Photos from Pharoah Sanders Conversation

"Trane was the Father, Pharoah was the Son, I am the Holy Ghost," Albert Ayler













...enough said.


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Photo Credit: All images by Matthew DiTullo & Katie Burns.

Devin Phillips at Rogue Distillery & Public House

Part of the Portland Jazz Festival, Rogue Ales is hosting three shows this week at their NW Portland location. Kicking off the three nights of live jazz, Portlanders were treated with a great show by Devin Phillips last night. If you are from Portland and do not know who Mr. Phillips is shame on you. Unfortunately, this pub is very unfriendly for live performances. Most of the guests who sat close to the bandstand could care less if there was a live jazz act or not -- not to mention barely any standing room. But there were a few of ecstatic individuals (I being one of them) who were happy to be there, squeezing into awkward spots to see the drummer nail some killer grooves, or the bassist perform some crazy licks. Here's a couple of photos, pretty much the only two out of many worth showing. I wish I had my SLR, these low light environments are awful for point shoots -- at least mine.

Devin Phillips will be performing at Jimmy Maks on March 26th for those who'd like to see Portland's best local jazz performer.

Below are some photos by Fran Kaufman. Check out the PDX Jazz Fest's own Photostream.

ESP-Disk' Opens Brooklyn Retail Store

From ESP-Disk':

ESP-Disk', after 45 years of presenting sounds like you've never heard before, now has a storefront to offer them directly to you. Our dedicated store staff started by sawing shelves and painting the front of our offices. Then they dug through collections to find the finest in rare ESP vinyls, obscure avant-jazz and the best in new music. All laid out lovingly for you to drool, dream and buy and own.

ESP Records
990 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
G Train to Bedford/Nostrand

New Expanded Store Hours:
Starting tomorrow Sat Feb 27th!

Saturday	12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sunday	12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Monday	11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday	11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday	11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday	11:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday	11:00 AM - 9:00 PM

Recap: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey Live

On Friday, Portland was treated with a great performance by JFJO. I was busy, out an about all day and arrived unprepared. No notebook, no camera. The group sounded great. They played two sets (I was only able to stay for the first), which consisted of three songs from "One Day In Brooklyn," a few brand new songs for upcoming releases, and a couple of tunes from prior releases.

They sounded even better in person then on record. Fierce improvised solos, amazing technicality -- while still not seeming like a robot, and a wonderful tightness with timing and flow of compositions. Overall, lots of energy and just fantastic musicianship. I'll look forward to future shows, hopefully they'll pop through Portland again during the summer after their June release. And I'll try to be more prepared to document it. They also mentioned a new 7" coming out in April for National Record Store day. Look for that as well.

If anyone who happens to pass by this post, and knows of/has any photo documentation of the show on 2/19 /10 at Mississippi Studios, I'd love to see if willing to share.

Portland Jazz Festival Itinerary

I love doing this each year. Planning the few events in advance to partake in. And then I get all anxious about it. Here's my list of events to attend. Related Post.

1. Rogue Ales Public House is hosting a handful of

local acts this year. I can't remember if they've done

this in the past, but I know they are a good sponsor and support the fest with their Jazz Guy Ale each year -- this year showcasing PDX Jazz's Artistic Director, Bill Royston. I'll be catching Devin Phillips there on Thursday, 2/25 at 9pm. I had seen him almost three years ago at the Bite Festival. He was playing with a vocalist (which I don't remember her name -- and that was the second time I had seen her). Needless to say, Phillips was exciting, the vocalist not so much.

2. Next up, I'm going to run home after work, get changed, grab one of my Impulse Pharoah Sanders LPs (in hopes of a handshake and signature) and bask in the wonderful conversation going on at the Art Bar. That's Saturday, 2/27 at 6:30pm.

3. And Closing out the Fest on Sunday, 2/28 at 3pm, I will be there to see Mr. Sanders perform with his quartet. Which features Justin Faulkner on drums, Hans Glawischnig on bass, and William Henderson on piano. As far as I know, tickets are still available, but this is the last leg here.

Check out the full PDX Jazz Fest Schedule on their website. The festival kicks off this Sunday the 21st.

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey Live Friday Night

For those of you here in Portland who are able to check out this blog, I'd like to remind you that JFJO will be performing tomorrow night at Mississippi Studios. Doors open at 8pm. It should be a solid performance, and if you are aching to see some live jazz and need a little teaser before the epic Portland Jazz Festival, maybe this is the show for you.

Yesterday, to get myself pumped up, I spent a great deal of time watching some videos available on their site. Particularly, one that stood out was of the group playing Fables of Faubus -- and playing it really good.

"Ohnedaruth" - Art Ensemble of Chicago

I just had to share this video. It really gets the heart rate up. Nothing quite beats this AEOC composition for me. Any punk rocker has nothing on these guys, this is real rock and roll!

"One Day In Brooklyn" - Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey

JFJO graces us with their newest EP of their own brand of jazz (stream it on their site right now for free). One Day In Brooklyn is a short yet solid collection of tunes that fall into a wide spectrum, covering many grounds.

Catch them live here in Portland on February 19th at Mississippi Studios. I missed them when they were in town back in September due to a Beer event (which was during their Music Millennium in store) followed by a Beer and Art event at the Portland Art Museum (which was during their performance at Jimmy Maks). Can life be all that bad when you have to choose between your three passions – jazz, beer, and art? Any-whos, I feel this will be a more suited venue as Jimmy Maks can put off weird vibes for me.

One Day in Brooklyn offers six tracks of rock, hip-hop, and classical influenced/infused jazz. "The Black and Crazy Blues and A Laugh For Rory (for Joel Dorn)" – [breath] – starts off with a slow building landscape if you will – picture the subtly building scenes of a spaghetti western – before evolving into a shuffle-like beat – the climatic showdown. To conclude the track the band kicks it in high gear with a faster tempo giving way to a shuffle that makes you want to boogie like Cajun or Zydeco music does.

Probably my favorite of the bunch is "Country Girl". An interesting mix of melodies, build ups and break downs. Each instrument stands unique here but relies on the others to create the definitive tone of the song. I know Alt-Country-Rock was a popular term a couple of years ago, but I think JFLO perfected Alt-Jazz, with a certain Country vibe, but that's what happens when you add the lap steel to the mix, and it's well received in this outfit.

The first two tracks give you the sense of a standard backbeat, where others offer straight ahead rhythms with accents on the third beat. "Imam" and "Drethoven" are examples of this heavier rock beat. And the third track, "Julia" a mildly building cut, takes a step back from the swingin' affairs of the other tunes. A balled if you will, fans of The Bad Plus will appreciate this one. The band performs with a feeling of being well rehearsed and are very tight nit, while still offering a free-in the moment feeling.

The album concludes with two endings. "Drethoven," is the epic, closing statement leaving the JFJO maker's mark (a composition inspired by Dr. Dre and Beethoven). Finally everything is smoothed out with the whimsical, "Four In One." A well recognized Thelonious Monk composition leaving the ears begging for more. Word is that JFJO will be having a full length release due out in June, which would mark their 20th record.

2009 - Kannara Records.

Brian Haas - Piano; Joshua Raymer - Drums; Chris Combs - Lap Steel; Matt Hayes - Bass.