Posts Tagged ‘baker’

Went up to Sacramento on Memorial Day 2010 to play up at the Luna Cafe as part of the Nebraska Mondays series.  Good friend Brent Bagwell from Charlotte was meeting up there as well with his group the Eastern Seaboard with Seth Nanaa and Jordon Schranz. First Marches show in a bit – my schedule has been quite full – I think the last time we played was all the way back in January when Anton Hatwich was visiting from Chicago and we played at Blue Six. That was a nice show.

Since then I’ve added Doug Stuart to the group on bass – but unfortunately (for Marches), Gene Baker is moving to New York at the end of the week, so this lineup of Marches with his signature sound on the Hohner suitcase organ will be missing for the foreseeable future.  It was an early show at Luna and I thought we played real well – I had a great time playing with this lineup with Doug, Gene, Cory Wright on tenor & baritone and Jordan Glenn on drums.  Everyone put in a lot of good energy. Satisfying.

The Eastern Seaboard played the second set – focused free jazz explosions – I like hearing how Brent approaches the freedom – thoughtful, patient. The room at Luna is a good size for this kind of music.

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Traveled to New York City for a week of shows – the impetus of the trip was Larry Ochs asking Darren Johnston to bring a group to perform at the Stone. Darren asked Cylinder, and the timing worked out for all of us.  We’d originally thought of doing a trip similar to the one last September that we took to Chicago, where we played several dates, two as the quartet and two with Chicagoans. Unfortunately the situation in New York is a bit tougher to navigate without some funding, so we were only able to secure two dates: the Stone on Thursday March 18 and at the Douglass Street Music Collective on Friday the 19th. Lisa Mezzacappa also arranged an in-store for us at the Downtown Music Gallery on Sunday the 21st, Kjell couldn’t stay in town for that, so we played trio, which worked out pretty well.

Playing two nights in a row was a good experience for us, though I preferred the date at Douglass Street. My limited experience at the Stone doesn’t have me sold on it – though I appreciate the space as a performing environment and as an anchor for creative music in NYC, it doesn’t seem that musicians come to check each other out (partly because each show at 8 & 10 o’clock is a separate ticketed event), which is important when you’re not a particularly famous musician playing in Manhattan.  At Douglass Street we shared the night with Michael Bates’ Outside Sources – and it was good to see some New York musicians that I haven’t before, and felt good to play in front of them and the audience who came.  Michael’s group included Greg Tardy on tenor & clarinet, Josh Sinton on bass clarinet, Josh Deutsch on trumpet and Jeff Davis on drums. Nice players & interesting writing. A good turnout, and a fun hang afterwards with the musicians from Outside Sources.

As this was my first trip longer than 3 days in New York in quite awhile, I took the opportunity to arrange other dates and a few sessions. Played with Weasel Walter in two settings, the first night I got to town (wednesday the 17th) we played a trio with Damon Smith (in town for a different Stone show) at a space called Silent Barn out in Bushwick. Live-in show space – similar to spaces in West Oakland.  We played a pretty blistering set, and I’m feeling real good about my recently overhauled alto reacting well when I push it.  A date we played on Sunday the 20th was with Reuben Radding on bass and Daniel Carter on saxophones & trumpet, with Jen Baker joining us on an improvisation. I’ve been a fan of Daniel’s for quite a while, so it was a pleasure to play with him. A warm man – glad to meet him. That show was at Goodbye Blue Monday in Brooklyn, Lisa Mezzacappa arranged the date and played an improvised quintet with Ava Mendoza, Jason Mears, Darren Johnston & Jen Baker.

The other two dates with Matt Bauder – one was on Monday the 21st at Zebulon, the next tomorrow night at Issue Project Room as part of the Porter Records showcase event. At Zebulon we performed my suite “Kodachrome Music” for two horns & percussion with Harris Eisenstadt.  Their aesthetics work perfectly with that suite, which was inspired by a trip to Southern Utah a few years ago. The small crowd at Zebulon that “braved” the rainy night reacted well and really listened. I’m looking forward to the concert tomorrow night, we’ll be playing Bauder’s “Paper Gardens” with Jason Mears and Reuben Radding.

Definitely a good trip – got to see more parts of Brooklyn than I had in the past, and saw interesting exhibits at the Whitney and P.S.1. Great to meet and play with more musicians in New York.  Still not a place I want to move to. If I ever did, it’d have to be because of a particularly good opportunity……

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Played last night at the Uptown in Oakland. it was a busy night down there because of a Pixies concert happening across the street at the Fox Theatre. Hard to park! Thought I’d get a parking ticket, but was lucky….

Marches and the Oakland Active Orchestra played – Marches was up first, our line-up for the night was the organ version with Gene, Cory and Jordan. Good playing – we’re making some progress – I’m really into the way the organ fits in with the saxophones. We tried a new piece – maybe should’ve rehearsed it a bit more – but it’s been a busy time out here and it’s been tough fitting in enough rehearsals. The plan is to get some solid rehearsing in and then get into the studio so that we can have a release sometime early next year. We played on the floor of the Uptown – which is good for sound quality, but a little tricky for light. Gotta work on that…..

The Oakland Active Orchestra played our second show. This one was very good with new pieces by Cory Wright, Phillip Greenlief and Rob Ewing, plus an arrangement of Echoes of Harlem by Tom Djll. A wide range of music – particularly in Tom’s piece – one section the entire group explores the smallest range of dynamics with a quick transition to a section with two drummers going for it with a strong solo by Ewing. Had a few subs on the night – Erik Jekabsons on trumpet and Sam Ospovat on drums – they both sounded great and fit well aesthetically. Sam and Jordan playing drums together worked well – they had a good sense of playing at the same time without dominating the group.
We ended the night with Rob’s piece, one that is very patient and uses the entire ensemble simply – to create a slowly shifting re-harmonization of a chord -a fitting use of the group.

The full lineup for the group this night was:
Aaron Bennett: alto & tenor saxophones
Phillip Greenlief: clarinet, tenor saxophone
Aram Shelton: clarinet, soprano & alto saxophones
Cory Wright: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Tom Djll: trumpet
Erik Jekabson: trumpet
Rob Ewing: trombone
Kristian Aspelin: guitar
Marielle Jakobsons: violin
Lisa Mezzacappa: bass
Damon Smith: bass
Jordan Glenn: drums
Sam Ospovat: drums

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Frank Rosaly was in town! Part of a multiple week solo tour that stretched from Chicago through the southwest and out to the west coast.  Supporting his new solo album milkwork.  It was great to see Frank play solo – he’s such a great drummer and percussionist. A great feel in many different styles – in Milkwork he uses electronics that are really integrated into his kit. Using contact mics to get the sound in, the electronics utilize the feedback in a way that emphasizes the tones of the drums. A very sophisticated integration with seemingly basic tools. too short of a set Frankie – you should’ve played longer!

Ton Trio hasn’t played in a bit – Sam has moved back from Paris, so this should start happening more often… instead of a bass, I asked Gene Baker to fill in on organ. It worked out well – he’s able to support as both a bassist and keyboardist, which makes his role very flexible. Also, he and Sam have together a good deal in the past – so they have a solid relationship as a rhythm section. Our set was satisfying and there was a good turnout that night.

Frank and Renee stayed at my place in Oakland that night, but we unfortunately didn’t have too much time to hang the next day, I was doing sound at a concert at CNMAT that night, so had to be there early, and of course they had to drive back to Chicago…..

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There’s a monthly series happening at the Makeout Room in SF – first mondays of the month – the bay area is all about mondays – or so it seems sometimes….
So, Marches played our 3rd show – so far Cory, Jordan and I have been at all three – our bass / organ position has been moving around a bit, thankfully there’s good players out here that fit well into the music we’re playing. This night we had Eric Perney join us on bass, and he did a great job of interpreting the music. He’s a strong player, particularly when playing arco. We played a five song set, starting with the through composed ballad “the Walk”. On “Turning”, a kind of slow moving power waltz that disintegrates in an Aylerian way, my mouth completely dried out. It’s very hard to blow alot of air through a horn when you’ve got no more moisture…..Cory played some great tenor & baritone solos. Jordan took a drum solo that really changed the mood of the set ….KFJC came and documented the night with video and audio.
The first set was played by Nathan Clevengers sextet. In it I played tenor, alto and clarinet; Kasey Knudsen played alto & tenor; Sylvan Carton baritone & tenor; Sam Bevan bass; Eric Garland, drums; and Clevenger on the guitar. Nice tunes – interesting writing with independent parts for the different voices. We didn’t have a rehearsal – so I was pretty green on some of the arrangements… I also played mostly free solos, as specified by Nathan’s arrangements – these were good sections, Garland said it was the most interactive he’s felt while playing free. But, I did ask Nathan for some solos on changes the next time around.
Lords of the Outland played the middle set – alot of energy by that quartet of Rent Romus, CJ “Reaven” Borosque, Ray Scheaffer & Philip Everett. The crowd at Makeout was pretty talkative. The effect of having shows in bars that have happy hour until 10. Though, when you’re playing you don’t notice it quite as much as when you’re trying to listen.

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My new group is called Marches. I’m thinking of it as a compartmentalized group where the music can be played as a trio, quartet, quintet or larger. The music has been on my mind for a bit now – I played some of it back in April with Bauder, Ajemian and Eisestadt when I was in New York; played some of it in June with Keefe Jackson, Anton Hatwich and Marc Riordan in Chicago. But now I’ve brought it back to the West Coast where I wrote it and am starting to get some dates with Jordan Glenn on drums, Cory Wright on tenor & baritone saxes, Gene Baker on organ and Nate Brenner on bass. Like I said, the lineup can change. A few weeks ago I played some of the music with Gene and Jordan – and it was alot of fun.

Tonight was the debut of quartet style: played with Cory, Gene and Jordan at Blue Six in the Mission. Last month, when I was up in Oregon with Jordan and Cory, we played a show with Reed Wallsmith and Sly Pig, the saxophonists in the band Blue Cranes. They’re good fellows who play good music, and they were coming down for a California weekend. So, we shared the bill this night. They played the first set, and their music is very well written, with pop sensibilities and a full sound for a band. I had learned the secret code for “you’re getting too loud” and got concerned when I heard it used during their set, because in practice Marches has been pretty full. The music is active and energetic with strong melodies that need to be played with some volume. Also, I’m playing tenor in the group and my tenor setup – a Buescher Aristocrat – is not shy.

well, we played and as the set went on, we never got the cue to tone it down – either we weren’t that loud or Joe really liked it (I think the latter, after talking to him after the show). Again, playing the music was FUN – lots of energy – this band is a strong combination of players – Cory sounds especially great on tenor. We’ve got some work to tighten up the music, but from where we’re starting, I feel this will go somewhere good. Here’s a track called Pacheco. I wrote it with Ton Trio in mind, but it works very well with this group. I’m playing tenor, Cory’s on baritone.

In other news: looks like the Fast Citizens album we made in January will be coming out this fall on Delmark Records! It will be released in October – it’s very good news…..

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Last night played at the Climate Theater in SF with Jordan Glenn and Gene Baker. Michael Coleman had asked me to bring a group for the night, he was playing in his trio Beep with Nate Brenner on bass and Jordan on drums. Our original plan was to improvise, but last minute I thought of bringing some music along – a few pieces that Ton Trio played when we were over in Europe this spring, and some other things. Real glad I did. Plying with Gene and Jordan was great – we improvised and played the tunes, Gene held it down on the Hohner Organ – his bass concept fitting in perfectly on the pieces I brought. I played alto and tenor – the tenor has been fun to get back to (picked one up of the craigslist about a month ago). There was good energy the whole set, and really strong improvising. Basically I had alot of fun playing with those fellows and can’t wait for the next time.

Beep! Trio played next – Michael & Nate are great players – and Jordan, subbing for Sam Ospovat, fit in real well with their style. Lots of influences on the music, definitely not a standard piano trio.
So, a good night of music, my first time at the Climate – it’s a good space to play in, with good sound and a proper atmosphere. thanks to David for the show.

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