding the exploration of tunings, such as the periodic table of elements and the golden ratio.

In the wake of the Don Imus-Rutger's Women's basketball scandal, and the every growing debate over hip-hop and rap lyrics and it's use of degrading and debasing words, it's refreshing to find a merging of the modern and classical world in a truly innovative and positive way. Saint Georges himself might well agree.
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-04-05T10:44:03-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/5d8d0397289d3e51d1807ebba8e5f28c-33.html#unique-entry-id-33http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/5d8d0397289d3e51d1807ebba8e5f28c-33.html#unique-entry-id-33
Last October, I was in New York City to see the only U.S. appearance of British drummer Bill Bruford's Earthworks at the Iridium Jazz Club. His latest group features the incendiary Tim Garland on saxophones, the ever stable Lawrence Cottle on bass and the marvelous young Gwilym Simcock on piano. Apparently, I wasn't the only Californian in attendance; a certain jazz writer from Santa Rosa had seen all ten shows of Bruford's five day stand!

After the show, I spoke to Bruford about a possible return to Yoshi's, and the status of any future recordings. Bruford explained that he would be releasing no new CDs, but rather a two volume DVD anthology; one featuring the current band, and the other featuring the original Earthworks line-up with Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Tim Harries. Wait no longer, these fantastic DVDs are now here.

Bill Bruford’s Earthworks, a uniquely British institution, have been turning heads on the international jazz scene now for 20 years. The band has consistently offered a platform to the best and brightest young players, presided over by a leader with unparalleled experience as a drummer, composer, and leader. This two-volume Video Anthology splits the band’s career to date into two separate decades, roughly marking its transition from an electronic to an acoustic outfit. Volume 1 represents the work of the later and current “acoustic” editions of the band in the 2000s, and Volume 2 mostly represents the “electronic” origins of the group in the 1990s. Both volumes come with Dave McKean artwork and a 12 page booklet chronicling critical reaction at the time, and all material has been selected and supervised personally by Bruford.

Bruford's earlier Earthworks DVD, "Footloose in NYC", was recorded at the now defunct Bottom Line, and featured the first all-acoustic version of the group, with Patrick Clahar on sax, Michael Hodgson on bass, and the delightful Steve Hamilton on piano. His work on "Cloud Cuckoo's Nest" is just gorgeous, and one of my favorite pieces of that group.

Not to be out done, Bruford continues to unleash one brilliant pianist after another; first with the enigmatic Bates; Hamilton, the amazing Scotsman, and now Simcock, who certainly tickles the ivories on the new song "Youth". Having seen both Bates and Hamilton on acoustic and electric pianos, it was most refreshing to hear and witness Simcock continuously reach over and pluck his piano wires so percussively.

Footage from the DVDs have been available via Bruford's myspace page for a few weeks now, and the response appears to be very enthusiatic. For those who want to get a glimpse into the wonderful world and music of a man very often being described as Britain's version of Art Blakey, these DVDs are a wonderful place to start.

Bill Bruford's Earthworks Video Anthology, Volume 1 & 2 are available via Bruford's website: http://www.billbruford.com/news.asp
]]>user@domain.comblog2007-03-05T09:52:10-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/50fa3d7ac959e9ada23e6ad0f8cfa71f-32.html#unique-entry-id-32http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/50fa3d7ac959e9ada23e6ad0f8cfa71f-32.html#unique-entry-id-32
Readers of BeyondChron may recall my columns about the young bluesman and songsmith Cas Lucas, and his work with the incredible Palm Wine Boys that first brought him to my attention. Since then, I've delved deeper into his music and his repertoire. His freshman outing, "Giving it Back" in 2006, put him squarely on a path trod by other up-and-coming acoustic guitarists before him; a bit of Dave Mathews, a dash of John Prine's wit and sobering reflection, a touch of the great Michael Hedges, and one of my favorites; Washington, D.C.'s Ben Andrews.

Andrews studied and performed the works of Blind Willie Jefferson, Leadbelly, Taj Mahal, and Hound Dog Taylor, and through them, he ultimately found his own voice. "Roads", Cas Lucas' new CD shows a similar maturity, one borne of his travels, tours, trepidations, and tenacity. Lucas will be bringing his blend of acoustic guitar and band to Cafe Du Nord on Friday, March 30th. "Roads" is indeed a much-anticipated album and from what I've heard, well worth the wait.

Tracks from "Roads" first appeared on Lucas' MySpace page in 2006, and "instantly garnered an outpouring of fan support." "Feel You", for example, is one such track, and a personal favorite. It's grooving and playful, yet extremely thoughtful, and captures much of Lucas' spirit, talent and flavor. Lucas isn't all blues however, as he and his band step out on "Dream A Window"; a lovely little rocker that lifts you up and makes you want to clap your hands and dance.

Another absolute winner for me is the Hedges-like "Home". I literally found myself hitting the rewind button on my iPod more than a few times. A beautiful Steve Miller-esque keyboard fill, used ever so sparringly, and that infectious groove...

Lucas co-produced "Roads" with Bay Area producer and engineer Adam Rossi, well known for his work with another local sensation, LUCE. Rossi and Lucas combined members of both Lucas' band, as well as LUCE for "Roads", and the collaboration was definitely well worth the effort. Alongside Lucas and Rossi, (on keyboards), are a few seasoned, session musicians who've collaborated on albums with John Mayer, Chuck Prophet, Counting Crows and Boz. Scaggs.

Some of the other guest contributors included members of his Cas Lucas Band; LUCE; The Palm Wine Boys' stellar percussionist Q.B. Williams even added vocals on a track or two, and Lucas' "other half", the exceptionally talented Stephen Inglis, really helped round out this wonderful recording. "This is the album I always wanted to make," recalled Lucas. "My first opportunity to present my music the way it was meant to sound from the beginning."

I'm feelin' you Cas.

"Roads" CD Release Party / Concert
@ Cafe Du Nord, Friday, March 30th
San Francisco, CA
Cas Lucas Band & LUCE
Plus the debut of Brad Wolfe & Megan Slankard's duet show
www.myspace.com/caslucas]]>user@domain.comblog2007-02-05T09:49:59-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/1f3e5b916aa784018afdeaf099a248d4-31.html#unique-entry-id-31http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/1f3e5b916aa784018afdeaf099a248d4-31.html#unique-entry-id-31
Ever wondered where to find classic DVDs of British rock, blues, or the progessive works of Pink Floyd, Yes, or Tangerine Dream? Look no further than Voiceprint UK, home to an ever growing and an incredible array of vintage music from the British Isles. One of the best and most revered music documentaries of the 1960's enjoys it's long awaited release in this spring.

"All My Loving" was filmed and produced in the late sixties and was one of the early directorial films from celebrated director Tony Palmer. The film features rare footage of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Who, Cream, Frank Zappa and Jimi Hendrix. Considered a landmark release at the time, (1968), this film is shortly to be available on DVD.

There are so many near forgotten greats of the sixties and seventies, that it's amazing so much of that footage has even survived and been digitally remastered by Voiceprint. Fans can visit their website, http://www.voiceprint.co.uk. One needn't worry too much about figuring out the pounds vs. dollars, they do it for you and the DVDs actually arrive in a reasonable amount of time. (16 pounds for a DVD comes to roughly around $30).

Guitar greats like John Martyn, Steve Hackett of Genesis; Hawkwind; King Crimson and Asia alumni John Wetton and Steve Howe, are captured in a variety of live performances, and lovingly restored.

Howe's fellow Yes alumni have been busy as well; Bill Bruford released his "BBC-Rock goes to College" DVD; and pianist Patrick Moraz has an archive release from 1995 and a live solo performance. The concert took place at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey and captures Patrick’s piano work perfectly. Tracks include Blue Monk and the Intro from Best Years of Our Lives which was originally from epic "The Story of I". As with many of the albums in the Voiceprint series of re-issues, the artist have signed as well as personally overseen the re-mastering process for their releases.

Rick Wakeman, who shot to fame playing the Mellotron behind Elton John, David Bowie, The Strawbs and Yes, had been "trawling" through his personal video archive in order to see just what he has got in there. As it happened there was quite a lot of footage, and he made a decision to release them as an “Official DVD Bootleg” in the forthcoming “Rick Wakeman DVD Archive Series”. The shows will include performances from the 70’s,80’s and the 90’s. There will also be one or two surprises and certainly some footage that was thought to have been lost. More details of the series and the contents will be released early in 2007 and it's hoped to launch the series within the first six months of the year.

Tyneside legends "Martin Stephenson and the Daintees" are also recording a new studio album; their first since The Boy’s Heart album from 1992. The album although only in the early stages should be finished by March 2007 and a release date shortly after in spring. The album will feature Martin Stephenson alongside fellow founder members Anthony Dunn and Gary Dunn. The band also played a couple of pre Christmas gigs at the Cluny in Newcastle; the first of which was filmed for future release as a DVD.

The enigmatic band Gentle Giant are even on a DVD. Gentle Giant were rarely seen in the U.S.; I managed to catch their show only by accident, as an opening act for Jethro Tull at Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Centre.

Leslie West and the legendary Rock band "Mountain" will also release a signed limited edition of their forthcoming live DVD. The DVD was filmed in 1985 in Paris when the band were special guests on the Deep Purple European tour. The performance includes Mountain classics such as Theme For An Imaginary Western, Nantucket Sleighride and a version of the West Bruce and Laing song Why Doncha. The signed edition signed personally by both Leslie West and Corky Laing will be limited to just 500 Copies.

A film featuring the music of Mike Oldfield is also finally finding its way onto DVD. "The Space Movie" chronicles man’s longing for the stars and his dreams of journeying into space. The progress from weird and wonderful contraptions which barely got off the ground to man’s first moon landing is one of the most amazing of man’s achievements in the 20th Century. This film is a celebration of that achievement. All the footage in the film has been made specially available by NASA and The United States National Archive and includes never before seen footage of the lunar landscape. The films soundtrack was written and performed by Mike Oldfield and the films Space Symphony will have just as much appeal as Tubular Bells, Ommadwn Hergest Ridge and Incantations.

These long awaited DVDs coming out, may only be a tip of the iceberg, and a trend many in the music world predict will be with us for the foreseeable future. At a recent show at N.Y.'s Iridium Jazz Club, I asked British drummer Bill Bruford if he was coming out with any more new CDs. "No, I will actually be releasing two DVDs of my Earthworks bands..." he replied. "Not even a companion CD?" I asked.

"People now want to hear you AND see you," he said. "iTunes, DVDs... That's what they tell me anyway." He may be right.]]>user@domain.comblog2007-01-19T09:48:20-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/dac44b694d688bb3f23f3ec74930400a-30.html#unique-entry-id-30http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/dac44b694d688bb3f23f3ec74930400a-30.html#unique-entry-id-30
My first memory of the late, great saxophonist Michael Brecker, was at Catholic University's McDonough Arena in 1975, during his stint with the incredible drummer Billy Cobham. After an opening set by the soon-to-be-famous Hall and Oates, Cobham and his group, featuring trumpeter and brother Randy Brecker, guitarist John Abercrombie, trombonist Glenn Ferris, bassist Alex Blake and pianist Milcho Leviev took the stage. Needless to say, I was completely blown away. Cobham's albums with that line-up, "Crosswinds," "Total Eclipse," and "Shabazz," were some of the greatest jazz albums of it's time, and Michael Brecker's solo on Crosswind's "Heather" was such a moving performance, that it remains etched in my mind to this day. His fame increased along side his brother's in their "Brecker Brothers" groups of the '80, with Frank Zappa, and later with Steps Ahead. With Brecker's passing, the jazz world has clearly lost one of the greatest saxophonists it has ever known.

No saxophonist in jazz has had as pervasive an influence as Michael Brecker, since the death of John Coltrane in 1967. Across a wide range of stylistic backgrounds, Brecker developed the emotional intensity and technical dexterity of Coltrane’s mid-period playing into a highly distinctive individual style of his own, which was so widely imitated by aspiring saxophone students that Leeds College of Music took to nicknaming those teenage players who auditioned for its jazz course as “Ready-Breckers”.

In addition to leading his own bands, co-fronting the Brecker Brothers fusion band with his trumpet-playing brother Randy, and founding the groups Dreams and Steps Ahead, Brecker worked with such legendary jazz figures as the drummer Billy Cobham, and the pianists Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock. He was also one of the most prolific session players in history, contributing to more than 400 freelance dates by artists as varied as Paul Simon, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Dire Straits and Joni Mitchell.

From the early 1990s he worked most frequently with his own quartet, renowned for the way its members, the pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist James Genus and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts matched Brecker’s energy. Yet he also undertook a major recording project of his own almost every year from 1987 onwards, and from 2002 found time to tour with Hancock’s tribute to the 1960s Miles Davis band, Directions In Jazz, which pitted Brecker against the formidable trumpeter Roy Hargrove.

Brecker was born in 1949 and grew up in Philadelphia, where he and his brother were taken by their father to see the likes of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. Brecker studied the clarinet and alto saxophone, before transferring to the tenor instrument, which became his principal focus.

For the most part, despite owning an array of saxophones, he played an aged Selmer Mark 6, with which he became so familiar that he once said: “It’s as if I own every molecule of the instrument.” The degree to which he eventually became at one with the instrument was obvious in a sporadic series of unaccompanied solo concerts which began in 2001 with a recital at London’s Union Chapel as the opening of that year’s jazz festival. So accomplished was Brecker that he appeared to conjure an invisible band of backing musicians through the passing harmonic nuances and jumps between registers that he achieved within the broad sweep of his melodic lines.

Having studied at Indiana University, he followed his older brother Randy to New York, where in 1969 they joined Billy Cobham in the fusion band Dreams. Yet both brothers could not be typecast merely as jazz-rock players. In 1973-74 they became the horn section of Horace Silver’s quintet, playing soul jazz and hard bop at a level that matched any of Silver’s previous recruits.

On leaving Silver, after a brief return to Billy Cobham, Michael and Randy formed the Brecker Brothers, which made a series of successful albums for Arista between 1974 and 1981 that included the 1978 chart single East River. The band combined rock and soul rhythms with tightly written arrangements, and both brothers had plenty of opportunities for extended solo playing. The formula was successful, but the band ceased touring in 1979 and broke up in 1981, although it reformed briefly several times in the 1990s, finally touring as a conventional acoustic jazz group, and reinventing a high percentage of its original repertoire for this new format. During the 1970s the brothers also owned the New York jazz club Seventh Avenue South, where they played frequently.

In the meantime, Brecker formed Steps, with the vibes player Mike Mainieri, a group which in its second incarnation, Steps Ahead, brought a high level of instrumental virtuosity to a repertoire that tightened aspects of the Brecker Brothers sound into what became a universal paradigm for 1980s rock fusion.

Outstanding instrumentalists who worked with the band included the guitarist Mike Stern, the pianist Don Grolnick and bassists Eddie Gomez and Darryl Jones. Brecker led the group for the latter part of the 1980s, but in 1987 he cut the Michael Brecker album for Impulse, which effectively launched the solo recording career that became his main interest. On this album he used the Electronic Wind Instrument which allowed him to convert his formidable saxophone technique into input for a synthesiser.

Brecker’s subsequent discs include Tales From the Hudson, Two Blocks From the Edge, and Time is of the Essence, plus a ballad collection, The Nearness of You on which he was joined by Pat Metheny and Herbie Hancock, with James Taylor making a guest appearance in return for Brecker’s numerous cameos on the singer’s discs. He won eight Grammies, and he achieved the unique double of winning both best instrumental performance and best instrumental solo in two successive years.

In the summer of 2005, Brecker was found to have MDS (myelodysplastic syndrome), cancelling all his concerts, and undergoing an extended course of chemotherapy. Despite his illness, which later developed into leukaemia, he recorded a final album, completing it two weeks ago. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and their two children. He will be greatly missed.

]]>user@domain.comblog2007-01-05T09:46:01-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/18b331926f337276c6fdcae4982ac6da-29.html#unique-entry-id-29http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/18b331926f337276c6fdcae4982ac6da-29.html#unique-entry-id-29
In July of 2005, I wrote about Neeta Ragoowansi, a fabulous singer, musician, and a former entertainment attorney for the Kennedy Center. Neeta continues to use her powers for good, working as the Membership Director of SoundExchange, a nonprofit agency based in Washington, D.C. and authorized by the U.S. Copyright Office to collect royalties from digital broadcasters and pay them directly to performing artists. Founded in 2000 and initially part of the Recording Industry Association of America, SoundExchange made its first payments in 2001 and, after a slow beginning, has begun to double its annual collections. Recently, SoundExchange had come under fire for not doing enough to find those musicians, and see to it they get what they derserve. Those detractors couldn't be more wrong, as the Bakersfield Californian's Robert Price found out. Sound Exchange continues to find artists and their families, and for those that can't be found, their royalties reside in a general fund, to support their fellow deserving artists. In Price's December column, he detailed just how difficult it can be for Sound Exchange to find these artists, and how rewarding it can be when they do.

In a recent blogs, SoundExchange was taken to task for not doing enough to get royalties for artists like, T. Bone Burnett, Ton-Loc, Flock of Seagulls. As Neeta explained to me in a phone conversation last week, "That at the time of their release, any unclaimed funds would go towards SoundExchange's operating costs, thereby lowering the administrative fee charged. This would, then, in turn result in a larger payment being made to the featured artists and sound recording copyright owners who are paid by SoundExchange. There have been some artists who, upon hearing this explanation, chose not to claim their funds and opted instead to have their payments in essence redistributed among other featured artist and sound recording copyright owner payees in this manner." A noble way of giving back in the music world if ever there was one.

Last December, Price wrote: "Before 1995, U.S. recording artists weren't entitled to airplay royalties of any sort. The Digital Performance in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 changed that -- at least for Internet and satellite radio.

The nonprofit organization SoundExchange, authorized by the U.S. Copyright Office to collect and distribute royaltiesassociated with those specific media, started with a royalty pool of $5.2 million. About 90 percent of that money has been distributed to thousands of artists worldwide. Of the 9,000 performers identified as eligible in September, the group has located about 2,000. The rest are owed $500,000.

"This is just in its infancy and it's expanding every year," said Holland, a former reporter for the music industry weekly Billboard who does contract detective work for SoundExchange. Finding beneficiaries can be tough, though. Take Cooley, the legendary World War II-era Western Swing bandleader and '50s television host who murdered his wife at their Mojave ranch in April 1961.

Cooley suffered a fatal heart attack in 1969 while on a furlough from prison -- three months before he was to have been paroled. He left behind a catalogue of up-tempo hits and three children -- Melody, born in 1946; Donnell Jr., born in 1948; and John, a son from his first marriage, born about 1935.

The star witness against Cooley was his 14-year-old daughter Melody, who witnessed her mother's fatal beating. "She would be about 60 today," said John Simson, executive director of SoundExchange. "We'd like to talk to her." He'd like to talk to her brothers too.

Before Simson gives up, he might want to ask actor Dennis Quaid, who's planning to tell the Spade Cooley story one day with a film called "Shame on You," after Cooley's biggest hit. Quaid purchased rights to the stories of Cooley's children. Simson counts on people like Holland to do most of the legwork.

"Best job I've ever had," Holland said. "So many of these so-called heritage artists are just off the radar. They're people who still get airplay on super-hip satellite stations but not so much anywhere else. And most of the time they have no idea they're owed any money." He remembers fondly the day he tracked down the widow of Ernie K-Doe, a New Orleans R&B singer who recorded the Allen Toussaint song "Mother-in-Law."

"I've got a couple thousand dollars for your late husband," Holland told Antoinette Fox, who'd been yelling at a delivery man in the kitchen of the Mother-in-Law Lounge when he called. "Child, you just put the Thanksgiving turkey on the table," she replied. Word of mouth is Holland's best tool. It has worked elsewhere -- most recently in Shreveport, La., another country music hotbed.

It might start here with Red Simpson, who is best known for his country songwriting prowess but also had moderate success as a recording artist during the late-'60s/early-'70s heyday of the truck-drivin' genre -- none better than 1971's "(Hello) I'm a Truck." "The guy told me they've got eight-hundred-and-something (dollars) for me," Simpson said. "What a great deal. 'Course my wife will probably get it."

The efforts of Holland, Ragoowansi, Simson and others on behalf of these performers continues, and in this ever growing electronic age of mp3 downloads, webcasts, streaming audio, the murky history of the recording industry and the struggling independent labels, SoundExchange continues to be a welcome ally to performers and artists all over the world. You can visit SoundExchange at http://www.soundexchange.com. You never know, they just may have some royalties for you.
]]>user@domain.comblog2006-12-05T09:43:46-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/eab5b27de9431bc4a2dbb622ff763b6a-28.html#unique-entry-id-28http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/eab5b27de9431bc4a2dbb622ff763b6a-28.html#unique-entry-id-28
Machine Beats New World Chess Champion

Fresh from his victory over a human opponent, Vesselin Topolov, World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik, lost the sixth and decisive game against computer program Deep Fritz on Tuesday, ceding a hard-fought Man vs. Machine match 4-2. The Russian takes home $500,000, half of what he would have received if he had won against Deep Fritz, a commercially available chess program that runs on a powerful personal computer. Kramnik said he was "a bit disappointed" and expressed hope that a rematch could be arranged in a year or two. "With more time to prepare, I still have a chance." With a computer that calculates millions of positions every second, "there are always certain threats," Kramnik said.

Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, was the first to play a match against a computer several years ago, which ended in a draw. He would lose the re-match to "Deep Blue", and his game never seemed the same. Previously brushes with computers and world champions, also saw Anatoly Karpov nearly lose a simultaneous exhibition to one, when the computer missed a forced checkmate, and Bobby Fischer's demolition of M.I.T.'s weak "Greenblatt" program in 1978. "Fritz" has been available for some time now, and is considered one the leading database programs for computer chess.

Deep Fritz 10 - Kramnik,Vladimir (2750), Man vs Machine Bonn, Germany Game 6

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Bb3 Qc7 9.Re1 Nc6 10.Re3 0-0 11.Rg3 Kh8 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.Qe2 a5 14.Bg5 Ba6 15.Qf3 Rab8 16.Re1 c5 17.Bf4 Qb7 18.Bc1 Ng8 19.Nb1 Bf6 20.c3 g6 21.Na3 Qc6 22.Rh3 Bg7 23.Qg3 a4 24.Bc2 Rb6 25.e5 dxe5 26.Rxe5 Nf6 27.Qh4 Qb7 28.Re1 h5 29.Rf3 Nh7 30.Qxa4 Qc6 31.Qxc6 Rxc6 32.Ba4 Rb6 33.b3 Kg8 34.c4 Rd8 35.Nb5 Bb7 36.Rfe3 Bh6 37.Re5 Bxc1 38.Rxc1 Rc6 39.Nc3 Rc7 40.Bb5 Nf8 41.Na4 Rdc8 42.Rd1 Kg7 43.Rd6 f6 44.Re2 e5 45.Red2 g5 46.Nb6 Rb8 47.a4 1-0

E. "Doc" Smith is a former Rhode Island Amateur Champion, and has won divisional titles in the U.S. Amateur Team Championships for Brown University as well as the Rhode Island Chess League Championships.

]]>user@domain.comblog2006-11-03T09:41:22-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/f88179f15e48afc0e4eec710f4fc1c36-27.html#unique-entry-id-27http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/f88179f15e48afc0e4eec710f4fc1c36-27.html#unique-entry-id-27
This weekend, I'll find myself at New York City's Iridium Jazz Club, to see Britain's famed jazz drummer, Bill Bruford. Since the events of 9/11, it has become increasingly difficult to see many of Europe's finest musicians. Visa restrictions and mounting costs have limited many to performing only as far as New York City. Last year at the Iridium, Bruford and his most recent collaborator, saxophonist Tim Garland dealt with that dilemma by hiring several of New York's top jazz musicians to perform, and released the live CD entitled, "The Earthworks Underground Orchestra". Joining Bruford and Garland for this tour however, are Earthworks' newest members, bassist Laurence Cottle, and pianist Gwilym Simcock.

Bill Bruford's career is like his drumming sound — inimitable. Known for his ringing metal snare drum, crisp cymbal work, and knack for complex time signatures, a young Bruford came to prominence in the late '60s with Yes. The drummer completed his British art rock trilogy by briefly joining Genesis in the 1970s and spending a quarter-century with King Crimson through the late '90s. In between King Crimson dates, Bruford led a dazzling self-titled jazz fusion solo band from 1978 to 1980 that featured guitarist Allan Holdsworth, bassist Jeff Berlin, and keyboardist Dave Stewart. And even as he leads his visionary jazz band, Bill Bruford's Earthworks, he maintains a career as a session drummer (with artists like guitarists Al DiMeola and David Torn, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and keyboardist Patrick Moraz).

During one of King Crimson leader Robert Fripp's several lineup-shifting hiatuses in Bruford's 1972-1997 tenure, the drummer formed his self-titled Earthworks band in 1986. On its 1987 Earthworks debut album, Bruford often used electric Simmons drums to contrast acoustic horn players Iain Ballamy and Django Bates and upright bassist Mick Hutton, achieving the opposite of the standard lineup where drums are the only acoustic instrument. Subsequent releases like 1989's Dig? and 1991's All Heaven Broke Loose continued this forward-thinking trend, blending acoustic and electric instrumentation and jazz ideology with classical undertones. But by 1993's live Stamping Ground, Bruford had replaced Hutton with electric/acoustic bassist Tim Harries and was using keyboard-pitched electric chordal drums, the combined result being a more muscular and fuller sound. Bruford continued recording and touring with King Crimson through 1997, releasing the Earthworks compilation Heavenly Bodies just as he quit the venerable rock band with which he'd had his longest tenure. It would prove to be a transitional year, as Bruford recorded a jazz chamber trio solo CD called If Summer Had Its Ghosts with legendary jazz figures Ralph Towner (guitar/piano) and Eddie Gomez (acoustic bass).

Between explorative electric recordings with bassist and fellow King Crimson alum Tony Levin, Bruford kept Earthworks closer to the chamber jazz mode on the 1999 CD A Part and Yet Apart. Likewise, the lineup of Bruford, saxophonist Patrick Clahar, pianist Steve Hamilton, and bassist Mark Hodgson started the new millennium with the 2001 CD The Sound of Surprise, an outstanding blend of jazz tradition and forward-thinking transition. Bill Bruford grew up with jazz. As an amateur drummer in the 1960s, and after a handful of lessons from Lou Pocock of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, he began his professional career in 1968. He was a guiding light in the so-called British "Art Rock" movement, touring internationally with Yes and King Crimson from 1968-74. There then followed several years spent observing and participating in the music making processes of, among others, Gong, National Health, Genesis and U.K., until Bill felt ready to write and perform his own music with his own band Bruford, recording four albums from 1977-80. The late 90s saw Bruford underlining his commitment, and return, to jazz and 1997 saw two major releases.

The Earthworks "best of" compilation, Heavenly Bodies, taken from all four albums and including previously unreleased material was released in May on Virgin Record, U.K. Then a late summer release of fresh material with jazz titans Ralph Towner (guitars and piano) and Eddie Gomez (bass) entitled If Summer had its Ghosts, appeared on King Crimson's Discipline Records in September. Touring internationally with the second edition of Earthworks, featuring Steve Hamilton (keyboards) and Patrick Clahar (saxophones), the band's live work led to the release of a sixth C.D. "A Part and yet Apart" in 1999. Electronic percussion made way for the warmer looser style of the more conventional sax-piano-bass-drums line up, and Bruford continued to bring the best of the young British players to the attention of a rapidly growing international audience. The new millennium saw a live album release by Bruford Levin’s Upper Extremities entitled B.L.U.E. Nights, and the augmentation of Earthworks with the celebrated jazz guitarist Larry Coryell for the 2000 summer jazz festival season.

Following an extensive 22 date tour of the U.K., Earthworks recorded it’s seventh C.D. in November entitled “The Sound of Surprise”. Spring 2002 saw the imaginative simultaneous release of a) a Live Double CD from London called “Footloose and Fancy Free” and b) a full-scale DVD from New York entitled “Footloose in N.Y.C”, and the replacement of Clahar with the multi-talented Tim Garland fresh from Chick Corea’s recent group. The new CD was awarded the coveted "5 Stars" in Downbeat magazine.

Weat coast jazz fans are often cheated out of seeing many of Europe's finest musicians, so Bruford's tale is not a unique one. His performances with the original Earthworks band at the Great American Music Hall in the 1990's, and the later incarnation at Yoshi's in 2004, (which resulted in the fabulous CD, "Random Acts of Happiness, Live at Yoshi's"), are just a few of his now legendary bay area shows. Perhaps we will get another chance to see England's greatest jazz drummer here, when the new Yoshi's opens on Fillmore in 2008.

]]>user@domain.comblog2006-10-20T09:39:27-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/9fab15f6f04a1acba4a5d50215016600-26.html#unique-entry-id-26http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/9fab15f6f04a1acba4a5d50215016600-26.html#unique-entry-id-26
One of the true immortals of 20th-century jazz, the legendary “Saxophone Colossus,” Sonny Rollins, continues to amaze fans and critics alike in jazz’s second century. In the words of critic Gary Giddins: “Rollins looms as an invincible presence after fifty years: one of the most cunning, surprising, and original of jazz visionaries and one of the very few musicians whose (infrequent) concert appearances and recordings generate intense expectations and heated postmortems.” Rollins returns to the SF Jazz Festival on the heels of his first studio CD in five years, "Sonny, Please".

Jazz reviewer Jim McElroy wrote of Rollin's latest effort, "Rollins has a new label and a new recording and those of us who love to listen to jazz can now rejoice for in all the world there is but one Sonny Rollins, and on Sonny, Please, he proves he is still at the top of his game. From the very first song, the title track "Sonny, Please", Rollins and his group are off and running and there is no let up. "Sonny, Please" has a very strong bass line provided by Bob Crenshaw and this is backed up beautifully by the drums of Steve Jordan who with the rest of the band play with a style that lets you know that they more than just play music they live it. Rollins tears into the song full tilt and the result is breathtaking. Add in the percussion work of Kimati Dinizulu and a healthy dose of Clifton Anderson on trombone and you have the best of the best at work here, it rarely gets any better.

Rollins,who shows no signs of slowing down, not only demonstrates his immense power on the saxophone but also as a composer, having created four out of the seven tracks on this recording, each with its own unique flavor and style. He still finds the time to give new life to an old classic , such as his soulful rendition of Noel Coward's "Someday I'll Find You". I am sure the Coward would have been impressed for this is a flawless recording, the players here are the masters of their craft and with Rollins as their leader reach amazing new heights.

"Nishi" is a straight ahead jazz number that has a real gift in the duel horn playing of both Rollins and Clifton Anderson , backed up by the bass of Bob Crenshaw and the guitar of Bobby Broom. "Nishi" swings and if you listen hard enough you can hear the calling out of the musicians themselves, this is music so good you cannot help out shout about it all.

"Stairway to the Stars" is a love ballad that is Rollins gift to his fans, it allows him to just soar above it all, the sound is so deep and so ingrained in him that you wonder how one person could get that much sound from just one instrument. From the high notes to the low, Sonny Rollins has complete and total control of his instrument and shows us all how it should be done. With the gentle added percussion of Kimati Dinizulu, who knows exactly where to fill in the little gaps that appear and does so without you even knowing. Dinizulu is a craftsman of the highest order as are his band mates and they provide us with an amazing joy ride of sound.

"Remembering Tommy" is a generous and beautifully played number that again combines the effortless playing of Bobby Broom on guitar and Steve Jordan on drums capped off with the virtuoso playing of Rollins and Clifton Anderson. "Serenade" (Ballet Les Millions D"Arlequin) introduces us to a new band member Joe Corsello on drums and to a number that sounds pretty much like its title, there is a kind of light and airy sound to it all almost as if a ballerina was dancing right in front of the bandstand. The song sways and seems to be lighter than air.

The album closes out with "Park Place Parade" a sort of lighthearted tribute to the city of New York complete with whistles and a real jaunty beat that makes you want to get up and dance around your room, (not recommended if you are listening to this while driving however). On the whole Sonny, Please is a welcomed return by one of the legends of jazz and it shows that this is someone whose talent and artistry knows no bounds or limits, welcome back Mr Rollins."

"Opening Night Concert" with Sonny Rollins
Friday, October 20th, 8pm
Tickets $85, $65, $47, $37, $25]]>user@domain.comblog2006-11-05T09:37:28-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d22799c72f14e56548759d2a0c58ab2f-25.html#unique-entry-id-25http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d22799c72f14e56548759d2a0c58ab2f-25.html#unique-entry-id-25
World Percussionist and Grateful Dead co-drummer Mickey Hart returns to the Masonic Auditorium, Saturday, September 23rd, with his legendary Planet Drum group. This latest incarnation, as part of a SF Jazz Festival special event, Hart reunites his fellow percussion virtuosos; Indian tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain, conga maestro Giovanni Hidalgo and African percussionist, Sikiru Adepoju. This latest incarnation of Planet Drum builds on the legacy of the group that won 1991’s first-ever “Best World Music Album” Grammy Award (for the self-titled record that held the #1 spot on Billboard’s World Music chart for 26 straight weeks).

Hart is best known for his nearly three decades as an integral part of an extraordinary expedition into the soul and spirit of music, disguised as the rock and roll band the Grateful Dead. As half of the percussion tandem known as the Rhythm Devils, Hart and Bill Kreutzmann transcended the conventions of rock drumming. Their extended polyrhythmic excursions were highlights of Grateful Dead shows, introducing the band's audience to an ever-growing arsenal of percussion instruments from around the world. Exposure to these exotic sounds fueled Hart's desire to learn about the various cultures that produced them.

His tireless study of the world's music led Hart to many great teachers and collaborators, including his partners in Planet Drum. Planet Drum's self-titled album not only hit #1 on the Billboard World Music Chart, remaining there for 26 weeks, it also received the Grammy for Best World Music Album in 1991-- the first Grammy ever awarded in this category. Planet Drum is one of twenty-nine recordings released on Hart's the WORLD series on Rykodisc Records. The WORLD offers a wide variety of music from virtually every corner of the globe with releases like Voices of the Rainforest from Papua, New Guinea and Living Art, Sounding Spirit: The Bali Sessions.

Hart's experiences have paved the way for unique opportunities beyond the music industry. He composed a major drum production performed by an assembly of 100 percussionists forthe opening ceremony of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games along with Zakir Hussain, Giovanni Hidalgo and Philip Glass. Additionally, Hart has composed scores, soundtracks and themes for movies, television, and home video including Gang Related, Hearts of Darkness, Apocalypse Now, The Twilight Zone, Vietnam: A Television History and The Next Step.

Hart's lifelong fascination with the history and mythology of music is documented in three books: Drumming at the Edge of Magic (written with Jay Stevens and Fredric Lieberman), Planet Drum (with Fredric Lieberman and D.A. Sonneborn) and his 1999 offering, Spirit into Sound: The Magic of Music (written with Fredric Lieberman). The three books are published by Grateful Dead Books. In August of 2000, an extensive exhibit of Hart's percussion collection, A Journey Into the Spirit of Percussion, opened at the San Francisco Airport Museum in the United Airlines Terminal.

Several years ago, Hart was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center atthe Library of Congress where he heads up the sub-committee on the digitization and preservation of the Center's vast collections. This has evolved into "Save Our Sounds," and the Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center conferred an honorary doctorate of humane letters upon Hart for his work in advancing the preservation of aural archives.

I had the pleasure of working with Hart and one of his previous versions of Planet Drum, featuring drummer Ron Molo, following their show at Woodstock in 2000. His hearing wasn't what it once was, (the result of too many Dead shows), however his energy, and the music of Planet Drum remains as viable and vibrant as ever.

Planet Drum with Mickey Hart,
Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, Giovanni Hidalgo
Saturday, September 23 • 8pm
Tickets: $80, $60, $47, $37, and $25
]]>user@domain.comblog2006-11-01T09:35:13-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/2678ad3a8508050b17a1daca49964432-24.html#unique-entry-id-24http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/2678ad3a8508050b17a1daca49964432-24.html#unique-entry-id-24
One of my all-time favorite jazz keyboardists, the truly legendary Joe Zawinul, comes to the Palace of Fine Arts on November 2nd. I've seen Zawinul many, many times, mostly with his co-leader and Miles Davis alum, saxophonist Wayne Shorter in Weather Report. Zawinul is a true visionary, who once compared jazz to boxing (“the footwork, the jab, the constant setting up and reacting to your opponent), and now at the tender age of 73, continues the good fight of plumbing the intersection of jazz, rock, and world music with his always-fresh Zawinul Syndicate.

Austrian born, Joe Zawinul emigrated to the US in 1959 where he played with Maynard Ferguson and the great Dinah Washington before joining alto saxophonist great Cannonball Adderley in 1961 for nine years. With Adderley, Zawinul wrote several important songs, primarily the slow and funky Hit "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" which reached the top on the Billboard magazine Pop Charts in 1967.

Zawinul then moved on to a brief but fateful encounter and collaboration with Miles Davis, just at the time Miles was moving into the electric arena. It was Zawinul’s tune "In a Silent Way”, in fact, which served as the title track of Miles’ first electric foray, and Zawinul had a potent impact on Bitches Brew, as well. He is one of a bare handful of synthesizer players who actually learned how to play the instrument, to make it an expressive, swinging part of his arsenal. Prior to the invention of the portable synthesizer, Zawinul’s example helped bring the Wurlitzer and Fender-Rhodes electric pianos into the jazz mainstream.

After releasing his debut solo album on Atlantic in 1970, Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter put together what was to become the most important jazz group of the ‘70s and beyond, Weather Report. Drawing on the power and theatricality of rock and R&B, while maintaining allegiance to jazz and the pure spirit of improvisation, they tapped into the so-called "fusion” movement of that decade while carving out their own unique niche. Bandmembers came and went, including Miroslav Vitous, Airto Moriera, Alphonse Mouzon, Dom Um Romeo, Ndugu "Leon" Chancler, Alphonso Johnson, Jaco Pastorius, Narada Michael Walden, Alex Acuna, Manolo Badrena, Chester Thompson, and finally, Victor Bailey, Peter Erskine, and Omar Hakim, but the band spirit prevailed over the course of 17 albums, including the ground-breaking album Black Market and the massively popular Heavy Weather, with Zawinul’s infectious song "Birdland". That song, in versions by Weather Report, Manhattan Transfer and Quincy Jones, won separate Grammy awards in three successive decades, and Weather Report itself won a Grammy for their momentous live album, 8:30.

In 1985, after he and Shorter finally agreed to go in separate musical directions, Zawinul continued to create adventurous new grooves in the group known as Weather Update and then the Zawinul Syndicate, whose albums have included the Grammy-nominated My People in 1996 and the two-CD, Grammy-nominated World Tour in 1998. Other special projects have included an adventurous solo album, Dialects (1986), and work as producer and arranger on Salif Keita’s landmark album, Amen (1991). Meanwhile, as another tributary of his creative life, Zawinul has also pursued classical composition, writing his ambitious "Stories of the Danube" in 1993 and working with renowned classical pianist Friedrich Gulda. His special solo project, "Mauthausen" released in Europe in 2000, is a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust, and was performed on the site of the Austrian concentration camp it is named after.

Among his prizes and awards, Zawinul has won the "best keyboardist" in Down Beat 28 times. Weather Report was a perennial winner in the "Best Band" category in Down Beat, Swing Journal and other magazines around the world. He has honorary doctorates from Berklee School of Music, and is the official Austrian goodwill ambassador to 17 African nations. In January, 2002, Zawinul has received the first International Jazz Award, co-presented by the International Jazz Festival Organization and the International Association of Jazz Educators.

Joe Zawinul is deservedly renowned for his pioneering role in the Jazz world combining the elements of world music rock and jazz. In fact, many of the worldbeat sounds we take for granted today, simply wouldn't exist without his revolutionary compositions and performances with Miles Davis in the late 60s, Weather Report in the 70 - 80s, and The Zawinul Syndicate in the 90s evolving into the new millenium. Don't miss one of rare oppotunities to see one of the truly greatest musicians of our time.

The Joe Zawinul Syndicate
Thursday, November 2nd @ 7:30pm
Tickets: $58, $38, $32, $25]]>user@domain.comblog2006-11-05T09:32:12-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/524c85befb46c45e1cab2c66a8021578-23.html#unique-entry-id-23http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/524c85befb46c45e1cab2c66a8021578-23.html#unique-entry-id-23
One of my favorite bands from the NY/DC area, “Spottiswoode and His Enemies”, will be performing next Thursday night, June 29th, at the Make Out Room, at 22nd and Valencia Streets. This will be a fine opportunity to see this amazing group, in what must be a rare west coast appearance, and following their shows in L.A., (and even a wedding at the Herbst!). The "Enemies", are led by the irrepressible Jonathan Spottiswoode, a Brit who whose talent and voice, conjures images of John Prine, John Mayall, and Tom Waits, all rolled into one. With long time partner, guitarist Riley McMahon, Spottiswoode and his fantastic “enemies” are fleshed out by some of New York and D.C.’s best musicians; bassist John Young, the charming Candace De Bartolo on sax, the ever crisp drumming of Tim Vail, Tony Lauria on accordian and keyboards, and Last Train Home’s absolutely fabulous Kevin Cordt on trumpet and assorted evening wear. Spottiswoode’s music is both raw and wonderful, and no one plays the kind of blues the Enemies do. Trust me, this promises to be one of those shows you’ll be talking about for years to come.

Spottiswoode’s latest album, a duet with McMahon, called simply “S&M”, has been called an “orgiastic smorgasbord of song, with stories of love, disillusionment, Ukrainians, Parisians, New Yorkers, Londoners, Scots, Cubans, Indians, Brazilians, children, parents, gypsies, and other more interesting stuff”, a “rich and seamless journey through women, continents and past lives”, and I couldn’t have put it any better myself. Spottiswoode and McMahon’s chemistry is undeniable here, and their partnership must be considered one of the truly great ones to come along in some time. A few of the “Enemies” also appear on the CD, along with an assortment of instruments like tablas, violins, and of course, a toy piano.

My favorite Spottiswoode CD, is their critically acclaimed, second recording, “Building A Road”, and is a must album for all Spottiswoode fans. Recently re-issued, their song “Drunk”, which opens the album is just awesome, and the ass-kicking, “I Get Blue” still plays regularly in my iTunes playlist. Recorded in 2002 with pianist Kenny White on the Kumpelstiltskin label, this gospel homage is one of Spottiswoode’s best efforts.



Spottiswoode’s earlier solo CD, "Ugly Love”, was called by the New Yorker, “Genius... astringently morose ballads about love", and the Enemies self-titled first album, “Spottiswoode and his Enemies”, was described as, "Nigh on impossible to categorize. They're brilliantly unreviewable, thick, disturbed and hanuted. This CD ranges from dark existentialist chaos to focused almost-pretty balladry without betraying its singularly smart, tormented vision. Music to champion”, by Performing Songwriter Magazine, and a “turn-of-the-millennium White Album”.

Spottiswoode and his Enemies are truly a one of a kind band, a band that also embodies Henry Kaiser's wonderful axiom, of performing with “people that you like, love and trust”. I can’t think of another band that combines the essence of the blues with fantastic music, humor and wit, as well as Spottiswoode and his Enemies. Keep your friends close, keep your "Enemies" closer, and dont' miss this!

Spottiswoode and his Enemies, Thursday, June 29th @ 10:00 pm
The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, near Valencia, San Francisco, CA
http://www.spottiswoode.com
]]>user@domain.comblog2006-11-05T09:30:38-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/bbc7b3dbfefb6f3654d7be1cd44d8335-22.html#unique-entry-id-22http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/bbc7b3dbfefb6f3654d7be1cd44d8335-22.html#unique-entry-id-22
Improvisational music is alive and well at Market Street's "Luggage Store Gallery". The gallery's long running experimental music series, hosted by Bay Area veteran improvisers/sound artists, Rent Romus and Matt Davignon, have brought some of the most critically acclaimed artists of the genre, from legendary guitarists like Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith, to the inimitable improv pianist, Cecil Taylor.

Last night's performance, amid the beautiful green walls and a fantastic musical art installation, found the debut of electro-saxophonist Jaroba, as well the highly anticipated debut of the Bay Area's "High Vulture". Led by the incinderary guitarist of the famed group MX-80, Bruce Anderson and his improv cohorts, drummer John Moremen, and bassist Bill Raymond, High Vulture, screeched, swooped, soared, and even soothed most effectively under Anderson's guidance and special effects. This music is not for the squeamish, however, if you are bold enough to take the journey with High Vulture, you may find them a trip well worth taking.

Their Thursday night performance began with Anderson, who seemed to find the most beautiful, yet dissonant harmonics, and then "loop" them, and build yet another soundscape, and yet another on top of that. Once Moremen and Raymond powered their way towards it, Anderson would shift yet again, and a wonderful sort of distorted game of hide-and-seek would begin again.

Anderson's ability to shift his textures from the dark-buzz-saw-like colors one moment, to an almost pastoral distortion the next, and then blend them again, only to shred them apart, was nothing short of amazing. Somehow, almost inexplicably, High Vulture would then grind to a halt, so quietly, as if stopping on a lonely roadside at night. As High Vulture continued to their small, but appreciative audience, there were even a few moments during their set, when the trio actually reminded me of the original Tony William's Lifetime, with John McLaughlin, Jack Bruce, and the late Larry Young. A friend sitting next to me said afterwards, "That was a workout..." High Vulture's new CD, is entitled "17", and can be found on the Curator label.

"Jaroba", aka James Robert Barnes, is a "musician, photographer, interviewer, and actor", all rolled into one. Newly relocated to Davis, Ca. from Nebraska, Jaroba has performed solo and improv collaborations with groups like, the Acme Improv Ensemble, (with Shane Schieder), the Liberation Surrealist Duo, the Micro-climate from New Zealand, and with the Lincoln, Nebraska based "Improve Ensemble Howloosanation", where last year they performed at the John Cage "MusicCircus" festival, at the museum of Modern Art in Chicago.

Jaroba's use of electronics, and his bass clarinet, allowed him to "loop" himself in real time, and create nice, and complex harmonies on the spot. Watching him conjured memories of another great improv saxophonist, Peter Broztman, of Bill Laswell's legendary "Material".

Improvisational music is often a rare commodity, even in many larger cities; Washington, D.C. once boasted the fabulous "D.C. Space" and the original "Madam's Organ" was home to the groups like "The Muffin's, and the "Bad Brains", Seattle's underground scene still thrives with groups like "Critter's Buggin'", and New York's "Knitting Factory", like it's predecessor, the famed "NY Loft" series, still manage to blend both jazz and improv on a regular basis. With the advent of ensembles like the "Bad Plus", and the face of Market Street evolving everyday, let's hope The Luggage Store Gallery, and it's forward thinking owners, Laurie Lazer and Darryl Smith, can continue this valuable outlet for the challenging and pioneering artists of San Francisco's "free" musical realm.]]>user@domain.comblog2006-10-05T09:28:52-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/0b7aeb5e4bf8764c357c6afb0c786757-21.html#unique-entry-id-21http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/0b7aeb5e4bf8764c357c6afb0c786757-21.html#unique-entry-id-21
My love of Brazilian music is no secret to those who know me, for years I performed with guitarist Carlos Augustus and his DC ArtBeat ensembles. In my youth, I would often journey to see such great artists like Dom Um Romeo, of Weather Report, Egberto Gismonti, Milton Naciamento, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Paulhino de Costa, and of course my favorites; the incredible Flora Purim and Airto Moriera, whose incendiary tamborine solos conjured images of Panamanian drummer Billy Cobham at his height.

In what could have been a catastrophe at the Rasselas Jazz Club last Sunday night for the Wilbur Rehmann Quartet show, (It seems the owner inadvertantly double booked the evening!), the gracious Caroline Chung of Brazuca Brown, stepped aside and wished us good luck. So moved was I by the group's generosity, that I endeavored to find out more about her and her band. Rehmann's show I might add, was a smashing success, and in the aftermath of that evening, I found another pleasant surprise in the wonderful and innovative Brazilian music of Brazuca Brown and it's offspring, the Brazuca Dub Quartet.

Considered the "Bay Area's most innovative Brazilian band", Brazuca Brown fuses traditional music with modern technology. The group came together in 2004, when they began combining percussion and complex Brazilian rhythms with the "post-tropicalia" musings of today's DJ culture. The result is a groove oriented "samba-electric" flavor, powered by the high energy drumming of the "bateria", the drum ensemble that powers the samba schools during Carnival.

Brazuca Brown is ably led by bassist Caroline Chung, Cris and Nick on drums and percussion, and the wonderful Antonio on vocals and guitar. Often Brazuca Brown can seen as an "orchestra", with Danny Cao on trumpet, Carlinhos Baiano and Sam Hicks, also on percussion, or in a smaller unit known as the "Brazuca Dub Quartet". Brazuca Brown has been a regular fixture at the Elbo Room, and has been seen at Bruno's, The Cigar Bar, The Make Out Room, Cafe Du Nord, and the Independent.

Their polyrhythmic textures on songs like, "Onde Anda" and "Avaio" stopped me in my tracks. The take no prisoners funk of "Descobrido dos Mares" and "No Caminho Do Bem", will make you want to get up dance, without a doubt. Antoino's vocals and guitar work is fantastic, and must bee seen to be fully appreciated. Chung holds down groove like nobody's business on bass, and the guys on percussion are just well, "disgustingly talented".

So if you are in the mood for some fiery samba, funky bass, ridicolously infectous percussion, don't wait for Carnival to see Brazuca Brown, in any of their incarnations. You will be glad you did.

Brazuca Brown
Sat. May 20th @
Club Anton
428 3rd Street
Oakland, CA
510-463-0165
http://www.clubanton.com/

Tues. May 23rd @
The Elbo Room
647 Valencia Street
San Francsico, CA
http://www.elbo.com/
]]>user@domain.comblog2006-09-05T09:26:34-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/9abd519028d2e69a44fc5083d7433ede-20.html#unique-entry-id-20http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/9abd519028d2e69a44fc5083d7433ede-20.html#unique-entry-id-20
"Random Acts of Happiness"

Those unfamiliar with one of England's greatest drummers, may yet recognize his impressive work with some of the most successful progressive rock groups of the 1970's and 1980's: Yes, King Crimson, and Genesis to name but a few. However, by the 1990's, Bruford had eshewed that genre to play what was his first love: Jazz. In 1986 he formed the critically acclaimed "Earthworks", an ensemble featuring acoustic bass, keyboards, saxaphone, and Bruford on a 12 piece electronic drum kit, capable of playing complex chords as well as percussion samples. After over ten years of successful touring around the world, and a few line-up changes later, the Bay Area found his latest incarnation in a rare west coast appearance at Yoshi's last year, resulting in his latest recording, "Random Acts of Happiness".

Rare indeed, as Bruford told me that "flying his group to the west coast of the U.S. can be a rather costly endeavour". Switching now to an all acoustic drum kit, Bruford's current Earthworks band, now features the inimitable Tim Garland, (formerly of Chick Corea's band and replacing Patrick Clahar), on assorted reeds and flute, clearly excels at the riskier environment of the concert stage. Even more adventurous than his last recording, "Footloose and Fancy Free, Live in NYC", "Random Acts of Happiness" benefits from an even better recorded sound, and a repertoire that shows the group still growing, interestingly enough as much by looking back as it does by looking forward.

Garland has taken over the lion's share of new compositions, and his penchant for extended composition which has worked so well in his other endeavors, most notably Acoustic Triangle and his Storms/Nocturnes Trio, works to advantage here as well. "White Knuckle Wedding," with its long-and-winding melody, also features Garland on flute, which adds another texture to the ensemble. Also, while Earthworks remains an essentially acoustic ensemble, Garland is not afraid to dabble with electronics, using a pitch-shifter to create a somewhat oriental flavour towards the end of the piece; he also pitch-shifts his saxophone on "Speaking With Wooden Tongues," which may be the most remarkable new piece in the Earthworks songbook, shifting from light counterpoint to intense improvisation.

"Tramontana," co-written with the recently departed pianist Steve Hamilton, as well as "Bajo Del Sol," with their Latin-leanings, demonstrate some of the influence that Chick Corea had on Garland while a member of Corea's group, Origin. But in the hands of polyrhythmist Bruford, the pieces become something more as well. In fact, one of the most attractive things about this group is how they create shifts in feel, always keeping things interesting. Bruford's mathematical precision on pieces like "Modern Folk," coupled with his looser approach on "Bajo Del Sol," shows an artist who, considering his already-established stature continues to look for new inspiration and further develop his sound and approach.

In addition to revisiting previous Earthworks pieces for the balance of this recording, Bruford has also chosen to look back at his twenty-five year-old repertoire, and select earlier pieces for reinvention. "My Heart Declares A Holiday," which comes from the first Earthworks album, a revived "Seems Like a Lifetime Ago (part 1)" and "One of a Kind (Parts 1 and 2)," which come from his more fusion-oriented period of the late-1970s, prove that strong material is strong material, regardless of the context in which it is placed. It is interesting, in fact, how things that were, at the time, considered to be signature, like Allan Holdsworth's guitar or Bruford's chordal drums, become completely irrelevant in these new arrangements as the ensemble both pays reverence to the source and takes the material to new places.

Personally, I've always been partial to Bruford's original Earthworks line-up of punk-jazz British musicians Ian Ballamy, Django Bates, Mick Hutton and later Tim Harries. Ironically, I can recall saying the same thing about his late '70's group with Dave Stewart, Jeff Berlin, Allan Holdsworth, and again later, the "unknown" John Clarke! Bruford's keen syncopation, and his constant forward thinking, (he was the first great electronic drummer), help to make "Random Acts of Happiness" another fine album in his ever growing catalogue of modern jazz recordings.
]]>user@domain.comblog2006-08-05T09:24:10-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/23ff68aa5810ee9dd1a5232f3c3403a4-19.html#unique-entry-id-19http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/23ff68aa5810ee9dd1a5232f3c3403a4-19.html#unique-entry-id-19
Dweezil Zappa, son of the legendary composer/guitarist Frank Zappa, will be bringing his own brand of rock music compositions and "arrangements of complex nature", to the Warfield this June, as he and some of his father's greatest sidemen, saxophonist Napoleon Murphy Brock and drummer Terry Bozzio, re-create the "ironic sense of humor in both music and personality" the Zappa name has become known for.

"Zappa Plays Zappa", will feature the music of his father, as well as the music of Dweezil Zappa's newest CD, aptly titled "Automatic". It's his first release under his own name in nearly a decade and marks a return to his roots as a guitarist. It's also the first predominately instrumental guitar album of his career.

Operating under the musical credo "anything at anytime for any reason at all" gave Dweezil the freedom to explore new territory. The album features thick layers of multi-tracked guitar textures, all perfectly executed and combined with wild rhythms and intriguing improvisations, adding nicely to the Zappa Family legacy which has provided alternative entertainment for those who have embraced it for over thirty years.

At 31 years of age, Dweezil has found himself involved with a plethora of wide ranging projects throughout his career. It has sometimes been difficult even for Dweezil to define what he really does. Besides being regarded as a world class guitarist, he has hosted various television shows (including MTV and Happy Hour with his brother Ahmet). He has acted in film (The Running Man, Pretty in Pink, Jack Frost), television (Normal Life with his sister Moon, The Chris Isaak Show, Mad TV) and done voice-over work for the animated series Duckman (role of "Ajax"). He has been a frequent guest on television shows such as Politically Incorrect and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He was nominated for a Grammy for his work with Herbie Hancock on the surf-classic "Wipe Out" for the Back of the Beach soundtrack. He has since worked on other soundtracks, having recently recorded a hard-rocking version of the Britney Spear's classic "Baby, Hit Me One More Time". He has composed television themes for The Ben Stiller Show and Roseanne, and has scored episodes of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, performed as a session guitarist, and has recently been collaborating with partner Lisa Loeb as a songwriter and co-producer on her upcoming release.

If you asked Dweezil "what do you really do?", his reply would be "all kinds of stuff. People probably only know me because of my name and they've heard that I play guitar, but more than likely they've never actually heard me play. Ultimately, I'm a guitar player/songwriter/composer/producer/TV entertainer/golf enthusiast! Plus, I like to cook when I have time."

One more thing Dweezil found time to do on "Automatic" was his own engineering. "It was fun for me to do. I've spent a couple of years noodling around with recording equipment, and felt I could get the sounds I was hearing in my head on tape for this project". Although Dweezil spent most of the time working on his own on the album, he was not completely alone. He was joined by several talented musicians, including one of his father's greatest drummers, Marin's Terry Bozzio, and bassist Scott Thunes.

Reflecting on the album, Dweezil says "I was lucky to have access to great players to record with. It keeps you inspired. This record has some material that was recorded during the 'Shampoohorn' sessions back around '95, as well as things that were just finished in August '00. There somehow seems to be some conceptual continuity between all the music on this record."

Dweezil says "the idea for the record started with 'The Grinch'." His guitar rendition of the Dr. Seuss classic features his brother Ahmet performing the lead vocal in all of its baritone splendor. "When I finished that song I thought, hmm... I should probably make a collection of songs to go around this and release it around Christmas. So I did. Prior to that, I had lost interest in releasing any of my music. I was disappointed by the lack of interesting musicianship in most popular music, so I just stopped playing. Some close friends encouraged me to reverse my decision and now I'm happy to be playing again. I was really disenchanted with the industry at large and in fact, I still am. I just see so much bad behavior and posturing being rewarded out there. 'Mediocrity is King and creativity is a liability'. But that's just the way it is, regardless of what I think about the industry. I've learned that I shouldn't let it deter me from making the music that I would like to hear. There has to be a few other disenchanted guitar music fans out there, and this record is for them".

The recent release of some of Frank Zappa's final recordings of his arrangements of his childhood idol, avant garde composer Edgar Varese, and Dweezil's "Automatic", should give Zappa fans something to cheer for. His legacy as one of the greatest guitarist and composers of our age, most certainly lives on through the efforts of his wife Gail, (who battled to obtain the tapes of the Varese recordings), and his sons Dweezil and Ahmet. After over 30 years, we're still "Just Hungry Freaks Daddy", for the music of Zappa.

]]>user@domain.comblog2006-07-05T09:22:39-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d94e7b76e722106095d07fe96375e88d-18.html#unique-entry-id-18http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d94e7b76e722106095d07fe96375e88d-18.html#unique-entry-id-18
One of my oldest friends, jazz guitarist Paul Bollenback, has released his latest CD, "Brightness of Being" , with yet another all star line-up. Saxophonists David "Fathead" Newman, Gary Thomas and Tim Garland, vocalist Chris McNulty, drummers Teri-Lynne Carrington and Ari Honnig, and bassist James Genus. "Being" is Bollenback's sixth album, and like a fine wine, he keeps getting better. "Luap", as I've affectionally come to know him, has out done himself once again wth this very fine effort. "Not one jazz virtuoso could put the definition of jazz into words, but all agreed that you know it when you hear it. That's the way it is with Paul Bollenback. It's bona-fide playing, unambiguous, up-front and powerful," summarized guitar master George Benson, a long-time supporter. Bollenback’s debut recording as a leader, "Original Visions", on Challenge Records, is one of the most creative efforts by a guitarist in recent memory. "Double Gemini", his second CD, features four of his own compositions and won the title of CD of The Month in Jim Fisch's distinguished jazz column in 20th Century Guitar Magazine.

It won the same award from the renowned jazz radio station WBGO in Newark, New Jersey. His 3rd release on Challenge, "Soul Grooves", won ‘Ndigo Magazines “Best Contemporary Jazz Album of 1999”. Challenge has since released “Dreams” and “Double-Vision”, and now Bollenback has released his 6th project as a leader, "Brightness of Being", on the Elefant Dreams label, in February 2006.

Bollenback's emotionally expressive style and eclectic approach is the result of a wide range of influences, including Carlos Santana, Yes, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Lenny Breau. At the age of seven, he received a nylon-string guitar from his father, a scientist, classically trained trumpeter and lover of music. When Bollenback was eleven, his family relocated from Hastings on Hudson, New York, to New Delhi, India. It was there that he cultivated his life-long interest in exotic musical sounds and timbres, which is evident in even his most jazz-based work. When his family returned to New York, Paul's father bought him an electric guitar and he started to gig in rock and roll bands around the area. Then he heard Miles Davis and his world changed forever.

Having relocated again in 1975, this time from New York to Washington, D.C., Bollenback continued to study and play jazz and fusion, (Our first D.C. jazz/fusion combo also featured the renown bassist Ed Howard and saxophonist Tim Chambers). Bollenback attended University of Miami as a music major, then later studied privately for eight years with Baltimore-based professor of Theory/Composition Asher Zlotnik. In 1987 he made his recording debut on saxophonist Gary Thomas’s Seventh Quadrant, for Enja records, and in 1990 made the acquaintance of organ legend Joey DeFrancesco, an association that lasted 16 years, and produced 14 recordings.

In 1991 his two compositions, "Wookies's Revenge" and "Romancin' the Moon" (featured on Joey DeFrancesco's Reboppin') earned him the SESAC award for original music. In 1993 while touring in Europe, Paul was awarded a grant from the Virginia Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts to compose and perform "New Music for Three Jazz Guitars". In 1997, Bollenback was named Musician of the Year at the Washington Area Music Awards.

In 1997 Bollenback returned to New York City, which he now makes his home. Since then, Bollenback has appeared on the Tonight Show, Good Morning America, Joan Rivers, The Today Show, and Entertainment Tonight. He has played with an impressive spectrum of musicians, including Stanley Turrentine, Gary Bartz, Joey DeFrancesco, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Joe Locke, Gary Thomas, Chris McNulty, Tim Garland, David “Fathead” Newman, Steve Wilson, Geoffrey Keezer, Terri-Lyne-Carrington, Grady Tate, , Shunzo Ohno, James Moody, Jack McDuff, Charlie Byrd, Paul Bley, Carol Sloane, , Melissa Walker, Carter Jefferson, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Bruno, and East Meets Jazz, with Sandip Burman, and Howard Levy.


The "Sandip and Friends" show with E. Doc Smith, Howard Levy,
John Wubbenhorst, Paul Bollenback, and Sandip Burman

In his review of "Being", All About Jazz editor John Kelman wrote, "While unequivocally mainstream, Brightness of Being is no retro relic. There’s nary a standard to be found, although Bollenback places some contemporary songs into straightahead but fluidly open contexts. Saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman appears on two tributes to the late Ray Charles: “Unchain My Heart,” which has a ‘60s Blue Note soul-jazz vibe; and “You Don’t Know Me,” which Bollenback relocates from country juke joint to late night smoky bar.

But Bollenback interprets even familiar material with an open-minded and unencumbered approach. He constructs his solos every bit as well as Pat Metheny does, but they somehow feel looser. He thinks fast on his feet, effortlessly shifting from clean lines to complex chordal passages, yet always relying on a clear conception and strong narrative development.

Bollenback reinvents Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” which also features saxophonists Gary Thomas and Tim Garland. Opening almost unrecognizably, the three players enter a heated exchange, ultimately finding their way to the complex chord changes that bridge the chorus and verse. They respect Wonder’s melodicism, but Bollenback proves adept at improvising in ways that might seem reckless if they didn’t make so much sense. The song ultimately ends as it began—Bollenback, Garland and Thomas in virtual free fall, with bassist James Genus and drummer Terri-Lyne Carrington offering intuitive and responsive support.

Bollenback’s ability to envision greater possibilities is especially vivid in his adaptation of Garcia de Leon’s “El Desierto,” which starts as a gentle tone poem but then picks up steam for his solo. Again, he skirts the edges of abandon but never loses focus—a characteristic equally applicable to Garland’s nimble soprano solo. Bollenback’s imaginative three-part adaptation of Puccini’s “Dark Eyes of Floria” from Tosca moves from freedom to form, temporal elasticity to loose swing, change-based improvisation to more open-ended modality.

Bollenback’s writing demonstrates similar adaptability. “Together” may sound straightforward, but its inherent complexity challenges everyone to find common melodic threads. The gently Latin-inflected “Breathe,” where Bollenback plays classical guitar, features Chris McNulty’s sultry tone in a Norma Winstone-like wordless vocal. The set closes with “Siberian Passages,” another deceptive piece where McNulty again mirrors Bollenback, who manages to make the elaborate flow with ease while retaining a simmering intensity.

No one album can tell the whole story on Paul Bollenback. But certainly more than any record he's led to date, Brightness of Being demonstrates an out-of-the-box thinker working freely in a compositionally refined yet wholly accessible mainstream context."

Right on "Luap"!
]]>user@domain.comblog2006-06-04T09:20:15-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/3de5232c4ae69be3ff2ace9acc5e8143-17.html#unique-entry-id-17http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/3de5232c4ae69be3ff2ace9acc5e8143-17.html#unique-entry-id-17
While Bela Fleck and the Flecktones enjoyed a year off from the trials and tribulations of touring, they also found time for a variety of new endeavors; Fleck journeyed to Africa to record and discover the roots of his beloved banjo, and bassist Victor Wooten and saxophonist Jeff Coffin led their own groups on tour. Roy "Futureman" Wooten, the eclectic percussionist of the group, led his own trio, the self-titled "Futureman Project", combining his electronic drumming with jazz hip-hop keyboardist Jeremiah "Street Maestro" Able, and guitarist Robert "Area 51" Provine". Wooten's use of his "Drumitar", (a guitar synthesizer he converted into a drum machine), his "Roy-el", a custom piano sampler, turntables and more, made for quite an interesting blend of jazz, improvisation and hip-hop.

In 2005, Wooten wrote, " I have a year to explore some different directions in music. The first is the concept of what a DJ is. As a musician, I’ve realized that we live in the age of the DJ. As an artist, I’ve realized that I want to create music with the tools of a DJ, i.e. turntables, drum machines, samplers, computers etc. Through the process of implementing these new tools along with instruments that I have created, I seek to implement what being a DJ can mean in the evolution of music. For a period of time being a DJ meant spinning records, to us it means “jockeying”, or manipulating audio that is in a digital format. As far as the term Binary Composer, this refers to the creation of music that sounds “classical”, yet is written solely on “virtual instruments”.

"As a composer it is a privileged time to be alive! The advancements in computer audio are opening creative possibilities that never existed. The binary composer project will explore the marriage of traditional instruments and modern synthesis in both recorded and performed formats."

Wooten added Able, a Nashville native well versed in jazz, R&B and hip-hop to round out his vision. Able was dubbed the "Street Maestro" by Wooten, for "one ear turned to the symphony and the other to the block". Provine joined the combo for a only a few shows, however his ethereal guitar work made an interesting project all the more exciting. Covers of Miles Davis and Curtis Mayfield tunes, even Erykah Badu often filled their set lists. Wooten and Able's rappin' breathed new life into some of these classics, not to mention the virtuosity and deft improvising on display.

With the Flecktones back from hiatus, we may not see this line up again for sometime, although Victor Wooten plans on coming to the Fillmore again soon. Futureman's tour was very brief, and mainly confined to the east coast and Nashville, home of the Flecktones, however, more artists and musicians should be encouraged by this blend of genres, and the ability to converse with a much wider audience.
]]>user@domain.comblog2006-05-05T09:18:33-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d37f93548ac7128b7878efce7c136646-16.html#unique-entry-id-16http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/d37f93548ac7128b7878efce7c136646-16.html#unique-entry-id-16
Four of my favorite percussionists, masters in their respective disciplines, come together for a highly-charged musical exchange; explosive, unpredictable, and unusual. Doudou N’Diaye Rose (Senagalese master of the sabar ), Chad Wackerman, (Frank Zappa, Allan Holdsworth), Luis Conte (Madonna, Michael Jackson), and Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson, Earthworks), are known internationally as the World Drummers Ensemble. For those unfamiliar with, or unpersuaded by, the astonishing and increasing grip of the percussive arts as an innovative force in music across continents, this new Dual Disc CD/DVD, "A Coat of Many Colors", offers conclusive proof, were any needed, that rhythm beats at the heart of all things.

I've worked with both Bill Bruford and Luis Conte, and I've seen the work of both Chad Wackerman with Frank Zappa, and Doudou N'Diaye Rose with Youssou N'Dour, so my anticipation of this new release has been extreme to say the least. A true cultural ambassador for Senegal, Doudou N'Diaye Rose is today considered as one of the great musicians of his time. Chief drum major, founder of the Drummers of West Africa, he is the most famous griot in Sengal. Both guardian of the tradition and untiring innovator, this virtuoso of percussion is now perceived as a true conductor, the African equivalent of a great conductor of a symphony orchestras, regularly leading groups of from 20 to 100 drummers. As part of the World Drummers Ensemble he has immersed himself in less familiar ideas of odd-metered rock, jazz improvisation and small group interplay.

Born 1928 into a griot family, he soon rose from the shadow of traditional drum major to become the rising darling of the Senegalese drumming community. With Independence in 1960 he joined the Senegalese National Ballet, propelling him to international stardom. For many years his ensembles of varying sizes have toured world capitals to huge acclaim. In 1996 he was the center of attention at the opening of the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, and he has invented more than 500 new rhythms in African percussion.

Chad Wackerman’s drumming combines the power and conviction of rock with the sensitivity and finesse of jazz. His playing is remarkably free of predictable patterns and licks, relying instead on invention and interplay with the musicians around him Phenomenally skilled, he has amassed a remarkable body of work including a seven year association with Frank Zappa, with whom he toured and recorded 26 albums including the London Symphony recordings. He has also recorded and /or toured with, among others, Allan Holdsworth, Barbra Streisand, Steve Vai, Andy Summers, Men At Work, Albert Lee, James Taylor, John Patitucci , Joe Sample, and most recently with another ex -Zappa drummer , Terry Bozzio. As a band leader and composer Chad has four critically acclaimed CDs titled 'Forty Reasons', 'The View', 'Scream', and his latest release 'Legs Eleven'.

Grammy-winner Luis Conte is an acknowledged master of Afro-Cuban percussion. His celebrated career includes working with some of the greatest names in contemporary music, including Madonna, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Santana, Jackson Browne, Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, James Taylor, Shakira, Ozzy Osborne, Queen Latifah and Cuban legends Arturo Sandoval and Cachao. He can also be heard on the scores and/or soundtracks to such box office smashes as Mission Impossible, Rain Man, Waiting To Exhale, Coming To America, and countless others. His percussion clinic tours take him around the world teaching musicians the essentials and history of Afro-Cuban rhythm, and he has recently just released his signature line of congas, timbales and shakers for the Meinl Company.

By the tender age of 27, Bill Bruford’s musical character had already been forged in the fiery furnace of four of the biggest progressive rock groups of all time; Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, and UK. Early success propelled Bill, by nature a restless innovator uncomfortable with the well-worn path, into a fascinating 30 year career as a band leader and writer. Groups such as Bruford and Earthworks led the way with advanced harmony in electric rock in the 70s & 80s; samples, electronics, and odd-metres in electric jazz in the 90s; and stylistic innovation with strong compositional identity in his current acoustic jazz. His taste for the unpredictable in live performance has led him to collaborations with countless of the world’s top musicians, not least the World Drummer’s Ensemble, in an endless search for the innovative, the unusual, and the unlikely. 30 years after Progressive rock, Bruford remains a vital force in all things percussive, and his life’s work is well documented on CD and DVD at Summerfold and Winterfold Records.

The music includes pieces from all members, but also from Switzerland via Pierre Favre, Turkey via the Harem Percussion Group, America via Max Roach, and there’s even a re-working of King Crimson’s “B’Boom”. This Dual Disc CD/DVD documents over an hour of their ambitious programme from concerts in Amsterdam and Brussels, and includes a complimentary 15 minute DVD on the reverse side.

Like Mickey Hart's Planet Drum, and other modern percussion ensembles, the "World Drummers Ensemble" is a fascinating blend of cultures that was until now, only dreamt about being performed. The pyrotechnical abilities of Wackerman, the smooth and tasty latin rhythms of Conte, the old world Senegalese flavor of Rose, and the jazzy stylings of Bruford, make this album one that will be talked about for years to come, and I hope, the beginning of many more such musical excursions.]]>user@domain.comblog2006-04-05T09:14:00-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/64a03f3eac95ce4c82fa2346bdb996d1-15.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/64a03f3eac95ce4c82fa2346bdb996d1-15.html#unique-entry-id-15
Lately, I've found myself fondly recalling some of my favorite saxophonists, from the incomparable Wayne Shorter and his work with Miles Davis, and later with pianist Joe Zawinul, his co-founder in Weather Report; the tender tones of Joe Henderson with Chick Corea; Bennie Maupin's "Chameleon" with Herbie Hancock, to the unmistakable tenor of Stanley Turrentine, whose "Salt Song" features prominently in my iTunes playlist. There are many, many more of course, Bela Fleck's Jeff Coffin, Bill Bruford's Tim Garland, and Washington's own Ron Holloway, to name but a few, however one Bay Area icon has continuously sparked my attention, San Francisco's legendary Charles Unger.

Unger has performed for numerous years at Les Joulin's Jazz Bistro on Ellis, and the Rasselas Jazz Club on Fillmore, to the delight of regulars, tourists, purists and jazz aficionados alike. Surprisingly, more have not experienced this legendary reed player. Unger and his various editions of the "Charles Unger Experience", hope to change all that, with new recordings, shows and a renewed appetite for the sultry tones, humor, and musical explorations he has become known for.

Unger first arrived in San Francisco in 1968, at the impressionable age of eighteen, and during the famed "Summer of Love." Unger stayed a week during that visit, and in 1969, he came back again, this time for a two week stay. According to "In Search of the City" writer Louis Martin, Unger "was hooked". "A year later he moved to San Francisco. He played mostly rock and R & B back then. He can't pinpoint exactly when he started playing jazz but says, "It's always been in the background. It's one of those things you grow up playing in school. In school bands they try to throw in a couple of jazz tunes."

"Rock can be very seductive to young musicians these days, but Unger says it was his mom who kept him interested in jazz. "She loved Stan Getz." Unger is African American, and I began to wonder if his mom liked Charlie Parker and Miles Davis too, but I did not get around to asking. His father was an amateur singer and song writer. "Music was his dream," says Unger. Unger talks loose and relaxed, and his playing, which is lyrical, is like that too. It is eclectic. He can play funky R & B; he can be as lyrical as Coleman Hawkins at times; and when inspired he can rip like the young Charlie Parker..." Now in 2006, Unger remains, more committed to his music than ever.

Unger's work with the lovely singer Valencia Hawkins at Les Joulin's, his shows and recordings with bassist Atila Medvedski, (who reminded me of Weather Report's Mirolsav Vitous), pianist Eugene Pilner, and drummer Andy Marquetti, are just a sampling of his ample talents. Two of Unger's CDs, the "Unger Pangs" Live at Les Joulin's, and "Aural Persuasion", showcase some of his compositional prowess as well. The moody textures of "Astral Aura" with it's lilting bass lines and percussion provide a lovely backdrop for Unger's melodies, the Turrentine-like flavor and strings of "Riverside" open to a latin passage of a Cuban night, and the take no prisoners vamp of "Night Sounds" blends into the promise of nocturnal adventures, only to be interrupted by a deft string arrangement, and a Sonny Rollins-like/Brooklyn Bridge solo by Unger, conjuring his own solitary walk, perhaps across the Golden Gate.

But these comparisons don't really do justice to Unger's sound, because his tones are unmistakably his own. His ability to humorously blend the sounds of dropped forks and cash registers with his saxophone during shows, and then return to the melodies with subtlety or powerful prestidigitation, has delighted thousands. Unger tells me he's planning on writing more these days, adding some new recording software for his Macintosh, updating his CD catalogue and website, and playing with a variety of new cats. "Jazz isn't about the money for me", he told me. "I'm happy, I'm fortunate really. It's about the music to me. I don't know what I would do if I didn't play." The look of joy on his face, and his trademark hat says it all... Unger lives to play.

From the deserved popularity of a Joshua Redman, the oft forgotten Courtney Pine, the avante-garde jazz of David S. Ware, to even the "happy jazz" music, (as a trumpet playing friend calls it), of a Kenny G, it is comforting to know that in San Francisco, and despite the inequities of the music world, we have another bonafide legend in our midst, an unsung hero of the horn, in the form of Charles Unger. So if you are in the mood for jazz, make your way down to Les Joulin's at 44 Ellis on Wednesday and Friday nights, and "experience" one of San Francisco's best jazz musicians.
]]>user@domain.comblog2006-03-03T09:11:41-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/15256a65e1392ad211b8175117f1cccf-14.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/15256a65e1392ad211b8175117f1cccf-14.html#unique-entry-id-14
I recently had the pleasure of playing with one of Montana's legendary saxophonists, Wilbur Rehmann, during one of his frequent visits to the Bay Area. Known for his keen ear and smooth tones, Rehmann is the leader of the "Wilbur Rehmann Quartet", and the man behind "Montana Jazz". "Rehmann and his Quartet," wrote Mike Clark of the Great Yellowstone Coalition, "have brought to us a sense of joy, wonder and solitude with their original jazz interpretations, which explore the interior landscapes of the American West and the meaning of wilderness". Rehmann's "Going Down the Gulch" is but one of many fine examples of that style, and embodies a true "Big Sky Jazz" sound.

Rehmann grew up listening to the last of the traveling big bands in the late forty's and early fifties. and as a teenager, got interested in bebop and wanted to know not only why they played like that, but how. Now he knows, and he plays it on the alto, soprano and tenor saxophones. Watching and listening to him play is definitely a joy.

Rounding out Rehmann's quartet is guitarist "Blackie" Nelson, one of the most creative and inventive musicians around. Nelson is also one of the sweetest sounding guitarists in Montana, and apparently knows more songs and music than any one person ought to. In 1954 he and his wife Isabel drove to Bozeman to hear Charlie Parker who personified the cutting edge sound of his day, and that's exactly what Nelson is today.

Bassist Ken Nelson does it all, and he does it well. Acoustic and electric bass, piano and synthesizer, organ and guitar and, of course, dobro. He has a tremendous sense of time and rhythm but it is his harmonic explorations that continue to amaze and enthrall. Drummer and percussionist Dennis Unsworth plays his full kit with exquisite sensitivity and grace His quick wit and melodic sense come through whether it's taking a full-fledged solo flight or when he's simply trading fours with the rest of the group.

The group's two albums, "Back Home Jazz" (1996), and Mann Gulch Suite, (1999) have an underlying message unique to jazz, (or any other genre to be fair); protecting the environment. Rehmann's concern for a clean and healthful environment, and his desire for everyone to be made aware of the effects of pollution and global warming, are clearly a motivating, if not inspiration force in his music, and a passion shared by many of Rehmann's friends and colleagues, including the legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins.

Rehmann's delightful "Nica's Dream", is another fine example of his spacious, airy sound of "Big Sky" jazz, free to roam and soar, swoop and swing. Rehmann plans on expanding his group to quintet for an upcoming event, with the addition of percussionist Jeremy Slead. There are also plans for a Bay Area show in 2006, featuring Rehmann and some fine local jazz musicians. Meantime, visit Rehmann's informative site at montanajazz.com, and learn that, yes, you really can swing in Montana.

]]>user@domain.comblog2006-02-05T09:10:20-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/3df70f83dae3313d7d5130aa85f1ab49-13.html#unique-entry-id-13http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/3df70f83dae3313d7d5130aa85f1ab49-13.html#unique-entry-id-13
In 1986, British jazz drummer Bill Bruford launched his first Earthworks, a jazz quartet featuring some of England's best young jazz musicans; pianist/trumpeter Django Bates, saxophonist Ian Ballamy, bassist Mick Hutton and later, bassist Tim Harries. At that time, Bruford had introduced electronic drums into the fray, most notably England's popular hexagonal Simmons pads. Bruford's ability to play samples, chords, and melodies from the drums, was a musical first, however, after much acclaim and success, the tempermental nature of the Simmons drums and the growing demand for his now famous young trio, ultimately gave way to new members and an all acoustic drum kit.

Now, 20 years later, Bruford and his latest incarnation of Earthworks celebrates its 20th anniversary with the "Earthworks Underground Orchestra". Bruford and co-leader, saxophonist Tim Garland took fresh arrangements of some of the band’s best loved tunes over to NYC, to work with some of the finest players in the U.S. in a nine-piece configuration. This CD sounds like the perfect anniversary party, and oozes that feeling of fun and excitement as the celebrations got under way.

It is indeed a rare opportunity to find Bruford in such a unique setting. “The last time I did anything on this scale was with the Buddy Rich Orchestra, which I loved” he says. “I like to think I did at least as well with them as Buddy would have done with King Crimson! It’s a privilege for me to have the Earthworks’ book given the Garland treatment. I wasn’t sure I knew entirely what it would sound like with the American guys, but for certain I had the best seat in the house when I finally found out”.

The CD includes Earthworks standards such as “Up North” and “Libreville”, newer material such as “Bajo del Sol” and “Speaking in Wooden Tongues”, and the beautiful ballads “It Needn’t End In Tears” and “Rosa Ballerina”. Several of the band members --trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, alto player Steve Wilson,  and of course, saxophonist Garland-- are distinguished jazz leaders in their own right.

Earthworks Underground Orchestra comes with a bonus 2 track CD for the first 3000 individually numbered copies. For those familiar with Bill Bruford’s Earthworks, this is a hugely entertaining way of re-visiting the band’s best loved tunes; for those unfamiliar with the band, or the sound of a large group of the USA’s top players in action.

In a preview of the CD, "All About Jazz" reviewer John Kelman wrote, "Earthworks Underground Orchestra began as a marriage of Garland’s London-based nine-piece Dean Street Underground Orchestra and the Earthworks repertoire after Garland joined the group in 2003. For the December, 2004 Iridium date, Bruford and Garland recruited New York players like saxophonist Steve Wilson, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin and pianist Henry Hey. With Garland’s not insignificant skills as an arranger, the material—a cross-section of Earthworks material old and new—is infused with new life and greater depth.

Garland’s sleight of hand makes the orchestra feel even larger than it is. “Libreville,” from 1980s Earthworks, is reinvented as a kind of odd-metered calypso, with flutes, muted trumpets and trombone morphing the original melody into rich counterpoint. Another 1980s tune, “Up North,” deconstructs the simple I-IV-V theme, Garland passing it around from horn to horn. Rather than reproducing the strong backbeat of the original recording’s solo section, Bruford plays it lighter and introduces an Afro-Cuban vibe, with Wilson and trombonist Rock Ciccarone delivering the kind of strong solos that define the entire set, leading into a kind of structured free-for-all at the song’s end.

Garland’s more complex and stylistically varied writing will be no surprise to those familiar with If the Sea Replied (Sirocco, 2005). Despite the episodic nature of “Speaking in Wooden Tongues,” it never lacks focus; Bruford’s open-minded interplay is a highlight during Wilson’s modal solo. Bruford’s evolution as a writer is also clear. Garland’s tour-de-force arrangement of Bruford's “The Wooden Man Sings, and the Stone Woman Dances” hints at greater freedom, deeper harmonic understanding, and Bruford at his most swinging.

Bruford continues to reinforce a clear line from art rocker to authentic jazzer. But his recent work, specifically his collaborations with Garland, demonstrates an accelerated development. Complex yet accessible scores, broad textures, and unassailable grooves make Earthworks Underground Orchestra an album that deserves to gain Bruford and Garland a firmer foothold with North American jazz audiences."

Kelman's observations are dead on, as usual. One thing omitted in these observations, is that since "September 11th", European and American musicians ability to tour have been severely hampered. Time consuming visa applications and costs, have affected not only jazz musicians, but the world of rock and even opera. The fantastic recordings of these European musicians, may be the only opportunity many of us get to hear them, short of traveling abroad. I may have to take that a trip to Europe this summer!]]>user@domain.comblog2006-01-05T09:07:14-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7db39084ef8b4a902a219167ec8b91fa-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7db39084ef8b4a902a219167ec8b91fa-12.html#unique-entry-id-12
Having safely departed SFO at 7:45 am Thursday, I arrived around 6:00 pm at New York's Broadway Theatre with little time to spare. Also arriving, fresh from the David Letterman Show up the street, was none other than Oprah Winfrey. After surviving the incredible crush of fans, photographers and police, I finally made it inside. The star-studded crowd in the lobby was truly a mind-bending scene: Oprah Winfrey, writer Alice Walker, Quincy Jones, NY Senator Charles Schumer, Rev. Al Sharpton, Sidney Poitier, Harvard Prof. Louis Gates, Angela Bassett and husband Courtney Vance, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Paul Reubens, (aka Pee-Wee Herman), Donald Trump, Ron Silver, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Dennis Miller, David Hasselhof, Isaac Hayes, and of course Steadman Graham. And those are only the ones I saw or met. And the play? Simply one of the most moving and beautiful productions I have ever seen. In the words of Prof. Gates, "I laughed, I cried, I loved it."

Co-producer Scott Sanders began developing and producing The Color Purple as a Broadway musical for the last eight years, and considers it the most challenging and rewarding experience in his personal and professional life. He's deeply grateful to Alice Walker and Steven Spielberg for entrusting him with bringing the story of The Color Purple to the stage. "It's been a labor of love", he told me. "I just had to do it."

For those of you who haven't seen the original film, or read Walker's book, The Color Purple is a story of tragedy, of love, of faith, ultimately redemption, which centers on "Celie", (ably played by LaChanze, who recreates the role once played by Whoopi Goldberg), a young black girl of the 1930's, twice raped by her step-father, and given to "Mister Albert", (Kingsley Leggs), to marry. Mister is a cruel husband, who separates Celie from her sister, "Nettie", (Renee Elise Goldsberry). Celie keeps the faith, and dreams of being reunited with her sister, thanks in part to two fantastic characters, first, the fiesty "Sofia", (Felicia P. Fields, originally played by Oprah in the film), and sexy "Shug Avery", (played by Elisabeth Withers-Mendes).

These women were absolutely stunning in both voice and dance. In fact, the entire ensemble was nothing short of amazing. Women play a central role in the story of the Color Purple, and each and every one I heard possessed an operatic prowess that was powerful to say the least. I do not know how in the world they can sing and dance their hearts out seven days a week, for twenty-eight weeks. (I was told that some of the preview performances were done by the understudies, to save the stamina and vocal chords of the cast.) The choreography was also superb, and a scene that featured African dancing was both acrobatic and infectious.

Celie's journey through a world fraught with incest, rape, abuse and racism, was something that many, including myself, wondered could be done in a musical. The Color Purple doesn't disappoint. The trio of Stephen Bray, (who wrote many of Madonna's hits), Allie Willis, (who wrote the theme to TV's "Friends), and Brenda Russell, ("How Stella Got Her Groove Back") were more than up to the task, despite the fact none of them has ever done a musical. With Quincy Jones' producing, (Jones wrote the film's original score), and the direction of Gary Griffin, the pacing, and blending of period blues, jazz and gospel was extraordinary.

The set design and lighting was also spectacular. Spinning stage floors, seamless set changes, a top notch band, and the intimate setting of the 1800 seat Broadway Theatre, made for quite an entertaining evening.

Celie's honesty, her courage and maturity, her love affair with "Shug Avery", her success, the love of her sister and children, and the redemption of the nearly irredeemable "Mister" had everyone either laughing or crying in the aisles. At the end of play, a joyous and tearful Oprah took the stage alongside the cast to a standing ovation, thanking all for supporting the play, lauding the talents of all on and off the stage. Scott Sanders briefly spoke and concurred, and then gave the microphone to Alice Walker, to thunderous applause. Walker thanked the audience, and said, "This story is essentially a story about family, and about speaking the truth. History teaches us that. Only by being truthful, will any of us ever be free."

Amen.]]>user@domain.comblog2005-06-15T09:02:47-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/0fc034465699816c52b1131ae6940da9-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/0fc034465699816c52b1131ae6940da9-11.html#unique-entry-id-11
It's been over twenty years since I first played with the phenomenal Brian Eno, in the 1980's NYC art-rock group, "The Same". The Same featured Eno's friend, the Welsh singer Cloda Simmons, as well as keyboardist Carter Burwell, who would go on to score most of the Coen Brother's films like, "Blood Simple", "Raising Arizona", "Barton Fink", and "Miller's Crossing".

Rounding out the group was M.I.T. guitarist Chip Johannsen, who built one of the world's first guitar synthesizers, Madonna's drummer Stephen Bray, bassist Stanley Adler, and Moira Moynihan, (daughter of the late NY Senator), on backing vocals. I played "Roto-toms, slit drum and assorted percussion". Eno and The Same had a profound effect on my musical career, and now he re-emerges with his first solo album in fifteen years, "Another Day On Earth".

Electronic Musician's John Diliberto described Another Day on Earth as an ambient song cycle that is full of yearning and a mood that Brian Eno has called "brave and resigned." Even in song, Eno is a master of ambience, creating detailed soundworlds and lyrics that don't so much make sense as create a feeling. It's taken him 15 years to create a new vocal album, and the songs span that time, with the welcome reprise of "Under," a devastatingly beautiful hymn of loss and redemption that dates back to 1991's aborted, unreleased My Squelchy Life album. It's turned up before on the Cool World soundtrack and Eno Box II: Vocals. Joining "Under" as one of Eno's most sublime songs is "And Then So Clear," a paean of wasted longing and hope with its cycling rhythm, ethereal guitars, and pitch-shifted vocal harmonies.

You can hear Eno's love of gospel music on "This" and "Bottomliners," and can almost picture them in a particularly pensive Baptist church with his double-tracked vocals emulating a solemn choir. But it's not all minor-key reflection. Eno also unleashes a couple of fractured tunes, like "Bonebomb," which is from a project in which he mutated the meter of poets reciting their works. Another Day on Earth is a more personal album from the ambient avatar, a recording of rare and meticulous maturity.

Brian Eno was a founding member of Roxy Music, manipulating sounds on their debut album and the legendary For Your Pleasure. Leaving Roxy Music in 1973, he began his solo career with the album Here Come The Warm Jets. Eno has released a string of critically acclaimed records, and over the years his work has been compiled on two Best Ofs and three Boxed Sets. As well as Eno's own albums, he has collaborated with the likes of John Cale, Nico, Robert Fripp and the band James. His co-writing and playing on David Bowie's Low, Heroes and Lodger helped define the sound of this classic trilogy. After having produced U2's The Joshua Tree, Unforgettable Fire, Zooropa and Achtung Baby, he formed a loose collective with members of the band and other artists (including Luciano Pavaarotti and Howie B.) to write and record Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1" released on Island Records.

Eno is also one of the most significant record producers of our age. His ability to steer artists into radical new areas was first made obvious on the three albums he made with Talking Heads, culminating in Remain in Light in 1980. By this time he had also produced the seminal compilation of New York's New Wave, No New York, and Devo's Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo. In the 1980s he applied his gear-changing skills to U2, helping an already great stadium rock band turn into the most original and creatively-challenging mega-band since the Beatles. Other production credits range from Real World artist Geoffrey Oreyema to the band James as well as singer Jane Siberry and performance artist Laurie Anderson. In 1995 he returned to one of his most fmous collaborators, producing Bowie's Outside.

A pioneer in tape-looping and other early forms of sonic manipulation, Eno's work with Robert Fripp in the early 1970s (No Pussyfooting' and Evening 5tar), signalled a determination to look beyond the conventional song format. His unusual, strategic approach to music-making (more likely to involve drawing a diagram than writing down chord changes) was made clear with the 1975 publication of Oblique Strategies" - a set of problem-solving cards for artists. Also in 1975, Eno released Discreet Music, naming the new genre he had discovered 'ambient'. Bringing the ideas of John Cage to a pop audience, the true significance of Eno's landmark ambient releaes (including Music for Airports and Thursday Afternoon only became apparent in the early 199Os when ambient exploded into the charts and into a range of new hybrtd musical forms.

Eno also pioneered sampling and the use of found sounds on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a collaboration with David Byrne released in 1981; again it would be some years before the rest of the world fully cottoned on to these ideas. Eno's instrumental works continue, with The Shutov Assembly' released in 1992 and the minimal masterpiece Neroli in 1993. His composition for Derek Jarman's Glitterbug soundtrack was reapproached by Jah Wobble and released as Spinner in 1995.

Like all good rock musicians, Eno went to art school. Unlike most of the rest of his peers, he continues to work in the visual medium as well as in sound. His video installations have been exhibited at galleries around the world, including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Venice Biennale; the Pompidou Centre in Paris as well as a permanent exhibition opened October 1995 in Austria's Swarovski Museum. Combining sound and vision, Eno's works create an alternative environment for the gallery-goer, just as his ambient albums create a sense of space for the listener. Now visiting professor at the Royal College of Art, Eno collaborated with Laurie Anderson and some of his students earlier in '95 for the Self-Storage installation in Wembley, London.

1996 saw Eno's Generative Music come into fruition. His long- tirne interest in self evolving compositions has resulted in the creation of a PC floppy disc using Sseyo Koan software. Eno sees this as the most exciting of his musical outptlts: it is never heard the same way twice.

Year (With Swollen Appendices) Eno's diary and essays was published by Faber and Faber, May 1996. This book gives a rare insight into the daily life works and musings of the artist. What Eno brings to all his work is an ability to take ideas from one area of life and apply them to another. Thus, his ambient music resulted from applying ideas that were floating around the classical world and applying them to new instruments and recording technology.

Similarly his production technique is more akin to the way a management consultant works, than the way a conventional record producer works; that is, rather than sit behind a mixing desk for months on end, Eno likes to pop in regularly, but only occasionally, enough to steer the project, but not so much that he can't hear the music with a fresh pair of ears. Eno has very little interest in new technology for its own sake, preferring technology that you can get a result out of now, this minute, without studying the manual.

Around 1998, Eno was working heavily in the world of art installations and a series of his installation soundtracks started to appear, most in extremely limited editions (making them instant collectors items). In 2000 he teamed with German DJ J. Peter Schwalm for the Japanese-only release Music for Onmyo-Ji. The duo's work got worldwide distribution the next year with Drawn From Life, an album that kicked off Eno's relationship with the Astralwerks label. In 2004, Virgin and Astralwerks began a reissue campaign of his early EG albums. That campaign continues into 2005, culminating in the release of his first solo vocal album in 15 years.

Eno stayed in NYC until 1982, when some cats broke into his SOHO apartment from an adjoining roof, used a hydraulic jack to pry open his doors, and stole all his gear. "They disappeared over the rooftops like something akin to Fagin's lads! Oliver Bloody Twist!", he told us. They lifted his entire door jamb out of the way, and propped it against the wall. It was a real drag, yet he was extraordinarily good natured about it. "I'm moving back to Paris", he said. "I'm a little homesick, and it'll be nice to be near Mum and Dad again. They're getting on and they miss me!"

A few years later, Stephen Bray and I happened to run into Eno while we were walking around Greenwich Village. The three of us were coincidentally visiting NYC for just the weekend! He was still living in Paris and his "folks were fine".

We marveled at this chance meeting, our musical careers firmly in place, thanks to him. "You know, it's just another day on planet earth..."

Indeed.
]]>user@domain.comblog2005-09-05T09:00:22-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/04dae02ce434d0d76839ba554bb3e3f2-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/04dae02ce434d0d76839ba554bb3e3f2-10.html#unique-entry-id-10
Although bluegrass is not exactly my first love, I am no stranger to it. As a teenager, I once sat on the stage with the great Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, mainly to avoid the ire of some unruly patrons at a bluegrass festival. My life temporarily spared, I was soon dazzled by their amazing picking. Years later I found myself mixing the likes of Washington, D.C.'s famed Seldom Scene, the wonderful Del McCoury band, and Pete Seeger among others.

So it should come as no surprise that I have found yet another wonderful band to enjoy. The purveyors of "Uncut Southern Horrorbilly", The Pine Box Boys are San Francisco's latest addition to the bluegrass tradition, albeit a hilariously macabre one. Led by Lester T. Raww, the Pine Box Boys are one funny, stopmin' good time!

My first introduction to the "Boys" was at the CD release party for their latest recording, "Arkansas Killing Time", at the Parkside in Potrero. Packed to capacity, their show was a lively and raucous affair, complete with a "woman in a coffin", made out of a giant quesadilla!

Founded by Arkansan-in-exile Lester T. Raww (also known for his work in Reagan's Polyp), the band is made up of members of such diverse San Francisco acts as Riptopolis, Salvation Air Force, and Kill The Robots, "their music is a blend of Americana and bluegrass, often with dark overtones, often with up-tempo insincerity."

"Arkansas Killing Time" (Trash Fish Entertainment Corp.), is a sort-of musical rogue's gallery celebrating these killers and their acts. Although the songs have clearly been "dragged, like a bloody sack, through some very tall bluegrass", they are unmistakably original. At once repellent and enticing, some of the horrors are titled, "Just A Crush," "I Had To Cut Her," and "Beauty In Her Face".

The Pine Box Boys are rounded out by Alex "Possum" Carvidi on banjo, vocals; Col. Timothy Leather on bass; and S. "Your Uncle" Dodds on drums and washboard. Lester told me last weekend, that the boys are preparing for an east coast tour and some shows in Europe.

If you missed some of them at the City Sessions Anniversary show last week, you can catch them this Saturday, August 20th at Noe Valley Ministry, opening for Johnny Halford and the Healers, and again on Sunday, August. 21st at Thee Parkside, 1600 17th Street @ Wisconsin.

The Pine Box Boys are a truly great bluegrass band with a murderous twist of black humor and down home fun. As Mr. Preston always says, "Don't miss this!"... And please, don't let Granny drive her '56 Chevy on the mountain!]]>user@domain.comblog2005-07-05T08:55:46-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/68bac3aecd97d8657bcec97ca0a7c274-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/68bac3aecd97d8657bcec97ca0a7c274-9.html#unique-entry-id-9
"I'm sad to report that Richard "RZ" Zvonar has passed away after a long bout with cancer.", wrote good friend Steve Ellison last night. "He was a breath of fresh air to me when I moved out here, and was a big help and very supportive over the years." Indeed, I'll miss him too, as will countless others who benefited from his vast musical and electronic knowledge, from Jon Hassell, to Diamanda Galas to the Grateful Dead. Zvonar once told me of how he first arrived in California from New England, nearly broke and living out of his car. Yet his determination, conviction kept him going. He succeeded, earned a doctorate, and became one of the most respected innovators in his field.

Richard Zvonar was a composer/performer and intermedia artist who specialized in electroacoustic music. Some of his significant early influences included Louis and Bebe Barron's electronic sound track to the 1956 film Forbidden Planet, the Wizard of Oz ("Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"), and the Witch Doctor and Chipmunk recordings of David Seville.

During his freshman year as an Aeronautics and Astronautics major at MIT the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan. Intensive guitar practice and first attempts at song writing ensued.

Boston was not a major center for avant garde music in those years (has it ever been?) but Zvonar pursued an autodidactic education courtesy of the electronic music and new music bins at the record department of the Harvard Coop. Recordings of Stockhausen, Cage, Oliveros, Reich, Riley, Subotnick, and the Columbia-Princeton crowd were as influential on his musical thinking as the music of Zappa, Hendrix, the Beatles, the Who, and other '60s pop experimentalists.

Zvonar's undergraduate thesis was a short film for three synchronized projectors. During this period he also began composing tape music.??His first performances of electroacoustic music, using quadraphonic sound and tape delay systems, as well as several short theater pieces, came while a student at Cabrillo College in the Santa Cruz area. This supportive community college environment was an ideal springboard into graduate study, and Zvonar was accepted to the composition program at US San Diego. His teachers included Pauline Oliveros, Bernard Rands, Roger Reynolds, Robert Erickson, F.R. Moore and others, all active contemporary music thinkers and practitioners.

Zvonar emerged from academia after seven years with a PhD in Composition from UCSD and a brain filled unto bursting. Zvonar's work at this time included purely electronic music, musique concrete, pieces for live performer and tape, and intermedia performance works. His Doctoral piece was a 45-minute intermedia theater piece based on the memoirs of a schizophrenia German judge ("soul murder"), combining multi-screen slide projections, kinetic staging, choreography, and a mix of electronic and processed vocal sound played through a multichannel sound system.

In 1980 Zvonar started a five-year collaboration with singer Diamanda Galas, recording and performing works for solo voice, live electronic processing, and multitrack tape. The two split in 1985 and Zvonar began working with Macintosh computers and MIDI systems for composition and performance.

For several years after his move to Los Angeles in 1986 Zvonar was part of the technical staff of Good Sound Foundation, researching and promoting the use of high-quality multichannel sound systems for live performance. He also worked as an independent consultant and software developer for clients such as Pauline Oliveros, Jon Hassell, the Grateful Dead, sound artist Max Neuhaus, and Marc Canter's Media Band. In 1994 he started working with Steve Ellison's company, Level Control Systems, bringing similar concepts and technologies to the world of commercial entertainment. The work with LCS included training and technical support for theme parks and Broadway and Las Vegas shows.

Also during the 1990s, Zvonar's work with live signal processing continued in the context of the "ambient groove and spoken word" band Cosmic Debris. Live recordings of the group's performances have been compiled into several CDs (available from MP3.com), and a studio remix project under the name of Alias Zone was released commercially, debuting at the #1 position in the New Age Voice chart in February 2002. Zvonar's recent work includes pieces for multichannel surround sound (the 8-channel tape piece "Frikkit!") as well as solo performances using digital looping and signal processing (recent participation in the Y2K2 Loopfest and Woodstockhausen Festival). He was also in a "woodshedding" phase of learning new software and re-learning the guitar, with the vague notion of melding all his past musical lives into some Frankensteinian new genre.

Some of his more recent works and writings included his "History of Spatial Music" and "An Extremely Brief History of Spatial Music in the 20th Century", his famous L.A. "Technology Salons", and I couldn't help but notice Tower Records still sporting his "State of the Bass" compilation album with the likes of James Sellars, Orlando Jacinto Garcia, Amy Knoles, Paul Dresher, Robert Black and the great John Cage on "snare drum".

Dr. Richard Zvonar, aka "RZ", will always have a place in our hearts, for his insights, his genius, his humor, and in these final years, his compassion. He was one of those unsung heroes you never hear about, but are unknowingly influenced by everyday.

We will miss him...
]]>user@domain.comblog2005-11-05T08:47:57-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/711675c2e3c80628aca482f784744890-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/711675c2e3c80628aca482f784744890-8.html#unique-entry-id-8
I first saw the duo of British drummer Bill Bruford and Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz in 1982, at New York City's now defunct Bottom Line, and later in 1983, at D.C.'s now defunct Bayou. Bruford and Moraz had released two albums, the acoustic "Music for Piano and Drums", and the electronic "Flags". Consequently, these recordings and others have been reissued on Bruford's new record labels: Summerfold and Winterfold. Now, on this new CD, "Every Step A Dance, Every Word A Song", and a DVD titled "In Concert In Holland", Bruford this time teams up with Dutch keyboard master Michiel Borstlap, in duets culled from their 2003-2004 European tour. Although the duo's efforts are rooted in jazz, there are hints of the progressive-rock/New Age flavor of "Flags", where Borstlap employs synthesizer for choruses and textures, and Bruford's well known polyrhythmic beats and syncopations that propel this beautiful musical journey.

The "Left of the Dial" reviewer Glenn Astarita, notes that "Borstlap primarily uses a grand piano as his instrument of choice via a potpourri of swing vamps, and sublime moments, while Bruford's shading exercises, add color and additional warmth. Highlights include segments where the duo expands themes and unexpectedly switch gears as they often instill a polytonal outlook during jazz standards such as Monk's "Bemsha Swing," for example.

The piece titled "Swansong," is a compelling opus that defines the artists' overriding sense of musical intimacy coupled with power and tenacity. Here, Borstlap executes slashing crescendos amid Art Tatum-like chord voicings, as the unit melds quaint balladry with bluesy passages. The fun factor continues with Bruford's drumming onslaught, which serves as a prelude of sorts, to Borstlap's shrewd use of a synth chorale voicing to finalize the piece. Simply stated, it's about synergy and singular techniques rooted with elements of joy and precision.

Bruford met Dutch pianist Michiel Borstlap in 2002, and they began playing duo shows that were less about the confines of structure and more about what Bruford terms "performance-based" music, music of the moment where spontaneity and interaction were the predominant factors.

Canadian Music reviewer John Kelman wrote that "while Bruford and Borstlap are still more concerned with form than, say, Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi-whose recent album with Paul Motian, Doorways , is another beast entirely-the reciprocation between the two jumps out from the first notes of the more structured "The 16 Kingdoms of the 5 Barbarians." Bruford's liner notes allude to the fact that the performance space impacts the nature of the musical dialogue-smaller rooms having "the intimacy of a dinner table conversation between old friends," while larger venues "naturally become a bit more muscular and assertive."

Still, on more introspective pieces including the title track, the anthem-like "Inhaling Shade," and an abstract, yet faithful reading of Monk's "Round Midnight," Bruford may gently assert the forward motion, but he's also become a masterful colourist. And while Borstlap's supplementing of his piano with electronic keyboards sometimes gives the duo a broader complexion, the subtleties of their exchange are never overshadowed by sheer demonstrativeness.

Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song may not be as great a step forward for Borstlap, already a well-established European jazz figure, but it represents one more advance in the pursuit of a more instinctive and natural approach for Bruford, an artist who has, for all intents and purposes, left his rock roots completely behind him.]]>user@domain.comblog2005-12-08T08:46:45-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/fd57e0caa66528b9456b255b46ed9fdf-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/fd57e0caa66528b9456b255b46ed9fdf-7.html#unique-entry-id-7
...And I can still vividly recall that night, on my way home, up Broadway, past the commotion on 72nd Street, and arriving to hear the news from friends visiting from DC, "Did you hear the news?! John Lennon was shot dead tonight!" We gathered around the radio, listening to WNEW, watching the scene on TV outside the Dakota in disbelief. John Lennon had been shot four times in the back, by the deranged Mark Chapman, who had asked the former Beatle for his autograph only hours before he laid in wait and killed him.

Chapman had actually met Lennon earlier as he left for a recording studio and got his copy of Lennon's Double Fantasy autographed, the image of Lennon signing one of his last autographs was actually caught by a photographer who witnessed it. Chapman remained in the vicinity of The Dakota for most of the day as a fireworks demonstration in nearby Central Park distracted Lennon's doorman and passers-by.

Later that evening, Lennon and Ono returned to their apartment fresh from recording Ono's single "Walking on Thin Ice" for their next album. At 10.50pm, as their limousine pulled up to the entrance of the Dakota, Ono got out of the car first, followed by Lennon. Beyond the main entrance was a door which would be opened and a small set of stairs leading into the apartment complex. As Ono went in, Lennon got out of the car and glanced at Chapman, proceeding on through the entrance to the Dakota.

As Lennon walked past him, Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon." As Lennon turned, Chapman crouched into what witnesses called a "combat" stance and fired five hollowpoint bullets. One bullet missed, but four bullets entered John's back and shoulder. One of the four bullets fatally pierced his aorta. Still, Lennon managed to stagger up six steps into the concierge booth where he collapsed, gasping "I'm shot, I'm shot."

Chapman stood there, holding his .38 Charter Arms revolver, which was pulled out of his hands and kicked away by one Jose Perdomo who then asked "What have you done, what have you done?", to which Chapman replied "I just shot John Lennon." Chapman then calmly took his coat off, placed it at his feet, took out a copy of J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and started reading. Police arrived within minutes, to find Chapman still waiting quietly outside, still reading the book.

The two officers transported Lennon to Roosevelt Hospital in the back of their squad car as they thought John was too badly hurt to take the risk of waiting for an ambulance. One of the officers asked Lennon if he knew who he was. Lennon's reply is reported to have been "Yeah" or simply a nod of the head before he passed out. Despite extensive resuscitative efforts in the Emergency Department, Lennon had lost over 80% of his blood volume and died of shock at the age of 40. A stunned nation was informed of his death by Dr. Stephen Lynn who shortly before had broken the devastating news privately to anxiously waiting Yoko.

In the days that followed, the candlelight vigils in Central Park's renamed space, "Strawberry Fields," and the Dakota, the eerily beautiful sounds of Lennon's latest album, playing round the clock on the radio were a sad reminder of a tragedy no one could believe. Yoko Ono complained that the crowd in front of the Dakota kept her awake, and they moved to en masse to Central Park.

The next night, December 9th, Bruce Springsteen played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, and said "It's a hard night to come out and play but there's nothing else you can do," and he ended his show with a spirited performance of "Twist and Shout". A special commemorative issue of Rolling Stone magazine came out shortly after the murder, and featured on its cover, a photo taken the morning of the shooting by Annie Leibovitz showing a nude Lennon in an embryonic pose kissing a fully clothed Ono. (In 2005, this cover was voted as the number one magazine cover of all time by The American Society of Magazine Editors). Later the next year, Elton John's Jump Up! featured a hit single, "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," a tribute to Lennon.

Chapman ultimately pleaded guilty to gunning down Lennon, and is currently serving life in Attica prison near New York. As recently as October 2004, he failed for the third time to secure his release. He said he had, "heard voices in his head", telling him to kill Lennon. Twenty years after his death millions of fans paid tribute to Mr Lennon in his home town of Liverpool and in New York. His widow launched a campaign against gun violence in the United States to mark the anniversary.

Lennon had joked years earlier that, "I'll probably be popped off by some loony," and sadly he was correct. The murder of celebrities by fans was not new, but extremely rare, and ironically, Lennon seemed aware of the risk. I once attended an Elton John concert in 1976, at the newly built Capital Centre, sitting with my chums in about the tenth row. We had camped out for tickets weeks earlier, as we normally did in those days, guaranteeing us great seating.

Half-way during the show, Elton told the audience, "I have some great friends in the audience tonight", and with that, a brilliant spotlight shown down on my friends and I. Were we being honored for our dedication and love of Elton, we naively wondered? Suddenly I happened to look behind me and, sitting there was John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Cher, an unlikely trio to say the least! "Oh God," I heard Lennon mutter as he sheepishly waved to the stage. Before Elton could finish the next song, Lennon, Yoko and Cher were gone, clearly uncomfortable with the gazes and the attention they were getting.

There would be more tributes for Lennon, A play and concerts, but December 8th, like December 7th, will always be a day that for many of us, will "live in infamy". For me and others, it really is the day the music died.]]>user@domain.comblog2005-10-05T08:44:52-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/2460b7c971928e873b6b46e7c78e81a4-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/2460b7c971928e873b6b46e7c78e81a4-6.html#unique-entry-id-6
One of my all time favorites, friend and mentor, the legendary vocalist Shirley Horn, passed away last week at the age of 71. Despite a long bout with diabetes, and the loss of a leg, Horn continued to perform up until the end. Her last album, "May the Music Never End", provided us once more with a masterpiece that is just as timeless and inimitable as she was. The self-produced CD confirmed what many musicians have been saying about the Grammy award winner for years: she was indeed one of the finest vocalists in jazz music history.

With an exclusive fan base that includes Barbara Streisand, Barry Manilow and opera soprano Renee Fleming, the Miles Davis protege relied only on the magic of her voice in this historical recording. For the first time in her flawless career, because of health concerns, Horn performed without her piano. Instead she permitted her long-time protege George Masterhazy and the veteran Ahmad Jamal to carry out the album's seamless piano performances. Jamal's appearances on "May the Music Never End" are remarkably significant as it is the pianist's first time as a sidemen on any recording.

One of the most touching performances on the album was Horn's soulful interpretation of The Beatles classic, "Yesterday". The introductory re-record "Forget Me" is dedicated to Horn's late friend singer/poet Valerie Parks Brown. Her sweet rendition of the nostalgic Duke Ellington piece, "Take Love Easy" features Verve labelmate Roy Hargrove on fluegelhorn, as does the emotional "III Wind". With a select mix of originals and standards, "May the Music Never End" is an unblemished portrait of why Horn's legend will continue to be a part of jazz music's present and future.

Horn was accompanied on "May the Music Never End" by her trio pianist George Mesterhazy, and two of my oldest friends, bassist Ed Howard and drummer Steve Williams. "Most of these are songs I grew up with," says Horn, who still lived in her native Washington, D.C. "My family loved music and there was always music around from the greatest singers and bands. Usually, I just learned the songs my mother used to sing around the home. I would ask her, 'What's the name of this one, what's the name of that one?' because I'd have the melody in my mind. I remember hearing Peggy Lee singing "Why Don't You Do Right." In fact, probably 75 percent of the songs I do are ones I heard at home."

But Horn didn't set out to be a singer. "It was an accident," she explains. "What I remember first in my life is playing the piano. That's when I was four years old. I'd go to my grandmother's home. She had a parlor with a great big piano. The parlor was for company, and it was closed off with French doors. It was always cold, but I didn't want to do anything but just go in there and sit on the piano stool. I wasn't interested in playing with the kids outside. After several years of this my grandmother told my mother to get me lessons."

Horn discovered the allure of her singing when, at 17, she was playing in a local restaurant/night club. "One night close to Christmas, this older gentleman who would regularly come in for dinner came with a teddy bear as tall as I. Somehow I knew that was for me," she recalls. Indeed, the patron sent her a note saying "If you sing 'Melancholy Baby' the teddy bear is yours." "I was very shy and it was hard for me to sing," Horn says, "but I wanted that teddy bear."

Audiences continued to ask for songs and Horn eased into her role as a vocalist. "It was no big thing, but then I started to realize how much I loved to sing." One of her most requested tunes was "You're My Thrill." The song stayed in Horn's repertoire for more than twenty years whenever she played the One Step Down, which she remembers as "the best little jazz joint" in D.C. Now defunct, the One Step Down was also one of D.C.'s "places to be", for Shirley's annual New Year's Eve Show. The owner would often say to her, 'you've got to record that song'," she remembers, "and I said 'I'm going do it once I've made up my mind.'"

Although content to stay at home, Horn was coaxed away to New York City in 1960 by Miles Davis. Notoriously disdainful of singers, Davis had been seduced by Horn's debut recording, "Embers and Ashes". He invited her to open for him at the Village Vanguard, catapulting her into a limelight she had never sought. After Horn retreated from view for much of the 1970s and 1980s to raise her daughter, she found her fame blossoming anew after her 1987 signing to Verve. In 1990, not long before his death in 1991, Davis added his graceful trumpet phrases to the title track of Horn's "You Won't Forget Me". In 1998, Horn paid tribute to her mentor with the brilliant "I Remember Miles", for which she won the Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. All in all, Horn has garnered 7 consecutive Grammy nominations, and her albums "Here's to Life, Light Out of Darkness" (A Tribute to Ray Charles), and "I Love You, Paris" all soared to number one on the Billboard jazz charts.

What Davis, Quincy Jones, and others heard as early as 1960 has been affirmed over the years by numerous awards and recognitions. In addition to her Grammy award and nominations, Horn has won 5 "Wammie" awards, (the Washington area's music industry award). In 1987, she was presented the Mayor's Arts Award for "Excellence in an Artistic Discipline" in Washington, DC. In 1990 Horn's "Close Enough for Love" album won one of France's premiere music awards, the Academie Du Jazz's Prix Billie Holiday. In 1993, she added the prestigious Edison Populair HR57 Award for "Here's to Life" to her stunning list of honors. Three years later, Horn was elected to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Hall of Fame. In 1998, Marilyn Bergman, President of ASCAP honored Horn "in recognition of over four decades of her unique and influential role in interpreting the American song," and in 1999, Horn was selected as the recipient of the Phineas Newborn, Jr. Award, with an all-star tribute concert in her honor. Most recently, she was voted #1 female vocalist in the New York Jazz Critics Awards and #1 jazz vocalist in DownBeat's Critics' Poll.

Inviting listeners into an elegant and sincere musical embrace, "May the Music Never End" was the latest stunning result of Shirley Horn's singular ability to connect with her collaborators, her material, and her audience at the most heartfelt level.

After seeing Shirley and the gang at her hotel last April, I commented on her return to the piano, and a wonderful show at the Masonic Auditorium. She told me that "I'm still going strong child, and I told you I was going to play that piano again".

We'll miss you Shirley.]]>user@domain.comblog2005-04-05T08:41:59-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/bf5e4a00da6ea2b9f3e26fb44974eee3-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/bf5e4a00da6ea2b9f3e26fb44974eee3-5.html#unique-entry-id-5
Having had the pleasure of seeing all three of these stellar musicians in many of their previous incarnations, I am genuinely looking forward to this late-summer tour. I have already gotten rave reviews of their east coast shows in Washington and Vermont. Trio! brings together the musical talents of the prodigious Stanley Clarke on bass, banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, and the incredible French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty in a stunning genre-crossing collaboration. All three musicians are world renowned, critically acclaimed and award-winning performers and collaborators and this joint venture is an exciting exploration of their collective musical backgrounds.

Stanley Clarke has many titles: bassist, composer, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, songwriter, producer, and recording artist. In a career that has spanned more than thirty years, he has explored new territory and redefined the role of the bass as more than just a rhythm instrument. He invented the piccolo and tenor bass and is a virtuoso on both electric and acoustic instruments. His legendary work with pianists Chick Corea and "Return to Forever", and later George Duke, have stood the test of time. Clarke has won many prestigious awards, including GrammysR and Emmys, has topped the charts and has sold enough records to earn multiple gold and platinum albums. Tracks such as "Lopsy Lu" and "School Days" have immortalized him in the Jazz world. He continues to work hard on his own recordings as well as scoring numerous film and television projects, such as Boyz 'N' The Hood, The Five heartbeats, and Pee Wee's Playhouse. Like his music, he remains a constantly evolving work in progress.

Often considered the premiere banjo player in the world, Bela Fleck has virtually reinvented the image and sound of the banjo. His remarkable performing and recording career has taken him all over the musical map, both with his group Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and on a range of solo projects and collaborations. He has been nominated for a Grammy award twenty times, has eight wins to his credit and has been nominated in more different categories than anyone in Grammy history. Genre-bending albums like Flight of the Cosmic Hippo, Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Outbound, and Perpetual Motion continue to demonstrate why he is a powerful and creative force in Bluegrass, Jazz, Pop, Rock, World Beat, and Classical music, and everrything else in between.

Jean-Luc Ponty is a musical pioneer and the undisputed master of violin in jazz and rock. He is widely regarded as an innovator who has applied a visionary spin to his work and expanded the vocabulary of modern music. Born in France, the son of music teachers, he studied multiple instruments while growing up. He learned to play in the vibrant Parisian Jazz scene of the 1950s, where the violin was not necessarily an accepted modern Jazz instrument. As his talent and creativity became apparent, his notoriety grew. Over the last three and a half decades, he has toured the world many times over and worked with a variety of other musical greats, including Frank Zappa, (who added both the aforementioned George Duke and Ponty to his famed "Mothers on Invention" band, and helping secure Ponty's visa in the process!), Elton John, Al DiMeola, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and more. His solo works, including Aurora, Imaginary Voyage, Enigmatic Ocean, Cosmic Messenger, and Tchokola, have been continual chart-toppers since the 1970s and Jean-Luc Ponty remains a vibrant creative force in the Jazz-Rock world.

It doesn't get much tastier than this. Trio! will be performing at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, August 19th, and at Yosemite's Strawberry Festival in September. Sounds even tastier now!]]>user@domain.comblog2005-08-23T08:39:43-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/3ce00e20ed3efc10766c50fe71eff0f6-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/3ce00e20ed3efc10766c50fe71eff0f6-4.html#unique-entry-id-4
I last saw the famed Dr. Robert Moog, at the 117th AES Convention in October, posing with my friends from the Women's Audio Mission. Known for the synthesizer that bears his name, the electronic keyboard genius died at his home in Asheville, North Carolina on Sunday. He was 71. Moog was the inventor of the Moog synthesizer - whose variants have been used by everyone from Pink Floyd to Kraftwerk, Duran Duran, the Black Eyed Peas and the Neptunes - was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer in April and had received radiation therapy and chemotherapy to combat the disease, according to a post on his official Web site.

Born on May 23, 1934 in New York, Moog began tinkering with early versions of electronic instruments as a teenager. After writing an article about them in 1954, he opened a business building and selling theremins, machines in which pitch and volume could be controlled by the wave of a musicians' hand. Moog earned degrees in physics, electrical engineering and engineering physics before staring out on a path that would turn him into an icon for generations of modern musicians.

By 1963, Moog developed the first widely used electronic instrument, a synthesizer, whose first popular appearance was on the Monkees album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.. The instrument had its breakthrough, though, in 1969 when musician Walter (now known as Wendy) Carlos had a Grammy-winning smash with Switched on Bach, an album of electronic versions of Johann Sebastian Bach pieces.

Moog's synthesizers, which came with a piano-style keyboard, quickly became popular with rock musicians, who appreciated the wide range of unique sounds they could create by adjusting the various controls. Moog synthesizers appeared on the Beatles' Abbey Road and the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange."

Moog reached a bigger audience in 1971 with his more portable Minimoog Model D, which had an even wider range of variations. His devices, which were heavily used by prog rock bands of the '70s, included the Taurus bass pedal synthesizer, which gave thick bass sounds to Genesis, Rush, U2 and the Police. Songs such as Donna Summer's 1977 disco hit "I Feel Love" were created almost entirely from Moog synthesizers, inspiring countless techno producers and artists of the 1980s and '90s.

Though digital synthesizers would eventually replace the analog ones popularized by Moog, the warm, organic tones of his instruments were rediscovered in the 1990s by a wave of musicians who sought out the original versions, spawning tribute groups such as the Moog Cookbook and a movie, "Moog," in which artists including DJ Logic, Money Mark, Mix Master Mike, DJ Spooky and Yes' Rick Wakeman paid tribute to the inventor in the "Moog Documentary Clearly A Labor Of Love, by Kurt Loder".

Moog had also recently worked with Roy "Futureman" Wooten of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, on his "Royel" piano sampler. Musical collaborator and long time friend Seth Elgart had recently purchased Moog's fabulous "50th Anniversary Moog", to go along side his other vintage synths. He proclaimed it to be one of Moog's best creations. They, like so many others, will feel the loss of one of the greatest musical icons of the 20th century, and like the amazing Dr. Theremin before him, his dream will no doubt live on forever.]]>user@domain.comblog2005-05-27T08:35:52-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7b3df1e41e48e6a9623c5f801f31c1ef-3.html#unique-entry-id-3http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/7b3df1e41e48e6a9623c5f801f31c1ef-3.html#unique-entry-id-3
"There is an ancient, ancient myth that is very, very cool," once revealed the musician-inventor-scientist-composer known as Futureman. For over ten years the eccentric percussionist has been touring with the jazz-bluegrass-fusion quartet Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

Born under the name of Roy Wooten (his typically bizarre bio says he arrived on this planet on Oct. 30, 2050), Futureman provides the offbeat beats for one of the music world's most unconventional ensembles.

After a Grammy win for best jazz recording, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones have been riding a new peak of success on a wave that started with their formation over 10 years ago.

"What this ancient myth says is this," Futureman once explained to interviewer David Templeton, "If you stand before a statue and play perfect golden ratios, you will bring the statue to life. Now, myth is a mirror we hold up to ourselves, to show us an archetypal principle.

"So what I want to know is this," he continues. "What if we are the statues the myth refers to? What if we are the ones animated by the playing of perfect golden ratios?" Sensing that his listener doesn't know what the hell he's talking about, Futureman laughs.

"Stand up," he says, "and let your arms hang to your side with your fingers pointed to the ground. If you measure the distance from your fingertip to the floor, that's 1, and then measure from your fingertip to your head, that's 1.618. That's the perfect golden ratio. Measure from your chin to your nose, then your nose to the top of your head, that's 1 to 1.618. And so forth and so on. The body uses this over and over. So what if we are animated by this principle that is so fundamental to our architecture?"

IT'S ENOUGH to make your head spin. And spinning heads is one of Futureman's favorite tricks. Onstage, performing with banjo master Bela Fleck, bassist Victor Wooten (Futureman's brother), and saxman Jeff Coffin, the musician's out-of-this-world attitude hits critical mass.

There is no easy way to describe the music of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Innovators of the highest order, they blend sounds and styles that have no business being heard together. And yet, once played, the music sounds as if it was always meant to be performed that way.

The band's live gigs have won special acclaim because the prolific foursome are constantly finding new ways to play. "We're coming up with new music every day," Futureman says. "So onstage you'll hear stuff that is only a few days old. It excites me."

Futureman knows a thing or two about how to work a crowd. He's a conscientious backup performer, but when he has the spotlight, he goes into a frenzy, playing his invented instruments, including the Drumitar, a cannibalized $10,000 Synthaxe/guitar synthesizer he bought from guitarist Lee Ritenour, and recently the "RoyEl", a hyprid drum piano.

Sometimes shares his ideas with the audience during shows, going off on rambling monologues that have been known to compel his bandmates to leave the stage for a break. But performing with Fleck is not enough for Futureman. His immediate plans are to help bring about nothing less than a new spurt of human evolution.

His recent all-star percussion camp--which recently drew some of the grand masters of the drum community to the Nashville area--was one major step along the way. Drums, Futureman says, have always been a part of the evolutionary process. How so? Futureman's explanation, as hypnotic and brain bending as the final round of a poetry slam, is not a short one.

"The connection between drums and evolution is this," he says. "As a percussionist, as a drummer, I'm actually seeing the drum set a little differently than as a mere drum set. I see the drum set as a piano, and I see the piano as a drum set.

"What I mean is," he continues, "when you follow the arc from the very first beat on the very first log drum all the way up to the sophistication of the modern drum set--which is an attempt to put all the parade drums together for one person to access--that's a profound arrival.

"Now I see that as part of an evolution that goes all the way back to the piano, which is a percussion instrument in its harmonic context, in the sense that there are so many choices and they're all hammered events," he concludes. "I see the piano as an extension of the drum set."

Evidently evolution sometimes needs a little help. To lend a hand, Futureman has accommodated by inventing a whole new kind of instrument that splices together a drum set and a piano. Called the"RoyEl", its keyboard was designed to represent the periodic table of elements, and Futureman has already begun to compose evolutionary music. He describes these compositions as "transcendental hymns" and has now completed an entire album of this music, titled Evolution d'Amour. But this musical evolution will have to wait, because Futureman isn't ready to release it yet.

"In the whole scheme of things, I see this album as volume 7," he says. "I have this album done, but the record I have out now, The Seamless Script, is the one I think of as volume 1. Volume 1 is going to lead back up to volume 7. Like the Star Wars movies."
Futureman's excitement is contagious. Just listening to him talk about the power of rhythm is enough to make a person want to dance.

"Rhythm is fundamental," he says. "Everyone has to find his rhythm, like Michael Jordan talks about finding his rhythm on the basketball court, or Muhammad Ali talks about getting his rhythm going in the ring. He 'float[s] like a butterfly, sting[s] like a bee.' He's groovin', he's shufflin'. 'What are you gonna do, champ?' 'I'm gonna dance. I'm gonna dance. We're gonna get a rhythm. We're gonna get groovy with this thing!'

"We talk about Bruce Lee, a martial artist, who would sit for hours listening to Indian rhythms," Futureman continues. "Why? Because he was partaking of their understanding of mathematics. They could break rhythm. Bruce Lee was working with something called broken time, because in sparring with someone, he said, even if he were your equal, you can set him up, lure him into a rhythm, and then break the rhythm to create your opening. But it's all off of the rhythm.

"See what I mean?"]]>user@domain.comblog2005-03-11T08:32:31-08:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/319775fb6939041237924b3c725c5186-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/319775fb6939041237924b3c725c5186-2.html#unique-entry-id-2
Those fortunate enough to see the world renowned banjoist, Bela Fleck and his Flecktones, (most recently at the Fillmore, and earlier at the Warfield), may be disappointed to learn that the band won't be touring again until 2006. They won't be sitting idle however, as each member will be embarking on a variety of projects including Fleck joining jazz legends, bassist Stanley Clarke and violinist Jean Luc Ponty in a group known simply as "Trio".

It's been said, that the one thoroughly American art form of jazz, is comprised of a "blend between the meeting of African and European influences and aesthetics. Spirituals, blues and work songs meld with Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, as well as the rougher forms of European folk music: an authentic sonic Democracy". It's no wonder the result has been endlessly modified and personalized in the music of the Flecktones. Improvisation seems to also present an irresistible welcoming quality, a virtual Ellis Island, amidst its energy and intellect.


Fleck took up the banjo at an early age, growing up in Manhattan of all places, eventually migrating to Nashville. Once there, he aligned himself with the now legendary "New Grass Revival", with Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer. Desiring to combine bluegrass with jazz, rock, and world music, Fleck began seeking other like minded folks to give life to those ideas. Not long after that, he teamed with virtuoso harmonica player Howard Levy, one of the world's greatest electric bassists Victor Lemonte Wooten, and his eccentric brother, percussionist Roy "Futureman" Wooten. "Futureman", had apparently taken a $10,000 "Synthaxe" guitar synthesizer, cannibalized it, and turned it into an electronic "drumitar", half guitar, half drum machine.

The result was spectacular, as they created a sound unlike anything heard before them. After years of touring the globe, and several successful albums, a road weary Levy left the group and was eventually replaced by saxophonist Jeff Coffin. Since then, the Flecktones have performed with an incredible array of musicians; Phish, Dave Matthews, Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis, a Tuvan throat singer named Ondar, Indian tabla master Sandip Burman, reed master Paul McCandless, steel drummer Andy Narell, and many, many others. "We wanted to record the next album with just the four of us, but when you meet all of these amazing people, we felt like we just had to record with them", said Fleck.

On their latest recording, the 3-disc set "Little Worlds" the Flecktones once again plumb the depths of their worldly experiences. In the "Ballad of Jed Clampett", the Beverly Hillbillies have an unlikely meeting with Weather Report. From there, as many influences and styles as possible are organically, convincingly congealed around the core quartet's sound and its own unique, even quirky brilliance. But it's all in fun.the tempos, ideas, references and energy shifts are often enough to keep you on the fence between laughter and awe. Even via a peripheral listening, at times you'll hear shades of Frisell, Garbareck, King Crimson, Flatt and Scruggs, the aforementioned Weather Report. Bassist Wooten is virtually now considered the "Paganinni of the electric bass" and the heir apparent to the late Jaco Pastorious. Among many other auspicious projects, both he and Bela add tracks to Mike Stern's release, "These Times."

Jazz review said of "Little Worlds", "Funny things do happen when anything is brought to America - democracy, free trade, music and art. We put our own spin on everything, especially when it gets 'lost' and fermented, specifically in places like the mountains where time and culture nearly stands still. In this case specifically, Appalachia. This is where Bluegrass came to be, carefully harking the long remembered, recognizable strains of Elizabethan honor. But possessing in their stead the original spirit and concept of improvisation the composers of European art music relied on to produce new works remains in Bluegrass country and especially the music itself. Though its origins emanate from lofty exclusionary society, its since been released from its Bastille and remains a vivacious music of the people".

In Nashville, where country and bluegrass abound, lives a musician "caught on the fence between various musical worlds, overlooking their backyards, taking what works, and fusing the rest to his own taste". The members of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones will be touring individually, with Victor Wooten and his group coming to the Fillmore. Until their return in early 2006, this may be the best way yet, to experience some of the most awe inspiring music around.]]>user@domain.comblog2011-09-10T17:03:27-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c05d643e15a0c30d9ca77fa351b813bc-1.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/c05d643e15a0c30d9ca77fa351b813bc-1.html#unique-entry-id-1

"While steeped in jazz, San Francisco seven-string bass master Edo Castro is a versatile player whose lyrical lines have graced a vast array of settings. He joins forces with electronic percussion explorer E. Doctor Smith and special guests for an evening of ambient soundscapes inspired by Brian Eno (shaped partly by Eno's generative software). Smith recorded with Eno in the early 1980s, one of many illustrious artists he's collaborated with, including Madonna, Warren Zevon, Mickey Hart and Jimmy Cliff..."

Nice to come across this little piece by Andrew Gilbert in the SF Chronicle's "Essentials" section promoting my recent Royce Gallery show with Edo Castro...

Edo played beautifully as he so often does... Here we come up with an improvisational segue into "Blue Moon", a song from my old Feat of Clay days that found its way onto our live CD on Edgetone.]]>user@domain.comblog2011-10-31T16:56:51-07:00http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/35d736045e37b2a5820ad820087b6e9c-0.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.edoctorsmith.com/blog/files/35d736045e37b2a5820ad820087b6e9c-0.html#unique-entry-id-0Concerts at the Cadillac: Wilbur Rehmann Quartet


Last Friday, I joined one of the "Deans of Montana jazz", saxophonist Wilbur Rehmann, and two of my UFQ bandmates, Sam Peoples on piano, and bassist Ariane Cap at the Cadillac Hotel for their monthly “Concerts at the Cadillac” series. Bought in 1977 by the late Leroy Looper, the Cadillac became the first non-profit “supportive housing” SRO on the West Coast – a national model, and which shaped Leroy’s contribution to San Francisco. Since 2007, the Cadillac has also been home to the Patricia Walkup Memorial Piano – a fully restored, 1884 Steinway Concert Grand. Leroy, who passed away last month, greatly enjoyed these concerts – and I'll always miss not seeing him in the front row each Friday, tapping his feet along to the music.

It's been awhile since I trotted out the beloved Gretsch kit for live jazz, however having recently obtained a brand new 8"x 8" Rosewood tom, I decided it was time go all acoustic, especially with Wilbur back in town for what would be our 6th annual gig, and Sam playing the gorgeous Walkup Steinway. Goodness, Ariane even brought her acoustic bass out for this one!

My earlier experimentations with Bruford's symmetrical, timpani set-up was fun, however, the extra tom now gave me an opportunity to go back to my roots with Paul Sears, and reacquaint myself with the music of Billy Cobham, Lenny White and Rayford Griffin; like Sears, all masters of left-handed drumming technique. It also didn't hurt recall the melodic drumming of another mentor, Jack DeJohnette and his recordings with Sonny Rollins.

It's no secret that Wilbur is also a huge Sonny Rollins fan and longtime friend, (we both love playing Sonny's "St. Thomas"). Combined with his knowledge of some of the greatest tunes ever written for jazz, and his rich history with longtime guitarist Blackie Nelson, Wilbur has also become a very good composer as well. His latest album, "Old Friends and New", is among his best ever.

On a personal note, this was my first performance at the Cadillac since Leroy's passing, so we wanted to do something special. Wilbur also dedicated our performance of "Sunny", to the late Bobby Hebb, the composer of that famed tune who also passed away recently.

This was also the first concert at the Cadillac to employ their new multi-track, digital recorder, so we were also something akin to musical "guinea pigs". Here is a flip video of the Wilbur Rehmann Quartet, performing an excerpt from Bobby Hebb's "Sunny"...




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