Downbeast - music blog

Jazz Bakery to Return?

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:01 -0800

Reportage from All About Jazz: After nearly 20 years of bringing world class jazz to the Los Angeles area, the non-profit jewel of a music venue, the Jazz Bakery, had to close its doors at the end of May 2009. The inexorable forces of the real estate market had determined that another furniture store would displace this vital cultural institution. Ruth Price [photo via Peak] But have no fear jazz lovers. The irrepressible, indomitable and indefatigable director of the Jazz Bakery, Ruth Price, has committed her considerable energy and skills to the Bakery's rebirth somewhere on L.A.'s Westside. In pursuit of this lofty goal, Ms. Price, over the last few months has held several successful fundraisers at different locations in the city. These events, part of the Bakery's Movable Feast series, have recently featured flute legend Hubert Laws and vocalist extraordinaire, Tierney Sutton, piano playin' wit and wordsmith, Mose Allison, and the inimitable saxophone master, Pharoah Sanders. This month's benefit performances include Japan's dynamic piano virtuoso, Hiromi, at the Japan America Theater this Thursday March 11th at 8pm. On Sunday March 14th, at Largo at the Coronet Theater, electric guitar wizard, Larry Coryell, will perform two shows, a matinee at 4pm and an 8pm evening performance. Finally, on March 27th, the Antonio Sanchez Quartet will perform 8pm and 9:30pm shows at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. Jazz lovers, come out and support the non-profit Jazz Bakery and help bring back affordable, world class jazz to Los Angeles. Don Heckman's Live Picks of the Week (March 8-14) Brick Wahl's Live Picks of the Week (March 11-17) Los Angeles New Music Schedule (March 11-June 3)

REST IN TEMPO: Requiem for a Happy Man

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:34:45 -0800

Another grey, shitty day in Los Angeles, and The Beast is mourning the just-reported death of composer/bandleader Mark Linkous, who led the lo-fi surrealist rock band Sparklehorse from 1995 to, uh, Saturday, when he took his own life at age 47. If anyone still refers to Downbeast as strictly a “jazz blog” then they haven’t been paying attention. Quoth the sage Greg Burk: “There are no styles anymore, only music.” Linkous himself was a musical omnivore who joined a distinguished line of hermetic, depressive indie “outsiders” (Jeff Magnum, Jeff Lytle, Vic Chestnut) who retreated Big Pink-style to the woods of rural America – in Linkous’ case, a farmhouse in Bremo Bluff, Virgnia – to make strange and decayed sounds with moss-dripped gothic lyrics. One can arguably draw a line of influence from Sparklehorse’s kreep-in-the-kudzu debut Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot to Radiohead’s Amnesiac and Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Lately, isolation has been rather hep. Think Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon in his father’s hunting lodge in the musical mecca of Northern Wisconsin, or Owl City’s Adam Young in the basement of a 113-year-old farmhouse in Owatonna, Minnesota. Linkous’ own music reflected this glorious (and somewhat claustrophobic) solitude, conjuring up images of a yard full of paint-chipped hobby-horses, weathered farm machinery and mice-filled refrigerators overgrown with crabgrass, electrical cables running across a chicken-feathered dirt floor to a jerryrigged recording studio amongst rusted tools, ancient spiderwebs and the scent of wood rot. Linkous’ music sounded like blurry ham radio dispatches from such a place, especially on Sparklehorse’s 1998 masterpiece Good Morning Spider: “Pig” is a terrifying blast of Pixies-ish fury; “Painbirds” grows in intensity like a tumor (reflecting Linkous’ quasi-accidental death in 1996); “Sick of Goodbyes” is pure fun; “Happy Man,” especially the live version off the Distorted Ghost EP, is a jacked-up wonder of positivity (“all I want is to be your happy man!”) that made me cry when I listened to it – even though it’s an intense, upbeat rocker. And talk about that live EP: “Gasoline Horseys,” a duet with Sofie Michalitsianos recorded in Bristol, England, is so quiet and delicate it risks being blown away by a stiff breeze. Linkous sang (and spoke) in kind of a strangled, tremulous creak – like Bobby Goldsboro trapped under a combine. I recall an awkward NPR interview with Linkous that was more silence than speaking: far from being a petulant hipster who was too cool for the room, the man seemed physically unable to even speak of his own music or what it meant. No matter. Good Morning Spider got this Humble Blogger out of one of the darkest and doom-laden periods of my life, when I became a virtual self-medicated, bathrobed hermit in my own apartment, afraid to leave and afraid to write, the floor threatening to open up beneath my feet. Even Linkous’ interesting fashion sense – he toured with the ‘horse wearing a glittering Vegas suit, welding goggles, and a ten-gallon cowboy hat – helped me in some strange way. (It inspired me to write a story, dedicated to Linkous, entitled “Big Neon Cowboy,” about a dustblown primitive awash in the digitized city.) I heard a testimonial at a funeral last summer where the speaker was recalling being depressed, and how having the deceased comfort her was both a blessing and a curse: “What do you do when the one who told you ‘everything will be okay’ is now gone?” Indeed. What really sucks, of course, is the announcement on March 3 that Linkous’ most famous project, Dark Night of the Soul, the troubled group project with filmmaker David Lynch and pathological collaborator DJ Danger Mouse, was finally slated to be released sometime this summer. Bummer. One of the best descriptions of Linkous’ unique effect on the ears came from my friend R.J. Smith, “His songs sound like a secret transmission from the 1930s that bounced around the heaven’s for years before it was picked up by satellite. The songs sound remote, but they communicate as warmly and as richly as a natural-born artist sitting on his front porch, strumming and rocking.” Mr. Linkous, cross the river and rest under the shade of the trees. Hope to meet you there someday. Blood suckers hide beneath my bed And black fumes of skin so gently bled I slept with a cat on my breast Slowing my heart stealing my breath At sunrise the monkeys will fly And leave me with pennies in my eyes. -Sparklehorse, “Eyepennies” (2001)

Crypto Artists: Oot & Aboot in March

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:11:59 -0800

Decompressing from Vancouver 2010 overload (a.k.a. "Vancouverload" ), our artists are tirelessly engaging in Olympic-sized roadwork.

Accordion Crimes

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:54:22 -0800

Mark your March calendar, peeps: Famed new music accordionist Guy Klucevsek will perform a solo concert of his own compositions in his first L.A. appearance in 7 years. Guy has created a unique repertoire for accordion through his own composing and by commissioning over 50 works from composers including John Zorn, Fred Frith, Lois V. Vierk, Alvin Lucier and many others. Solo performances include Serious Fun! at Lincoln Center, Bang on a Can, Spoleto Festival/USA, and children's TV show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Guy Klucevsek & Alan Bern: Live in Philadelphia, PA (2/22/08) He has performed at festivals throughout Europe, and has worked with such artists as Laurie Anderson, Anthony Braxton, Anthony Coleman, Bill Frisell, Fred Frith, Robin Holcomb, the Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, Pauline Oliveros, Present Music, Bobby Previte, Relâche, Jubilant Sykes and John Zorn. He was an original member of Dave Douglas’s band, Charms of the Night Sky, with whom he recorded three albums and toured throughout North America and Europe. You can also hear him on John Williams's scores for the Steven Spielberg films The Terminal, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Munich. He has performed on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof, Victor/Victoria and Piaf. Guy Klucevsek & Carl Finch: Live in Fort Worth, TX (11/08/08) The concert will take place at 8pm (doors open at 7:30pm) on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at the Royal T Cafe in Culver City. Admission is $12 at the door ($8 for students). For more info call (310) 559-6300. Greg Burk's Live Picks of the Week (Feb. 26-28) Don Heckman's Live Picks of the Week (Feb. 23-28) Los Angeles New Music Live Events (Feb. 26-June 3) Brick Wahl's Live Picks of the Week (Feb. 25-Mar. 3)

Hunters, Gatherers, Warriors All

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:52:39 -0800

Jesse Sharps (center, on soprano sax) leads The Gathering at the Angel City Jazz Festival (9/05/09) Anyone who has been reading Da Beast for the past couple of years is familiar with our friend Jesse Sharps, Horace Tapscott's former right-hand and current shaman in charge of The Gathering ensemble who released the critically acclaimed CD Leimert Park: The Roots and Branches of L.A. Jazz back in 2008. In honor of President Barack Obama and Black History Month, Jesse and Gathering producer Tom Paige contacted me recently to let me know they are digitally releasing two new Gathering songs: a version of Abdu Salim's "Justice" recorded live at the old Jazz Bakery space back in November '08 and featuring a spoken-word intro by J.J. Kabasa and vocals by Dwight Trible. The other song, "Warriors All," is a shout-out of sorts to Haiti. it was the final tune recorded at the original Gathering sessions back in 2005 but never released till now. Originally titled “Funeral,” it's from a musical based on the play La Tragédie du Roi Christophe by poet Aimé Césare about the life of Haitian revolutionary Henri Christophe and, according to Mimi Melnick's liner notes, "Horace [Tapscott] composed with Linda Hill and dedicated to all members of the community who struggle for civil rights and fight oppression." All proceeds from the sale of this song will go to UGMAA (Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension) and the Tapscott Family. The Gathering blows the roof off the mutha at the Jazz Bakery (2 parts) According to Tom, "The correct mixes are up and the best link to the music is actually www.cdbaby.com/Artist/TheGathering1 where all of the singles and albums can be viewed. We have the original Leimert Park album up there for digital download now too!" Mimi! In fact, Ms. Melnick's next installment of her gold-standard Double M Jazz Salon is this Sunday, February 21 and will be a tribute to Horace Tapscott with Jesse Sharps (woodwinds), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (viola), Kenneth Crouch (piano), Nick Rosen (bass) and Zach Harmon (drums). Admission is $20 for two sets, and 100% of the door goes to the musicians -- now THAT'S justice! Greg Burk’s Live Picks of the Week (Feb. 12-18) Don Heckman’s Live Picks of the Week (Feb 16-21) Brick Wahl’s Live Picks of the Week (Feb. 18-24) Los Angeles New Music Schedule REST IN TEMPO Ian Burgess Larry Cassidy Gene Chenault Robert "Chilly B" Crafton Sir John Dankworth Richard Delvy Bobby Espinosa Doug Fieger Lee Freeman Jake Hanna Dale Hawkins John Mayer’s career Territory BBQ + Records Tom "T-Bone" Wolk Yabby You

Nels Remembers Stacy Rowles

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:39:33 -0800

It was quite a shock when I heard late last year of trumpet player Stacy Rowles' death from complications of a car accident. Stacy played on my first record as a leader, Angelica, in 1987. In the mid-80s, I was playing with Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra (West Coast). Initially, Bobby Bradford (along with Oscar Brashear) was in the band's trumpet section, but when Bobby chose to depart, Charlie - wisely, to my mind - chose Stacy to replace him. Why wisely? Because, like Bobby, Stacy had a more intimate, melodic approach which eschewed loud, brassy histrionics. Anyway, she and I instantly became friendly from the first gig she did, which was in San Francisco, as I recall. It didn't hurt that her father, Jimmy Rowles, was and is one of my musical heroes. His piano playing and composing inspire me to this day. Not long after that first LMO gig, my friends Eric Von Essen and Jeff Gauthier went with me to hear Jimmy and Stacy play in some Hollywood hotel lounge (actually, it was practically the lobby). Eric sat in on chromatic harmonica, and it wasn't long after that that Eric became Jimmy's first call bassist. Jeff and I even worked together to produce a CD for the Delos label by Jimmy and Stacy called Looking Back, with Eric on bass. Collaborations with these three continued for years, until Eric and Jimmy departed this Earth. Now Stacy is gone, too. Stacy's trumpet sound was always understated and warm, melodic and relaxed. In this way, she was never going to be "cutting edge" or "intense". Her aesthetic was of the purest jazz sort, informed by the likes of Art Farmer and Thad Jones. I always thought of her as being the trumpet/flugelhorn version of someone like Paul Desmond, all inviting and logical melodic invention infused with alluring tone. As such, I am certain that survival was a struggle for her, as our society does not readily reward such subtlety. Like "Dad", Stacy also sang on occasion, her voice an uncanny counterpart to her horn. Stacy Rowles was a fine human and a remarkable, mostly unheralded musician. Seek out her voice in the lexicon of jazz music. It is a voice of timeless warmth and clarity.

This Weekend: Tom McNalley, Motoko Honda, Ken Rosser

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:27:48 -0800

Cryptonight & MONA Present TOM MCNALLEY TRIO Friday, February 5th - 8PM Museum of Neon Art 136 W. 4th St., LA 90013 Tel. (213) 489-9918 Tickets are $10 at the Door; Free parking is available on the street, and cheap parking in a lot right behind the Museum Tom McNalley - guitars Michael Vlatkovich - trombones Rich West - drums, percussion Cryptonight and MONA present Tom McNalley's Trio featuring longstanding cohorts Michael Vlatkovich on trombone and Rich West on drums performing all new music. The past year saw Tom playing with Ornette Coleman and studying music in Haiti. Recently relocated to Los Angeles, guitarist Tom McNalley has been recognized as a major force on the creative music scene, working as a sideman and a leader. He has performed with a wide variety of musicians, including Rob Blakeslee, Rich Halley, Nels Cline, Bert Turetzky, Mark Dresser, Jeff Kaiser, Alex Cline, Bert Wilson, Adam Diller, Tad Weed, John Stowell, John Gross, Jason Mears and John Zorn. Open Gate Theatre Presents MOTOKO HONDA BAND / KEN ROSSER'S SHADOW LANGUAGE Sunday February 7 - 7PM Eagle Rock Center for the Arts 2225 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock, CA 90041 $10 General / Students, Seniors, and Series Performers $5 For more info contact Artistic Director Will Salmon at ogtwills@hotmail.com or 626.795.4989 MOTOKO HONDA BAND Motoko Honda - Keyboards Jeff Gauthier - violin Maggie Parkins - cello Originally from Yokohama, Japan, keyboardist Motoko Honda has emerged as one of the most distinctive voices on the Los Angeles area’s new music scene. After graduating from CalArts after studying extensively with such notables as Wadada Leo Smith, Honda immediately made her presence known, bringing a refined classical touch, a broad and sophisticated musical vocabulary (which often includes prepared piano and electronics), and a sensitive and collaborative sensibility to a decidedly improvisatory approach to music-making. Along with Smith, Honda has been involved in notable collaborations with such artists as Vinny Golia, Nels Cline, Oguri, Emily Hay, Kris Tiner, Steuart Liebig, Carole Kim, Sara Schoenbeck, and many others. For this concert, Honda will appear with a frequent collaborator, violinist Jeff Gauthier (who at this point needs no introduction), and cellist Maggie Parkins (an outstandingly gifted musician heard with the likes of the Eclipse Quartet, the Zeena Parkins Group, Guy Klusevsek, Alex Cline’s Continuation Quintet, Elliott Sharp, and countless major figures in the classical music world) for a set of adventurous, multidirectional chamber-prov. (Please note that due to schedule conflicts the originally stated billing of Honda with Steuart Liebig and Joseph Berardi will not appear.) KEN ROSSER'S SHADOW LANGUAGE GUITAR QUARTET Ken Rosser - electric guitar Ken Lasaine - electric guitar Andre LaFosse - electric guitar Kevin Tieman - electric guitar Opening the evening will be the debut performance by Ken Rosser’s Shadow Language Guitar Quartet. Rosser himself, a supremely accomplished guitarist best known for his involvement with such artists as Bobby Bradford, Wayne Peet, Brad Dutz, and the Grandmothers, assembled, leads, and plays with this unique ensemble comprised of four electric guitars, the other guitarists being Ken Lasaine, Andre LaFosse, and Kevin Tieman. Drawing on a wide and varied repertoire of modern compositions Rosser selected and arranged for the group, the sound alone is sure to be spectacular. It’s another first in Eagle Rock! Don Heckman's Live Picks of the Week (Feb. 2-7) Brick Wahl's Live Picks of the Week (Feb. 3-10) L.A. New Music Events (Feb. 5-June 3)

Go: Organic Orchestra Returns to Venice

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:57:35 -0800

ADAM RUDOPLH'S GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA FIRST L.A. APPEARANCE IN FOUR YEARS! Unique in the realm of approaches to improvisational conducting, Go: Organic Orchestra utilizes a composed non-linear score consisting of sound and motion elements. These include tone rows, synthetic scales, melodies, linguistic shapes, intervallic patterns, textural gestures, modes, ragas, maqams, and plainchant. The score serves to provide material for both the improvisations and the orchestrations. Motion and forms and are generated through the application of the composer's rhythm concept Cyclic Verticalism whereby polymeters are combined with additive rhythm cycles.

New DOUBLE Nels Cline Singers CD Info Announced -- Whoo-Hoo!

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:57:00 -0800

The concept of duality has been a defining characteristic of guitarist Nels Cline since he first emerged in the late 1970s. On one hand, there's the harmonically sophisticated, compositionally rich Nels, who contributed to jazz recordings by everyone from Tim Berne to Vinny Golia to Julius Hemphill. On the other, there's the more extreme, visceral Nels, who brought unbridled power and reckless abandon to the post-punk, alternative rock of Mike Watt, Thurston Moore, and The Geraldine Fibbers. Thirty years on, Cline continues to explore this dichotomy, whether it's in his role as lead guitarist for famed rockers Wilco or with The Nels Cline Singers, his flagship group for the last ten years. [Photo via Peak] Initiate, the Singers' fourth release and Cline's seventh as a leader for Cryptogramophone, approaches the concept of Yin and Yang with a series of firsts for both the group and its intrepid leader, slyly dubbed by Jazz Times as "The World's Most Dangerous Guitarist." Initiate, in a beautifully designed, six-panel digipak featuring Simon Norfolk's gorgeous photographs of the world's largest machine (the Large Hadron Collider at CERN) is Cline's first double album and, with its second disc culled from a September 2009 performance at Cafe du Nord in San Francisco, the Singers' first live album.

Rod Poole Tribute on YouTube

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:49:15 -0800

Last September, the Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound (SASSAS) mounted its 10th Anniversary Concert in numerous locations over L.A. for a 12-hour period. Just posted is undoubtedy one of the day's highlights, "Tributaries: Dedicated to the Memory of Rod Poole," a 26-minute microtonal mood piece with contributive solos by Jessica Catron, Nels Cline, Michael Intriere and Jim McAuley. Don Heckman's Live Music Picks of the Week (Jan 25-31) Brick Wahl's Live Music Picks of the Week (Jan. 27-Feb. 3) L.A. New Music Events

Tom McNalley on Haiti

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:18:39 -0800

Guitarist Tom McNalley, a longtime Crypto pal and collaborator who has been down to Haiti several times to help people there before the earthquake/aftershock, has written his thoughts on the crisis for The Huffington Post: "8 Things to Keep in Mind About Haiti". McNalley and his trio will play the Museum of Neon Art on Friday, Feb. 5 at 8pm. Greg Burk's Live Picks of the Week (Jan. 22-28) Don Heckman's Live Picks of the Week (Jan. 19-24) Brick Wahl's Live Picks of the Week (Jan. 20-27) Los Angeles New Music Events (Jan. 21-June 3) REST IN TEMPO Paul Bryant Bobby Charles Dannie Flesher George McCabe Kate McGarrigle Willie Mitchell Theodore DeReese Pendergrass, Sr. Jay Reatard Lhasa de Sela Ed Thigpen Jimmy Wyble

Blogtrollin' for a Rainy Week

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:41:24 -0800

We realize our Blogroll is a bit outdated. Here's some new offerings to help turn the tide:

Lady, So Long

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:25:17 -0800

A memorial for the late trumpeter/vocalist Stacy Rowles, who died last October from complications following a car accident, will be held this Sunday, January 10 in the auditorium of the Musicians Union Local 47 (817 Vine St, Hollywood, CA, 818-986-8733). The ever-growing list of musicians slated to perform includes David Angel, Joe LaBarbera, Pete & Linda Christlieb, Gary Foster, Sandy Graham, Marty Harris, Karen Hernandez, Kendall Kay, Dave Koonse, Paul Kriebich, Sydney Lehman, Mike Melvoin, Roger Neumann, Darek Oles, Brian O'Rourke, Mike Peak, Charlie & Sandi Shoemaker, Linda Small, VR & Putter Smith and Jimmy Spencer. The memorial begins at 11am and goes until around 4pm. Donations will be accepted to further the effort to archive the musical legacy of the Rowles family. There will also be a food and beverage buffet. From the invite: "We'll be serving tri-tip and chicken with beer, wine and softer things at the bar. If you make a dish you are proud of, you are welcome to bring a taste for the table. One of the rules of the house when Stacy entertained was 'nobody leaves hungry', and we never did!" (Thanks to blog bud Doug Ramsey for the forward.) Greg Burk's Live Picks of the Week (Jan. 8-14) Brick Wahl's Live Picks of the Week (Jan. 7-13) L.A. New Music Live Picks

Nels Looks Forward, Back, Sideways, Gets Dizzy, Almost Passes Out

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:03:13 -0800

Happy New Year/New Decade, everyone! I am thankful for life on planet Earth and wish you all peace and happiness in 2010 and beyond! So what's happening?? Here is some news, as well as some long-overdue clarification on tidbits mentioned here ages ago. Write this down in your copybooks!

Happy Holidays from Cryptogramophone Records

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:55:15 -0800

See You Again in 2010!