(disclaimer -- only a review of the first half of a show) just saw them live here in seattle and overall, i was very dissapointed. michael wolff & barry finnerty have chops galore, but their "vibe" just wasn't right -- hard to explain (the fact that they were the only two "white guys" on stage had nothing to do with it -- basically it was, um, a stage conduct/demeanor and tone and color and, um, phrasing thing.....the whole VIBE....hard to explain it.... but ya know it when ya hear it......know what i mean?) they were both turned up too loud, i thought (and it appeared to be their faults -- it seemed that their onstage amps were turned up too loud....hmmm....) they totally drowned out badal roy most of the time... he was wasted...even during some of the supposed "quiet" moments.....the fact that this group has not played live together very much may have alot to do with their weak stage dynamics (it's a tricky mix!) michael henderson held things down nicely, though, of course, and i'm glad i got to see him for a bit, but i didn't like the "overall" package, really, and left about halfway through (if i was a bass player i suppose i might have put my blinders on and stayed, though!) moreover -- sonny fortune was underutilized during the first half of the show, hopefully he kicked in harder during the second half (a shame, i wanted to see him RIP, as he did when i saw him with elvin jones a few yrs ago, where i was blown away, to be honest). oh, and ta boot, sonny was sometimes too low in the mix while i was there....not sure why that was.... in sum: considering that this is "VIBE" music, so to speak, this all just ain't a good thing for a discriminating audience member/miles fan such as myself. if i'd never heard the original music, however, and had no idea who miles was, well, i probably would have at least stayed for the duration of the show! ;-) (hypothetically speaking!) note: the opening band, skerik's syncopated taint septet, IRONICALLY could have probably done a much better job (with henderson and badal roy and fortune as guests, to round out their lineup) -- these taint guys are definitely worth catching....they're not "awesome" but definitely very good - sweet tunes, smart players... (esp. hans teuber - a very underrated saxophonist) ...they are currently on tour - here's their schedule via: www.syncopatedtaint.com -- mid/east coast tour dates: ST7 EAST COAST TOUR NOV 2003 Sat Nov 08 Denver CO at QUIXOTE'S TRUE BLUE Mon Nov 10 Tulsa OK at Bob's (smaller room at Cain's) Tue Nov 11 Denton TX at the Silver Leaf Wed Nov 12 Austin TX at STUBB'S Thu Nov 13 New Orleans LA at TIPITINA'S UPTOWN Fri Nov 14 Starkville MS at STATE THEATRE Sat Nov 15 Decatur GA at JAKE'S ROADHOUSE Sun Nov 16 Asheville NC at the ORANGE PEEL Tue Nov 18 Boston MA at HARPER'S FERRY Wed Nov 19 New York NY at TONIC - SKERIK'S BDAY!!! Thu Nov 20 Pittsburgh PA at MR. SMALLS FUNHOUSE Fri Nov 21 Falls Church VA at the STATE THEATRE Sat Nov 22 Cleveland OH at WILBERT'S ST7 will also be in San Francisco for New Year's, TBA Children on the Corner conclusion: if there's no quality opening band, i wouldn't, um, "recommend" paying anythin' more than $10 to see COTC live (well, unless of course you're a miles freak, etc, but even in that case it's a dubious proposition, because in that case i'd recommend that you take your $15 or whatever, and go spend it on a miles CD that you don't have yet, and there's always SOMETHING out there to buy, right? ;-) or better yet, since one always goes out & spends more than the cover on a "night out" -- take your $30, say and buy a miles import CD instead! ;-) 2 cents from seattle, JLK ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Gardner" <richard.gardner@colourtone.co.uk> To: <zorn-list@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 12:45 AM Subject: Children on the Corner I recently got a copy of the Children on the Corner album - Rebirth: Band Sonny Fortune - Flute, Saxophone; Michael Wolff - Piano, Keyboards; Badal Roy - Tabla; Leon "Ndugu" Chancler - Drums; Barry Finnerty - Guitar; Michael Henderson - Bass Tracks 1. Directions (Zawinul) - 21:13 2. New York Girl, Pt.1 (Davis) - 10:58 3. Oakland Raga - 4:29 4. New York Girl, Pt.2 (Davis) - 1:49 5. Madimba (Wolff) - 4:48 6. Tone Poem (Wolff) - 4:14 7. BD Philly Funk - 13:50 8. Black Satin (Davis) - 11:36 If you like that On the Corner/Get Up With It sound this is excellent. Recorded last year live at Yoshi's in Oakland CA it's a great grooving band. Much better than I expected and more like Miles than a lame 70's jazz funk band. (Although there is, at times, a strong whiff of Chameleon about parts of this project - but it's looser than the Headhunters with that Miles 'play anything' vibe.) What are they like live? Also worth a mention is the new British band The Electric Dr M. It features a young pianist called Matthew Bourne (here playing Fender Rhodes and analogue synths) the rest of the band is made up from a pair of drummers, double bass and guitar. Once again back to early seventies and Miles but again loose and willing to take a few chances. Add to that some excellent string bass driven dance beats and a fine choice of samples. I think this album augers well for their future. A fascinating mixture of groove with some good individual playing and a nice touch of humour. Richard Gardner