September 2003 - zorn-list - mailman.xmission.com

Zornfest 2003-09-18 MASADA plus TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS (part 2 of 2)
by Ed Price 15 Nov '03

15 Nov '03

[ CONTINUED FROM PART 1 ] after an enthusiastic standing ovation they played one more tune (a slow one) then i had to say goodbyes quickly because i was on the way to see TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS next at "BB Kings". in a nice reciprocal gesture, doug and sara had invited me to go with them to that show. BB Kings is on 42nd street. a very different scene, in contrast with the Lower East Side. shiny glass and metal buildings, huge signs, corporate wasteland. (sure downtown is changing, but it's not like that!) our cab took us right through Times Square. BB Kings is between 6th and 7th. major neon action. mcdonalds... its the "new" 42nd street. i'm pretty sure i've never been to a place like this before. well big clubs, yes, but not on 42nd street. what a Machine... i was worried about the "mandatory bag check" because i still had my laptop from work, didnt want to check it, but luckily just ignored the problem, walked in with it, bypassing the bagcheck line, and had no trouble. inside, the place was HUGE, with a world class ventilation system (sara even mentioned this specifically as an item of contrast with tonic, and i had to agree that the airflow was impressive), some tables with booths, a large dance floor which was filled. we timed it perfectly, because the opening band was nowhere to be seen and we didnt have to wait too long for Toots and the Maytals to come out. this being a, uh, jamaican band, and despite the new totally non-smoking NYC rules -- which have generally improved the atmosphere at clubs, i think it is safe to say! (safe for me anyway as an EX-smoker (finally, <phew>)...) -- um, anyway, there was smoke coming from the audience as soon as the band started to play. so then these security staff people, one guy in particular, would wade into the crowd with a flashlight, and apprehend the suspects and haul them off somewhere, confiscate what they had, whatever. i did see some of them again so i guess they werent necessarily killed, but man it was some heavy enforcement! kinda distracting in the beginning. but it calmed down a bit... [2:24am: taking a break to eat the food alice gave me at tonic. ginger rice chicken peppers stirfry, yum!!! Hit The Spot] anyway talk about DANCEABLE. this was music to which one could hardly not *NOT* dance. i found myself walking more or less in place a lot. i don't listen to a lot of ska or reggae, but i sure do seem to like it when i do. there are some nice intricacies in the way all the different parts fit together, and the "little freedoms" people have with their part. i found it interesting to watch the keyboard player on my side of the stage (there were two) and by watching his hands, i could then pick out his sounds in the overall texture of the music. in addition to the two keyboard there were also two guitar players, bass, drums, two backup singers, and Toots. from the first beat it was *quality* grooves. not frenetic, very smooth. walking music. (i have a "bach in brazil" cd where the first track does the same thing to me. it's the italian concerto played by a samba band, or a samba-ish band, or something.) the show was superbly paced. the audience was large but it wasnt crammed too tight, pretty much the whole main mass (where we were) was moving with the music. (to almost quote madonna, eh?) toots played to the crowd, Put On A Show, there was almost always some back and forth of call and response where toots would sing some phrase and the audience would sing it back. of course some people knew the songs... not me. i recognized a few, including "louis louis", and "country road" (i vaguely recognize that, but now i really want to know more about it, including maybe learning how to play it -- it's gospel, basically, from what i could tell, and really nice, i am sucker for that too). the lyrics to "country road" were kinda funny in NYC esp in midtwon in middle of this vast inhuman corporate machine environment. as doug and sara pointed out, this club probably got a lot of tourists. anyway it was weird, why did the lyrics of "country road" (to the extent i noticed them) resonate with me? i've never lived on a road in the country... but it sounds nice... ok it's getting late i gotta wrap this up. what a great double-header. masada and the maytals. zorn and toots. zorn doesnt work the audience like toots. there's no "better" or "worse" really, its two different scenes... doug and sara made a remark about masada being "art", about having just witnessed "high art" or something. masada can get the feet tapping, but toots and the maytals got everybody moving everything. near the end of the show, the entire stage was filled with people from the audience, dancing up there with toots. there are those who find masada the least appealing of zorn's music, in context of the zorn shows it is on the far end of the spectrum as far as accessibility, danceability etc. so it was interesting to go from that, to THE REAL THING. toots and the maytals put things into better perspective for me. ellen, you should have come; we could have danced :) but gotta save energy for tomorrow, i know, KEITH JARRET GARY PEACOCK JACK DEJOHNETTE at carnegie hall, now that is another interesting contrast isnt it..... looking forward to another favorite band :) -ed

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Thirsty Ear
by Richard Gardner 03 Oct '03

03 Oct '03

Does anyone know the background of Thirsty Ear Records. I had associated them with Tim Berne, William Parker, Spring Heel Jack etc. Then I bought CDs of Foetus "Deaf" and "Ache" and they are on Thirsty Ear. I went to the web site and read the roster of artists: http://www.thirstyear.com/thirsty_content/bands_shell_frameset.html And then found this quote: Thirsty Ear, led by Peter Gordon, is rather a quirky progressive label that I wouldn't describe so much as being close to the edge; more like hanging over the edge with both hands clutching the edge for dear life when suddenly your nose begins to itch. There is a common atmosphere about this music that is not far removed from a little town up north called Twin Peaks! Thirsty Ear is to be especially commended for their alliance with such artists as Robert Wyatt, Adrian Belew, John Fahey, John Martyn, and others. To my eye the label looks like the hobby of one (wealthy?) man. Is this the case? The collection is so wide and odd that it doesn't seem to make sense unless its somebody's personal taste. Richard Gardner

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Unknown piece
by Craig Lieske 02 Oct '03

02 Oct '03

Couldn't it be Joe Harriott? A record called Indo-Jazz Suite, or something like that? Craig L> _________________________________________________________________ High-speed Internet access as low as $29.95/month (depending on the local service providers in your area). Click here. https://broadband.msn.com

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Cobra Questions
by Dave Trenkel 30 Sep '03

30 Sep '03

Has anyone on this list participated in a Cobra performance? If so, what would you do to prepare for it?

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Sasaki from Ruins
by Arthur Gadney 30 Sep '03

30 Sep '03

Hello. Does anobody know what is going on with Sasaki from Ruins? I heard the other day that he is not going on the upcomming Ruins tour. Now apparatnly the rumor is that he had some accident and need to get his hand amputated. Anybody know if this is true?? I certainly hope not!!! It would be good if somebody could confirm or kill this rumor. _________________________________________________________________ Frustrated with dial-up? Get high-speed for as low as $29.95/month (depending on the local service providers in your area). https://broadband.msn.com

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tour info
by CuneiWay＠aol.com 30 Sep '03

30 Sep '03

Hi About a week ago, I posted preliminary info on the west coast tour by our lastest signing, THE CLAUDIA QUINTET (John Hollenbeck, Matt Moran, Ted Reichman, Drew Gress, Chris Speed). We now have much more updated info on the gigs (many of which are free!). There is also info about Raoul Bjorkenheim and Chris Massey's duo gigs and more. If interested: http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/tours.html Thank you! Steve

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[political] eno guardian comments
by jason tors 30 Sep '03

30 Sep '03

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1020303,00.html#top jason __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com

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url request
by CuneiWay＠aol.com 30 Sep '03

30 Sep '03

Hi I can't remember if it was THIS list or one of the billion of other lists I was on, but a few weeks ago, someone posted the url of a website that was US based, but seemed to specialize in Indian music sales on CD and cassette of ALL types. Anyone know what I am talking about? Steve

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thirsty ear
by Kurt Gottschalk 30 Sep '03

30 Sep '03

thirsty ear has been around for a while, and has primarily been a rock label (tho a good one, lots of robert wyatt, pere ubu, etc.). matthew shipp met label head peter gordon through (of all people) henry rollins back in the 90s when shipp was interested in bridging the punk/free jazz division. together they developed the blue series, which shipp oversees. i think the blue series is one of the most exciting jazz labels in this country right now. really, i do. from the 'straighter' jazz (william parker's 'raining on the moon' and 'painter's spring' , tim berne's 'the shell game' and new 'the sublime and', mat maneri's 'sustain') to the electronica experiments. guillermo brown's disc was a fun surprise, as was dj spooky's. but all four spring heel jack records are esential - the three on blue (masses, amassed and live), but also one with john surman that came out before the blue series was born, called 'disappeared.' i'm curious how well they really sell, or how well they're even distributed. like i said, i'm pretty much in love with them. but i don't hear that much talk about them. kg _________________________________________________________________ Share your photos without swamping your Inbox. Get Hotmail Extra Storage today! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es

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speaking of tablas
by Kurt Gottschalk 30 Sep '03

30 Sep '03

another fine piece of tabla jazz without saxophone is perry robinson's 'kundalini,' with badal roy and nana vascancelos, from 1978. kurt np - sean meehan/sachiko m _________________________________________________________________ Get MSN 8 Dial-up Internet Service FREE for one month. Limited time offer-- sign up now! http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup

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