More exciting Jazz performances for JazzApril!

Since it's #JazzApril I'm not sure this is intentional, or some sort of chaotic order is happening, but it's shaping up to be a stellar month for live Jazz in Portland, Ore.  I have already posted about these shows, but there's more...

Avant-Garde icon Burton Greene is playing two shows in Portland this week.  His US appearances are rare enough so it's an honor that he will be playing in town twice.  First show is tonight at the Camellia Lounge at 7pm, $7 to get in. He will also be at the Piano Fort in Sellwood this Friday at 8pm, $15.  The Piano Fort show is co-sponsored by PDX Jazz and The Creative Music Guild and is coupled with a film screening of Moldavian Blues: A film of Burton Greene.   Greene will be accompanied by one of Portland's leading jazz bassists, Andrew St. James, along with virtuosic drummer Tim DuRoche, and Seattle's Marc Smason on trombone.  Get to one these shows!

Speaking of Tim DuRoche, The Kin Trio (featuring Sunjae Lee and Andre St. James) will be having a CD release party this Saturday at Ford Food and Drink from 7-9pm.  This show is free, but you can give off good vibes by purchasing a CD to support the cause.  This release is part of an exciting series of Jazz albums by local players as part of the Portland Jazz Composers' Ensemble new record label.

"Omens & Talismans" - Farthest South

Farthest South is an electric/electronic group from Israel that focuses on individual and group improvisation.  "Omens & Talismans" brings jazz improviser Albert Beger into the recording studio as they bring us new, uncharted territory to conquer.

I can't help but think I am listening to a David Lynch soundtrack here.  In the opening cut, A Lesson Learned - Part I - Creating Transformation, a contrast of pulsating and ambient tones along with thrashing guitar licks and flowing cries of a tenor sax offer an intense listen.  A Lesson Learned - Part II - Lecture instantly grabs your attention with a hard hitting electric beat that still gives evidence to a non-existent narrative that I want to insert into this music.  

The second half of the record brings Concrete - Part I - Godshall and Concrete - Part II - Mantram.  Part I - Godshall is the most ambient and atmospheric song in this album.  An exploration that certainly highlights Beger's saxophone over dissonant and jagged electronics.  And even though there is a strong Eastern sensibility in this whole record, Part II - Mantram emphasizes this even more creating a reasonable exit to the suite.

You can listen to "Omens & Talismans" on their Bandcamp page, where it is also available for digital download.
2013 - Fairsouth West Records.
Yair Etziony - electronics, bass; Barry Berko - guitar; Yair Yona - bass guitar, effects; Alber beger - saxophone. 

PDX Jazz delivers with Spring Programming

On the heels of the 2013 Portland Jazz Festival, PDX Jazz has been putting together an eclectic schedule of concerts for this spring.  Here are a few dates to note:

The Instant Composers Pool Orchestra presented by The Creative Music Guild.
April 5, 8pm at Redeemer Lutheran Church. 

The Bad Plus 
April 28, two shows at 3pm and 7pm at The Mission Theater. 

Classic Coltrane: 1964-65. The Azar Lawrence Quintet featuring Devin Phillips with George Colligan, Alan Jones and Eric Gruber
May 30 and May 31 at Jimmy Maks.

Three great shows.  Unfortunately I can't make it The Instant Composers Pool Orchestra, but I would imagine it will be a memorable night of avant-garde music.  The Bad Plus continues to astound me with some of the most innovative music in modern days.  Their live shows are among the best one can see.  And I am fan of local icon Devin Phillips, and he has the chops to play Coltrane's music.  The Azar Lawrence Quintet will be a promising night of intimate Jazz.

More on The Bad Plus as we get closer to that show...

Happy Birthday Cecil Taylor

Another March birthday for an Avant-Garde legend.  Cecil Taylor turned 84 today.

I remember the moment when I first heard Taylor. I was listening to Jazz Advance on Blue Note Records. It has been a rollercoaster of awesome ever since.  

What's invigorating about Taylor's work is that he'll never break from his concepts.  During an era when so many musicians in the scene started to move towards more commercial aesthetics, Taylor would rather wash dishes than de-evolve his music.  It was this uncompromising mentality that has paid off for listeners.


One of my favorite Cecil Taylor albums is Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!.  Put out by the German label MPS in 1980, samples of this record are hard to come by on the internet.  But a few cuts from this solo release do exist on Youtube (and here, and here).  


Alternatively, I am leaving you with a solo piece that works in the same vein.  This  excerpt hails from Ron Mann's 1981 documentary "Imagine the Sound."

Happy 83rd Birthday, Ornette!

It's the day after my birthday and I am nursing my birthday hangover with a 24 hour broadcast of Ornette Coleman thanks to WKCR.  Tune in to celebrate Mr. Coleman's birthday. 

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Image Credit: Ian Johnson

Kaleidescope - Ornette Coleman Quartette

Jazz Message Received

So this happened last Friday...

PDX Jazz's 2013 Portland Jazz Festival brought our modest city a collective of Jazz Messenger alumni.  With musical direction by Javon Jackson, The Jazz Message: Celebrating Art Blakey performed swinging hard bop classics from the historical repertoire that Art Blakey blessed Jazz fans with since the mid-twentieth century. We gazed, clapped, tapped our toes, and danced in our seats to the chops of Javon Jackson (ts), Eddie Henderson (tr), Bobby Watson (as), George Cables (p), Buster Williams (b), Lewis Nash (d), and long time veteran Curtis Fuller (tb).

These are tunes that allowed me fall in love with Jazz, and these guys f***in nailed it!  Their soloing was spot in, timing was impeccable, and the ensemble parts were powerful.  Art Blakey, wherever he might be, would be delighted to know that this music lives on.  Set list highlights were Fuller's "À la Mode," Benny Golson compositions "Along Came Betty" & "Blues March,"  Wayne Shorter's "One by One," Bobby Timmons' "Moanin," and an encore performance of Dizzy Gillespie's bebop classic "A Night in Tunisia."  Like any great Jazz musician, these guys pulled from the past while still making it their own.  This was particularly evident in "Moanin" where we heard licks and phrasing appropriated from the original recording.  Still, their decisions during those moments in time were unique to that evening.

Lewis Nash was powerful on the drums and had no problem filling the big shoes of Art Blakey.  His backing licks at the end of measures and phrases complemented each soloist with ease, and his solo right before kicking it into "Blues March" left me wanting more.  Needless to say, he crushed it on stage.  Another soloist highlight for me was Bobby Watson.  His range extended to every nook and cranny of that alto sax.  He shined on fast tempoed, swinging tunes as well as his soulful playing on a ballad number.

This is the music that made me fall in love with Jazz.  The album Moanin' is one of most important pieces of mid-twentieth century music (not just Jazz), it laid that groundwork for hard bop in the 1960s, and is probably one of the most recognized Blue Note releases. The fact that I was able to witness 3/6s, or one half, of the music from Moanin' by musicians who have graduated from Art Blakey's Hard Bop Academy was a special occurrence for me.  A memory that won't be forgotten. 

The Jazz Message

"If nobody has anything to say about the departed, I'd like to say a few words about Jazz!" - Art Blakey*

The 2013 Portland Jazz Festival is in full swing with the closing headliners this weekend.  If you've been following PDX Jazz on Facebook then you've seen the excellent coverage of events.  Each show having significant turnouts. Tickets still remain for tomorrow night's The Jazz Message; Tribute to Art Blakey featuring Musical Director Javon Jackson (ts), Bobby Watson (as), Curtis Fuller (tb), Eddie Henderson (tr), George Cables (p), Buster Williams (b), Lewis Nash (d).  Which can be purchased here.

Immediately I wanted to jump on this show.  Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers we're the third tier that really had me taking Jazz seriously.  First it was Mingus, then Monk, and third was the Messengers.  In fact, the very first book on Jazz I read cover to cover was Hard Bop Academy: The Sidemen of Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers by Alan Goldsher.  This book is a journey that profiles the greats that went in and out of The Jazz Messengers.  Containing stories and anecdotes that brought enlightenment to many of their recordings or performances through nearly a half century on the scene.
That's what I have going on tomorrow night and if you haven't gotten out to any Portland Jazz Festival events then this is the one for you.  Following the Jazz Message I'll be continuing my Jazz journey with a nightcap at The Blue Monk to catch Battle Hymns and Gardens.

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*Quoted from Visions of Jazz by Gary Giddens.  p. 368, c. 40, Art Blakey (Jazz Messenger).  Which further sited the quote from Jazz Anecdotes by Bill Crow. 

2013 Portland Jazz Fest

It's almost that time...  Almost that time where the city of Portland dedicates nearly half a month to Jazz music.  The 2013 U.S. Bank Portland Jazz Festival Presented by Alaska Airlines kicks off in one week.  You can take part in a city wide celebration of America's great musical art form.  There are plenty of free events along with ticketed ones, as well as educational and outreach programs.  You can view a full schedule here.

Now in its tenth year, the Portland Jazz Festival has continued to bring worthy headliners and local musicians together in the name of Jazz.  An eclectic showcase of Jazz happenings around Portland keep it exciting year after year.   You can find many events taking place in restaurants or pubs, smaller venues, and larger concert halls. 

Also take note that Battle Hymns and Gardens will be performing February 22 at The Blue Monk.  I'll be there for a nightcap after The Jazz Message event (Curtis Fuller, Bobby Watson, Eddie Henderson, George Cables, Buster Williams, Lewis Nash, and Javon Jackson) at the Newmark Theater.  And it's worth noting that you can sample a handful of unmastered takes for BHaG's upcoming debut album on their website. 

The Sight of Sound

Anthony Braxton Composition Figures

I've been spinning a lot of Anthony Braxton lately.  To me his music is quite physical to the point that it can be visual.  I have a background in art which lends me to be a visual person for the most part.  I originally gravitated to Jazz because it seemed to contain a visual aesthetic to me.  Which makes sense because one of the first Jazz albums I ever listened to was Charles Mingus' The Clown.  It contained "these greens and yellows, and all of these oranges."

It's not just in The Clown, but I have always connected Avant-Garde Jazz with Post War / Post Modern Art.  Conceptually and metaphysically this makes sense.  Musicians like Steve Lacy and Ornette Coleman have always made a big visual presence in my imagination.  Lacy, for example, seems to construct shapes with every lick he plays on the Soprano.  And obviously the name of this blog is derived from Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come, but along with musical notes I hear shapes too.  

Can sound be seen?  Can sight be heard?

Here are a few Jazz pieces that create colors, lines, and shapes in my mind.  Some are mathematical and controlled, while some are chaotic and organic.  You can decided for yourself.

Tri-Centric Foundation comes through for a last minute gift idea.

The last two years I created a couple of gift guides for Jazz Geeks like myself (and here).  In anticipation of all the 2012 top of, worst of, best of lists we'll be seeing I decided not to bother.  However, an email in my inbox from Tuesday prompted me to spread the news.

The Tri-Centric Foundation is pivotal in the archiving and releasing of Anthony Braxton material.  For a limited time, members can download a rare solo bootleg entitled, "Solo (Carnegie Hall)1972,"  for free, and non-members can purchase it for a mere $6.99 for a limited time.  It would make an ideal last minute gift for that Avant-Garde fan in your life. So jump on it. 

An example of the recording equipment used.  Photo by Kyoko Kitamura

From Tri-Centric Foundation:

Recorded when Anthony was 27 years old, this bootleg which was discovered earlier this year is the only available audio of the event that we know of...

...We can only offer this recording to you because of your generous support. As manyof you know, TCF was revived in 2009 by a dedicated group of volunteers. We are proud to have accomplished much in three short years but we need your help to keep going. Here is an appeal from the Tri-Centric Foundation president Taylor Ho Bynum. 

I am writing to you in the hope that you share my conviction that the music of Anthony Braxton can have a transformative effect on artists and audiences alike. Personally, Braxton’s artistic innovations have not just changed the way I listen to and make music, but have taught me profound lessons about community, creativity and idealism. If Braxton’s work has been similarly important to you in your life, I ask you to consider donating to the Tri-Centric Foundation.

Best regards, 

TCF Team