tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1 2013-05-16T17:56:34Z Words About Music by Greg Burk and Friends Movable Type 3.38 tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.914 2013-05-16T17:37:52Z 2013-05-16T17:56:34Z

Fri. May 17 -- Really a hot one tonight when top Brazilian death dealers Krisiun (most punishing rhythms, most harmful riffs) meet speedy prog deathsters Arsis (pictured guitarist James Malone has been on a creative bender, including the harsh new "Unwelcome"). With Autumn's End, Nihilitus and maybe more. At Vex Art & Culltural Center, 5240 Alhambra Ave., East L.A. 90032; doors 7pm; $14; (800) 660-9015; www.8thdaytix.com. Sat. May 18 -- Heavier than the average fusion: Ace session guitarist Michael Landau leads his trio with bassist Travis Carlton and drummer Alan Hertz. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $25; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com. Sun. May 19 -- I wouldn't send ya down the coast if it weren't an important occasion like singer Julie Christensen's closest regional gig before she moves to Nashville. Grab the ex-Divine Horsewoman's current "Weeds Like Us," with its for-real soul vibe and magnetic storytelling, and listen to it all the time. (Get it online here or on iTunes, Amazon, whatever.) Sure, visit the Queen Mary while you're in the harbor. At Grace First Presbyterian Church, 3955 N. Studebaker Road, Long Beach 90808; 2pm; $20. Sun. May 19 -- SASSAS, which brings L.A. the most rarefied and original music from around the world, holds its annual "Blast!" benefit with Dos (Mike Watt & Kira Roessler on duelling basses), Lou Barlow, Dani Tull, Killsonic and the Dublab DJs at somebody's luxurious San Marino home, with food & drink & art auction. Buy tix ($30-$50) here. Wed. May 22 -- Organist Larry Goldings emphasizes the groove side of his jazz with a quartet featuring Jay Bellerose, David Piltch and Sebastian Aymanns on the third Wednesday of his May residency. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $15; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com. Thurs. May 23 -- Jeff Hanneman of Slayer died a couple of weeks back, and now it's time to pay tribute to a Cali axman who helped define metal from the '80s onward. No performers have been announced for the memorial, but it's a fair guess that there will be music. At Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 3:30-7:30pm; FREE (first come, first served, and be prepared for traffic).
* * *
Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.913 2013-05-09T23:34:44Z 2013-05-11T20:01:49Z

Fri. May 10 -- Virtuoso among guitar virtuosos Yngwie Malmsteen may have made a slip by playing all the instruments himself on his current "Spellbound," but he's got a band here (including longtime drummer Patrick Johansson), and the shredding Swede is kicking his whole classically influenced metallic catalog whilst also flogging his biography, "Relentless." Read a review from the Cleveland tour opener a couple weeks ago here.At House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; 9pm; $30; (323) 848-5100; www.livenation.com. Fri.-Sat. May 10 -- Just thought I'd remind ya that big-blowin' tenor man Azar Lawrence is still holding down the weekends with his quartet, which features excellent vets Henry Franklin (bass) and Theo Saunders (piano), and drummer Alphonse Mouzon has returned after having been on the road with the Miles Smiles band. Plus, this just in: Olympian singer Dwight Trible joins the gang Saturday as special guest. At the RG Club, 2536 Lincoln Blvd., Venice 90291; 9 & 11pm; $15; (310) 822-1715; rgclubvenice.com. Fri.-Sat. May 10-11 -- When trombonist Alan Ferber puts together an "expanded ensemble," it means you get more colors and counter-rhythms with yer melodic modern jazz, not just more loudness. A connected dude with access to top swingers. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $15; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com. Sat. May 11 -- Tributes ain't usually my thing, but this re-creation of Led Zeppelin's 1973 Tampa Stadium gig by The Moby Dicks looks like fun due to the quality of the masked men: Brian Tichy (Ozzy, Whitesnake), Brent Woods (Sebastian Bach, Vince Neil), Chas Smith (Jason Bonham) and James LoMenzo (Black Label Society, Megadeth). Opening are Falling Still (8pm), Diamonds Under Fire (9pm) and American Made (10pm). At the Viper Room, 8852 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; 11pm; $20; (310) 652-7869; www.viperroom.com. Sat. May 11 -- Sometimes you just don't want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo on a Sunday, so why not wait for today's "Thrasho de Mayo" and see MOD, Morbid Saint, Idolatry, Fueled by Fire, Ghoul, Witchaven and a dozen more on a day after which you can recover at leisure? At Vex Art & Culltural Center, 5240 Alhambra Ave., East L.A. 90032; doors 3pm; $30; (800) 660-9015; tickets here. Sat. May 11 -- It must be metal since it's titled "Mother": Tonight's "Hoopla!" presentation, hosted by Erika Schickel, assembles writers, comedians and lurkers such as Sandra Tsing Loh, Weba Garretson, Amy Simon, Gayle Brandeis and Samantha Dunn for "modern vaudeville." At Fais Do Do, 5257 W. Adams Blvd., LA 90016; 6pm; $10; (323) 931-4636. Mon. May 13 -- Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker always stirs up some alchemy with his slippery lines and electronic savvy, here in a trio with bassist Chris Lopes and drummer Chad Taylor (who've been with him for nearly three decades); the duo of Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel opens. At the Del Monte Speakeasy in Townhouse, 52 Windward Ave., Venice 90291; doors 9pm; $10; (310) 392-4040; www townhousevenice.com. Tues. May 14 -- Don't take Motorhead for granted; Lemmy's liver won't hold out forever. With Anvil (stars of the heartbreaking documentary) and Kemical Kill. At Club Nokia, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., downtown 90015; 8:30pm; $40-$50; www.ticketmaster.com. Wed. May 15 -- Raging twin guitars, humpin' drums, nasty cut-'em-up (yet melodic) vocals -- pretty hard to argue with Pasadena's Holy Grail. With Behold! The Monolith, Gravehill, Metallica tributors Cliff 'Em All and (sigh) a pornstar competition. At the Viper Room, 8852 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; doors 8pm; $12; (310) 652-7869; www.viperroom.com. Thurs. May 16 -- Jeff Parker Trio (see Monday). At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $15; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com. Thurs. May 16 -- Never too early to celebrate the birthday of goodtime trombonist Phil Ranelin, which is actually nine days down the road. With windmen Pablo Calogero & Jacob Sesceny, pianist Mahesh Balasooriya, bassist Aneesa Al-Musawwir and, just to toss in somebody whose name we can pronounce, drummer Don Littleton. In the park across the courtyard from Barbara Morrison's Performing Arts Center, 4305 Degnan Blvd., Suite 101, Leimert Park 90008; 7:30 & 9:30pm; $20; (323) 296-2272; www.barbaramorrison.com.
* * * Gotta say a belated something about Andy Johns, who died April 7 from bleeding ulcers. The distinction between engineer and producer frequently blurs, but all a top band usually wants is to get a SOUND in the studio, and thanks largely to Andy Johns and his older brother Glyn Johns, the early 1970s marked an era of rock reproduction that has never been equaled in combining power, balance, shading and punch. Andy's hands rested on the knobs during sessions for some of the best-sounding albums of all time, including "Blind Faith," "Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti," Jethro Tull's "Stand Up," Traffic's "John Barleycorn Must Die," Free's "Heartbreaker," Spooky Tooth's "Spooky Two" and Mott the Hoople's "Brain Capers." He's most famous, though, as the master auditor who gathered up the tapes from the Rolling Stones' 1972 "Exile on Main St.," slaved over the chaotically recorded, sweat-stained, drug-soaked tracks for months, and emerged with the layered blues magic of rock's greatest album. He knew what rock music should sound like, and he made it sound that way. A deep bow to a supreme technical artist. * * *
Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.912 2013-05-03T15:03:11Z 2013-05-04T00:26:47Z

Billy Childs celebrates his birthday on the more electric wing of his wide-spannig repertoire with bassist Jimmy Johnson, drummer Joey Heredia and windman Katisse Buckingham. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $25; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com. Fri. May 3 -- Greg Stuart & Michael Pisaro present electronic music that cools, rumbles and lets you breathe. At The Wulf, 1026 S. Santa Fe Ave. #203, downtown 90021; 8pm; free or cheap; (213) 488-1182; www.thewulf.org. Fri. May 3 -- Charles Owens, one of the last saxists who knows jazz from the soles up, leads an ensemble. You'll hear some standards and, if you egg him on, some orange-haired overblowing. At LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90036; 6-8pm; FREE; Friday summer jazz schedule here. Sat. May 4 -- Guitarist Page Hamilton's jaggedly monolithic metal assault (with a touch of jazz) Helmet, which hit big a couple decades back, returns for a vital club date. Preceded by Goldsboro, The Knife Outline, Rooftop Revolutionaries. At the Viper Room, 8852 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; Helmet 11pm; $20; (310) 652-7869; www.viperroom.com. Sat. May 4 -- Sounds like a wild evening with world trance groovers Maetar (dig 'em for real), special guest Lili Haydn, instant painter Norton Wisdom, DJ Jason Saavy and "dance/magic & fans" from Ariane Labyrinth. Hmmm . . . At the Syrup Loft, 939 Maple Ave. #301, downtown 90015; doors 9pm, music 10pm & midnight; $10; espresso, food & full bar; (323) 719-1240. Sat. May 4 -- Helluva jazz team hits the stage tonight; probably should have played them instead of the Lakers. Pianist Brad Mehldau remains the most delicate brain-twister around, still exploiting the spontaneously counterthudding bass of Larry Grenadier; drummer Jeff Ballard fills out the trio with hastening energy. To open you get not only the sparkling abstractions and modern pop references of The Bad Plus (Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson, David King) but a brilliant trad-plus saxist who used to play with Mehldau, fella named Joshua Redman. A CAP presentation at UCLA's Royce Hall; 8pm; $20-$55; www.cap.ucla.edu. Sat. May 4 -- Viola player Miguel Atwood-Ferguson always has a host of the city's best musicians to play out his highly listenable adventures, and since it's his birthday, you can even kick that up a notch. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $20 advance, $25 door; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com. Sat. May 4 -- The Carnegie Stage seems to be the music spot to hit at the South Pasadena Eclectic Music Festival & Art Walk, cuz tru-jazz trumpeter Elliott Caine will be on it at 7pm, and Blasters echobilly guitarist Dave Alvin steps up at 8:15. At the Community Room of the South Pasadena Public Library, 1115 El Centro St., South Pasadena 91030; free. Sat. May 4 -- The women of Eclipse Quartet hit Microfest in a program of microtonal/just intonated music by Ben Johnston and Kyle Gann. Man, they nail it. At Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena 91106; 8pm; $25 ($20 students & seniors); (626) 683-6883; www.bostoncourt.com. Sun. May 5 -- Wonder where the wonder went? The jazz avant still rules right here on the first Sunday of every month. This time it's the Brad Dutz Quartet (with windman Paul Sherman, bass clarinetist Jim Sullivan and cellist Chris Votek playing the vibraphonist-drummer's challenging antirhythms) and the Walsh Set Trio (bassist Colin Burgess and drummer Trevor Anderies jam free with outsider clarinetist Brian Walsh). At Center for the Arts, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 7pm; $10; (626) 795-4989. Sun. May 5 -- SASSAS presents the experimental Australia/Norway duo Jim Denley & Kim Myhr, a.k.a. Mural, with nine L.A. musicians including Ted Byrnes and Greg Stuart, on a striking hilltop. Denley is "one of the people I play with most," writes ex-L.A. microtonalist Kraig Grady from his adoptive Australian home -- a damn good recommendation. At Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, 6300 Hetzler Road, Culver City 90232, 5pm; free. Tues. May 7 -- With Charles Lloyd, with Greg Osby, with many others and with his own units, Jason Moran has proved to be one of this generation's signature pianists. Dude has chops, sensitivity, imagination and a historical perspective that few can match; glad you still have a chance to hear The Bandwagon (Moran plus bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits) in a smaller venue like this. A presentation of the Jazz Bakery's Movable Feast at the Musicians Institute, 1655 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood 90028; 9pm; $25; www.jazzbakery.org. Wed. May 8 -- Soulful organist Larry Goldings pushes into the second Wednesday of his May residency with a "new sounds" concept featuring Gabe Noel, Zach Harmon, Keefus Green and special guests. He's a relaxer. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $15; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com. Thurs. May 9 -- Saxist Kamasi Washington ranks as a real star among the younger crop of South L.A. musicians, blowing strong & rooted. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $10; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
* * *
Metal warrior Jeff Hanneman died yesterday -- liver failure, spider bite, rock burnout. "Mandatory Suicide," yes. He'd probably hate the notion, but Hanneman was Slayer's avant-jazz guy. His demonic guitar solos conformed to no recognizable scales; his whammy-bar bends smeared borders of notes and chords. Transcending the label "musician," Hanneman was controlled chaos incarnate. Birthed many of Slayer's weirdest riffs and most extreme lyric concepts, too. You don't play like Hanneman from going to school, you do it by making your instrument an extension of your heart. And Hanneman had a raging, raging heart.
Bend a knee for country legend George Jones, who died a week ago. I got to witness his vocal acrobatics one time, and I mean to tell you, hoss, it was like Dolphy. Rest in peace, Possum.
Leni Stern's birthday at the Blue Whale 4/28 was a charge. Draped in black, her blond hair all puffed out in bangs, Stern rocked Strat, n'goni and calabash, waxing funky, folky and African by turns. We dug the dissonant chord she hit when referencing global hunger in "10,000 Butterflies," her loveworn duo with bassist Edwin Livingston on "Now I Close My Heart," and her spine-twitchingly dissonant "symmetrical" improvisations (a mode learned from Argentinian pianist Leo Genovese) on "The Cat Stole the Moon." Stern was about the only guitarist I'd heard play like that until guest Adam Levy later forsook his ultra-refined Steely Dan-isms and pulled off the same damn intervallic method in tribute. Guest guitarist Jeff Richmond slipslided elegantly, and guest accordionist Henry Spurgeon added both textural depth and a solid understanding of the African rhythms, which were personified throughout by Senegalese hand drummer Alioune Faye -- you would not believe the range of sounds this smiling devil can slap out. Stern's one artist I rarely miss, because she brings the freshness every single time.
Bet you didn't know Kevin Chown, bassist with Bombastic Meatbats and Tarja Turunen, had epilepsy. Well, he just had brain surgery in an attempt to correct it, and he could use some help with the nasty deductible. Contribute to the cause here.
* * *
Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.909 2013-04-24T18:23:00Z 2013-04-25T14:52:55Z

When Leni Stern -- the guitar/n'goni player, singer, songwriter and honorary African -- was in L.A. in February, I sat down with her and a couple of her friends.

When Leni Stern -- the guitar/n'goni player, singer, songwriter and honorary African -- was in L.A. in February, I sat down with her and a couple of her friends, violinist-accordionist Henry Spurgeon and agent Janet Williamson. Here I'll share the part of the conversation that related to Stern's African-influenced music, including her current "Smoke, No Fire," an album that arose from the heat of last year's Malian civil war. (Yes, she was in the middle of it.) It was a sunny day on the leafy terrace of Silverlake Coffee. "Ah!" exhaled Leni, who was visiting from storm-tossed New York, her American base with her husband, ace guitarist Mike Stern. "California!" * * * "When I played in Salif Keita's band, the dancing was an intricate part -- trying to dance to what you didn't think was the downbeat, and play at the same time. There was confusion, because it's polyrhythmic -- several rhythms going on at the same time -- so you pick one and step to that. I'm directionally challenged -- everybody goes to the right; I'm going to the left! "That's how I learned most of my African things -- being yelled at by Salif Keita and Bassekou Kouyate, and of course studying with Prince, Salif's calabash player and mine, and more recently studying with Alioune Faye, my very own percussionist. "I have a Senegalese trio now [with Faye and bassist Mamadou Ba]. It's heavier, and you can get into the nuances of rhythm if you choose one country. In Senegal there are sooo many different rhythms. I'm a fan of mbalax -- slow, fast, love that stuff! "The trio played for the first time when all my other usual bandmates from my big pan-African percussion group couldn't make it. I said, 'I've got the gig, let's just do the three of us and see what happens.' And we all looked at each other after the show, and we said, 'We're not gonna go back.' It just naturally happened. "Alioune and Mamadou have a special thing. They used to have a really successful band, Lamzo, when they were 18-year-olds in Senegal; they had a big hit called 'Simba.' I've heard their records -- they have bootlegs of their own band. So they've been playing together for 20 years. "At the beginning, they totally lost me all the time, because they have all these breaks and things that they have been playing for the last 20 years. And when Alioune does a percussion solo, someone has to hold down the beat so that he can take off, so I became the designated holder-downer. I do it on the calabash; I hit it with my rings on, with my fist, with a big microphone underneath. "They used to take off on me, and I'd be standing onstage, going, 'Let me know when you want me to join you again!' Studying African percussion changed that completely, because everything revolves around it. That is the center, the key that unlocks the door. It's so amazing when everything falls into place and you ask yourself, 'How come I didn't see it before . . .?'" We won't get into the rest of the conversation, which included, among other topics, the Malian Tuareg tribe stealing Al Qaeda's buried gasoline, cigarette smuggling as a base for Malian politics, Tuareg vs. Bambara tribal racism, the haplessness of the Malian Army, sustainable social progress, the marvel of American Noodle Dancing, the dangers of vintage-guitar theft, African etiquette for eating spicy food, Philip Glass' environmental music, and peculiarities of different avian species. Hummingbirds, for instance. Stern renamed her music company Lenibird Inc., and the day before, she had gotten a third photorealistic hummingbird tattooed on her calf. After coffee, she needed to put her leg up on a chair to avoid the swelling that sometimes happens after a needling session. I looked up, and a couple of hummingbirds had hovered over to check out the artwork. Must have been listening.
* * *
Sunday, April 28, is Leni Stern's birthday. She'll be playing the Blue Whale with a special celebratory band featuring hand drummer Alioune Faye, violinist-accordionist Henry Spurgeon, guitarist Adam Levy, guitarist Jeff Richmond, bassist Edwin Livingston and more friends. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.910 2013-04-24T15:29:55Z 2013-04-25T15:43:39Z

David Bowie called his 1977 album "Low" because he was trying to avoid being high on cocaine all the time.

David Bowie called his 1977 album "Low" because he was trying to avoid being high on cocaine all the time. That made drug-soaked Berlin an odd choice of refuge, but it accounts for the raw, disjointed character of the three albums that gestated there: "Low," "Heroes" and "Lodger." Eno was around to provide textural inspiration; Iggy was around to provide bent energy and a creative outlet for Pop side projects ("The Idiot," "Lust for Life"). The music marked another major change from the rock and soul Bowie had been mining for the previous several years -- it was born just as punk was breaking, and darkly colored by previous industrial instigators such as Pere Ubu, Devo and Joy Division, with a touch of Krautrock. Berlin Bowie puzzled the public but riveted avantists. I ran into local out-drummer Rich West at this Blue Whale gig, and he said this was his favorite Bowie period. Another fan is well-traveled session guitarist and producer Scrote, who conceived this revisitation, played some ax and sang most of Bowie's parts. He gathered quite a few excellent musicians, some of whom I've heard in other contexts. Squeezing their names into this little blurb would choke the flow, so I'm just listing them at the bottom. Probably there were more. Starting with some jagged guitar squonks that led into the big slapbeat of "Speed of Life," the cover cavalcade came off as garagey, but true and fun. Scrote settled on hookier selections -- "Breaking Glass," "Sound and Vision," "Beauty and the Beast," "Yassassin" -- and represented the substantial Berlin quotient of atmospheric instrumentals with short between-song jams. Good idea. This live thing differed from the records mainly in density. Where the studio versions ran spare, this group doubled a lot of melodic lines (guitar & sax, synth & guitar, guitar & guitar), which churned up a loose, reverb-like feel. Although the drummers nailed the mechanistically human attack of Bowie skinsman Dennis Davis, there was no way they could have duplicated the technical trickery -- noise gating, I think -- that made every beat sound like a muffled gunshot. One ear-grabber: Tonight's acoustic piano dragged the bizarre Mike Garson chromatic fantasias of "Aladdin Sane"-era Bowie a few years forward into smokestack Berlin. And we got a special jolt when the group slammed into the insistent beat and "heroic" Robert Fripp guitar sustain of "Heroes," the biggest hit from that period. That tune used to depress me, but this take made me want to punch a Congressman. The nearly full house bobbed their heads; some even danced a little. Most everybody was into the spirit. Not exactly Berlin? No problem.
Scrote - guitar Tim Young - guitar Jeff Babko - piano, synthesizers Peter Adams - keys, synthesizers Ron Dziubla - saxes Celia Chavez, Marcus Blake - backing vocals Tim Lefebvre - bass Danny Frankel - percussion Greg Errico - drums David Poe, John Gold, and others - singers and guests
PHOTOS BY FUZZY BERN. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.908 2013-04-22T15:44:34Z 2013-04-22T15:51:00Z

There's one sure way to improve on the toothless CALM Act. Read Burk's story here.

here.]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.906 2013-04-12T01:48:56Z 2013-04-13T19:23:07Z

Chick Corea & Stanley Clarke make you think of furious Return to Forever fusion circa 1975. They've grown up now, which is permissible, and they're featuring vintage soul flutist Hubert Laws, who's been getting around town lately. At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8:30 & 10:30pm (7:30 & 9:30 Sun.); $40-$50; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com. Sat. April 13 -- Lizzy Borden, master of disguise and early stalwart of Sunset Strip metal, celebrates 30 years of radical, inventive entertainment, having survived many lineup changes and the deaths of two guitarists to rev it up for a commemorative tour playing tunes from every album. The vocalist/actor's band includes original drummer Joey Scott, with bassist Marten Andersson and guitarist Dario Lorina. Also rocking: classic-metal revivalists White Wizzard plus Faded Sun, Chemical Burn, Fall of Man, Shadowplay. At the Whisky, 8901 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; doors 6pm; $20; all ages; www.whiskyagogo.com; (310) 652-4202. Sat. April 13 -- They say that death metal was named after the Florida band Death, which expired with the 2001 demise of leader Chuck Schuldiner. Reviving the legacy as Death to All are early-'90s Death members Paul Masvidal, Steve Di Giorgio and Sean Reinert (with vocalist Max Phelps), harvesting the group's most fertile seeds to benefit the musician charity Sweet Relief. You also get Agent Steel spinoff Masters of Metal, and Anciients. At House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; 8:30pm; $31; all ages; (323) 848-5100; www.livenation.com. Sat. April 13 -- Microfest brings out the stringed side of quarter-tone/just-intonated music with California guitar courtesy of The Living Earth Show, Giacomo Fiore, Garry Eister and Alex Wand. At Art Share, 801 E. Fourth Pl., downtown 90013; 8pm; $20; free parking across the street at 321 S. Hewitt; (213) 687-4278; www.microfest.org. Sat. April 13 -- You can count on the 20-piece CalArts Large Ensemble to telegraph the jazz of the future, today featuring compositions by Lauren Baba, Andrew Rowan, Vinny Golia and Marc Lowenstein. At CalArts' Wild Beast Pavilion, 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia 91355; 5pm; FREE; register for tickets here. Sun. April 14 -- Singer Dwight Trible and pianist Billy Childs, two musicians with the history and the chops to know how, pay tribute to the late multidisciplinary vocalist and thespian Oscar Brown Jr., because they feel his art needs to be remembered. "Cosmic Oscar," they're calling this event. A presentation of the Jazz Bakery's Movable Feast at the Musicians Institute, 1655 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood 90028; 8pm; $25; www.jazzbakery.org. Tues. April 16 -- I thought there was something different about Suffocation's new "Pinnacle of Bedlam," and sure enough, the diminished emphasis on evil rumble is due to the replacement of ingenious drummer Mike Smith with whirlwind doublekicker Dave Culross. The New York death-metal vets still bristle with the divebomb guitar solos and Transylvanian riffs of Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais, not to mention the dirty growl of Frank Mullen, though, so don't worry -- the new record might even stock more hooks than 2009's Stygian cardiopulmonary workout "Blood Oath." With Exhumed, Jungle Rot, Rings of Saturn, Adimiron. At Vex Art & Culltural Center, 5240 Alhambra Ave., East L.A. 90032; 6pm; $25; (800) 660-9015; www.8thdaytix.com. Tues. April 16 -- I was just squinting at the Red Hot Chili Peppers' TV performance on (I think) last year's Rock Hall Awards, and thinking what a monster foot Chad Smith possesses, when I saw that Smith was gonna be doing a Bombastic Meatbats show since the Peppers are in the region for Coachella. He's had to cede his seat to Kenny Aronoff (a killer) in recent Meatbats shows, so now's your chance to see Smith with guitarist Jeff Kollman, keyboardist Ed Roth and bassist Kevin Chown, laying down the slick soul funk fusion he learned in his native Deetroit. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $25; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Live notes: Syd Straw at McCabe's, 4/5/13. Dunno how Syd managed to fuel the mirth machine between songs about loved ones' death, but the former Golden Palominos singer gave the sold-out house the full ride in a generous two-hours-plus cavalcade. Her songs of a wedding and a funeral and misplaced love rambled through cyclic entrancements as she made intimate observations of tuneful wisdom punctuated by mighty cries pulled dripping from the depths of her lungs. And then she'd make a joke about her ass. Actually, she talked almost as much as she played, but that's always a major part of her thing. Several dudes provided on & off accompaniment to Syd's Telecaster strum, including Willie Aron on guitar & voice, Robert Lloyd on mandolin & keys, Severo Journacion on bass, Mark Boone Jr. (of TNT's "Sons of Anarchy") on guitar, and a certain Dave Alvin on echoing tornado Strat and duet vox. Syd was the best I've seen her, and nobody was bored for a minute. Mid-evening, Cindy Lee Berryhill (& son!) came downstairs for a mini-set with Syd, lilting a couple of her own homespun tunes plus the Beach Boys' "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times," which Syd said had 102 chords (pretty close, with ninths and diminished augmented 17ths or something all over the place; impressive that CLB could remember 'em all). Berryhill's husband, prototypal music journalist Paul Williams, had died two weeks before, so that fit with the overall theme. Chris Morris was there, and he wrote some true stuff about that here. Good to see ya, Chris. Good to see most everybody else I know. And good to be there. * * *
Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.904 2013-04-04T21:53:12Z 2013-04-04T21:57:24Z

Seven-string guitarist Jan Zehrfeld tricks you into thinking you're gonna hear something comfortable, and then he hijacks you into his alternate galaxy.

Let's say you're Albert Einstein. How do you get attention? You're a genius, but that hurts the cause. So you cultivate photogenic hair. You take controversial stands against fascism and racism. Maybe you hang out with Marilyn Monroe. Seven-string guitarist Jan Zehrfeld, leader of the German-Austrian band Panzerballett, faces a similar genius issue: He imagines impossible combinations of notes and rhythms, and he wants to get them heard. So he tricks you into thinking you're gonna hear something comfortable, and then he hijacks you into his alternate galaxy. It's like the way Charlie Parker mutated "I've Got Rhythm," or the way Ornette Coleman refracted "Embraceable You," or even the way Pablo Picasso reperceived, y'know, the form of a guitar. But more totally. More aggressively. Not that the shy Zehrfeld comes off as a menace. And he doesn't load his populist probes with Olympian contempt, as Frank Zappa preferred. He loves the baser materials he works with. Like funk. On their current album, "Tank Goodness," Panzerballett enlisted the trumpet of fusion icon Randy Brecker while versionizing the Brecker Brothers' "Some Skunk Funk," and at a recent NYC show, Brecker stopped by to nod approval. Tonight, PB showcased the same arrangement via the twin guitars of Zehrfeld and Joe Doblhofer, duelling with harsh incandescence in an unprecedented five-units-to-the-beat display. "That shit," Zehrfeld deadpanned, "is HARD." Or reggae. After a stunning stereophonic workout -- the two axmen alternating rapid single notes in a complex skank riff -- Doblhofer took the lead on "Zehrfunk," moving from Leni Stern melodic slow burn to blazing overdrive, his wah pedal cocked in low-mid position the way Michael Schenker favors. Or metal. Zehrfeld said "The Sax Dictator" was inspired by a metal band hurling cow blood, but the intense waves of layered anti-rhythms behind Alexander Von Hagke's fluidly gutty tenor were hardly so random. Zehrfeld offered between-song explanations for what the quintet was about to accomplish, useful because unless your brain had a couple of extra hemispheres, sorting out the mathematics would be futile. (One recent web commentator complained that Panzerballett were out of sync sometimes -- ha. But here in the Home of Fusion, one knowledgeable observer yelled, after the fractured alien yanks that concluded the Arabic Jah polyrhythms of "Mustafari Like Di Carnival," "Your timing is off the page!" Off as in ON, that is.) Or . . . jazz. Panzerballet's explosion of "Giant Steps" bore some relation to John Coltrane's original -- which used to be considered a difficult tune -- but it sounded more like five runaway trains tearing through Grand Central in opposite directions. These dudes know true heft. When Zehrfeld's noggin twitched during his tribute to the big riffs of Pantera, and when Doblhofer took a gleeful rip from the high-string arpeggios of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck," we could tell that the headbanging side of Panzerballett was no put-on. But Von Hagke's observant posture, Doblhofer's occasional Spanish lyricism and the effortless bass-&-drums finesse of Heiko Jung and Sebastian Lanser almost made us forget the consistent level of superskilled intensity we were experiencing. Almost. Throughout the set, Zehrfeld (resplendent in Allan Holdsworth T-shirt) kept advising us to sit back and relax. The first time, we thought he meant it. * * * I also reviewed Panzerballett a year and a half ago here.
PHOTOS BY FUZZY BURG. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.901 2013-03-20T15:56:16Z 2013-03-20T21:10:05Z

Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet at the Blue Whale, 3/15/13. New band, new material, first of three nights, everybody's got sheet music. Rising star trumpeter Akinmusire says he's been teaching at USC and trying to remember how to play live (ha), so here he goes. Pianist Joshua White frames and disframes a summery piece that modulates in unusual ways. Throughout, he'll pull clashy note sequences into a surging flow, bringing beauty and aggro together so we don't feel slapped; he concentrates powerful forces during one group maelstrom by just plinking one key, dink-dink-dink-dink, funny and great. The first couple of selections feel pretty California, but Akinmusire senses we can handle more, and cranks up both the energy and the concepts, of which he's got many -- the structures often feel like, "What if we tried this time signature against this rhythm, and stairstepped the chords thusly," not too organic but intellectually aerobic. Quiet and babyfaced, he nevertheless rips his lips with concentrated determination and glowing fire. I think the meditation at the end is "Regret (No More)," where he milks every tone and shape to communicate that regret abandoned doesn't mean emotion lost. Guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise) carves clean lines written out for him, but anybody could do that; what others can't do are moments like one intro, where he layers effects/notes into subtle pastel washes, and aaaah. Drummer Jonathan Pinson has pals in the audience; he responds to their cheers with an ever-shifting rattle-tat, implying a groove even when there ain't one, making it look easy (we know better). Typical of the room, we can't hear bassist Dave Robaire that well, too bad. Akinmusire continues to grow. And he lets us watch. Thanks! Jodie Landau & friends at his house, 3/17/13. Jodie Landau is 20, and he's not drinking on St. Patrick's Day. The shyly confident malletman-singer's idea of celebration is to gather a slew of musicians he really likes, and let them do their thing whilst they separately help him execute his own coloristic modern compositions. Mark Menzies situates concise statements in open contexts where implications can unfold -- his violin in spiraling duo with bassoonist Jonathan Stehney's counterpoints and rich multiphonic overblowing; his piano overtones echoing and overlapping until they fill the room. Pianist Cathlene Pineda writes so pretty, and her choice of Kris Tiner as the passionate trumpet voice for one gorgeously sorrowful composition proves beyond sympathetic. Vivacious Beth Schenck blows a ton of alto, and applies it to a quite original, wildly churning arrangement for four saxes. Trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom introduces his new quintet, which includes some of his usual accomplices (fluid psycho guitarist Alex Noice, penetrating alto man Gavin Templeton, swing-splattering drummer Dan Schnelle) plus the astounding two-hand-tapped Warr guitar/bass of Kai Kurosawa. They bring intensity to their multifusionistic aesthetic, and even if the music's mostly in the head, it leaves an impression like a ninja throwing star. As the parade of excellence proceeds without slack from mini-set to mini-set, Landau's own contributions (with different lineups accompanying his vibraphone, marimba and voice) stand equal: his Björk cover, his serio-comic operetta, and especially his first offering, a pensively fraught, delicately balanced piece that comes off as personal and, yes, mature. Quite an evening. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.900 2013-03-15T17:18:25Z 2013-03-15T17:24:19Z

With a mini-review of Lloyd's new record.

Fri. March 15 -- Today, Charles Lloyd, his New Quartet and friends celebrate his 75th birthday with a performance at New York's Metropolitan Museum. California residents can see him June 8 at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, where he'll play in duo with quartet mate and international star pianist Jason Moran. Which also happens to be the format for Lloyd's sensitive new ECM recording, "Hagar's Song," where Lloyd and Moran plumb their several years of partnership to achieve one singular, limitlessly intuitive voice. Any Lloyd offering hardly needs to beg our attention. And next month's boxed reissue of his first five ECM recordings provides a welcome opportunity to revisit his inspiring late-'80s re-emergence. AND "Song" itself raises heart-stirring signposts from Lloyd's long career: Duke & Strayhorn, Billie & Fatha, Charles & Ornette, The Band & Brian. But now, when inroads against the 1965 Voting Rights Act are being pursued, seems an especially appropriate time to revisit, as Lloyd does here, the subject of slavery. Lloyd introduces the concern with a nuanced reading of the "Porgy and Bess" standard "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," and amplifies it on four wind instruments with his own "Hagar Suite," a slave's journey from family severance to fearful isolation to meditative transcendence. Hagar was Lloyd's great-grandmother; her name means "stranger"; her biblical namesake was a slave who bore Abraham a son -- Ishmael, progenitor of a parallel exiled race. We need to remember. Fri.-Sun. March 15-17 -- Young Ambrose Akinmusire is shaping up as the softly probing trumpet voice of his generation. Having worked with many established leaders (Steve Coleman, Stefon Harris, Wayne Shorter and many more, including, yup, Jason Moran) and made a highly praised debut record, Akinmusire was featured prominently in last year's Angel City Jazz Festival, and these three nights mark a whale of a showcase for his melodic yet intellectually rigorous music. Reserve early. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $15; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com. Thurs. March 21 -- It's '70s retro night with bluesy crunch & Hammond from Clutch, classic drone & moan from Orange Goblin, soulful reggae from Lionize and raging guitar smash-up from Scorpion Child. Good bill, top to bottom. At House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; 7:30pm; $25; all ages; (323) 848-5100; www.livenation.com. * * *
Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.899 2013-03-12T21:45:10Z 2013-03-12T21:57:41Z

Ferrell just sings, sings with more range and flex than any guitar or sax can manage, and judging by the full house this night, and the packed patio waiting 1.5 hours for the second show, folks know it.

For a change I didn't want to splash gin on papyrus whilst clubbing, so I wasn't gonna write about this. But Rachelle Ferrell did it so wild that a few words seem mandatory. Ferrell (accent on syl 2) got in my tardy face a decade after her recorded debut; the occasion was her George Duke-produced 2000 Capitol slab, "Individuality (Can I Be Me?)," which sported so much rhythmic juju that it nearly backseated the ear-wringing marvel of her voice. Since then, she's issued no studio material, while always saying more's imminent. Meanwhile, you could YouTube her: pouring out the gospel, painting Sistines on the standards, vocally grieving at Bernie Mac's funeral -- generally demonstrating that the distinctions among pop, soul, jazz and everything else don't mean a damn thing to her. Ferrell just sings, sings with more range and flex than any guitar or sax can manage, and judging by the full house this night, and the packed patio waiting 1.5 hours for the second show, folks know it. She reached out to the highly diverse audience, and she got us. The persistent sexual context of Ferrell's presentation demands what many artists neglect: relaxation. Wish I could name her keys-guitar-bass-drums urban-soul quartet, who supplied the social lubrication with slow-breathing grooves that recalled some of Miles' more laid-back electric vamps. Ferrell did plenty of breathing herself. Some grunting, too, and moaning, almost unconscious. To start, she employed three or four of the jazzier songs from "Individuality," reinforcing the impression that they were constructed as springboards for spontaneity, and reeling them out at leisure until she was ready to change, which could take a while. Coiffed in fuzzy devil horns, her wide mouth writhing all over her face, Ferrell teased her syllables beyond their literal meaning and took off in all kinds of directions -- flutters, ultrahigh whines, percussive effects, endless power sustains. In another singer, the variety could have seemed like an exercise, but with Ferrell, everything simply poured out, as if we had invited her to speak her heart, which we had. In communion, audience members clucked, laughed and testified throughout -- a two-way conversation. The transparent soprano span of Ferrell's voice reminded me of Dionne Warwick and even Laura Nyro, maybe with a taste of Chaka Khan. But she could also stray way above those women into the upper Minnie Riperton ionosphere, as well as down into the Delta mud of Mavis Staples, while staying always her warm and straightforward self. There were two or three covers toward the end, but I don't remember which, because they sounded too much like Ferrell. When she hunched at the piano to play the audience favorite "I Can Explain" (from "Individuality"), she took us right into the choir loft of the Black & Blues Church, an edifice that also occupies a permanent space around her solar plexus. As the band strolled off, I asked one of them if this was a typical Saturday set. (Ferrell did four two-set nights at Catalina's.) He shrugged and said it was different every time. So me, I'm calling it jazz. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.898 2013-03-08T01:02:39Z 2013-05-10T14:54:31Z

Billy Childs celebrates his birthday with a hot combo: bassist Jimmy Johnson, drummer Joey Heredia and windman Katisse Buckingham. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $25; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com. Fri.-Sun. March 8-10 -- Rachelle Ferrell is one singer I'll sit still for, cuz she's got the soul, not just the pipes (which are incredible). At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8:30 & 10:30pm; $25-$35; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com. Sat. March 9 -- Guitarist Jeff Kollman, master of soup & nuts, cooks the heavy fusion of Cosmosquad, with gut-pounding drummer Shane Gaalaas and bassist Pete Griffin. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $20; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com. Sat. March 9 -- Black metal gets no darker than veteran Swedish mythologists Marduk. With a modern take on melodic metal from Portugal's Moonspell, plus Inquisition, The Foreshadowing, Danzig-influenced Marduk spinoff Death Wolf, Icon of Phobos, Insentient. At Vex Art & Culltural Center, 5240 Alhambra Ave., East L.A. 90032; 7pm; $30; (800) 660-9015; www.8thdaytix.com. Sun. March 10 -- KMFDM is still around to deliver all the Teutonic dance-tech punishment you can stand, and then some. With Legion Within and Chant. At the Henry Fonda Music Box Theater, 6122 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8pm; $38; (323) 464-0808; www.ticketmaster.com. Tues. March 12 -- Two entirely different approaches to the World tonight. Quarteto Nuevo does it quiet, rootsy, Central American and Indian/Asian; Industrial Jazz Group does it more urban, more edgy, more Central European and whatever inspires sinister mastermind Andrew Durkin. Don't know which plays first, but both are real good. At Grand Star Jazz Club, 943 N. Broadway, Chinatown 90012; 9pm; (213) 626-2285. Tues. March 12 -- Veering from the saxman's usual wild postmodern jazz, Skerik's Bandalabra reveals the Fela Kuti/James Brown connection; opener Shovelman slides the blues with a guitar made out of some gardening implement, can't remember which one. At the Mint, 6010 Pico Blvd., LA 90035; 9pm; $12; (323) 954-9400; www.themintla.com. Thurs. March 12 -- Coupla Bay Area electronic circuit busters: synth pioneer John Bischoff and multimediator Antimatter (Xopher Davidson). Any residual radio reception in your fillings is non-actionable. A SASSAS presentation at Center for the Arts, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 8pm; $10; www.sassas.org.
Alvin Lee, RIP. Think about it: Alvin Lee was gigging hard in 1962 -- an early contemporary of THE BEATLES. He probably decided on the red Gibson semi-hollowbody in '63 because of B.B. King, but in terms of white English dudes playing the blues, he doesn't get much credit for influencing others with the same ax, like Ritchie Blackmore (pre-1970 Strat conversion), Peter Green and even '60s Eric Clapton (all of whom were born a bit later). Lee wrote some ace tunes for Ten Years After: "Love Like a Man," "One of These Days," "I'd Love To Change the World," "Rock & Roll Music to the World," "Choo Choo Mama." He had one of those voices that just had a stamp on it. And though he was fast, what I really notice now is his rhythmic precision -- quick as he ripped, he hit every note like a metronome. Just because "I'm Going Home" is the most famous moment in "Woodstock" doesn't mean it wasn't the most exciting; I sure thought it was. I feel lucky to have seen him in Seattle in '71. * * * PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: For those who ain't finished larnin', History of Jazz in Los Angeles sounds like a great class: "Taught by Dr. Ray Briggs—musician, ethnomusicologist, teacher, and Pasadena Conservatory of Music’s jazz department chair—this course will uncover the fascinating story of jazz in the City of Angels, by charting the regional development of the music with an emphasis on the significant styles, venues, and individuals who shaped its evolution, including legendary musicians such as Jelly Roll Morton, Kid Ory, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus, Buddy Collette, Eric Dolphy, Chico Hamilton, Art Pepper, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Gerald Wilson, and Ray Brown. Students will explore the early contributions of New Orleans migrants, the emergence of a thriving jazz scene in the heart of the African American community along Central Avenue in the 1920s, the halcyon era of cool jazz at the Lighthouse Café in Hermosa Beach in the 1950s, and the avant-garde period of the 1960s and beyond. In addition to a survey of the music and the people who made it, this course will consider the ways in which jazz history interweaves with the social and political history of the city, through lectures and discussions, guided listening activities, literature, and a guest performance from an L.A. jazz icon." At Pasadena Conservatory of Music, Tuesdays, March 19-May 21, 7-9 p.m., or Fridays, March 15-May 17, 10 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; $275; registration deadline Fri. March 8, though I wouldn't be surprised if they'd fudge that a bit for you; (626) 683-3355; pasadenaconservatory.org.
By now you must know Wadada Leo Smith, always at the forefront of challenging and meaningful music (like the epic "Ten Freedom Summers" last year). So maybe you'll want to donate toward his new project here before March 11. * * *
Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.897 2013-03-06T03:30:45Z 2013-03-07T17:22:00Z

It's no shock that shades of Ornette often color the Modirzadeh quartet's performance in Los Angeles, nostalgic locus of Coleman's formative rejections.

I'm talking with the musicians after the show, and Bay Area alto saxist Hafez Modirzadeh clues me about how he gathered his star quartet with drummer Alex Cline, bassist Mark Dresser and cornetist Bobby Bradford. A cheerful gent in scientist specs, Modirzadeh (accent on the second syllable) explains that his well-received 2010 Pi Records album with trumpeter Amir ElSaffar featured Cline and Dresser; they also played live together in 2009. The extrapolations on Iraqi and Persian roots that unfolded therefrom made Modirzadeh eager for more. So when Cline offered him a gig at his Sunday Evening Concerts series, rehooked Dresser, and helped draw cornetist Bradford into the picture, well, that was sure gonna work. Bradford, understand, partnered way back with Ornette Coleman, whom Modirzadeh has long admired; Hafez even got to hang quite a bit with the Shah of Harmolodics at a time when Coleman was "opening a window." When was that? Oh, says H.M., around 2006, just before Ornette won a Grammy and grabbed a Pulitzer. Hey, says guitarist Tom McNalley, who's also talking to everybody tonight, that's when I was playing with him too. And I say, double-hey, I visited Coleman in New York for an L.A. Times interview in early 2007. Indeed, that sun circuit marked a window. All this reinforces a truth about Ornette Coleman: Beyond his revolutionary music, he has served as a magnet who unites certain kinds of people. A week earlier, I was talking to Leni Stern about how Ornette played straight Charlie Parker bebop with Paul Bley in 1958, laying a precise bridge to the future. A couple of weeks before that, I was watching footage of Coleman shooting pool with Charles Lloyd in a Lloyd documentrary. For as long as jazz has been dancing in my head, the O-word has been cropping up. It's no shock, then, that shades of Ornette often color the Modirzadeh quartet's performance in Los Angeles, nostalgic locus of Coleman's formative rejections. Ornette & Hafez, for instance, blow alto with a similar tone -- soft yet penetrating. As Cline and Dresser set up an Arabic-sounding vamp on Cline's "Fade to Green"/"Steadfast," Modirzadeh and Bradford launch into quick call-and-response, Cline splashing slowly against the tide and Modirzadeh hitting a couple of sustained notes that can't be found in the Western scale (must be a page from his dastgah catalog). On a number from Modirzadeh's "Facets" series, they accelerate into an Afro-Cuban groove spiced with easy counterpoint reminiscent of various Coleman ensembles; Bradford improvises concisely with that smoky, bluesy sound of his. Dresser absolutely torches my brain on his own "For Bradford." Many times I've seen the tall scholar execute solos that give me hallucinations, but here, the buzzing overtones, the slides, the two-hand tapping, the left-hand hammering while he leisurely TURNS THE PAGE WITH HIS RIGHT -- I creep out from behind a pillar and scrutinize the stage to see who's accompanying him, but all three mates sit idle, listening. Then he strikes up a teenage walking-blues pattern. Hilarious. They close with Bradford's classic "Song for the Unsung" (dating from a 1969 session with John Carter), the cornet and sax exhaling lowdown soulful moans while Cline caresses cymbals in the most natural rhythm/counterrhythm and brings down a final cleansing rain. Four leaders melding like a band. Rapturous. The opening duo of Bay Area tenor saxist Phillip Greenlief with drummer Nick Tamburro is a blast. Inexhaustible and often employing circular breathing, Greenlief whips through his repertoire of war whoops, bird calls, bent blues and dino-bee vibrations as young Tamburro slambangs with robust affinity. The ever-changing ride rocks like a storm-tossed frigate, and audience heads are nodding hard into the wind. Truly, these celebrants raise ancestral spirits. Did Greenlief say it's his birthday? Playing this way, he gets reborn every day.
PHOTOS BY FUZZY BORK. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.896 2013-03-01T02:07:55Z 2013-04-25T15:51:06Z

I See Hawks in L.A. Buy their new all-acoustic "New Kind of Lonely," too. At Cinema Bar, 3967 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City 90036; 10pm; no cover but the chapeau will travel; (310) 390-1328; thecinemabar.com. Fri.-Sun. March 1-3 – It’s always worth droppin’ your shoppin’ when Wadada Leo Smith has a new presentation. This time it’s a dance & jazz thing called "Notaway: Quest for Freedom," with a stellar cast as always: the trumpeter’s Golden Quartet (featuring senior AACM magus Anthony Davis on piano, John Lindberg on bass and Pheeroan akLaff on drums) and dancers Yasunari Tamai (Japan) and Oguri (electrifying butoh chameleon). And donate toward Smith's new project here before March 11. At Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Ave., Venice 90291; Fri. 8pm, Sat. 5 & 8pm, Sun. 3pm; $25; cheaper advance tickets here. Fri. March 1 – Czech deathmen Master rip as scary as other Euros, fronted by voxster Paul Speckmann’s distinctive gurgle; they headline the underground metal fest "Age ov the Gods" tonight; it continues Sat.-Sun. elsewhere (see below). At the Joint, 8771 W. Pico Blvd., L.A. 90035; 6pm; $15; 18+; (310) 275-2619; www.thejointlive.com. Sat.-Sun. March 2-3 – The "Age ov the Gods" metal fest continues, headlined by Shawn Whitaker (Sat.) and Despise the Sun (Sun.). Many bands. At the American Legion, 4725 N. Maine Ave., Baldwin Park 91706; noon till late; $17. Sat. March 2 – Hell of a progressive-metal lineup: Sweden's Meshuggah (pictured; read my L.A.Times review here); exciting instrumental adventurers Animals As Leaders (read my L.A.Times interview here) and local textural intellects Intronaut (read my 2010 review here, though they're about to drop a new record, song preview here.). At the Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90010; 6:30pm; $32-$40; (213) 388-1400; www.livenation.com. Sat. March 2 – Rudresh Mahanthappa has done more than anyone else in the last decade to expand the vocabulary of the saxophone through scales, tones and Eastern derivations, and he's got a lot of awards to show for it. Tonight he plays with two different ensembles: Indo-Pak Coalition (featuring Rez Abbasi and Dan Weiss, both stars) and Gamak (with Weiss plus guitarist David Fiuczynski and bassist Francois Moutin). A CAP presentation at UCLA's Royce Hall; 8pm; $19-$41; www.cap.ucla.edu. Sat. March 2 – A microtonal pioneer and all-around musical innovator gets documented in "Lou Harrison: A World of Music." The late Harrison's "Suite for Violin and American Gamelan" is played by Mark Menzies and ensemble beforehand, and filmmaker Eva Soltes is on hand too. This event opens this year's Microfest; check the festival's full program for the next three months here. At REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., downtown 90012; 8:30pm; $20 (students $16); www.redcat.org. Sat. March 3 -- Heavy alterno-cellist Helen Money churns up a wall of smoke at this in-store performance. At Permanent Records, 1583 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 6pm; FREE. Sun. March 3 – Open Gate Theater's always reliable Sunday Evening Concerts series presents a superspecial event. Persian-derived saxist Hafez Modirzadeh (who made a terrific album with Amir El Saffar a few years back and is getting big plaudits for his own work) fronts an all-star ensemble featuring cornetist Bobby Bradford, bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Alex Cline. To make it an all-timer, the whirlwind sax-drums duo of Phillip Greenlief & Nick Tamburro, who've been logging considerable road miles lately, opens. At Center for the Arts, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 7pm; $10; (626) 795-4989. Sun. March 3 – Berklee grad Brendon Small, mastermind and songwriter of the hilariously violent animated Adult Swim series "Metalocalypse," throws a benefit bash featuring his own group, Galaktikon, which gathers vets from the bands of Frank Zappa, Morbid Angel, Peter Frampton and of course Dethklok. Other Berklee associates on the bill include Derek Frank, Joe Travers, Janet Robin, Ali Handal, Colin Keenan, and Danny Mo & the Exciters (featuring the winner of Berklee's Wehmiller Scholarship, which the evening endows). At the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; 7pm; $20; (310) 278-9457; get tix here. Thurs.-Sun. March 7-10 – Rachelle Ferrell is one singer I'll sit still for, cuz she's got the soul, not just the pipes. At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8:30 & 10:30pm; $25-$35; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com. * * * PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: For those who ain't finished larnin', History of Jazz in Los Angeles sounds like a great class: "Taught by Dr. Ray Briggs—musician, ethnomusicologist, teacher, and Pasadena Conservatory of Music’s jazz department chair—this course will uncover the fascinating story of jazz in the City of Angels, by charting the regional development of the music with an emphasis on the significant styles, venues, and individuals who shaped its evolution, including legendary musicians such as Jelly Roll Morton, Kid Ory, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus, Buddy Collette, Eric Dolphy, Chico Hamilton, Art Pepper, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Gerald Wilson, and Ray Brown. Students will explore the early contributions of New Orleans migrants, the emergence of a thriving jazz scene in the heart of the African American community along Central Avenue in the 1920s, the halcyon era of cool jazz at the Lighthouse Café in Hermosa Beach in the 1950s, and the avant-garde period of the 1960s and beyond. In addition to a survey of the music and the people who made it, this course will consider the ways in which jazz history interweaves with the social and political history of the city, through lectures and discussions, guided listening activities, literature, and a guest performance from an L.A. jazz icon." At Pasadena Conservatory of Music, Tuesdays, March 19-May 21, 7-9 p.m., or Fridays, March 15-May 17, 10 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; $275; registration deadline Fri. March 8; (626) 683-3355; pasadenaconservatory.org. * * *
Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here. ]]> tag:www.metaljazz.com,2013://1.895 2013-02-27T21:43:49Z 2013-02-27T21:53:41Z

Diversity?

Sexmob at the Mint, 2/19/13. Steven Bernstein sometimes goes for a bronto-beat electro thing, but this time his NYC-based Sexmob (Grammy-nommed several years back!) came off as an almost trad jazz quartet, even if they were playing Nino Rota. Shoved by the scattery drumming of Kenny Wollesen and sorta reading from actual sheet music, the combo achieved a natural meld of reeling clown, raga mystic and Chicago barfly. The Fellini takeoffs -- "Juliet of the Spirits," "Amarcord," "I Vitelloni" -- slid by in oblique parade as bowling-shirted Tony Scherr grooved on tiny electric bass and skullcapped Bernstein locked into melodic tandem with lanky tenor man Briggan Krauss. In the midst of great group swells and ebbs, Bernstein's unusual slide trumpet enabled some ear-catching circus tricks, such as rapid wrist action that generated a heady blur uncannily recalling Yngwie Malmsteen's Stratocaster distorto-shred. All Bernstein's L.A. friends came up to jam at the end -- I recognized Danny Frankel on bongos, but don't ask me the rest. Bernstein quipped casually throughout. My favorite: He refuses to raise recording money on Kickstarter; he just stiffs the studio instead. That's pride.
Doro at House of Blues, 2/22/13. After 30 years in the biz, Dusseldorf metal queen Doro still doesn't feel she's delivered full value unless she's sweated out at least four well deserved encores. A darkstuff anomaly, Doro contrasts her grim bondagewear against a warmly smiling visage that beams blond love to her loyal devotees, who love her right back despite the fact that she will never whip them. She will, however, always rock them with a straight-ahead onslaught custom-machined for the concert stage. Doro started at the beginning with "Burning the Witches," the title ritual of her 1984 debut with Warlock. Funny I never grasped how the midtempto slug of "East Meets West" derives from Motley Crue. The galloping "Out of Control," the united-in-metal anthem "We Are All" -- gotta have 'em. Even though they're new, three selections from the spectacular "Raise Your Fist" album made electric connections: the title cut (who says obvious is bad?), "Revenge" (yankin' diddle dandy) and especially the Ronnie James Dio tribute "Hero" (whose grieving accelerando scored big in the late RJD's adoptive hometown). With the credibility of long experience, Doro ruled as hurtin' balladeer in the passionate meditation "Fur Immer" (two keyboards!), the weighty "Do You Love Me in Black?" and the last encore's closing waltz request, Warlock's "Without You." The long-running bass-drums team of insane headbanger Nick Douglas and righteously fermented Joey Dee punched with hard-time criminality; the twin guitars of Luca Princiotta and the bare-chested Hun warrior Bas Maas rang with theatrical skill. We hardly minded that they didn't play "White Wedding," since as covers go, Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law" served smashingly. Doro stuck around afterward at stage right to shake everybody's hand, and I believe she's telling the truth when she says, just like Ronnie, that's her favorite part.
Southwest Chamber Music performs Cage and Stockhausen at Zipper Hall, 2/23/13. Do I like synth loops? Sure, as long as 24 of 'em overlap, and they're in 8-track surround sound. Do I like French horn? Definitely, and if you can get the player to mute with hand and cone, and to rotate in position now and then, that would be swell. I just don't know if I liked them both at the same time, the way they were presented when bespectacled Andrew Pelletier horned in on Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Nebadon aus KLANG." Although Pelletier's resonant notes were spare and chosen to complement the '80s-sounding electronic chirble, they didn't mesh. Maybe if the synthesizers were deafeningly loud . . . Stop me if I've said this before, but John Cage and everybody else knows that conceptual art & music often thrive better on paper than in execution. So if Cage left "Muoyce II: A Reading Through 'Ulysses'" unfinished at the end of his life, maybe there was a reason. The idea was to condense James Joyce's already hyperabstract 700-page "Ulysses" into 40 minutes of semi-random snippets, and read the intelligibility-resistant result against traffic sounds gathered from around the world, voyager-hero-style. Thus randomness met randomness, the opposite of Joyce in fact. So in spite of a well-cadenced reading by Southwest Chamber director Jeff von der Schmidt, the piece was squirm-inducing (if you stayed awake) or ignorable (if you went the other way). The pre-concert talk by JVDS and spousal/professional partner Jan Karlin, on the other hand, was fascinating. Did you know Stockhausen said modern composers should be influenced by photos from the Hubble space telescope? Now, there's a good concept. ]]>