Jazz Icons DVD Series, Lookin' Good

Hal Miller, one of the key people putting together the series of Jazz Icons DVD releases, was recently interviewed by Felix Conteras of NPR's A Blog Supreme. The series features archival performances, many of them never-before-released, from key giants like Sonny Rollins, Roland Kirk, Nina Simone, Chet Baker, Art Blakey and Ella Fitzgerald. I've seen the Roland Kirk and the Nina performances, and they are spectacular. Well annotated, too.

In the interview, Miller describes how he combs through known footage to find the tasty bits, and how he digs through the video libraries of universities and European television stations to find lost and hidden gems. One of the best jobs in the world?

Here's one part, written by Miller, I found particularly awesome:

A jazz trio touring Germany in the 1950s or 1960s might have been televised locally for a single concert. In most instances the leader of the trio would have been paid a flat fee for this on top of the trio's payment for the actual concert. In virtually every case, the only name on the contract for the television fee would have been that of the leader with no mention of the sideman. Further, there is obviously no mention in the contract of any future payments for commercial videotape or DVD releases since such media had not yet been commercially available or -- in the case of DVD -- even been invented at the time.

So, fast forward to 2009, some 45 years later, and Jazz Icons -- or any other company with a similar enterprise -- decides to make a commercial release of this video performance. By law they may not even have to pay the leader or his estate and definitely and clearly have no obligation to pay the sidemen. David Peck has taken the stance that every musician involved gets paid regardless of the contract language or absence of such. David works through the American Federation of Musicians' Union to find the contributing musicians and to pay them.

That's some championship decision-making right there.

I do have some quibbles with the series. Miller says Jazz Icons has an arbitrary cut-off date of 1970 for the material they're reviewing and releasing. Which is a shame because I consider the early 1970s to be one of the most interesting periods for jazz -- it's when the players were abandoning a lot of the constructs laid out by the heavyweights of the 50s and 60s and really trying to find a new voice in a post-Hendrix, post-Bitches Brew world. By enforcing a hard stop at 1970, you're missing some primo shit.

Also, Miller says they "cherry pick" performers. Looking at the list of releases thus far, I'll read this statement as code for "playing it safe" -- choosing the marquee names that guarantee a return on the investment. Understandable, but I'd challenge Jazz Icons to pull back the curtain a little on future releases and feature some players that are more left of mainstream.

Sure, some of the featured players, like Kirk, Monk, Coltrane, Mingus were edgy. But that list reads like the table of contents in a Who's Who book. What about Archie Shepp? Sun Ra? Rashied Ali? Grachan Moncur III? Jakie McLean? Eric Dolphy as a leader? Oliver Lake? Don Cherry? I'm sure there's some killer footage out there those of us who "travel the spaceways" would love to experience.

Those two issues aside, these guys are doing incredible work. Read the interview, check out the clips and buy as many of the Jazz Icons DVDs you can afford. Especially since, according to them, the money is going to all the right places!

And now, Art Blakey:




Mingus Photo: Verve Records

Herbie Hancock and Mwandishi Band, Live in 1971

This is some heavy KA-BAMM!

James Carter Playing the Bass Saxophone

hooo-nk tweee-nk puh puh dbweeEEeEeEeeEE!

Podcast #7: Ikosi City Street

Today we bring you an audio-logical playground made up largely of primo African-inspired dance music, most of it actually from Africa this time. There's also some afro-jazz, afro-beat and good old American east coast R&B. Oh yes and some Jah music from Kingston J-A to settle things down at the end. Globe-trotting to say the least. Enjoy, hoping the weather is nice wherever you are.

Veggie Burritos Podcast #7: Ikosi City Street (45:00, 72MB)

Chimurenga/Flickr

Watch and Weep, Twee White Kids of the World

Some day, I'm going to be able to play just like Larry. And I'll go out and get a white bass with a custom white neck, gold strings and all-gold hardware, start wearing nothing but white pressed shirts, white slacks and shitloads of gold jewelry. Then I'll get two custom speaker stacks and a dwarf drummer with a comically gigantic kit and we'll go set up outside one of those hipster "dudes in girl pants" indie rock shows somewhere. And when I launch into "Dance to the Music" (6:32 in the video above), all their heads will explode and brains will spray everywhere. But I won't get no blood on me, no sir. BECAUSE THAT'S SIMPLY HOW BAD-ASS I AM.

Show Report: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy at the Fillmore

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, nee Will Oldham, brought his band to the Fillmore in San Francisco Monday night.

The band was great, really loose and energetic. If you've seen the last few tours, this was a mix of the "Letting Go" band and the "Lie Down In the Light" touring band. Emmett Kelly on lead guitar, Jim White on drums, upright bassist, non-singing mandolin player and a woman named Cheyenne Mize on violin and singing -- she also acted as Bonnie Billy's on-stage foil, dueting with him and changing the POV from male to female in the songs whenever she took over. It was a treat to have a strong, powerful female singer up there doing battle with him on every tune. Two sets of hot pipes, and very different than the other singers he's brought out on tour with him.

The show was an hour and a half at least. Mostly songs from the last two records, plus a couple of Superwolf songs. Almost zero oldies, with the exception of "Horses," "Just to See My Holly Home" and "Careless Love." Maybe one or two more.

Also, there was a new tension underlying everything. A lot of his songs are already pretty dark, but even the happier songs had this brooding thing going on. I think a lot of it had to do with the lead guitar player, Emmett Kelly. The guy is a bit of a wizard... You can never hear exactly what he's playing, he always seems to be soloing, but he's more like a heavy spice than an engine. Tough to describe. He's all over the last few records playing electric guitar and he tours
with Edith Frost.

Sold out, totally packed on the floor, but the crowd was really respectful and quiet nonetheless. I bought some nice 10" white-label vinyl release that looks limited enough to make me rich on eBay in 10 years. It's called "Chijimi" and it's 4 songs with Emmett, Cheyenne and Will only. Also, finally a nice poster!

Read the SFgate review
Here's an interview
Check out BPB's guest DJ slot on NPR's "All Songs Considered"

Photo: Pieter Morlion/Flickr

Show Report: Earthless with Wooden Shjips and Eyes

Went to check out Wooden Shjips and Earthless at Cafe DuNord in San Francisco. Your typical San Francisco rock scene. PBR longnecks and scarves aplenty. Eyes opened (that's funny if you say it out loud) and we caught a few songs. They were pretty good but the mix wasn't all that great for them. Sort of a mix of modern rock with space-rock jamming thrown in.

Earthless, the headliner, was just ridiculous. I have the self-titled record, and from hearing that it's pretty clear everyone in the band is super talented, but it's the guitar player who is a shredder of the highest order. Not so live -- it's all about the drummer. He builds the jams so creatively, there are 4 or 5 huge peaks over the course of their set, all telegraphed by him, and the strings have to set themselves up to catch up with the drummer. Mario Rubalcaba is his name, he has pedigree.

(Listen: Earthless "Godspeed (edit)" MP3)

It's really amazing what happens when you stack three guys in a band who are totally able to lead a jam with confidence and then just watch them interact for an hour. it was really mindblowing. there was one big "bring it home" riff near the end of the set that was so totally huge... and this yell like a group howl came out of the crowd cause everyone was feeling it. And yes, just under one hour, no breaks, no vocals, no encores. just major domo intercourse.

Wooden Shjips played in the support slot and were solid. The guitar wasn't loud enough, but the crowd was attentive and not chatty, which helped you hear everything. They are a pretty adventurous band usually, with 10-minute songs that are basically one groove. Krautrock fans would love them. They played some shorter songs last night, though, maybe to squeeze more in overall. They had heads nodding and they definitely had people dancing.

Podcast #6: The Inner Reaches of Outer Space

In case you can't guess by the name, this is one mix that's truly "out there." Starts off with a duet between JC and Jimmy Garrison, and sort of leaves orbit for about 40 minutes. Pictured here is Archie Shepp, who makes an appearance. There's also some Charlie Haden, McCoy Tyner, a few other interstellar giants.

While you're downloading, I recommend preparing some herbal tea, lighting up the Nag Champa, lowering the lights, donning the carved ebony medallion and arranging some suede pillows on the high-pile shag. Dig, brothers and sisters, dig.

Veggie Burritos Podcast #6: The Inner Reaches of Outer Space

Mulatu Astatke and Heliocentrics

Here's a little film about Ethiopian vibraphonist, pianist and composer Mulatu Astatke and the collaboration he did last year with the UK group Heliocentrics.

Mulatu is now a god among men in the jazz world, but he was a pretty obscure cat for most of his career. Most everyone on our side of the world discovered him thanks to the French reissue series Ethiopiques. The releases extensively document the best in Ethiopian music, and the fourth disc in the series is a compilation of Mulatu's best tracks from the early and mid-1970s when he refined his sound.

If you like groove-based jazz heavy on the spacey shit, then you've probably heard Ethiopiques #4. It's a classic. Vibes and analog electric keyboards lead the band, there are tight horn arrangements for a small line and loose, pulsing percussion. The tones are really unique -- a mix of western jazz, Arabic, middle eastern and north African textures, and at times some Indian or southeast Asian flavors. It's dark music, filled with drama and melancholy -- way different than west African highlife, funk and afrobeat styles. The fact that it's all recorded in gritty lo-fi just gives it more edge.

Mulatu was making this music 40 years ago, but it's really only been about 5 or 6 years since his stuff started becoming more high-profile. The obscurity was most likely forced, thanks to the military rule in Addis and its crackdown on the arts throughout the 70s and 80s. Lately, since he's been discovered, Mulatu has been touring more. First with Boston's Either/Orchestra, which I got to see in Oakland last year (the crowd was filled with Ethiopian expats, and they were going crazy!) and now with the UK band Heliocentrics.

I'll let the video above tell the rest of the story. The music they create together is intense. Also, it's great to see Mulatu looking good, joking around and still shredding on the Rhodes and the vibraphone.

The record they cut together comes out in February, but they've played some live shows. Blogger and fellow musical broheem Eardrummer has posted some MP3s of a live show in London. It's an FM broadcast, so it's legit. And tight. Go get it!

More Mulatu at Dusty Groove.
And thanks to Erik for the video link!

Podcast #5: Some Drums for MLK

I woke up Monday morning staring down the ass end of a long weekend. Not only that but at the very last wee hours of eight long years of dirty tricks. It was a day off, a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday. The weather was absolutely awesome and everyone was excited about the Obama festivities to come. So, after a walk in the sun and a few cups of coffee, I picked a dozen or so choice records and emerged from the bedroom around dark with this mix. It's filled with some really tight drumming, including one of my favorite tracks from last year by the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (that's them in the picture above). It also has some old 60's proto-reggae and some bizarre jazz. The dominant theme is the horns and the drums. Plenty helpings of each!

The name is stolen from the first track off Mikey Dread's African Anthem Dubwise album, which is called "Saturday Night Style." It's totally wicked and I wanted to squeeze the track on here, but it wasn't to be -- maybe next time. And since this was a Monday night, in respect to MLK I took a little bit of liberty. Feel like there's plenty of that going around these days.

Veggie Burritos Podcast #5: Monday Night Style

photo courtesy of The Fader