November 22nd, 2011 Posted by aramshelton 1 Comment
A fine 2 hour drive to get from Brooklyn to downtown Philly and the Philadelphia art Alliance, where Ars Nova Workshop put on a double bill of Rolldown and the Claudia Quintet. Beautiful building downtown. Seems to be the Philly way, from my experiences at least. We played on the ground floor, in a room that didn’t look like much, but actually sounded quite good, with tall ceilings and a natural resonance. A strong crowd turned out for the show, and we played with the audience packed in around us, just a foot away. We’ve been playing really loud on this tour, but even in this case, not so loud that people seemed affected. People are so used to rock volumes these days that a loud acoustic group probably doesn’t register as unusual.
Played a fun set. The best one yet. I like being close to the audience. So much more energy than when the crowd is sitting back ten feet, or worse, standing in the back of the room.
Had some interesting people in the crowd, inculding a well known radio personality from whyy.
November 22nd, 2011 Posted by aramshelton No Comments
The drive from Buffalo to NYC was bordering on brutal. Got out of town about a quarter to ten, loaded in at the Stone around 7:15. We did grab lunch at the Blue Dolphin Diner on the way, drove through some smaller roads where there was snow on the ground, and some picturesque upstate towns. Of course driving into Manhattan through the Holland tunnel is always a clusterfk, this time google put us in a truly strange route that at one point sent us through an unlit, cavelike underpass that no one else was going through, worked out though.
So, rolled into the Stone, had a few moments to warm up & run through a few things. They opened the doors and we had a waiting audience. This was the first time that shevitz, Roebke, Rosaly, and Berman had played the Stone, and my first time with a band from Chicago. It was a good set. Our first two dates had served us well as rehearsals, and on this night we had several really strong moments. Gannushkin was there and has posted a nice set of photos over at downtownmusic.net.
Of course the moment we were done we had to deal with the inevitability of new York: too many agendas and things to do to make it simple. I headed over to Brooklyn with Roebke and Frank, grabbed some dinner and drinks, eventually met up with Matt Bauder. Headed out the next day early in the afternoon to Philly.
November 22nd, 2011 Posted by aramshelton No Comments
The drive from Cincinnati to Buffalo is about 7 hours, a pretty good chunk of time. Stopped in Columbus on the way for lunch, after a few misfires found a place called Skillet. Hobo spot, their catchphrase : Urban, Rustic. Huh, all in all, it was pretty good.
We were able to talk through some of the pieces we had more difficulty with the day before.
Hit some snow after eerie, pellet shaped snow chunks falling down, sticking on the ground in some places, but manly dissolving on impact. So, the trip took longer than scheduled, we made it to Hallwalls about a half hour before the show was set to start.
The Hallwalls space is in a converted historic theatre in downtown Buffalo. We played in the small black box theatre save, had a nice audience, played two sets. The music is starting to gel in new ways – the forms were more solid, which allowed the open sections to get to more interesting places. More group improvising, with interjections from Josh and during Shevitz’ solos in a comping manner. We took a nice break in between sets and really loosened up in the second. Played Dagger for the first time in this tour: the most difficult one to memorize. The melody is a skeleton of the chord progression, with slight changes as the chords repeat. It gives each note more importance.
After the show we went out for some food and drinks – a brief, but good time up in the Niagara region.
November 18th, 2011 Posted by aramshelton No Comments
The first day of our 5 date Rolldown tour, started with a drive from Chicago to Cincinnati. I flew into town on Tuesday night, out of SFO, which had a decent exhibit on the development of the record player, and lots of classic LP albums on display. In addition to more expected albums like Velvet Underground, Elvis, Rolling Stones, they had Ornette’s Live at the Golden Circle and Out to Lunch.
I got into Chicago around 11:30, took the blue line down to the western stop. Grabbed a bite at Arturo’s Tacos, Berman picked me up around 12:30. Got a few hours of sleep and we were out the door by 7. Met up with Shevitz, Roebke and Frank, got the cars loaded up and hit it.
a 4&1/2 hour drive to Cincinnati, but you lose an hour going east, so we got to the university just about a half hour before we played. A small audience, composition students mainly. It was our first time playing all the music off the book. Due to everyone’s activity, we weren’t able to have rehearsals, so instead we all memorized our parts. Challenging, because the way Jason writes a good deal of the tunes is that he’ll use a certain number of notes and keep wrapping them around each other. So, you have to master the nuances of how he arranged that grouping of notes.
Getting the heads and parts individually is one thing, playing the pieces as a group opens up a new challenge, as the forms are structured, and having everyone know those structures internally is a leap of faith, especially without the chance to talk through.
Basically I’m saying that this was our warmup / rehearsal gig.
It went well: a few hiccups here and there, but it felt really good to be off book, and it definitely breathed some life into the pieces and the way we played together.
Cincinnati university, nice school. Definite conservatory situation. Afterwards we hung out with Dave McDonnell, who we all know from Chicago, and is in the doctoral program at the University,(and is the reason we had the gig.)
We went to his place in north Cincy, had some early dinner at Mayday, stayed there for a bit, then ended the night around a campfire in his backyard.
November 15th, 2011 Posted by aramshelton No Comments
Singlespeed Music is glad to announce the release of Nordeson Shelton’s debut album Incline.
Kjell Nordeson and Aram Shelton both found their way to the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-2000s, from Sweden and Chicago respectively. Their first project together was Cylinder (Clean Feed CF219) with Darren Johnston and Lisa Mezzacappa. In 2008 they began playing as a duo, named simply Nordeson Shelton.
Incline was recorded over the course of a weekend in a cabin in the mountains near Lake Tahoe. Nordeson Shelton allowed their musical and personal relationship to shape these improvisations, rather than incorporating predetermined melodies, structures, concepts or dogmas. The resulting music created by these two virtuosic musicians is complex and subtle, adventurous and focused.
October 23rd, 2011 Posted by aramshelton No Comments
It’s hard to believe that I’ve not written in almost exactly a year, and it’s a coincidence that I’m going to write about the same group as the last post, when so very much has happened in the twelve months in between.
Tonight I’ve got a run through with Marches, as we’re going into to Fantasy Studios tomorrow to record an album. The band has solidified over the past two years into a sextet: myself, Cory Wright, Michael Coleman, Doug Stuart, Jordan Glenn, and Sam Ospovat. Each time we’ve played I’ve been inspired by the resulting music that we make with the modest compositions that I’ve brought in. We have a personal dynamic, an affinity for each other that puts the music in the ideal place for making something so satisfying for me, that I can’t wait to get this music on tape. The timing of this recording is ideal & necessary: after a bit of a hiatus, we had some activity this late summer / early fall (it’s been an unusually warm October out here so it still seems like summer), and Sam will be spending some time in Europe for the next few months. So, we’re primed and ready to record.
On Friday night we played at the Starry Plough, a bar in Berkeley that is a pretty good situation for energetic jazz music. Definitely not a devoted listening space, but the stage is the right size for a two-drummer sextet, and we had a good crowd, thanks to sharing the bill with Moe! Staiano’s Surplus 1980. Marches played great and with a ton of energy, while never sacrificing listening to each other – something that is rare indeed. Now, how to get this band on the road….
October 31st, 2010 Posted by aramshelton No Comments
Last wednesday Marches played at the Ivy Room – the last time we played was back in June when we had a few shows with the Eastern Seaboard, one up in Sacramento the other down in Monterey. Gene Baker moved to New York, and Doug Stuart was out of town for a few months on tour, so there was a bit of a hiatus. That gave me some time to revise the charts and add a new piece, plus tweak the lineup a little bit. So, there’s Cory Wright on tenor & baritone saxophone, Michael Coleman on keyboard, Doug Stuart on bass and Jordan Glenn on drums. (I’m playing alto & tenor). In revising the charts, I’ve added more repetition to the music, with the idea to really develop the overall group sound. It was a good set to play – lot’s of energy from the players, some real strong moments, Jordan and Doug building their cohesion as a rhythmic unit. Michael’s a great addition to the group, able to support others and take the lead. Here’s what we opened with:
It was good to play that music again. We shared the bill with a duo and a trio: Brains, which is Drew Ceccato on tenor and Chris Golinski on drums. Both are out here studying at Mills – both are thoughtful players and they’ve definitely developed a thing together. The trio was with Jacob Zimmerman on alto, Kim Cass on bass and Sam Ospovat on drums. Some complicated arrangements for a trio – a good set of complex creative jazz music to close out the night.
October 13th, 2010 Posted by aramshelton No Comments
Okay, so get this – last night was the 1 year anniversary concert for the Oakland Active Orchestra – we’ve been playing at the Uptown in Oakland every second tuesday for the last year. The night was scheduled, but a few days ago Rob Ewing fielded a call at the Jazzschool and we ended up having the honor of having Henry Grimes guest with us! He’s in town for a week to play a concert with Rosoce Mitchell at CNMAT on friday and had extra time.
So, the Weiner Kids played a short twenty minute set – it was short but solid – then we put aside the written music and played about twenty minutes of improvisation with Henry. It was great to play with him. He played bass, and the four of us really developed some music over the course of our short set. Near the end of it we got into a very beautiful section that had a dark edge. Great stuff. A short break and then the twelve person OAO played with Henry on violin. So, me on soprano, Aaron Bennett on tenor, Hillary Overberg on violin, Lisa Mezzacappa on bass, Agnes Szelag on cello, Rob Ewing on trombone, Jordan & Sam Ospovat on drums, Kjell Nordeson on vibraphone, Kristian Aspelin on guitar, and another guest Erik Jekabsons on trumpet. It was good. Well balanced – many layers – satisfying to say the least. We had a great crowd too – listening and watching. Henry’s violin playing was great to listen to. I sat right behind him so I could hear him better.
We took a break and then played 9 almost all new pieces. I think we’ll have a recording soon – we’ve been posting music at Bandcamp. Though there was a lot of variety, I feel like we’re really starting to get a sound. Best show so far. Fun, with good music and energy.
August 3rd, 2010 Posted by aramshelton No Comments
Last night played over at the Myopic Books with Brian Labycz and Frank Rosaly. It was part of a full day here in Chicago. Had a rehearsal with Rolldown for some shows coming later on in the week, and it’s warm and humid, which of course can kind of wear you out. Two short sets of free improvising, explored alot of sounds that I’ve been into lately , integrating with Frank’s percussion and Brian’s electronics. the exploration that comes through improvising is a unique thing. the more focused you get, the more the reward.
Afterward went to the Old Town Ale House to see Josh Berman, Jason Roebke and Jason Adasiewicz play. Joined them in their last set. Jazz music. good, a mental exercises in many ways – learned a tune I had always avoided before – enjoyed it though. I think Berman’s been playing there weekly for a few years now.
August 3rd, 2010 Posted by aramshelton No Comments
Headed back to Chicago on Sunday the 1st of August. The driving up through Indiana reminded me of I-5 between LA and San Francisco – kind of brutally constant traffic for 6 hours. The shows at the Brain never start before ten, so we had plenty of time to get back and have a little time before heading over. always good to be back at the brain. Tim Daisy, Jason Ajemian and I played the first show there back in January of 2001. Dan’s a good man.
The first set was Moon Brothers, Matt Schneider’s solo project. Spacious. Patient. Good stuff. We got going, must’ve been sometime after eleven. I had a terrible time with my reeds, eventually switching to a fibracell halfway through the set. Going through all sorts of different humid climates will do that. Keefe played some really shredding solos, Anton sounded great, Marc did his thing. A good way to end the tour. Time to start booking the next one!