Eldar
Don Byron
Pianist Jason Moran, who will be appearing here at the Blue Note next week with Francisco Mela's Group.
Since its inception in 1981, The Blue Note has become one of the premier jazz clubs in the world and a cultural institution in New York City. The Blue Note Blog gives an in depth and behind the scenes look at our world class artists through interviews, concert reviews, sound check reports, pictures, and other exclusive content. For tickets/reservations, please call 212-475-8592 or visit our website at www.bluenotejazz.com
Thursday, August 30, 2007
DON BYRON + ELDAR PICTURES!
EldarDon ByronPianist Jason Moran, who will be appearing here at the Blue Note next week with Francisco Mela's Group.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Win a pair of FREE TICKETS to Don Byron Quartet + Eldar!
The Blue Note is giving away a few pairs of tickets on select nights for this week's show, the double feature of Don Byron Ivey-Divey Quartet + Eldar.
Tickets will be given away for the 10:30pm sets on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday of this week.
To enter, email your name, phone number, and the night you wish to attend with your guest to
contests@bluenote.net
GOOD LUCK!
MATTHEW SHIPP TRIO reviewed...
Matthew Shipp performing with his trio at the Blue Note on Monday night. Songs That Are Keyed to Slipping, Sliding and Quivering
Published: August 29, 2007
Jazz musicians often title their songs offhandedly, with a kind of disinterested shrug. The pianist Matthew Shipp puts more thought into the process, judging by a few of his recent compositions. “Slips Through the Fingers,” for example. Or “Sliding Through Space,” or “Quivering With Speed.” All three titles appear side by side on Mr. Shipp’s new studio album.
On Monday night, to celebrate the release of the album — “Piano Vortex” (Thirsty Ear), yet another kinetic phrase — Mr. Shipp led his trio through two sets at the Blue Note. The first took the form of a persuasive suite, with no momentum-sapping interruptions. It also underscored the functional bond between Mr. Shipp and the rhythm section of Joe Morris on bass and Whit Dickey on drums.
Mr. Shipp puts a high premium on slippery subversions; his obduracy has more to do with artful dissonance than with blunt impact. Near the middle of the set, on a theme called “The New Circumstance,” he chimed a series of spiraling chords in 7/4 meter. With bass and drums rustling fast beneath him, that passage momentarily evoked the pianist and composer Andrew Hill.
Elsewhere there were dark rumbles, slow-building crescendos and the occasional spry syncopation. One engaging section delivered the boppish pianism of Bud Powell. Throughout the set Mr. Shipp guided the trio with both hands on the keyboard, allocating equal time to portentous chords and silvery arpeggios.
Mr. Morris, an esteemed avant-garde guitarist, is less authoritative a bassist than William Parker, Mr. Shipp’s longtime collaborator. Putting aside that unfair comparison, Mr. Morris was effective as both foundation and foil: in his spidery walking bass lines, especially, he imbued the music with a useful twinge of unease. His bowing was more of an outright irritant, perhaps not entirely on purpose.
Mr. Dickey was more responsive in his interactions, creating a dialogue with both bass and piano. Texturally, he enlisted everything from a raspy murmur of brushes to a fierce bashing of cymbals, as warranted by the flow of improvisation. And he was the picture of composure, often sitting motionless, except for an octopus-like undulation of limbs.
As is often his custom, Mr. Shipp closed the set with a familiar theme. Here it was “Someday My Prince Will Come,” the Disney-generated waltz that Miles Davis helped transform into a jazz standard. Mr. Shipp subjected it to some barbed pointillism, seemingly with a purpose in mind.
Where most interpretations of the song focus on its sense of dreamy longing, this one convincingly sounded a note of anxiety. So that “someday” in the title felt a bit less comforting. Suppose the prince’s name is Godot and you get the idea.
Friday, August 24, 2007
MULTIPLYING THE MIDDLE GROUND - NY TIMES
By NATE CHINEN
Published: August 23, 2007
Among other things, the bassist Dave Holland specializes in a sly manipulation of scale. Over the last few years he has led two successful ensembles: a quintet powerful enough to sound much larger, and a big band agile enough to feel much smaller. His new six-piece group appearing at the Blue Note this week occupies a flexible middle ground.
Dave Holland performing at the Blue Note. This is the band’s second appearance in New York. This band has played in New York just once before, in January, and doesn’t yet have as solid a footing as its precursors. Its first set on Tuesday night felt a bit like a warm-up, starting cautiously and moving toward a more rewarding sense of near-abandon. Along the way there was ample opportunity for each musician to make a strong impression.
For the trombonist Robin Eubanks and the trumpeter Alex (Sasha) Sipiagin that meant improvisation in a heroic mode, steeped in proficiency and clarity. But the more engaging soloist was the alto saxophonist Antonio Hart, whose playing conveyed an additional sense of expedition, and a temperament both restless and soulful. Mr. Hart does solid work in Mr. Holland’s big band, but here he has the space and elasticity he needs.
The rhythm section, consisting of Mr. Holland with the pianist Mulgrew Miller and the drummer Eric Harland, worked commandingly. The central bond, between bass and drums, was especially impressive. Mr. Harland brought an inventive ebullience to his role, using toms and cymbals (and tabla, tambourine and shakers) for the purposes of texture as well as propulsion.
That variety helped animate the tunes, which seemed to have been uniformly built from the ground up. In most cases there was a repetitive bass line at the root, and a melody paired with countermelody, producing a question-and-answer effect. And the song forms stubbornly avoided symmetry. “Equality” was the only piece in a common meter, and even then its 16 beats were parsed unevenly, as five plus five plus six.
These devices are characteristic of Mr. Holland, whose career took flight in the 1970s, initially encompassing fusion with Miles Davis and free jazz with Sam Rivers. A few months ago Mr. Holland reunited with Mr. Rivers, the august multireedist, for a major concert. Here he offered “Rivers Run,” which ended the set on a triumphant note. The first section was impressionistic, with some Middle Eastern modalities that Mr. Hart mined in an incantatory vein. Then came a virtuoso solo by Mr. Holland. What followed was no less dazzling: a feverish turn by Mr. Eubanks, an explosive showcase for Mr. Harland, and a plangent, straining essay by Mr. Sipiagin. Finally the tune drew to a halt, with a full-ensemble flourish. Hitting its mark, the band sounded many times its size.
The Dave Holland Sextet continues through Sunday at the Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village; (212) 475-8592.
Published: August 23, 2007
Among other things, the bassist Dave Holland specializes in a sly manipulation of scale. Over the last few years he has led two successful ensembles: a quintet powerful enough to sound much larger, and a big band agile enough to feel much smaller. His new six-piece group appearing at the Blue Note this week occupies a flexible middle ground.
Dave Holland performing at the Blue Note. This is the band’s second appearance in New York. This band has played in New York just once before, in January, and doesn’t yet have as solid a footing as its precursors. Its first set on Tuesday night felt a bit like a warm-up, starting cautiously and moving toward a more rewarding sense of near-abandon. Along the way there was ample opportunity for each musician to make a strong impression.
For the trombonist Robin Eubanks and the trumpeter Alex (Sasha) Sipiagin that meant improvisation in a heroic mode, steeped in proficiency and clarity. But the more engaging soloist was the alto saxophonist Antonio Hart, whose playing conveyed an additional sense of expedition, and a temperament both restless and soulful. Mr. Hart does solid work in Mr. Holland’s big band, but here he has the space and elasticity he needs.
The rhythm section, consisting of Mr. Holland with the pianist Mulgrew Miller and the drummer Eric Harland, worked commandingly. The central bond, between bass and drums, was especially impressive. Mr. Harland brought an inventive ebullience to his role, using toms and cymbals (and tabla, tambourine and shakers) for the purposes of texture as well as propulsion.
That variety helped animate the tunes, which seemed to have been uniformly built from the ground up. In most cases there was a repetitive bass line at the root, and a melody paired with countermelody, producing a question-and-answer effect. And the song forms stubbornly avoided symmetry. “Equality” was the only piece in a common meter, and even then its 16 beats were parsed unevenly, as five plus five plus six.
These devices are characteristic of Mr. Holland, whose career took flight in the 1970s, initially encompassing fusion with Miles Davis and free jazz with Sam Rivers. A few months ago Mr. Holland reunited with Mr. Rivers, the august multireedist, for a major concert. Here he offered “Rivers Run,” which ended the set on a triumphant note. The first section was impressionistic, with some Middle Eastern modalities that Mr. Hart mined in an incantatory vein. Then came a virtuoso solo by Mr. Holland. What followed was no less dazzling: a feverish turn by Mr. Eubanks, an explosive showcase for Mr. Harland, and a plangent, straining essay by Mr. Sipiagin. Finally the tune drew to a halt, with a full-ensemble flourish. Hitting its mark, the band sounded many times its size.
The Dave Holland Sextet continues through Sunday at the Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village; (212) 475-8592.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
DAVE HOLLAND SEXTET PICTURES!
Dave Holland is leading a band for the first time at the Blue Note this week. The band is tight and polished, and lucky for us they'll be at the Blue Note until Sunday!
Dave Holland and Antonio Hart
Dave Holland holds down the groove for Antonio Hart, Alex Sipiagin, and Robin EubanksCLICK "READ MORE" BELOW TO SEE MORE PICTURES!
Dave Holland debuts as a bandleader to a sold out crowd on Tuesday at the Blue Note
Mr. Holland and alto saxophonist Antonio Hart get into it
Go, Antonio!
Eric Harland on the kit
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
DAVE BRUBECK tickets on sale NOVEMBER 24! - ONE NIGHT ONLY
Dave Brubeck and his quartet are making a RARE club appearance - the first at the Blue Note since 1994 - for one night only on Saturday, November 24. Get your tickets while they're still available! You can purchase tickets by visiting www.bluenotejazz.com
Monday, August 20, 2007
CHARLIE HADEN in photoshoot for DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE
The Blue Note Blogger was on hand for Charlie Haden's photoshoot for Downbeat Magazine...
Charlie and his wife Ruth pose for a shot behind the bass
Charlie and his wife Ruth pose for a shot behind the bass
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)