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tuesday, mar. 14, 2006 mr. lucky bus Polyglot
chatter - Indian, Chinese - what in the world are these people talking
about at 7am on their cells. "Lots of cars. Yes, many cars.
I see cars. It's rainy but not too cold. There are a lot of cars
today."
They
both played really great and we had a lot of fun. It was kind of
a reunion of sorts because we had a band a long time ago that did
a tour of the midwest and made a recording of sorts. The unfortunate
name of this band was the New York Syndicate (thanks for that Steve
- yes, we blame Steve) and we were trying to remember some of the
tunes on Sunday but couldn't. We're pretty sure we did "Fables
of Faubus," Jarrett's "The Windup," some tunes of
mine and some of steves, maybe one of Erics, some standards. We
had a cassette tape (remember them) and even went into a studio
in Nebraska but I don't think that worked out very well. I remember
sleeping on the floor for a couple of hours the night before then
going into this really lame studio in Lincoln or Omaha - we were
sleep deprived and probably hung over and sounded like shit and
the engineer sounded worse. Really bad. We played a jazz festival
in Lincoln and some restaurants, I think The Sanctuary in Iowa City
(great place) and by the time we got to Cleveland on the way back
we were barely speaking. Two cars and about 5,000 miles. Not sure
if we lost money on that. Oh yeah, a place in Chicago that was fun.
It was in a basement and may have been called the Underground Wunderbar
but I don't think so. We're planning on doing a recording (a real
one) soon and maybe we'll resurrect some of those old tunes. When
Eric and Steve and I had the band i was playing a tele so I played
my new tele a little at Detour and that was fun. Speaking of recording,
Mel Bay has a new emusic site and Tony Gaboury and I are planning
to put a recording we did of Monk tunes on there. I can't access
the net from this freaking bus but I'll get a link up soon. Mel
Bay, like Berklee, wants to rule the world. Also played with Alan Ferber Nonet at Smalls which is happening again this Thursday. Had a really great crowd and it was packed all night. I still find it difficult to find the right balance in that big a band though. In some ways it's like a big band and you have to play larger-than-life but it's also a small group. Alan did an arrangement of Ben Monder's "Luteus Pangolin" which is really great and I get to blow on that. Alexis Cuadrado also has an arrangement of a tune of his that's really nice. We're recording again in May at Skyline. I'm also doing something there with jeremy stratton on May 15 so I hope to be comfortable there. It'll be about the 5th or 6th time I've recorded there - Skyline is a really nice place and while the rooms are not as big as Systems 2 Paul is really good and the price is great. All right, if these mother-fuckers will shut up I may be able to sleep. Spring break next week - at last. tuesday, mar. 7, 2006 mr. lucky bus Back on the bus now after a couple of weeks of driving to Boston. 2 more weeks then spring break - students and I are equally happy? Played a couple of great gigs (with no attitudes at all) at the Grassroots Tavern with Jeremy Stratton. Anthony Pinciotti (drums) both times and killing as usual. He told me he reads this thing so that's what I would say anyway, but no, really, killing. I mean it, Anthony. I don't know about the man-bag though. You're calling me a girly-man? But, I forgive you, just keep playing with me and I forgive all. Okay, except the man-bag. Adam Kolker the first week, Chris Cheek the second and again I'm amazed at how different tenor players in New York can develop their own incredibly strong, personal styles with so many of them out there. But I guess if you take these two as examples, they can. Both very different but both really musical, great sound, great time, great musicianship. Jeremy sounded great as usual and I hope he forgives me my lapse on "Virgo." I promise to learn that tune. Promise. I prom..... We're going to record (Jeremy, Adam, Anthony and I) on May 15 at Skyline in New Jersey, a really nice studio. Come to think of it, my CD will supposedly be released on May 16 on Mel Bay although MB has been strangely silent about that. That was a Skyline production. Better make some calls. Got a couple of nice gigs coming up at Smalls with Alan Ferber Nonet and maybe this week at Detour with Mike Magilligan. Got to check with Mike as well. Also a gig in Austin at Gueros with Terry Bowness and I'm really looking forward to playing Terrys music. *RE: the Austin gig, just got an email from Terry and the gig is not happening. Someone must have mentioned my name. The power of that name has closed clubs and lost gigs worldwide. friday,feb. 24, 2006 brooklyn You, whoever "you" are, might be interested in the gig I played last night. It was with a tenor player named Craig Enright and a bass player I've known for about 15 years named Steve Doyle. Craig is a trader on Wall St. but sounds great - big sound and really nice time and beautiful ideas. The gig was at a place called The Hideaway which is on Duane St. in lower Manhattan - not too far from Wall St. as it turns out. I'm dragging my amp and guitar but the trains are perfect for once. It's like Bam: F train Bam: A train - I'm on chambers St. I think door to door it took me about 45minutes which is great. I'm early and this pretty tiny place is almost empty. Meet Craig, people are really nice, there are pictures of Mary Ann Faithful, Mick Jagger and Jerry Garcia on the walls, polished cement floor (very nice), mixed nuts on the bar but the good kind with cashews and brazil nuts, not just peanuts. I find the power outlet, run my .99 extension, set up and I'm ready to go with 15" to spare. Have a nice Cote du Rhone, still only about 10 people there - all traders on wall st. We start to play and Craig has a nice book with a lot of Jerry Bergonzi tunes. This becomes a factor later in the gig. We play a few tunes and people are starting to come in and it's 99% men and they all kind of look the same. The same sort of clothes and the same look somehow even though it was mixed races. They're all traders. We play a set and take a break and it's getting pretty full. Talk to some of these guys and they are really friendly but kind of intense. Craig breaks out a tip jar (about a gallon size) and starts to pass it around and I can't help but notice that these guys are putting 20s and 10s in there. Some 50's and I think I see a $100 bill in there. Holy shit. This is going well. It keeps getting louder and louder though, as the traders have a few more martinis. By the way, Wall St. is on a roll these days. We finish our break and play some more and now it's extremely loud, the traders yelling at the top of their considerable lungs, we're playing these impossible Bergonzi tunes I've never seen before with crazy changes, Steve and I are looking at each other and laughing. At the end of the night we made over $200 each and were able to give the hard-working barmaid $60 or $70 as well. I guess these guys are very supportive of each other and knew Craig was playing and were curious about his musicianship or maybe just wanted to hang out and drink. Not such a typical gig.
monday,feb. 20, 2006 delta flt. 6438 35,000 feet
tuesday,feb. 14, 2006 lucky star bug (bus?) What is that animal?
tuesday,feb.
7, 2006 lucky star bus Back on the lucky star, listening to Joe Henderson (The Montreal Tapes), no loudmouth this morning. It is the Lucky Star. I guess only if I make it to Boston in one piece. Played some really nice gigs last week, both with the amazing Douglas Yates. Barbes on Thursday with the Alan Ferber Nonet with a couple of subs: John O'Gallagher (alto/soprano) and Russ Johnson (trumpet). Both of them were just amazing, reading a lot of the charts for the first time in near darkness in really, really cramped conditions (there wasn't enough room for me to bend down to adjust my amp). Russ was maybe 6 inches away and played everything perfectly and just ate up the solos. John was a couple of feet away but much the same. I can't say I'll ever get used to playing with players like this but it seems like everyone I know is a musical genius and I learn so much on every gig. Doug Yates was burning on bass clarinet as always. Which brings me to Saturday night at the Waterfront Ale House in Brooklyn with Doug and John Carlson, Matt Pavolka and Anthony Pinciotti. All those guys are incredible and it was really nice to play with John Carlson again after the Maine Jazz Camp a couple of years ago. Has it been a couple of years? I guess so. He was killing and Carlson/Yates had some really nice charts: Sun Ra, Alec Wilder, Ornette, etc. It was also fantastic to hear Doug on alto, something that I don't get to hear enough. He's been doing tours with John Ballentine, an incredible Canadian pianist living in Brooklyn, and has been playing alto on those gigs. So, those were fun gigs and this week I'm doing a session with Russ Johnson and Dave Bixler, a session with Bruce Hall and/or Mike Magilligan, a Grassroots Tavern gig on Sunday and trying to get some music together for a concert I have coming up at Berklee. Oh yeah, I brought that big pedalboard to the Waterfront Ale house on Sat. and everyone liked the blinking lights. Now let's see if I can get Kurt Rosenwinkel's solo on "Turn Out The Stars" into Finale before I get to Boston. It's difficult with the bus jolting around but if I do a "Finale for Guitarists" class at Berklee next year maybe I'll put bus Finale chops into it. tuesday,
jan. 31, 2006 lucky star bus Riding the bus. Got a talker today who unfortunately met a friend and is telling his chum his philosophy, hopes and dreams, his whole world-view. What an asshole. He's got a voice that, while low in pitch, just cuts like a knife. He sure loves to hear himself talk. Berklee students, see what I endure to get to Boston? Heard Ted Poor, Bill McHenry, John Hebert and Loren Stillman at Bar 4 on 7th ave. in Brooklyn. The first great thing is that it's a 5 minute walk from my house. Then it was only a $5 cover, not too crowded so I could sit, drinks weren't all that expensive considering the great music. Speaking of which, it was killing. I hadn't heard Bill McHenry in a while and he just plays so great. Bill, if you're reading this, can I borrow some money? But really, really great playing. Hebert was killing as usual with his beautiful sound and rhythm, Ted was amazing, Loren, too. I hadn't heard Loren live before but he's a beautiful musician. So, it was a great set and Ted writes some great music as well.
Back
in Brooklyn after some activity. Played yesterday in Washington,
D.C. with Antonio Arnedo, Alexis Cuadrado and Take Toriyama. Those
guys are such great musicians. It turned out to be a really fun
gig at the Colombian embassy. Long drive but the people were really
nice, the music went great and I didn't have to lug an amp. We got
back to Brooklyn about 1:30am and thanks to Alexis' navigation,
didn't get lost in either direction. Also played with Antonio at
Berklee in the BPC with Adreas, Victor and Gregorio and that went
pretty well. Saw Bill Pierce who was head of the committee for winds
for Latin Week and heard Matt Marvuglio and Phil Wilson who both
sounded wonderful. Working on some music for a recording coming
up with Jeremy Stratton and Anthony Pinciotti, hopefully doing that
in Dec. saturday, nov. 5, 2005 chicago o'hare
Sitting
in the chicago airport trying to spot the green calton case going
on to my connecting flight back to LGA. Think I see it on the baggage
cart but these guys are moving kind of slow. Had a great time in
St. Louis with Corey Christiansen. He sounded great and we played
3 really gun gigs. (I see the guitar sitting on the conveyer belt
waiting to go on the plane. Great but where's my suitcase? And why
don't they shoot it up into the plane rather than just let it sit
there. And where are the other passengers bags? Why just the guitar?)
Anyway, Ben Wheeler played bass on all three of the gigs, Kyle Honeycutt
drums on one and Steve Tatum on the gig last night at the Main St.
Jazz club in Belleville, ILL. That was a great club and Neal, the
owner, was a great guy and also plays tenor. I saw Jeff Newells
poster on the wall and I understand he played there a while back.
It's a great room that reminds me a lot of NY clubs and I really
like the sound in there. Ben and Steve play together a lot and sounded
great together and Corey was burning even though he was in the recording
studio for 8 hours that day. (There goes my suitcase). Personally
getting somewhat burnt after too-little sleep and too much travel
and still have to do a gig today in PA with Norman David, a great
alto player and I think George Garzone is going to be on the gig.
When I was in St. Louis I saw the arch and also the Mel Bay empire
which was huge. I didn't know they did all the printing and CD/DVD
duplication in-house but it was really imprressive. Had lunch with
Bill Bay and Corey and it was great to see Bill again. Must board
cramped United flight now. On flight and as cramped as I imagined
but at least got an aisle seat. Just had announcement that "one
runway at LGA is closed so may have a holding pattern." That's certainly
welcome news. Maybe I'd better order some wine. See if I have $5.
Yes. Very good. Getting back to the St. Louis trip, I met a whole
lot of nice people including Bill (?), Corey's friend. who also
ordered a Buscarino which I played and it's killing also. Just had
an unfortunate series of events. The woman in the seat in front
of me, which is basically in my lap right now, either lost control
of her bladder or spilled a bottle of water since my computer bag
now seems to be soaking wet. I was trying to drink my delicious
red wine from the finest vineyards Chile has to offer and the flight
attendent kept pushing her sizeable ass into my arm causing some
turbulence to my plastic cup which in turn spurred me to gulp this
foul brew down quickly causing a small amount of gastric distress
which I then tried to alleviate by eating the smallest bag of mini-pretzels
on the planet but very similar to the bag I ate on Wednesday on
a previous United flight. Don't get me started on United. Sucks.
But now feeling somewhat more relaxed, listening to Brad Mehldau:
Songs and typing with my arms in kind of dinosaur mode. Kind of
like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons. wednesday, nov. 2, 2005 laguardia
Back at Laguardia and really beginning to hate this airport. Found parking in a long term lot which is going to run about $20 a day then the guys who do the check in outside the terminal giving me some bullshit about how they "don't work for United, only for tips" trying hold my luggage up for ransom. In other words, pay us or it isn't going to get there. Meanwhile, they are wearing United uniforms including the hats. Maybe the extreme ugliness of these uniforms twisted their already evil souls. Like some demons who guard the gates of hell. Oh, I see the flight attendents are here and they look equally distruntled and robotic. Anyway, the only cash I had was a $20 or a $1 and you can guess which one I picked. That went over real well. Mother-fuckers. They had to move my guitar and bag less than 2 feet. I would have been more than happy to do that myself. Assholes rule the world. I guess it's because I look so successful. So now I'm worried that my guitar and suitcase aren't going to show up in St. Louis in the $800 Calton case I borrowed until mine is ready. But J., if you're reading this, the sun is out, the plane is on time and I survived yesterday. Up and back to Boston the same day with 8 hours of teaching in the middle. Yes, I don't want this success to go to my head. monday, october 31, 2005 (halloween)
Played
last night at Grassroots Tavern on St. Marks bet. 2nd and 3rd ave
in NY with Scott Neumann (drums) and Don Falzone (bass). It was
really fun and those guys sounded amazing. A really nice tenor player,
Rob Sudduth, sat in and that was also fun. John Hebert and his friend
Brian stopped by and afterwards we all went to Detour to say so
long to Masa Kamaguchi who is moving to Barcelona. There were a
lot of people there: Jeff Williams, Russ Lossing, Hebert, Adam Kolker
(playing), Jacob Sacks (also playing), Mike Magilligan of course
who sounded really great, Dave Scott, Patricia Michel, Michel Gentile,
Don Falzone, Scott Neumann, Billy Mintz - am I forgetting anyone?
It was sad to see Masa's last gig here for a while because he will
really be missed but I know he's going to play all the time in Europe
and Spain. It was especially great to hear Jeff Williams and talk
to him for a while. Everybody sounded beautiful though and it was
fun. I'm getting ready to go to St. Louis (after Boston tomorrow)
and play 3 gigs with Corey Christiansen and I'm really excited about
that. He's a great player and a really nice guy so this promises
to be a lot of fun. Then a gig saturday with Norman David and George
Garzone in Pennsylvania then Boston with the great composer and
saxophonist Antonio Arnedo. saturday, october 29, 2005
Another
gig at Smalls with John Riley playing drums. Forgot my camera again.
Crap. But JR was amazing. He was pretty much perfect. Played everything
with no mistakes and with total inspiration. Gigs like that make
NY almost bearable. Almost. It was great to have Alexis Cuadrado
back - he is such a great bass player. Great writer too and has
a couple of wonderful CDs of his own with one of my favorite guitarists,
Steve Cardenas. I'm currently working on some music for a couple
of concerts I'm doing with Antonio Arnedo,another wonderful musician
who is from Colombia (there are some pictures in my gallery of some
gigs I did with Antonio in colombia and Portugal.) Also played with
Peter Watrous at el cafe cubanito in Brooklyn Heights with Ken Gottschall
and Anthony Pinciotti (above) and that was really fun too. Maybe
one wine too many for the last set. Also played Sat. night at a
halloween party in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn with Tim Lefebvre, Ruben
Guitierrez and Gil Alexander.
thursday, october 20, 2005
Been pretty busy but played a really nice gig last night with Alan Ferber at Smalls and had to mention some of the players. Had a different rhythm section and they just nailed it: Orlando deFleming (bass) and Chris Higgenbotham (drums). It was pretty different from Mark Ferber and Alexis Cuadrado but really great. They are exceptional players. Dan Pratt was playing tenor and also nailed it and played a killing solo on an extremely fast Jigsaw (7/4). Will Vincent, Doug Yates, Dave Smith, Alan, Bryn Roberts all just burning. I was pretty tired after a long day at Berklee and then the drive back for a 10pm hit but played the new guitar and it worked really well. Still a little too easy to play so I play too many notes but hopefully that won't continue much longer. Keep forgetting to bring my camera to these gigs so I can get so pics. At least some pics from the bandstand. We're playing at Smalls again next week so maybe I'll remember. Recording a tune for a Katrina benefit CD tonight and then going out of town. Also played a session with Mike Fahn, Mary Ann McSweeny, Alison Miller and Chris Backus that was fun and one with Eric Halvorson, Dave Bixler and Tom Pietrika that was great. Oh yeah, one with Ziv Ravitz and Garth Stevenson that was exceptional.
tuesday, october 4, 2005
Sitting
on the Lucky Star bus headed for Boston. Was talking to my friend
(and great drummer) Take Toriyama about the relative merits of Lucky
Star vs. Fung Wah. We both like Lucky Star because it's usually
not so crowded and this morning's pretty good. I have two seats
to myself. Hmmm, there seems to be something sticky on the floor.
Don't want to know what it might be. Woke up this morning (5 am
thank you) with Walter Becker's "Surf And/Or Die" in my
head and it still seems to be there. Adam Rogers great guitar and
Ben Perowsky laying it down. 6am walk down 7th ave. in Park Slope
(never a freaking bus) past Matt Penman's, past the Scott Neumann
and Adam Kolker apts., power walkers already making me nervous before
the sun's even up. Some weird clouds coming in from the north and
covering Manhattan. Yes, must bring jazz to the fertile young minds
who flock to Berklee.
monday, sept 26, 2005 Been busy with teaching, mixing a recent recording, a few gigs, playing this new guitar. Briefly, played with Jeremy Stratton last night at Grassroots Tavern with Dave Pietro and Take Toriyama. It was really fun although the fact that the "audience" was congregated in front of the tv on the other end of the room watching a football game distracted from the music somewhat. Pietro brought in some tunes which were fun like Marie Antoinette and Humpty Dumpty (the Ornette one). In fact we played a few Ornette tunes and it was great to hear Pietro play free. Jeremy and Take sounded really great together. Plus, Take gave me a ride home for which I hope I was properly thankful. The F was sucking on the ride into town. There always seems to be construction on the F on the weekends. Luckily I left enough time. Thinking about making a move out of new york, at least part of the year, which makes me appreciate playing with guys like these even more. This month playing a couple of times at Smalls with Alan Ferber and really looking forward to that. sunday, sept 11, 2005 Yes, the day. Have a gig tonight but not sure whether it's appropriate to go out and play music. It's a gorgeous day here in NY today. 72°, no clouds, very dry. I took a run in Prospect Park today and I think all of Brooklyn had the same idea. It's back to work week as well but for some reason I'm ready for it this year. (JA, perhaps?) Okay, the real reason I'm writing this is because I heard some really great music last night at Fat Cat. Alon Yavnai, a great piano player, was leading a band that included Take Toryiama (drums), John Bailey (tpt), Greg Tardy (sax), ? (trombone), Massimo Bicolati (bass). The band was just burning and I'm sorry I didn't get the bone players name because he was killing. I know Alon from a time when we were in Mexico doing a jazz seminar together and he is the best musician you've never heard of, like a lot of my friends. He is from Israel and South America so he speaks fluent spanish and has really internalized the Latin rhythmic concept as well as jazz. He has been playing with Paquito for a long time and if you can pick up Alon's CD you should because it's great. I was really impressed with the music, with the musicians, with Alon's willingness to take chances and irreverance toward the "jazz tradition" while having totally assimilated it. Playing inside the piano, using electronic keyboards for color (NordLead), freeing up the music from "head, solo, head", letting the band go where they want. Take was killing, as usual, and perfect for this band. Massimo is going to be the next big thing. John Bailey I haven't heard before but he is totally killing and Greg Tardy, one of my favorites, was amazing. I saw Greg with Bill Frisell at the Vanguard last winter and it was hands down the best music I've ever heard. The village last night was a zoo. I left Fat Cat about midnight and the streets were packed with all sorts of hustlers, tourists and hipsters. There was a guy smoking crack on the F train which meant I got a lot of space to stand if I stayed close to him. Everybody else seemed to move away but I like room to move. Actually, my back was to this guy who ended up lying on the floor but I noticed everyone else moving away. As long as I don't get puked on I'm okay with it. Getting ready to go play Grassroots Tavern with Jeremy Stratton, Pinciotti and the great Dave Pietro. I haven't played with Pietro in 8 years or so and I'm really looking forward to it. Still trying to get used to this new guitar. One thing I notice with it is that the chords sound like they are being played on a piano. I just want to comp all the time, screw the lines. Buscarino sure knows what he's doing but right now it feels like I'm a kid trying to drive a Maserati for the first time. thurs, sept 8, 2005 Has it only been a week? Whatever. I played a jam session today with Marc Mommaas, Rob Garcia and Gary Wang (the same guys as a couple of weeks ago) and it was really great. Beautiful players and great people. Played some of my music, some of Robs and some of Marcs. These guys are great writers as well. Enough about them. Yesterday received my John Buscarino guitar that I ordered many months ago and it is unbelievable. It's basically a 335 with a carved top (Corey Christiansen model) but it's only a surface resemblence. After 35+ years as a guitarist this is the first time I've felt like the guitar is part of what I'm trying to do or say musically. Plus, aesthetically, it's amazing. Will add some pics in the near future but now am playing with chuck braman on 34th st. and 9th ave. for a lot of people with a lot more money than me.
thurs, sept 1, 2005 Sitting at Laguardia, the trip in the car service too much like the initial stages of a berklee trip. Pre-dawn BQE with traffic already backing up on the LIE. Checking out all the new construction through Brooklyn and Queens-hundreds of nearly completed apartment buildings. Somebody's gonna lose money at some point. I think maybe the real estate developers who will be stuck with a bunch of condo's and co-op's they can't sell. Anyway, in the back of this Lincoln Town Car, Lebanese pop music on the radio (lot's of reverb-they love that plug-in), still dark, driver pissed-off about something (maybe his aftershave caused some nerve damage) and all I could think was that in 3 weeks the drive to Boston starts. Heard some horror stories about the Fung Wah bus from Chinatown breaking down multiple times this summer but somebody at Berklee didn't read my preferred schedule (and also hates me in a personal way) and I start teaching too early to take the bus this semester so have to drive. With gas around $3 a gallon now I can imagine a time when it will be too expensive to go to Boston anymore. maybe that time is now. Talk of a strike at Berklee but it'll never happen. I am looking forward to the SkyMall magazine on the plane so I can stock up on stuff like ultrasonic foot massagers, laser nose hair clippers, tools to improve my golf game, tacky watches, pop-up hot dog cookers, transparent canoes, overprices GPS systems, radar detectors, ugly sunglasses, obsolete yet overpriced digital devices, electronic trash cans, ugly art work, and maybe my own personal "seascooter" for the next time I go diving in the east river. But, the real reason I'm sitting here at LGA looking like a fucking nerd with my shiny laptop with the glowing Apple logo is that I wanted to write my reactions to the Adam Rogers gig I saw last night at the Jazz Standard before I forget some details. (Now that I think about it, it cost me the same as a ride to LGA (don't drink wine if you go to the jazz standard-the only thing more expensive would be a $12 Martini). Anyway, it was ridiculous. Adam just keeps getting better: playing, writing, everything. The band was amazing: Scott Colley, Chris Potter, Antonio Sanchez, Ed Simon. Hanging out with Don Falzone (killing bass player) and his lovely wife Claudia who is a great engineer and works with Frisell, Scofield, etc. The band was playing these hard tunes (I noticed that the first tune was about 10 pages long) but made them sound easy. Just ridiculous. Adam was playing his 335 most of the night but switched to a tele on one tune. Unbelievable sound, touch, rhythmic acuity (did I make up that word?), writing...pretty much everything. Great distortion sound on the tele. Nice guy, too. Everybody just played their asses off but I think my favorite solo was a Scott Colley solo around the middle of the set. The tunes were sometimes open, sometimes a lot of changes but these guys could go pretty much anywhere. Really a special evening. Also, great quiet moments when you could hear Scott Colley's daughter Nica yelling "Daddy!" Other than that, finished making corrections to my latest book on diminished called, oddly enough, "Diminished", which turned out to be even more boring than I originally thought it was going to be. I knew it was going to be a snoozer but I get sleepy just looking at the hard copy sitting on my desk. John Hebert and Bruce Hall play on the CD again though and they sound great. I think the recording process is getting better anyway. This is the 4th (book) CD that I've recorded & after 200 tracks or so I should be better at ProTools. But, still have to finish the next book, Whole Tone & and Augmented; please, someone kill me now before this perversion continues. This piece of crap is about half done but I may start over and make it all about playing fast, goofy licks. Obviously, I'm killing time here but I see I'm not the only person ridiculously early for a flight. Looks like it's gonna be full. See you all at Detour on Sunday?
tues, aug 30, 2005 Couple
of high points from last week were playing with Thomas Bramerie
on a Chuck Braman gig at goofy steak house and playing with Bill
McHenry, Jeremy Stratton and Dred Scott at Grassroots Tavern. Bill
is so into the sound of the instrument. I have to learn how to hear
like that. He always picks the perfect notes as well. How does he
do that? Really a special musician. Dred is a piano player first
but was playing drums and killing. Had such a great groove-he really
made it fun. It took a couple of sets for us to gel but the last
few tunes I thought were really musical. Ben Graves from Nashville
(and SF) was there and we talked guitars. He's going back to Nashville
because he gets a lot more gigs there. But, all you other jazz guitarists
have to move here right now. It's a paradise of gigs and excitement.
I'm not kidding. Really. Leave your sad, tired gigs and move to
NY and play all day and all night. It's wonderful. Really. Happy
times. Also, stopped by Systems 2 and heard Johannes Weidenmuller and Ari Hoenig recording their DVD's for Mel Bay about metric modulation. It's going to be a really great project and they make it sound really easy. Aaron Goldberg was playing on some of it and he was killing as well. Saw Corey Christiansen producing. Mel Bay is keeping him really busy but somehow he is able to keep up his great playing. I guess he's opening for Frisell's "Unspeakable" band in St. Louis in the fall which I'd love to hear. Had a nice session with Don Falzone, Scott Neumann and Jerome Sabbah. I think we talked more than we played. By the way, someone emailed and asked me the best way to get to Boston from NY. Probably the best way is by bus but if you have to drive my usual route is: BQE to Whitestone Br., get on 95N to 287W, get off on the Merritt Pkway. (exit before Tappan Zee), Merritt to 91N, 91N to 84E, 84E to Mass Pike to Boston. 14 years of driving to Berklee I think I've racked up enough miles to have circumnavigated the world. thurs, aug 25, 2005 Heard "Slow Bicycle Race" at BarBes last night. Adam Kolker, Billy Mintz, Masa Kamaguchi and Russ Lossing. According to my friend Jairo Moreno, great bass player who was there, a slow bicycle race is a race in which the last one to the finish line wins (but you have to keep moving). Very zen. This wasn't bebop. It was really beautiful music that would unfold very slowly. BarBes gets pretty hot once they turn off the AC in the back room and that was unfortunate. A lot of people were there and I saw Ben Monder, Michael Attius (curator), Tom Pitrieka, Sam Newsome, Rob Garcia and some other people I can't remember now. Barbes is a really nice room (except for the heat) and it's also a ten minute walk for me. Also played a jam session earlier in the week with Rob Garcia, Gary Wang and Mark Mommas. I hadn't played with Mark before and he's killing. Writes some great music, too. Played some of Rob's music as well and I really liked that.
saturday, aug 20, 2005 Back from Berklee Guitar Sessions. Amazing Kurt Rosenwinkel clinic. He was improvising wonderful solo guitar pieces. Great Rick Peckham/Jim Kelly concert, great Larry Baione concert. Larry and Rick did an unbelievable job coordinating all the concerts, clinics, ensembles, classes, etc. and still had the energy to play their asses off. Also, the students were respectful, talented and totally into it. What's going on? John Stowell was there and unfortunately, I didn't get to hear him play but he'll be in NY next week so hope to make it out. Saw Ferenc Nemeth hanging out, Frisell was in town but missed him, too, drank some beer, weather was good except for rain the first day, on Sunday made it from NY to Boston in 3:05, a new record for me but mostly because I left at 4:30am. Coming back 4:15 but Friday rush hour in Boston and then NY. The great drummer Take Toriyama rode back with me and we got to chat a little in between my bouts of yelling at other drivers-just offering helpful suggestions. Heard Tim Miller's new CD and it's killing. Amazing playing and unbelievable guitar sound. Now I'm procrastinating because practicing, necessary in my case, is making me crazy. So, I google "saunders" and find a guy from the UK named Ben Saunders who is a "athlete, adventurer & motivational speaker." So he's skied to the north pole a couple of times. Big deal. Has he ever driven Brooklyn to Boston in 3:05? I think not. Maybe I can cash in on this concept. The first two are not going to work but motivational speaker...Yes, I can see myself as a motivational speaker. Maybe more like gig tips; how to get the bartender to pour a couple free ones for a thirsty musician, how to avoid assholes (I'll need to learn this one first), the best way to avoid your ex-girlfriend, cat farming...The list is endless. Anybody want to sign me up? I'll talk to any group or organization. The new, more laid-back Tony Robbins. Without the teeth. Or ability to motivate. Or charisma. Or money. Not very tall either. I think I need a motivational speaker....Get motivated to practice a little. Let's see how long I can put this off....
friday, aug 12, 2005 Forgot to mention, last Sunday after playing with Pete Brainin and Alison Pete and I walked to Detour (it's about 6-7 blocks from the Grassroots on St. Marks to 13th st. and 1st ave.) to "relax" and heard Mike Magilligan with Chris Higgins and Chris Cheek and they we're really great. Heard Chris C. play alto on one tune and he had an amazing sound. Said he hasn't been playing it much but had a really fat, round, focused sound and played the same melodic, swinging way he plays on tenor. Very inspiring. Played last night with Johannes Weidenmuller and he sounds really strong. Not a bad gig really except there is never anywhere to sit so have to stand for 6 or 8 hours if you count the subway ride back and forth. It was also really hot in the subways yesterday so dragging an amp, guitar and 20lb. equipment bag through those fucking turnstiles and up and down stairs is a pain in the ass and my "casual yet dressy" restaurant gig clothes don't help. I always squeeze through the turnstiles because the token clerks don't like to open the courtesy door. They tend to keep their eyes toward the floor or ceiling while somebody with a bunch of equipment is waving a metrocard and pointing to the door. One thing about the equipment bag is good though. When people getting on the train block the door for people getting off that bag can do some damage if you swing it a little sideways when squeezing through the assholes pushing their way on. Anyway, Johanness sounded great and was doing all this metric stuff that was beautiful. Not that the patrons noticed but that's the nice part about those gigs. You can play anything you want and nobody cares. The down side for me is when I'm playing a concert or club and people acutally listen. I want to ask listeners to talk while we play or better yet, yell stupid things at each other or walk onstage during my solos and ask me where the bathroom is located or tell me about their friend or brother or cousin who plays a lot better than I do, no offense (none taken, asswipe). At this particular bar they pretty much leave you alone though. We did notice some obvious prostitutes hanging out with guys buying $85 steaks and that was pretty cool. Also, the crab cakes are good (we have a choice: crab cakes, salad or filet mignon appetizers). Some high class shit. I seem to recall a Jim Hall interview with Whitney Balliet in which Hall was asked (my paraphrase): "Jim, do you want to be playing in bars when you are 70 years old?" Jim: "The answer is yes!" I think they meant bars like the Village Vanguard or Iridium. "Bruce, when you are 70 do you want to be playing in crappy restaurants and places where the patrons hate the band because they have to turn the sound off (down) on the sports channel? The answer is "no fucking way." Donny McCaslin Quartet @ 55 BAR This was some amazing music. Donny, Steve Cardenas, Johannes Weidenmuller and Gene Jackson and they were all just burning. Donny was on some other level and played some really long solos that would peak and then peak a couple more times. Steve was playing perfect; every note had some sort of personal attention and detail-he's really composing solos and swinging hard. Johanness played a solo on the second tune which I think was a bar of 7 and a bar of 9, a tune he hadn't seen before, and just tore it up. Gene was pretty unbelievable all night. Plus, the 55 wasn't that crowded so I got to sit down and Ben Sher, great guitarist, was there hanging so got to say hi. Also saw my friend Alex, a great alto player that I met in Xalapa, Mexico where we were teaching a couple of years ago and the great drummer Bruce Hall who was out listening. Where was Mark Rabul I wonder? He must be on vacation because every time I go to hear good music I see Mark there. Train ride home was curiously quiet for a Friday night except for the occasional staggering drunk and a guy asking for spare change with a weird growth on his shoulder, proudly displayed. Wanted to go hear Johathan Kreisberg at Fat Cat but had enough. Still need to listen to his new CD on Mel Bay records which I'm sure is burning. Mark Ferber (asleep below) was playing with him at Fat Cat. At some point I have to listen to a recording I did with a quintet last week and keep procrastinating. It felt good at the time and I like the music but it's such a crapshoot. One day in the studio (Skyline) to record 10 tunes (we got 9) with minimal rehearsal. Not worried about the band, just me. Great band, Mark and Alan Ferber, Mike McGuirk and Adam Kolker. Alan and Adam are such strong soloists I would rather just hear them play rather than hear my own solos. Feel good about the writing but at some point have to check 3 hours of CDs and pick takes (or points where I can ProTools a guitar solo into oblivion). Check out Adam pretending to study music but actually thinking about bike shoes and Mark pretending to be awake. I see my music has really filled them with joy.
tues, aug 9, 2005 So the camp was pretty similar this year. The faculty was just as mind blowing but some new faces. It was really inspiring to play with Bill McHenry again. He seems to be zeroing in on some new level of improvisation and sound. Really personal and he can go so many different directions. It was also great to play with Russ Johnson, an amazing trumpet player who's been around NY as long as me but I don't think we've ever played together before. Neal Minor was the bass instructor the 2nd week and he's another musician I hadn't played with before but hope I can do it again-amazing time, sound and musicianship. Also, the Ferbers, always amazing. 3rd week got to play and hang with Mike Sarin and hearing him play a bunch of concerts and playing with him I'll remember as one of the highlights of my year (probably my decade). Back this year the 3rd week Dave Scott, Andrew Rathbun who are amazing writers as well as players and Dave Ambrosio who was burning. All these players that I have admired for a long time, play on a world-class level and who are trying to get their music out there. But at least I got to hear it. The pic is Russ (piano bench), Bill, Neal, and Mark. Also great to play with Frank Carlberg, Christine Correa, Art Baron, Dan Kaufman, Kris Davis (really beautiful pianist and composer with a great CD on Fresh Sound.)
Had a nice day upstate with Scott Neumann (his house), his wife Noreen, baby Eve (the most beautiful baby ever) and a lot of musicians: Don Falzone, David Phelps, George Junior, Chris Carroll, Cerebino, Jay Rosen, etc. Here's pics:
Also got to play with Peter Brainin and Alison Miller at the Grassroots Tavern on St. Marks and that was really fun. Pete is an amazing tenor player who a lot of people don't know about but should because he's killing. A lot of people know about Alison and they should because she sounds great and has a really fine CD or two under her name. Buy them. saturday, july 16, 2005 Before I go to the Maine jazz camp for 2 (long) weeks I thought I'd waste time at the computer. Both of our times. It's hot and humid here in NY but my cave stays around 85° so it's not too bad. Had a couple of really nice gigs. Played with Jeremy Stratton at Grassroots with Mark Ferber and Rob Sudduth and that was a lot of fun. Rob is a really fine tenor player originally from the west coast with a beautiful CD featuring Kenny Wolleson and Steve Cardenas. Mark was killing as usual and Jeremy, too. Played with Peter Brainen at Pumkins in Brooklyn and it was great to hear Pete. Ed Schuller and Pete Davenport were playing and sounded beautiful. I guess I need some more adjectives. Great, beautiful, fantastic, super collosal... Played Thursday with Alan Ferber's Nonet (or Nonette as they spelled it on the sign) at FatCat in the village and that was really fun. A lot of people came out and the band was killing. Everyone was burning and I felt really lucky to be able to hear and play with these musicians. It's about the only time I get to hear people like Bryn Roberts (piano) and like the other guys, he always plays the right thing. Pete McCann is subbing for me on the next gig at Smalls which is dangerous because Pete is so killing, especially in this situtation, that my spot might disappear for the next recording. By the way, the recording is "Alan Ferber Nonet" Scenes From An Exit Row on Fresh Sounds Records. It's a great recording so you should buy it. After the gig I went to Detour to "relax" with the great drummer Mike Magilligan and saw Bill Campbell, another great drummer, just leaving so it was a good hang. Drove carefully home about 3:30am. friday, june 24, 2005 Recorded the CD for an upcoming Mel Bay book about diminished. That's John Hebert pretending to check out the music and me pretending to play a 4th voicing. Bruce Hall had to engineer and play. If the recording is any indication, this promises to be the most boring book of all time although the one I'm writing as a follow-up, Whole Tone & Augmented, is a contender. We are at Bruce Hall's studio in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, and they did a great job. They played on the 3 books I have out on Mel Bay so far. John had this to say: "That's some boring, sad-ass shit. By the way, when am I going to get my Thomastik endorsement, mother-fucker? Where's the food? Didn't you get catering for this recording? Do me a favor and don't ever call me again for your lame projects." I think it may be time to retire my "Fifth House" tee shirt.
sunday, june 19, 2005 Heard a couple of really nice groups this week. John Hebert solo bass at Barbes in Brooklyn was amazing. John is one of my favorite musicians and he seems to be refining his style and honing in on what he does best. Amazing sound, great chops and total rhythmic freedom along with a singing melodic sense. I really enjoyed this concert. Heard the Russ Lossing Trio at the Jazz Standard in the Gramercy Park area of NYC (sort of) and that was also killing. Jeff Williams sounded fantastic as usual and again great Hebert. Russ is an amazing pianist and writer and this really sounded like a band. He also had a couple of nice arrangements of standards and I think my favorite tune of the night was "Dexterity" done like a free ballad. It's hard to describe but it was different. Last night David Berkman and I went to hear Luis Bonilla sextet at the Zinc Bar and I really liked that. I knew Luis was a great player but he is writing some beautiful music as well. Adam Kolker and Peter Brainen both sounded great as did the rhythm section (who I didn't know so can't give you their names; sorry). No chords which was pretty nice. I get sick of chords sometimes. Getting ready to drag myself out to Queens to play at some fucked-up restaurant but with a really nice pair of players; don falzone and gene lewin. We've been playing some trio sessions and there is a nice hook-up there. Hopefully we won't be abused too badly by the patrons at Uncle Jacks Steak House. Remember "Goodfellas?" sunday, june 19, 2005 A
couple of people have asked me where the journal has gone so I'm
going to revive it for a minute, at least until I get that familiar
queasy feeling if I read any of the previous posts. It's hard to
believe anybody's life could be this boring which I guess makes
it exceptional in a way. The most boring of all! I was finally able
to drag myself out of my cell last night and catch Jerome Sabbagh
at the Fat Cat and it was definitely worth the pain and suffering
of the F train and the tourists and hustlers of the west village.
I also stopped by Arthurs Tavern to say hello to Masa and Ikuo as
they were having a post-gig beer at the bar. The lovely and talented
Patricia Michel was also hanging out before she heads back to Barcelona. thursday, may 5, 2005 In
keeping with the "happy, joy" policy of this blog, I got
to record yesterday with a group with whom I've been playing for
a couple of years: Lindsey Horner (bass), Jack Walrath (trumpet)
and Allison Miller (drums). It was at a really nice new studio in
Jersey City, Kaleidoscope
Sound, run by Randy Crafton. Randy is a great frame drummer
who I played some gigs with many years ago with Mike Cain (pianist).
He is also a fine engineer and the facilities at his rooms are really
comfortable. He also has a nice piano if you are into that sort
of thing. We were able to get 9 tunes done in one day which is an
achievement of sorts. The band sounded really great and it was amazing
to hear the history in Jack's playing and his total bad-ass attitude
(which Allison and Lindsey seem to share-I'm the pussy of the group).
Jack has a bunch of great CDs and played with Mingus for a good.
long spell. The rate at Kaleidoscope is really good too if by some
miracle someone in the NY area is reading this and needs a good
cheap studio. I also got to talk to Randy about teaching at Berklee
and commuting from NY since he did that for a long time. It turns
out that it's not just me who finds it incredibly stressful and
physically and mentally demanding.
thursday, may 5, 2005 The Barry Humphries gig was really funny. His character was "Sir Les Patterson" and he's hilarious and a nice person. One short rehearsal (and a four hour wait in my car) and then the gig which was sold out. Long gig but fun and the people at the zipper theatre are very nice. Also played with Scott Neuman, Steve Armour and Ken Gotschall at El Cafe Cubanito in Brooklyn Heights which was a blast. I've known Scott forever and he's always been a great player. We had a trio a long time ago when we first moved to New York with Brian Bair, a very nice bass player who has since moved to L.A. Steve sounds amazing. The room however...all glass and tile and really is a bad room although the people who work there are really nice. After the gig Scott, Eric Halvorson and I ended up at a new place that opened on my block in Brooklyn called Bar BQ which, strangely enough, is a bar that has real smoked Bar B Q. I wasn't there for the food but it smelled really good. So, corner of 6th ave and 20th street in "Park Slope". Prior to the real estate frenzy this neighborhood wasn't officially Park Slope but it is now. thursday, april 28, 2005 Finished a recording with the great guitarist Tony Gaboury today in Boston. We had started this Monk recording about a year and a half ago and haven't been able to complete it until today. We ended up with 8 quartet tunes (with Steve Grover [drums] and Bruno Raberg [bass]) and 4 duo tunes. We recorded 2 duo tunes today, "Hackensack" [Bruce- 335 & 1965 Deluxe Tony - newer Martin Dreadnought] and "Ruby, My Dear" and mixed those and 4 others I think so it was productive. I hate to be negative here but it did take us about an hour and a half to drive 25 miles on the outskirts of Boston, surely the most evil of towns. I don't really see Boston as a city because it's so spread out but it seems to have all the problems of a city with none of the advantages. It's more expensive than New York, traffic is worse (and drivers) and it's a less diverse population; all college students. But, I digress. Tony played really great and played a Martin that he just bought (still had the tag on the tuners) and it sounded wonderful. Peter is a fantastic bass player as well as a great engineer-a whole lot of exceptional recordings have come out of his studio and he plays bass with a lot of well known jazz performers. I played a 335 ('82 like Steve Cardenas') but when we were mixing I really liked the sound of the 1950 175 that I used on "Ask Me Now" in 2004. Got to play that guitar more often. We had a lot of multiple takes on the old stuff which made it hard to pick things we liked so today we only did one take of "Ruby.." and a couple of "Hackensack" and spent about half an hour total on those tunes. It's a little rough sometimes but the overall vibe is nice and Peter's studio is really friendly, probably because he's such a personable guy and such a great engineer. Other than that, just glad to be home and looking forward to playing at Detour on sunday with masa and mike. Masa just recorded with Paul Motian yesterday and I'm looking forward to hearing his stories about that. Playing with Dame Edna on Monday and that should be an interesting gig. He's going to be a different character which is I guess an Australian redneck but hopefully my australian guitar chops are okay since we only have one short sound check/rehearsal before the gig. monday, april 25, 2005 I know why I don't have a gig-my negative attitude! I think it was possibly my formative years of gigging with the Tom Jones impersonator in Florida. He would stick a toupee down the front of his shirt which I thought was pretty funny but the music was very sad. I still wake up sceaming with "Delilah" echoing in my brain. I know I was contributing heavily to the bad music but these kind of gigs keep turning up in my musical life; Corrina Bartra, Gary Roman ("let's go on a Roman holiday with the theme from Phantom!") and many assorted others. Have you checked out Fat Elvis? This guy is really great and wrote a great letter to his band. Is there a point here? You betcha. I ended up going to Detour and Adam Kolker was playing with Magilligans Island and Bob Sheppard was in town and sat in and I got to hear these two great tenor players. Nights like that almost makes it worth it to live in New York (I really need a vacation). Those guys can really improvise and it was great to hear the differences and similarities in their styles. Masa and Mike sounded great as well and I even got a ride home with Masa so I didn't have to deal with the late-night weekend train hell. Not too mention, Detour is about a mile from the F train stop at 2nd ave. I could go to 14th st. I guess but it seems farther somehow. I think this is why Detour is sometimes not so crowded. As a matter of fact, last night the crowd seemed to arrive around the time the last note of the last tune was floating into the night. I'm not sure the crowd would have appreciated the band anyway, the majority looked a lot like NYU students. But Adam and Bob sounded really great so I went home happy. Or, my approximation of it anyway. sunday, april 24, 2005 Dear Diary, why don't I have a gig tonight? Jeremy Stratton is in Japan and Mike Magilligan...What's he up to I wonder? I think it might be time for a surprise visit to Detour tonight. In the meantime, I played a really nice gig with Don Falzone at the 55 last week. Gene Lewin played and drums and Michael Blake saxophone. They all sounded great and it was nice to play Don's tunes and to play with Michael Blake after many years. He's got this huge sound that is amazing and always plays unexpected, beautiful solos. I was playing that '65 Deluxe again and it sounds great with distortion or pushed a little. Anthony Jackson was playing later and hanging out and listening and that was a little bit disconcerting. monday, april 18, 2005 Had a gig Friday on Long Isand. For those of you interested, Friday night in NY is the worst possible driving time if you are leaving the city, either to New Jersey, Westchester, or in my case, Long Island. So, gave myself 2 1/2 hours to travel 25 miles and it turned out to be okay. But, from experience I've learned that if you give yourself just enough time to make it, that's when the traffic is the most evil. Anyway, sitting out in the parking lot waiting for the gig to start at a restaurant in a strip mall on long island for 1/2 hour, priceless. Played the gig and then it was over but another good thing is that my friends Steve Salerno, Rob Garcia and Dave Loebenstein were playing at a place called Mixed Notes in Elmont, LI so I was able to stop by and hear them. They sounded really great. Weird club, though. I sat in with them and that was a lot of fun. Steve was burning and using a Dr. Z amp that I found most impressive. Steve is waiting on a Bad Cat amp that I want to see because apparently the cat's eyes light up. I fear my rig of the evening, a polytone with a broken reverb, was not quite so imposing but it was great to hear Steve and Dave and Rob, as well. I hope I'm spreading the love here. Can you feel it? You may have guessed that I'm leaving many details, too horrible to mention, out of these notes. All in the spirit of a happy, zen-like, jazz guitar group love-fest. P.S., if you ever ask me for a ride in the NY metro region, please do not: Critique my driving, ask me why I'm so uptight, give me directions, eat in the car (especially raw onions: Scott Robinson I'm talking to you), ask me to stop at a deli because you "didn't have time to eat", complain about my music choices, not even offer any money for tolls or gas, ask me to give you a ride to your apt. if it is totally out of my way (I always opt to take a train rather than enter the driving/parking dimension-you might consider this), tell me about all the great gigs you've been doing and will be doing, give me advice about my love life (or lack of), talk on your cell phone the entire time we're in the car and then say "great hanging with you" when I drop you off at your freaking apt. I felt too guilty to not take you to even though it added 45" to my travel, say "I wish I had a car" (buy a freaking car and see how great it is), fall asleep on the long ride home while I am fighting to stay awake by sticking my head out the window, buy food at a deli when I stop for gas and leave all your trash on the floor, fart with pride or without warning, ask me for Ben Monder's phone number (or any guitarist you're going to use on your next gig instead of me; Roz Korral, you hear me?), lie about how great I sounded, load your equipment really slow when I come to pick you up (chop, chop mother-fucker), same when I drop you off in your lame neighborhood. I
feel better now. You have to realize I've given so many rides to
so many musicians over 17 or so years that this is a sore subject.
When I know you it's a fun hang and musicians with cars (and sometimes
without) know the proper etiquette for riding with someone but often
someone new to the area.... sunday, april 10, 2005:
last
night played in brooklyn with gary wang and justin flynn at tuk
tuk and that was fun. i hadn't played with those guys in a long
time and it was really inspiring to hear them. gary swings hard,
knows any tune and was doing some musical over-the-bar line rhythms
and justin really plays beautiful, thoughtful, melodic solos. we
played inner urge in 7 and ended with relaxin at camarillo in all
keys. the people eating didn't seem overly impressed but it was
fun. they did applaud when we were done for the evening - i think
they were happy that we wouldn't be playing anymore (i mean this
in the most positive of ways, jazz guitar group guys. perhaps they
were happy for us, hence the applause for our packing up). if you
are ever in brooklyn (carroll gardens), tuk tuk has great thai food.
plus, i got my '65 deluxe back from ziv nigary, a great guitarist
who also repairs amps, and it worked well on that gig.
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