When I arrive, the venue is scarce as it always is around 8pm. Ron Johnson spots me from stage: “Karen, can you take some pictures for me please?” Damn right Ron, my pleasure! To my left, my buddy is setting up his taping equipment. Always a positive thing.
Some Cat From Japan @ The Brooklyn Bowl
So, who loves Jimi Hendrix? Better yet, WHO DOESN’T love them some Jimi Hendrix? Some Cat From Japan is a power house lineup that explores the music of Hendrix through their own interpretations. Boy, I tell ya! For a group that doesn’t rehearse and mixes up its lineup, they are better then real good. I will let you go check out the backgrounds of these guys…go now. Here they are:
The show was slated to start at 8pm and it totally did. Numerous friends were “late” as a result and were not happy. These shows never start on time. But with Galactic coming on at 9:15 and Quest Love dj’ing the 11:30 late night set, things were sticking to schedule. Galactic did, after all, have two more nights to rage.
I am not a fan of cover bands. Period. In this case, there are cover bands and then there is Some Cat From Japan. Man, we were specifically there to see THEM. To see a band comprised of exquisite musicians who have the talent, technique, and personal love for the music, developed from childhood, that allows for them to deliver a show complimenting Jimi’s music through a completely interpretive approach. The approach…to just play and rage it. They just get up there and have a damn good time playing the music from one of their own inspirations. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.
Set List: Freak Out ~ Who Knows ~ Manic Depression ~ Freedom ~ Little Wing ~ Crosstown Traffic ~ Spanish Castle ~ Freak Out
Eric Bolivar @ Brooklyn Bowl
Probably the only warm up they had attempted all day, they raged on stage for awhile. Just getting their flow. Honestly, they could have done this all night and I would have been cool with it. But then it was right into Who Knows! with the strum of Will’s strings announcing the familiar melody. YES!! Just a hard rock song that made you want to head bang or something. I have no idea, I just wanted to smile. I knew that much. Bernard got his first rage in right away while Bolivar slammed out the beat and Johnson‘s bass reminded us of the melody. Crosby‘s keys and Metzger‘s accompaniment twinkled behind the other instruments. It was Who Knows but it was their own song. Ragers.
Jason Crosby @ Brooklyn Bowl
During Manic Depression, Eric Bolivar took a SICK drum solo…one of the only notes I wrote down about the show. I got my first taste of Jason on violin as he gave us a GORGEOUS rendition/breakdown where the keys solo might have been. I wondered if there was a violinist out there who might have put out a Jimi cover cd. Answer after looking…nope. Hmmmm….someone needs to get on that. I am thinking Lili Haydn. Mmmm, mmmm, good!
Will Bernard @ Brooklyn Bowl
Bernard took his liberties straying away from the formula of every song. Seriously, boys and their toy RAGING. As I write this, all I want to do is write each of the artists and ask them what their first Hendrix memory was. Shoot, for many artists, hearing a Hendrix tune WAS the reason they played, regardless of instrument…just that they wanted to make MUSIC! Hendrix had the influence and power to move every man on that stage. That is pretty intense. I wondered if these musicians realized that there were fans in their audience who would be covering their songs in the future with as much passion as they were tonight for Jimi. It was a great rage on stage that night for sure.
Scott Metzger @ Brooklyn Bowl
CrosstownTraffic meant time to move around. I ran into Annabelle, aka Julie McCoy, as she shouted, “HEY! NICE SHIRT!! I had, of course, worn my Jam Cruise paraphernalia. On stage, everyone’s fingers flying a mile a minute with the whine of the guitars screaming through the lanes. It sounded ridiculous as I was summonsed to the Jam Cruise table to gather my Street Team gear for Mountain Jam. Woohoo! I got my “Ask Me About Jam Cruise” shirt. You know how happy that makes me? And during Mountain Jam, you know how many people asked me about Jam Cruise when I wore it the last day? ZERO! LOL…they couldn’t get past “Ask Me” is my guess…love it!
Some Cat From Japan @ Brooklyn Bowl
Little Wing slowed down the rage into a sexy sway of the hips. Crosby turned to the violin again, so very pretty! The rest of the stage filled in a beautiful backdrop. There were fun pulls of strings. This might have been the point when Will bent down and fiddled with all of his equipment and knobs but I could be wrong. I do wish could have gotten to the review sooner, as getting to it a few weeks later, behind other shows in my mind, has clouded my memory. But the beauty of my life is that I shall see them again soooooooooo soon 🙂 And the recording will come out even sooner!
Annabelle and Ron Johnson @ Brooklyn Bowl
Spanish Castle was supposed to close out their set but having too much fun up there, the time had flown by and they had run out. I literally felt like they were up there for 5 minutes but we had been given a good 45 minutes of solid FUN! And guess what friends…I surround myself with musically knowledgeable people who’s opinions I greatly respect. The following day was Mountain Jam and even with an entire weekend of utterly amazing music, there was speculation that the Some Cat From Japan set was one of the best all weekend. I can’t say that, but I can certainly understand where those statements came from. This show was incredible and I can’t wait to finally hear it again.
After the show, I lingered for the usual goodbyes. Ron Johnson came into the audience and thanked me for taking pictures for him. What a sweetheart! Some artists really do appreciate the fans. And I hope they forever know how much I appreciate them.
The Grateful Dead and New Orleans. Two epic names. Names that will go down in history as forever changing the way we see and hear music. One a group and one a location; both giants in the world of music. Tonight at The Brooklyn Bowl, The 7 Walkers, a Papa Mali project extended from both, would bring us the greatest combination of NOLA Funk and The Grateful Dead. An epic night of music.
Being praised as being one of the finest post-Jerry/Dead projects, this band is truly amazing. The line-up is simple yet dripping in super heavy talent and experience, consisting of:
What?!?! SERIOUSLY!?!?! I mean, how wonderful is that four-man band right there? Now, I don’t even know Matthew Hubbard but the energy the other three bring to the stage alone, before even touching their instruments, it’s something you can’t handle. Seriously, seeing giants like that walk out on to the stage, a mere 5 feet in front of you…your chest swells and your fingers start to tingle. I imagine I am taking in…how do I say it? It’s like they have brought the past with them. All that energy from their past gigs, their past experiences…their connections to Jerry. It was all centered right there on an intimate stage in Brooklyn aimed directly at us. And with George Porter, Jr. on bass instead of Reed Mathis…FIRE! How paralyzingly wonderful. IMAGINE!!! Bill Kreutzmann has played at every single Grateful Dead show ever. Jerry’s BOY! I mean come ON!! Talent and experience at its BEST!!! I know I say it all the time, but I WAS SOOO EXCITED!
Stage set to RAGE!
When I first arrived at the venue it was no where close to being full. In fact, we all commented on that fact as we found it shocking. Once again, most people don’t recognize INSANELY GREAT music when it’s right in their back yard.
Matthew Hubbard @ The Brooklyn Bowl
As I came around the bend from the bar, the dance floor was bare. That is, except for the entire front of the stage which was littered end to end by members of Funk Live to the left, Jam Cruiser pals to the right, my taper and deadhead buddies smack in the middle and other friends scattered about. I can’t forget to mention how almost every single person was wearing a Dead shirt or NOLA pride shirt. I LOOOVE the sight of my front row homies. I truly do. A line of faces all lighting up with smiles and I feel like I am with family. It was a hug fest for about 5 minutes. Always a great way to start off one’s night 🙂
(Tonight was also special because I finally got to meet up with fellow contributing writer, Brett B.!! Big hugs homie! I love what you have to say about music and your tats are hot!)
Bill is all smiles durin' a lil prep work...
I have been to the Brooklyn Bowl a LOT. But on this night, after a while, maybe it was just me or perhaps it was the pure energy of the room, but the venue seemed brighter, the atmosphere seemed looser and the general vibe seemed lighter then most nights at The Bowl. It is hard not to feel comfortable and at ease in a room full of deadheads and hippies, especially ones colored so bright! I could feel it and my smile grew.
They came out, George’s back to the audience, Kreutzmann with a huge smile on his face getting situated. And then immediately flew into a jamming rage. First song on the set list read: SPACE, how appropriate! And SPACE they gave us, putting us all into the heady lock down that would define the night.
Bill Kreutzmann @ The Brooklyn Bowl
Papa Mali @ The Brooklyn Bowl
Right into the memory of Jerry, we were delivered DEAL. Papa Mali releases a soulful growl as he leads the lyrics: “Don’t let the deal go down.” With his guitar resting on his portly belly, Papa delivers us the first guitar rage of the night and mouths drop. To be honest, I wondered if I had ever seen him before. I’d listened to him a million times but I was seeing him play for the first time right there. He was as good as I hoped he’d be.
The next song tugged on heart strings. Men had their eyes closed and they were swaying. Something about the Grateful Dead makes men romantic it seems, am I alone in thinking this? In this case, they were thinking of their man crush, Pigpen, as Papa continued singing with Mr. Charlie. At the end of the song, Kreutzmann raged up on his legs and down on the drums. A little too hard cause the speakers to his left came crashing down on him, grazing his leg. See, the power flies right off these bastards. That power leaving the stage and slamming right into us, or in this case, the speakers. You can’t make this stuff up.
George Porter, Jr. @ The Brooklyn Bowl
We had a little taste of The Dead. Now it was time for some NOLA flavor as Porter was tapped to sing Hey Pocky Way. I am beginning to think this is the most covered song ever. But the fact that it’s over played means everyone knows it and the crowd goes wild. And on this night, the best part about this song was the audience. Three songs in and the place was wild. WILD!! Oh, how I loved hearing Porter‘s voice. I immediately started day dreaming of the boat and what the possibilities might be. During his rage, Porter was off his chair and back down, his legs kicking him all over the place, he was IN IT!! And then it got silent as Kreutzmann picked up his drums and started striking the skins fast as lighting.
The 7 Walkers @ The Brroklyn Bowl
Death Don’t Have No Mercy, a Grateful Dead tune, was next. Matthew Hubbard stopped playing the keys and picked up the trombone that had been resting on the stage to his left. Such a slow song, such a soulful song, such a Jerry song. Papa gave us a killer solo that reminisced of the swagger Jerry distilled through his guitar, all the while you could hear undertones of Papa trademark bayou style. It was sultry, sexy, soulful. People were dancing all over the venue, utilizing the open space to benefit their moods and environments. It was perfect for so many reasons.
7 Walkers @ The Brooklyn Bowl (w/ excellent background artwork)
And then it was theme song time. Matthew Hubbard gave us an amazing Organ Intro. He was REALLY good. I am a sucker for keys but man, he was GOOD. Not sure what I thought about all his “touch-down” moves he banged out after every solo but kick ass solos non-the-less. Rage! After a few minute of solid keys, 7 Walkers, new lyrics by Robert Hunter, was blasted out of the belly ‘de Papa. As I stare at him, he started to morph into one of the characters from Where the Wild Things Are and I brought myself down to reality. The music was trippy to say the least. Matt had now jumped to the harmonica, jack of all trades this guy. Papa Mali absolutely brought it with this song. At one point, I feel like they teased Shining Star.
“7 Walkers walking in the sky / 7 Walkers watching from on high / 7 Walkers offer their protection / 7 Walkers lookin’ down from heaven”
Matthew Hubbard @ The Brooklyn Bowl
The place was on FIRE and it wasn’t close to set break. Everyone was having a grand ‘ol time at this point. The front row was littered with Dead Heads who longed for tour or just to be close to Kreutzmann. Then you had the folks there who were ragin’ cause Papa Mali and Porter are the NOLA FUNK BOMBS! Papa sang most of Lay My Burden Down and keys harmonized. Then the music stops for a bit. Porter strummin’ on the strings, keys filling in the background. Papa Mali says, “It’s nice to be back in Brooklyn. I know I can get a nice slice.” And right into The Dead’s Sugaree. Porter sang this while Matt raged the keys and Papa harmonized. There was a big group hug between a bunch of the heads to my left at that moment up front of stage. It made me so happy, so very happy. Others followed suit. The venue was at its brightest that moment. The love was palpable. The joy was visual. Exactly what this music represents, exactly what it was meant to evoke.
Wharf Rat closed out the set. A slow, soulful song. It was out of control with Papa‘s drawing voice. And they captured that quintessential Dead sound so well, probably without even trying. We were so VERY VERY pleased.
Artwork behind Bill
The 7 Walkers did not waste anytime kicking off the second set. Kreutzmann took a raging drum solo and into Bertha, a Grateful Dead favorite, everyone was bouncing on their toes, kicking their heels, flipping their skirts. It was a hoedown of as we all sang together. Hubbard was able to show us some of his fabulous key work. Scaling up and down the board and striking the keys with ferocity. Totally on point and captivating me. Then Kreutzmann gave us the real thing. The real solo, HIS time to rage. My buddy took a GREAT HD video of it leading into Lovelight.
Matthew Hubbard @ The Brooklyn Bowl
Papa and Porter play off each other for a few measures before Papa pulls out to jam on his own line. Kreutzmann tapped the cymbals. And so Bottle Up And Go begins and starts to melts our faces. It was time for the trippy guitar space of Papa‘s mind to play with the audience for a while. Everyone got lost. No words. Just SPACE as Porter holds the bass line allowing our own minds to take over and find it’s own adventure.
Bill & George @ The Brooklyn Bowl
Papa Mali @ The Brooklyn Bowl
I Know Your Rider, another crowd pleasure, brought everyone’s head from swaying down to forward facing again and singing with the band. Happy shiny people. Another great keys rage from Hubbard and the dance party continued all over the venue. Papa slide his guitar all across the stage and in our face. This was a raging jam to be sure. As I stood back and watched these masters ripe our faces off, I wondered about the other groups I love watching jam so much and how they don’t HOLD A CANDLE to the greatness that was taking place on stage.
George Porter, Jr. @ The Brooklyn Bowl
I went on an adventure during Early In The Morning & Hey Baby Now so I don’t recall much. It’s always nice to have something to look forward to in the recordings 🙂 I was not paying attention at this point, pen down, dancing all over the front row. Bliss. I was among my favorite friends, among my favorite songs and favorite musicians in my favorite venue. How do YOU all feel when you are in that situation?? 🙂 Think about it and hold on to the good feeling you get!!
Papa Mali @ The Brooklyn Bowl
The New Orleans Crawl, I believe a new song written for the 7 Walkers by Robert Hunter, gave us a taste of NOLA again but more on the Bayou side then the funk….Professor Longhair-esque. And finally, Goin Down The Road Feelin Bad closed out the set. They had so much fun with this song. You could tell they didn’t want to put down their instruments. If they did, they were sure fooling us. High energy, dancing in the STREETS!! As they left the stage, some hard core people were litterally crawling on it to get set lists and picks and whatnot but noone moved a muscle. All screaming, the show would not be over. The audience refused to let that happen.
Bill Kreutzmann @ The Brooklyn Bowl
In a lovely tribute to the premature death of Gary Coleman earlier that morning, The 7 Walkers came out and played the Different Strokes Theme amongst Junko Partner. It was fitting and we all remembered our funny little friend as we danced around in the best of spirits.
Everyone was SO SUPER HIGH after the show. Bouncing all over the place, I said goodbye to all my favorite people. By far, this was the best turn out of MY musical krewe, forget the rest of NYC who missed an amazing musical opportunity. The turn out from tonight had allowed all my various groups and friendship circles to collide and it was AWESOME!!! To be able to turn around and look in any direction to see the WIDEST grins on my friends faces. Music brings people together and that night, The 7 Walkers had aided in bringing us all much closer.
It was a magical night in the Brooklyn Bowl, that is for sure. I PRAY that 7 Walkers comes around again. And if they do, I suggest you pick up your ticket right away because the word from this performance has already spread like wild fire and they will be sure to sell out second time around!
The musical reawakening of New Orleans over the past five years has been something very exciting to watch. After that bitch named Katrina, the appreciation for New Orleans and it’s musical community has become one of the most visible movements in musical history. When I think of the face of that movement I think of The Neville Family. The name epitomizes New Orleans, especially the music community. Tonight, I would watch legends, survivors, mentors and men bring the essence of New Orleans to a New York City stage. Aaron agrees…
“This is a strange moment in my career,” muses Aaron. “Since Katrina I’ve devoted months and months to benefit concerts—and that’s been a blessing. My profile and the profiles of my brothers have been raised by the storm. People all over the world see us as the face of New Orleans. They want to hear us play. They want to feel that we’ve survived the storm. They want to be assured that life goes on.” ~ Aaron Neville ~
Rubblebucket @ Nokie Theater
I arrived to the Nokia Theater a little after 8:30 knowing I would be missing Rubblebucket for the 8th time. A friend had snagged me a $10 ticket and I was in the door and down the escalator. Rubblebucket, opener for the night, was performing their second to last song as I arrived. I didn’t pay attention on purpose because 1) the sax/lead singer girl wasn’t playing her horn, she was just singing and 2) I refuse to truly focus on Rubblebucket until I can listen to them completely in all their raging glory. During the last song, the horn section and a few others from the stage paraded around the audience. Still didn’t focus, mingled, got my spot with the Funk Live Krewe…on with the show…
The Neville Brothers. New Orleans Royalty. What else is there to say? Whenever there is a Neville performing, in whatever project, you can bet that with that name comes talent and a great show 🙂 I will tell you dead ass upfront that I can’t really stand Aaron Neville‘s falsetto. The radio played The Nevilles SO MUCH in the 80’s/90’s and there was something about his voice. But then again, at times I find it hauntingly beautiful and distinct. It’s a love/hate relationship. We struggled, Aaron and I, throughout the night but the show over all was ON FIRE!! AWESOME! And it made me love and appreciate Aaron a little more.
The Neville Brothers @ The Nokia Theater
The heart and soul of New Orleans joined the stage…..
Right off the bat they flew into some funky New Orleans love with Shake Your Tambourine! Cyril was on percussion. Aaron’s falsetto rang out into the audience. It was kind of weak for the start. This is a powerful song and if you are going to open with it, hit it HARD! They still had a little warming up to do! Charles hitting the hand bell and they grew in front of us. The drums hit harder, the singing got crisper, the tambourine rang clearer. “The music gonna move ya,” sang the Brothers Neville. Yes sir, the music started to move us…without a doubt.
Aaron Neville @ The Nokia Theater
A little gospel funk kicked it up a notch with Africa. This song gave the room just enough funk for us to shake our hips but slow enough to be full of soul. Art gave it to us on the keys with a kickin’ solo. You could see the brothers gaining energy. The crowd following suit. Charles on cowbell, always my favorite haha. I noticed saxophones at this point and wondered if anyone from Rubblebucket might be joining the stage later.
Brother Jake had Makuni pickin’ his strings givin’ off a rock vibe. Aaron on tambourine, drums came in and then the funky horns and keys rounded it off. This song was hot!! A great intro before Cyril sang the crap out of the song. The horns, the vocals, it all just sounded so perfect together. Still cringe a little when I hear the high Aaron but I lose track of him watching Makuni rage a fat solo. I looked around at this point and see people all over the venue dancing all over the place. Couples swinging, individuals groovin. The venue was on fire and it was only the third song. It had taken them less than a song to warm up and less then three to bring the house to a ragin’ dance party of funk goodness. Charles Neville WAILED on his saxophone towards the end and it was AWESOME as he teased Here Comes The Hotstepper.
Time for the evening’s first recognizable cover as Peggy Lee‘s Fever lit up the stage. This is such a sexy, sexy song to me. I find that it should be exclusively left for women like Grace Potter to sing, dancing around men, snapping their fingers. But, The Neville’s sang it. Aaron sang and Charles killed it on the sax. I did love Charles during this song. It’s a sexy, sensual song and the horn was perfect in place of the vocals.
The Neville Brothers @ The Nokia Theater
As someone screams One…TWO…ONE..TWO…THREE…the horns wail, the drums pound and the tambourine shakes as Aaron screams “It might be superstition/but some kind of somethin’ goin’ on down there.” A fun, fun, horn laden song about voodoo and witnessing its practices, originally written by Sonny Landreth.
Charles Neville @ The Nokia Theater
There is a distinct sound with The Neville Brothers, am I right? Is it their inherent New Orleans blood? Is it the specific falsetto of the Aaron? Is it the fact that they are family? Something about them being related allows for the sounds to ring clearer, sharper, crisper. It’s like the Beach Boy, you always know its them. Voodoo, a slower song, opened with horns and reminded me of driving down the road with my mother listening to The Neville Brothers on the radio. Aaron rang out his falsetto, “You must have put voodoo on me/Oh , you must have cast a spell.” Art Neville raged on his keys, giving us a funky, sparkling solo scaling up and down his board. “You must have cast a spell /the way you got me loving you girl.” Charles picks up the smaller sax and goes to TOWN as shit hits the fan when Cyril started banging his drums, his hands flying.
Cyril Neville @ The Nokia Theater
Oh man, Art struck the keys, plinking along in the signature style of Professor Long Hair for Big Chief. Then the horns calls the rest of the instruments in, bongos hit hard by Cyril. Oh man, the screaming of Cyril. He went ape crazy during this song. I would venture to guess that this was his favorite song? He put the most effort and RAGE into this song, into his singing, into his everything. Just full of soul and fire. CYRIL IS THE MAN! And, dare I say it, my favorite brother. He was, by far, the most vibrant, dynamic and radiant on stage that night. I was able to see him with Galactic earlier this year and was excited to be seeing him again tonight. He did not disappoint.
The lights changed, the horns were low, Art layered down some jazzy keys. This song was mainly for Charles to show us his talented horn over an awesome bass rage. it was time for CHARLIE to shine. There was a gorgeous ending by Charles on the sax and then a huge applause
We can never go without a ballad or six now can we? Here came Aaron Neville’s falsetto in all it’s glory and it’s definitely an acquired taste. Here he was singing Sam Cooke’s A Change Gonna Come. NO ONE can sing that song even close to the way Sam sang it. I got hooked on the original years ago and had it on repeat for quite some time in college.But here is where I keep my mouth closed and just let you see the video.
Another New Orleans staple, Brother John threw us so hard back into NOLA based funk. Everybody sang, “Hey now!!” This weekend was apparently Fleet Week. Two marine girls were running through the crowd and taking pictures. They were having more fun then any of us drinking, making out with dudes..ahhhh, I miss spring breaks but glad I am not in the military.
Yellow Moon, a more then famous Neville’s song was next. Aaron sang his hip-shaking tambourine vibed song. Charles picked up another saxophone solo and floored us. This was such a sexy hip shaking song. I love how they sped it up and slowed it down throughout the night. Slowin’ it down, shakin’ it slow. Aaron with his falsetto echoing off the walls, the bongos banged by Cyril, percussion by Charles all with the bass line popping through.
Henry Butler joined the stage!
Here we come to my personal favorite songs of the night. A staple that never gets old, the crowd cheered as Henry Butler was brought to the stage for Pocky Way. This familiar tune, this staple of New Orleans, never gets old. But if for any reason, this was leaving a stale taste in anyone’s mouth, when Henry Butler joined the stage it raised everything to a whole new level, if only for one song.
It is at this point that the set list and my notes do not match up. It was clear that they moved away from the page and did their own thing. Charles was given some time to just rage some funky tunes through his horn. They certainly plowed into Come To New Orleans. “You got to get to New Orleans/You gotta show me Mardi Gras.” And then into a lovely a-cappella Gospel song where there was no music, just singing with thier pretty voices. “When this life’s over/I’ll fly away…” This was definitely a mash up, the tambourine quietly shaken and cyrill screamed. “WHO DAT”
They just raged the Who Dat Chant + Saints Come Marching In 🙂 As always it gets EVERYONE ALL ROWLED UP!!!! Just a full faced rage at this point. People jumping all over. Then into Amazing Grace with Art on keys and Aaron on vocals soloing but together. And finally into Bob Marley’s One Love!! That was the icing on the cake. The crowd was swaying, arms were being placed over our neighbors shoulders, hugs were being passed out, the love was being felt. “Let’s get together and feel alright” said The Neville Brothers. I think they got their point across this night on the stage at The Nokia Theater. I held on tight to that energy as it would carry me into the 7 Walkers show the following night…
Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, Paul Motian, and Sp. Guest John Scofield @ The Blue Note (05.12.10)
The Blue Note, NYC
I was completely FREAKING OUT! 110% shaking like a leaf with excitement. My friend was standing next to me just kinda staring at me. It was physically noticeable. With a genuinely concerned look, she asks me if I am OK. Honestly, I might as well been on 100 Five-Hour Energy Shots and crack. I was on the verge of hyperventilating. That is how ridiculously excited I was.
Chick Corea took The Blue Note by storm for two weeks, from May 4-9 and May 11-16. Playing with a brand new project featuring Eddie Gomez on bass & Paul Motian on drums, Chick celebrated the lesser known works of Bill Evans, the project simply called Further Explorations of Bill Evans.
Bill Evans
For those of you who need some schooling, Bill Evans was a famous, FAMOUS Jazz Pianist/Composer/Arranger who…
In 1958, Bill Evans was a pianist in Miles Davis’ group. Can you imagine? I know Chick Corea and John Scofield certainly can. Evans influence ran so deep with Miles, his talent so respected, that he wrote the liner notes for Miles Davis’ classic Kind of Blues; the best selling jazz album of all time.
Tonight, I got my chance to see two of my biggest musical heroes celebrating one of their musical heroes. I found that exhilarating. Of the 12 days Chick Corea played at The Blue Note, I chose tonight specifically because John Scofield would be the special guest and I was geekin’ out. Tonight’s Line Up:
At 69 years old, Chick Corea is still going strong. Having become a fan of his music through my love of Fusion Jazz, Chick Corea has been on my radar for many, many years. Most of you should recall Return to Forever, with it’s classic lineup of Stanley Clarke on bass, Al Di Meola on Guitar and Lenny White on drums. If you haven’t heard of Return to Forever, you might want to stop reading and go check it out. Seriously, get away from this article and go listen to the music instead of reading about it. I don’t mind.
For weeks prior to his two week stint, Chick Corea was offering up free tickets to each of his shows through Twitter and via e-mail. I entered twice a day, every day allowed, but alas, it looked as if I was doomed to pay the $65 for a table or $40 to stand at the bar. Not a big fan of The Blue Note for these high prices but in this case, I would spend my savings account to see Chick and John play together in this intimate setting. I mean, it was one of the world’s most famous jazz clubs, how could I complain?!
Stage Sign with Eddie's bass below
The plan was to get there early and see if we could get a seat at the bar ($40) vs. getting a table ($65) plus a $5 minimum purchase (nothing there is under $7), plus tipping your waitress…you get my point. Unfortunately, we just missed snagging a seat by one person. We were the first ones standing. I took a trip upstairs, just figuring out they had restrooms and gift shop up there…and figuring out that this was where the Green Room was located. I just don’t go to The Blue Note that often for shows so this was a fun discovery. Especially when I saw John come out of the Green Room and throw a smile my way. People come from all over the world to stop in at The Blue Note, it’s gift shop stocked with all kinds of paraphernalia that I wanted like the piano ashtray or the hanging poster of Lionel Hampton that isn’t even for sale. When it does go on sale, my friend “E” and I will be fighting for it to the death. After my explorations upstairs, we stand around for another 45 minutes.
Inside The Blue Note ~ Chick's Set Up
Already weary from a long day’s work, standing in line outside for 30 minutes and another hour and a half inside, it didn’t take long for my friend to talk me into upgrading to a table so we could sit. We had to wait until the rest of the reserved patrons were seated but we finally got a seat, in a decent spot for me to see Chick’s side view and John’s front view. I was happy but, and this is a big but, we were HORRIBLY crammed into our seats, I was practically on top of my neighbor and I am a small little lady. I felt like a sardine and my back was to the stage the way I was seated. I turned and was grateful that I WAS a small human being and manipulated my way around to see the stage. It is also about this time that I said screw the money and I made the MOST out of the awkward situation. I ordered a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and a scrumptious Flat Bread Salad with Grilled Chicken. So much for the $40 budget, I think I walked out with a $130 bill that night…so worth every penny.
The Blue Note Bar Sign
The stage was set with Chick’s grand piano to the left, Eddie’s stand up bass in front of that, Paul’s drum kit raged the middle of the stage and to the right of the stage stood John Scofield‘s stool and music stand. The scene was set and everyone was waiting. When they came onto the stage the venue erupted in applause. I scanned the room looking for someone younger then me and my friend. I was hard-pressed and it made me weary. I wished there were more young people who are willing to learn from a real musician instead of what was on their radio stations and MTV…barf music. The set list that night was kind of hard for me, I picked up on 5 out of the 8 songs. It was hard to tell where one ended and another began. Luckily Chick’s website had the set list:
SET LIST:
Diane
Stella By Starlight
Song #1
Little Rootie Tootie
My Foolish Heart
Someday My Prince Will Come
Bessie’s Blues
Peri’s Scope
Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, and John Scofield @ The Blue Note
Diane, a song by Erno Rapee and Lew Pollack, was fast and playful. A great opener, a great song to show case their talent immediately. There was playfulness between John and Chick right off the bat. John breaks into his first solo of the night. What do you think it sounded like? It was crisp and fast and he was up off the stool as if the music had lifted him right out! This first song was easily 10 minutes, so long and lovely. They each took their turn down the line soloing. Chick was second and being that Erno Rapee was a virtuoso pianist, this song was written for Chick to rage it. Then it was Eddie’s turn and then it got quiet. Chick starts the twinkling on the keys…playing scales. I can see his fingers with his head lowered and slowly Paul sneaks back in with the beat. John gets up and out of his seat again as he plants another lucrative solo on us. This was just the first song and I was satisfied. Great wine, great food, great company, GREAT music.
John Scofield @ The Blue Note
Stella By Starlight is a jazz standard, written by Victor Young, that I recognized immediately, but couldn’t grab the name when Chick gave it to us later. Chick started off plinking the keys. So very slow, Miles Davis’ version has horns but there would be no horns on stage tonight. With soft taps on the cymbals, Paul joins the songs. It all seemed so very My Fair Lady, very lounge-y. Eddie’s bass joined in with slow pulls of his bow here and there, so light and timid. Just a gorgeous song.
Chick stands up and introduces the band to the audience. There is massive applause for each member. “These are brand new Bill Evans songs composed a while ago,” Chick says. “Happy belated Mother’s Day. The first song was called Diane. We are doing song with ladies in the title….ladies tunes. We will be doing a few Thelonious tunes…” And the music continues…
Eddie Gomez and John Scofield @ The Blue Note
Song #1 is beyond me. I had no clue what this song was and I still don’t. John’s face was contorted into a knot as he played. The main vein of the song was John on guitar with Chick coming in sporadically on keys. Chick stopped to take off his jacket, taking a turn to smile at the audience as his back was to half of us. My wine finally comes. Even better.
Pounding on the keys with Paul’s drum backing Chick, Little Rootie Tootie, a Thelonious Monk song, was next. A cute song that reminds me of Charlie Brown cartoons for some reason. The piano section is just exquisite. Chick was working up a sweat and dried off his key with the towel. But it didn’t end there. John picked up the melody and using his towel, Chick made strokes across the piano from one end to the other making the sounds he needs to banter with John. This was so cool and lasted for a good three minutes. My focus then went to Eddie on bass, plucking away as Chick inserts his two cents here and then abruptly ending. Monstrous applause.
Eddie Gomez @ The Blue Note
My Foolish Heart, another jazz standard by Victor Young, was to follow. Mainly a solo piano piece, this was not to be Chick’s grand solo. Eddie Gomez starts off very, very slow, dragging his bow across his bass. With daunting pulls, he stood alone, his sound so deep and lovely. I remember having to focus very hard as the table full of European tourists were drunk and talking loudly. It is VERY hard for me to focus. I tried so hard. Luckily the manager came over and quieted them. It didn’t last long. Did these people not know who they were watching? I couldn’t believe their lack of manners. This was not the show to be having a conversation and I was NOT the neighbor to be having a conversation by. I only had to ask them once. I was livid for a hot minute and I quickly let the music sooth me. Heal my anger. It didn’t take more then a few notes, a sip of my wine and a bite of my lovely salad to be put back into my happy place. I fell in love with Eddie at this moment. It was simply magnificent.
Eddie was playing this technically classical jazzy song all by himself and he had hooked me into a dream world as I closed my eyes and let his sound take me over. There is something about how he played. I could have listened to it for hours. It was the most soothing part of the night. This was not jazz. This was classical goodness and with the bass! So much appreciation!! It went on for quite some time…and then John comes back in…
Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, and John Scofield @ The Blue Note
As I sit there listening, I realize that the songs have been mashed up as Disney’s Snow White’s Someday My Prince Will Come was teased amongst the songs. In my head I start singing:”A Dream That You Wish Will Come True”. I also feel as though Norah Jones‘ The Nearness of You was teased by John. I thought of my sister and wished she was there to hear this.
John Scofield @ The Blue Note
John Coltrane’s Bessie’s Blues brought us a new song, a new sound. Chick starts plunking the keys, pacing the song. Straight Jazz. Medium pulls on the bass strings, Eddie is very evident in this song. Just a yummy jazzy song, all instruments playing at their leisure…that whole organized chaos vibe going on. John pulled out a faster guitar here and during his solos, shredded his guitar with his face in a million different directions. Chick’s fingers were moving fast as lighting. John strums his guitar. These two were just killing it and this became my favorite song of the night. Eddie started playing so hard that you could hear his breathing over the music…his voice came out and he couldn’t help it. And with an oh-so-bluesy ending, more applause and a huge smile on Chick’s face 🙂
Chick on Mic
The final song was Bill Evans’ Peri’s Scope. I think that was the only Bill Evans song they performed to be honest unless that Song #1 is his. This is not something that held back my happiness one bit. The night had been glorious and it wasn’t even close to being over. A typical jazzy tune, John filling in for the horn section, it was lovely. The piano was playful and John and Chick banter with their instruments. So upbeat, light. Soft taps of the cymbals and paced pulls of the bass strings. They were having fun and we felt it.
Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, and John Scofield @ The Blue Note
I felt as if it were over as soon as it begun. I was in love with what I had seen and actually needed more. Right then. But there would be no encore and I had been surrounded by overly chatty people, the old gentleman behind me was drunk and HUMMED the entire set. These things didn’t matter! Within a few minutes I was up out of my chair and ready to go straight up meet these legends. And that is exactly what I did. To the Green Room…
John Scofield and TR @ The Blue Note (05.12.10)
Upon first meeting John, he asks me if I play guitar. He asks my girlfriend the same question. I believe he asks all the ladies this question as his follow up statement was “YIPPIE, I have girl fans.” LOL!!! The man was genuinely intrigued and a conversation began between the three of us that continued on for some time. I lost track of my entire life during that time. We spoke of the Montreal Jazz Festival, music, guitars, songs, NYC…to transcribe it would take forever and it’s times like these that I don’t need to write down for I will never forget these moments…
Chick Corea and TR @ The Blue Note (05.12.10)
Upon meeting Chick, he wasn’t as excited but wasn’t fan-blocking me or anything either haha. We talked about the set, this is the point we discussed song titles and I missed a few as I lost my mind a little during this meeting as well. There are some artists where I can talk to them like they are family but there are others I can’t even look in the eyes for fear I might explode or turn to stone. Yeah, it’s like that. Just so much love for their music, I almost can’t speak to them cause, really, want me to be brutally honest?? The person is so different from the music and I am terrified of changing my relationship with the music. I don’t generally like to have big sit downs with artists I like. But when I do, I PRAY they are as genuine as their music.
In this case, Chick and John were lovely people, Eddie and Paul included, even though I barely spoke three words to them having the attention of Chick for a few minutes and John for a few minutes…that was good enough for me. My friend and I raged the Green Room area for a bit meeting Chick’s wife, who was covered in what I referred to as “glitter.” She corrected me and said, “Fairy Dust.” She was a kindred spirit for sure. After about 30 minutes of straight chillen, my girlfriend and I left The Blue Note completely speechless. As we walked down the street, neither of us talked but I knew exactly what she was thinking: HOLY SHIT!! THAT – JUST – HAPPENED!!!
In my mind, I consider myself just beginning to learn about (and possibly appreciate) these late night NYC music scenes. A scene where the music doesn’t start until 11:00pm, maybe. A scene where, unless you asked for help, you can’t find the door to the establishment, a scene hidden under the bowels of the city streets. I normally rage a live concert where the doors open at 6pm and the show start at 8pm. And THEN, if I have the energy (if?…who are we kidding?), I end up in a dark and grimy basement venue for the remainder of the night. Most of the time it’s because a friend has talked me into raging harder and not because I feel as though there will be true talent on a stage. To me, these are the times to mingle and dance till your a puddle of water on the floor. I have no idea what is going on music wise as…how do I put this….it doesn’t register to me as live music. It just doesn’t.
Rage Equipment!
Dj-ing is clearly an art. Sampling music, producing sounds, splicing tunes, putting them back together like a puzzle. I get it. I can see the DJs gears working in my mind’s eye when I hear some of the get-down beats we dance too. And when they rage, I stop dancing and I embrace the lift in the room’s energy, nodding my head in recognition that they just mixed a dope track that got the floor jumpin’. So, I love it, don’t get me wrong. I do dance into a puddle and I have fun but it’s not the same thing if it’s just a person and their turntables. It doesn’t drag me in and make my jaw drop.
Now, take that atmosphere, with that talented puzzle maker and throw in a live instrument. Like Break Science who has Adam Deitch on the drums bringing forth that extra layer that makes it intoxicating, or The Sullivan Street Shakedown, which combines DJs with numerous live instruments rotated each month. It lies in the fact that it’s alive to me at that moment. It’s organic. I can see it being created. Tonight, I would be enjoying the performance of Jeff Bujak and he brought me exactly what I needed to have my jaw drop.
Rage equipment!
The show was held at Club Love. Never having been before, I immediately was drawn to the name, wondering what it must look like. I imagined it being dimly lit, a loungy-vibe with bright tones like purples, yellows and reds. Slightly Disco-esque with plush couches and anything you would find in a Austin Powers movie. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
With no sign to the establishment and the entrance being a door hidden by on of those large gate walls that businesses pull down when they close up shop, I only knew I was in the right spot thanks to the store owners around the area. The show was to start at 10pm but I don’t think the doors even opened until 11pm. I went across the street for a beer with the three other people foolish enough to come so early…see, I am still learning.
Rage Equipment!
Upon entering Love, you head down the stairs into a dark, concrete floored, cavern-like basement and are forced either left or right. If you choose right, you are met with the room that would be throwing us the get down grinds. Probably holds about 250 (??) comfortably, one wall had bench style seating but that was it. This was a room for dancing. Period. There was a bar set up with caution tape around it, I assumed to give the waitress some room? Flat out, not cool waitress. I bought a $7 beer, gave her a $10 and she just ran with it. When I asked her for my change, she was like “What? You want me to give you back 2 bucks?” First of all, take a math course and Poor Service!!! Seriously? Does it matter? I used to be a waitress and I was a friggen princess even when I wanted to kill someone. I will NEVER get used to the poor customer service practices in New York City. There is TRULY nothing comparable in terms of shitty attitude . Needless to say, I was not amused.
Dancing and Hula Hooping
There was no “stage” per say, just a portion of the floor that had been utilized for the equipment. As well, there was an elevated portion that held the DJs booth. I got to be sadly honest and admit that the front of the DJ booth was so high, I could barely see the tops of the DJ’s heads, let alone see them do their thing. That made me sad. But I am sure the rest of the world saw the Dj’s as they are all over 5 foot zero!!
If you took a left from Love’s entrance, you are taken to the restrooms, another bar and a separate room that looks cave-ish, like the walls were made of crappy styrafrom, the other walls were glass so that the patrons in the room were viewable from the bar area. This room was for those who might need to take a rest from the intensity in the other room. It is small but with stadium seating, more like concrete stairs. It’s always good to have one of these rooms to retreat into when you have partied to hard.
Higher Nebulae started the night off with some dirty dance beats. There was some gospel layers and rock layers all with some deep whoomping bass. When the bass beats were dropped we were given some familiar rock favorites and unexpected old school gems such as Metallica‘s “For Whom The Bell Tolls.”
D.V.S.
Like I said, it’s hard for me to focus on the music when it’s just the DJs so I was wondering around trying to catch a buzz with the $10 beer in hand and attempting to get in the right frame of mind to dance into that puddle I was talking about. The Banana Mafia was out in full force greeting what appeared to be half the venue who had come under his list. He brought the energy, he brought in the dancers. I appreciated that! However, this Mafia member was without his Banana Suit? Is that even allowed? Am I supposed to be outing him over the internet? Opps. Either way, he raged all over that dance floor, as well as his friends, and we all had a blast together!!
D.V.S. was up next, his real name being Derek VanScoten. Where as Jeff Bujak uses a piano to layer on top of his electronic beats, D.V.S. uses a Telecaster guitar. I stopped my mingling and started focusing on D.V.S.. His music mixed Hip-hop, Soul and even Motown. He sampled Jimi Hendrix‘s “Foxy Lady” and raged a great guitar during his samples. He has recently toured as a solo artist supporting Ana Sia, Big Gigantic, Beats Antique, Boombox, Lynx & Janover, JFJO, and M80 Dubstation. Honestly, not sure if I cared for him that much. It didn’t do anything for me.
Jeff Bujak @ Club Love
Let’s talk about Jeff Bujak, the man of the hour! Duuuuude. Having just discovered him earlier this summer at Rock The Resort, I was VERY eager to see him again live. Jeff Bujak is a true musician. A truly technically talented piano player who, from the moment I stepped foot into his performance at RTR, has had me hooked. To me, when I listen to his music at home, Jeff reminds me of a mix between Tori Amos and Bruce Hornsby. I could come up with a ton of combination but seriously, his music is beautiful and quirky and demanding with organized chaos and it is all his own! He has coined his music “Intelligent Dance Music.” Intriguing, no?
Jeff Bujak @ Club Love
Jeff comes armed with everything needed to run his one-man show including light, sound, and smoke. Cables and pedals everywhere, there is a laptop, a sound deck and his dual level keyboard at the helm of his personal electronic monster. There is a row of lights above his left shoulder flashing us the light show in various colors and mixed to rage with the beat. His shoes were off and the show began.
Utopia got it started with a synthesizer drop and a deep beat. Very quickly the layering of faster beats were released and right away it was a dance party. His songs have catchy samples, this one, sampling Cake’s The Distance by using the lyrics “Reluctantly crouched at the starting line…” After a while, amid the heavy beat of smashing cymbals, I feel a reggae vibe that quickly turns back into a deep electronic beat.
Kicker into Crowd brought us the classical, straight out gorgeous technical chamber piano skills that I adore him for. These gorgeous notes layer over the rest of the dance worthy beats. They are hit hard, there are sounds of electric guitars playing but I know that is Bujak manipulating the keys. The sequenced drum loops made it sound like the drummer was in the room with us at times. Then we got a little more of the pure keys, nothing manipulated, just beautiful piano sounds. It’s a gorgeous mixture of electronic and organic. I mean, there is just GORGEOUS composition amongst his hectic beats.
So, being that I am a romantic female, I found it to be just lovely music and I was pleased to see mainly men in that basement dancing. In reality, I wondered if these wookies heard what I heard. They were certainly dancing to the beats but I wonder if they realized just how good he sounded in that basement. Club Love is rumored as having one of the best sound systems, so perhaps that helped. There are parts of the songs that got so slow and so sensual. Preferring to be a stand alone dancer at most shows I attend, it was my pleasure to dance intelligently with some dudes that night to this intelligent music. A real pleasure. 😉
The music pierced my ear drums and so my ear plugs remained in the entire night. I love my ear plugs because they helps break down the sounds and I can hear the music very clearly. I recognized that I was in a grimy basement but being raised on Broadway shows and Classical theater and concerts, I was able to close my eyes and get thrown into the plush seats I imagined earlier. The raging beats faded away and all I could hear was the gorgeous classical technical training he was throwing at us.
The music sounded like this (around 5:15ish mins he busts out the chamber piano):
But my mind would shut out parts and I would just hear something that sounded like this, beats faded away…just gorgeous:
Machinist is a song that amuses me. I imagine being at an Insane Clown Posse or 311 show raging out and then Jeff layers some beautiful unmanipulated organized piano playing over it. That is what does it for me. I know I always say I love my horns, but I grew up listening to my father plays his piano every night after dinner while I cleared the table and did the dishes. This fact also makes me overly critical towards keys players and I don’t have a single negative thing to say about Jeff’s work. It was a complete package, a complete pleasure.
Jeff Bujak @ Club Love
Slimmy was mainly a synthesizer song and pretty sure I heard some Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller” in the mix. It was HEAVY, deep, and a raging dance song. This producer/composer really does delivers a vibrant sound so full of melodic energy it stirs even the most timid of dancers. No one was sitting. I make my way up to Jeff’s side, watching him play…oh the essence of a musician when they are in the zone. Sometimes I swear can feel their energy radiate off them. It’s what brings tears to my eyes sometimes. We stand in the audience in love with these musician’s music but what we have to remember is they either love or hate what they are playing as well and you can fell it, you can see it. The lights and the music and the venue were helping big time. It was so beautiful and overwhelming. One man was making all this happen.
I stepped outside for an adventure during Cascadation so I can’t tell you anything about that song. That is one you will just have to go and see to experience 🙂 I came back in towards the end of Sunny’s Song, partially written by Benevento-Russo Duo. Pretty, melodic, slower then the rest. PUTV gave us a manipulated synthed start to the song with samplings from Eric B. & Rakim’s “Pump Up The Volume” gently layered on top of the rest of the tune. He goes back and forth between the manipulated sounds and the organic sound the ivories make. Again, the looped drum beats are stellar and fast forcing Bujak’s fingers to go full blast.
Mutator was last for the evening. To be honest, I wasn’t sure when one song ended or began. My notes are full of lines where I believe one ends and another beings, arrows shooting up the page because I felt as if he had gone from one song to another and back again, not sure. Sometimes it was clear and other times it was so well-played that if the change occurred, I had no clue where it was.
Here is the video I took of Jeff @ Club Love…sorry for the sound quality. I had my ear plugs in and it sounded GORGEOUS and crisp in my ear…you get the point 🙂
Orchard Lounge raged our faces off for the rest of the evening but I will have to review them another time. Jeff was what had brought me here tonight. I had come with the intentions of leaving after Jeff’s set but there was NO WAY. Not only was I one of the first people to arrive that night, I ended up being one of the last people to leave. Jeff hung out a bit and, when we weren’t dancing, I wandered with my dance partner, getting in to trouble here and there, totally full of energy. It was a great night and all thank to Jeff….thanks Buj 🙂 Be sure to check out Jeff Bujak’s newest full-length released on Harmonized Records: “Alive Like the Spine“
And as I hit PUBLISH, the irony is not lost on me as I listen to my neighbor begin giving one of her lovely piano lessons…..life is magnificent!
Musical Musings of a Tiny Rager 