Favourite Live Jazz Event
Ron Santen
What is the greatest jazz concert, club gig, or event you have ever been to?
Why?
I'd have to say mine were:
1. seeing Thelonius Monk with Charlie Rouse at 2 concerts on consecutive
nights in Melbourne - the first was really quite bad - but the second was
amazing - the man was a genius - it took me weeks to stop thinking about it.
2. Seeing the Oscar Peterson Trio with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen ( 6 months
after they had come together) in a small nightclub in Melbourne over 5
nights - they were incredibly powerful and creative every night - and I was
about 4 metres away from them each night.
3. Seeing the Duke Ellington band with Hodges, Carney, Williams, Brown,
Gonsalves.
Sigh - now if I had seen W.A. Mozart live in concert ...........
Ron Santen
E-mail: san...@iinet.net.au
Blue Lake
Ron Santen <san...@iinet.net.au> wrote in message
news:38bbc738$0$28...@echo-01.iinet.net.au...
LV
>
Jay Epstein
was a flat out epiphany for me as a young jazz drummer. I never knew
music could be so important, so powerful, so MEANINGFUL.
Jay Epstein
Bosphorus Endorser.
http://www.bridgeboymusic.com/longago/main.htm
PRProf
privileged--as a function of age, you understand--to see and hear live over 100
"name" jazz musicians during the past 45 years, beginning with my dad taking me
to hear Ramsey Lewis in Chicago in 1955. About the only legendary musician I
missed was Bird. (Well, ok...Buddy Bolden, also.) Anyway, perhaps of all those
events, none sticks with me so much as witnessing Coltrane's early
experimentation with harmonics or sheets of sound or whatever one wants to
refer to what he was doing live in 1962. I was the only white face in the
standing-room-only crowd in a Brooklyn venue, the name of which now escapes me
(Colony?). Despite almost 40 years having gone by, I can still see him on
stage in that post-"Favorite Things" time frame, before he went into
Interstellar Space, doing the most amazing things I'd ever heard on the
soprano.
One of the nice things about this group is that when one relates musical
memories, it often brings up stories from others, who then share their
reminiscences, even if they don't go back quite so far!
Bill
Tom Walls
did I don't remember their names). I was at Indiana University during the
early 70's and there was a very vibrant music scene at that time. There was a
"fusion" that didn't really find the mainstream market, that absorbed jazz,
rock, and funk. There were spontaneous free concerts on campus, recitals in
the publice library, and concerts in the theaters. You would literally bump
into an exciting musical event on the street. I knew then that it was a very
special time, but I didn't realize that it might be unique.
--
Tom Walls
the guy at the Temple of Zeus
http://www.arts.cornell.edu/zeus/
BeelzBubba
writes:
>>
>> What is the greatest jazz concert, club gig, or event you have ever been
>to?
>> Why?
Tough question, because there are a handful of great nights I remember, and the
"greatest" could be one of several equals. No way to say that one outshone all
the others.
At this precise moment, the strongest memory of a Great Performance that I have
is an early-mid 70's engagement of Marion Brown at the Jazz Showcase in
Chicago. This ties in with several threads that have been ongoing -
1) An outstanding performance despite the challenges of the winter weather in
Chicago
2) Mind-blowing J.A.Z.Z. by a group of musicians that would be labelled by some
as outside of jazz.
The scene - Mindnumbingly cold and snowy January or Feebruary in Chicago. A
recent heavy snow and nighttime temps well below zero, and don't forget to add
in the wind chill factor for being right off Lake Michigan. The Jazz Showcase
was in the basement of the Happy Medium on Rush near Oak, IIRC.
Marion Brown had been enjoying a modicum of note because of Geechee
Recollections on ABC/Impulse and Sweet Earth Flying was just about to come out.
But the brutal weather and crippling snowstorm kept all but about 9 or 10 of
us from showing up. Would the band play? A couple decided to go, but we hung
on, figuring that the band was in the same situation we were, with no place to
go.
Marion had contacted friends in the AACM to provide the rhythm section, so we
were pleased to see Muhal Abrams, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall assemble in
the well that served as the stage in this incarnation of Segal's Showcase.
After a little appreciative welcome from the band to we hardy stragglers Brown
set off on an exploration of the hard blues on alto, with the bedrock core of
the Muhal Abrams sextet swing, swang, swungin' behind him, around him, ahead of
him, and most definitely with him.
This was Thursday of a Thursday-Saturday engagement, and there were 6 to 15 of
us there each night. Each night was a different exploration of the idiom of
jazz from the perspective of this small group. And each night ended with a
round of handshakes and small talk between the band and the faithful.
Any of the handful of shows that I would consider in the running for "greatest"
have a personal connection for me -- after all, I am the star of my life story
am I not?
(for those of you who do not know me yet, my tongue is firmly in cheek)
Lesdhutch
band(Richmond,Nelloms,etc.),at a Seattle jazz club(the Bank?)in the mid-'70sHe
stopped the band in mid-tune,and barked at the trumpeter,"If you can't read
it,don't play it!".Also saw Joe Venuti in the same venue,who accompanied a
belly dancer invited down from the up-stairs Greek restaraunt.
2)Driving from my gig in Lewiston,Idaho on an off-day 300 miles to Seattle to
see Miles Davis in his last Seattle appearance,his playing was so-so,but I SAW
MILES!
3)Going to Europe in '93 to attend Montreux,North Sea Jazz Fest,and Copenhagen
Jazz Fest.(Wynton,Charles LLoyd,Hutcherson/Tyner,etc.,etc.)It was one big event
to me!
4)1st time I saw Weather Report,w/ Gravatt,Romao,etc.A real ear-opener.
5)Sonny Rollins at the Seattle Opera House,late '70s or early '80s.
Howard Peirce
> My favorite live jazz events didn't feature any "name" musicians(or if they
> did I don't remember their names). I was at Indiana University during the
> early 70's and there was a very vibrant music scene at that time. There was a
> "fusion" that didn't really find the mainstream market, that absorbed jazz,
> rock, and funk. There were spontaneous free concerts on campus, recitals in
> the publice library, and concerts in the theaters. You would literally bump
> into an exciting musical event on the street. I knew then that it was a very
> special time, but I didn't realize that it might be unique.
I don't know the exact dates each of them attended IU, but among the almumni of
the music program during the late 60s/early 70s, were Micheal and Randy Brecker
and Peter Erskine (and others I'm forgetting). I'm not surprised the multi-fusion
scene was happening. When I was at IU in the mid-80s, that scene was still being
talked about. We used to hang out in the practice buildings and lament that we
weren't there when those things were happening. In retrospect, though, there was
some pretty happening stuff going on when I was there (Bob Hurst, Shawn Pelton,
Ralph Bowen, Scott Wendholt, et al).
HP
Tom Walls
>
>I don't know the exact dates each of them attended IU, but among the almumni
of
>the music program during the late 60s/early 70s, were Micheal and Randy
Brecker
>and Peter Erskine (and others I'm forgetting). I'm not surprised the
multi-fusion
>scene was happening. When I was at IU in the mid-80s, that scene was still
being
>talked about. We used to hang out in the practice buildings and lament that
we
>weren't there when those things were happening. In retrospect, though, there
was
>some pretty happening stuff going on when I was there (Bob Hurst, Shawn
Pelton,
>Ralph Bowen, Scott Wendholt, et al).
>
>HP
>
>
Music writer Michael Bourne was a local Bloomington writer at the time. I
guess he'd probably remember the details.
DOUG NORWOOD
My favorites:
Seeing the Claude Thornhill band, with Tony Scott and Hal McKusick among
others, in 1949. Why? It was my FIRST experience of seeing a nationally
known band and my first time actually talking to musicians I had known only
as names.
My first time at Birdland, early part of 1955, seeing Basie and the MJQ.
Need I explain why?
JATP, Frankfurt Germany, 1956. Dizzy, Eldridge, Flip, Jacquet, Peterson,
Ella, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown. Truly a night to remember.
Benny Carter with Ray Brown's trio at Loa in LA, August 1987. Sensation of
being in the presence of an immortal. Hell, I WAS!
A Lou Donaldson performance at a street fair 10 or 12 years ago. I have
never seen a more exciting performance, even from far greater names.
DougN
Ron Santen <san...@iinet.net.au> wrote in message
news:38bbc738$0$28...@echo-01.iinet.net.au...
> OK - here is one to keep all you RMB contributors and lurkers busy.
>
> What is the greatest jazz concert, club gig, or event you have ever been
to?
> Why?
>
Marc Sabatella
> What is the greatest jazz concert, club gig, or event you have ever
been to?
> Why?
Hard to pick just one, of course. Two that come to mind are seeing the
Either/Orchestra anniversary / reunion concert in Boston a few years
ago, and also the Mingus Big Band, also in Boston, simply because the
music was so overwhelming. Something about music so big in conception,
being played by a group equally big in sheer numbers. I also really
enjoyed hearing the Gerry Hemingway Quartet in Denver a couple of years
ago, because the music was so much fun to listen to. Similarly, hearing
the Omer Avital group at Small's a few years ago was an ey-opener for
me - the only group I've ever heard capture the magic of the Mingus
small groups. Oh, which reminds me, hearing the Don Pullen / Goerge
Adams quartet at Yoshi's in Oaklan shortly (like maybe a matter of
days?) before the death of Dannie Richmond - the energy of that group
made me imagine what it must have been like to hear Coltrane in the
60's, even if the music was of a different nature.
--------------
Marc Sabatella
ma...@outsideshore.com
Check out my latest CD, "Second Course"
Available on Cadence Jazz Records
Also "A Jazz Improvisation Primer", Sound clips, Scores, & More:
http://www.outsideshore.com/
Ronny Johannessen
1.Art Blakeys messengers in Bergen, Norway 1981. With a blushing young
Wynton (17 ?), so full of energy that he did not follow his band to the
intermission room, but stayed onstage rehearsing to himself and some other
nearby listeners.
2. George Coleman with Hilton Ruiz, Billy Higgins and a bassist not longer
remembered at Vossajazz 1981 (a small jazz festival blending in folk music
in the norwegian mountains). The club concert was sunday evening, for the
real enthusiasts. Started slowly and quite unengaged, but the musicians and
listeners got each other going by splendid cooperation. The guys kept
playing till dawn.
3. Finnish Trio Töykeät playing at the small swedish island Koster last
summer. A truly unique band, full of humour and (self) irony. They even made
it to the finnish hit lists (#12) with a tune from their last CD, Sisu.
Check them out!
4. Arturo Sandoval playing at the jazz festival in Leverkusen, Germany late
in the eighties.
5. Dizzy Gillespies United Nation Orchestra in Copenhagen, Denmark 1990.
Ronny
Furlongv
Then......Davis, Shorter, Hancock, Carter, Williams at the Guthrie in MPLS
'67....just being there was a kick.
Now......a set by Roy Haynes, Donald Harrison, Darrly Grant, and non-remembered
bassist at the Iowa City Jazz Festival mid 90s....we were driven into a dumpy
bar by rain, but the band cooked, kicked, sizzled, swung, and "cliched" some
more
"Vince, be good!".....Vince's Mom
Nclineprez
!. 1978, Miami Airliner Lounge
Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Dexter playing with Mel Lewis, Rufus Reid and
Jimmy Rowles(?) great Tenor cutting session. Anyone else remember that night?
2. 1978 or 79, Miami Airliner Lounge.
Jimmy Smith. The lelsie speaker was placed on top of a large grand piano
causing terrible sympathetic vibration when the organ was played. After the
first tune Jimmy refused to continue because of the awful sound. The club
owner and Jimmy got into a heated discussion the owner insisting Jimmy play
the Piano instead of his Hammond B3!
Anyone else remember this night?j
@. 1978, Miami Airliner Lounge
nclineprez
Dennis J. Kosterman
1. A jazz festival in Milwaukee in the early 80s, featuring,
among others, the Heath Brothers, the "Great Quartet" (Freddie
Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter (?), and Elvin Jones), and Sarah
Vaughan.
2. Ella Fitzgerald in Madison a few years later, with an
unexpected appearance by guitar legend Joe Pass.
3. Mingus Big Band in Madison a few years back --
electrifying!
4. T.S. Monk's "Monk on Monk" band -- same kind of thing as
#3, and equally well-done.
5. A drum clinic by Tony Williams. It was basically 1-1/2
hours or so of drum solo, with a question-and-answer session in the
middle, but the whole thing was riveting. And then he died just a few
weeks later. I was devastated.
6. Front row seats for Myra Melford's "Same River Twice Band".
Probably my most enjoyable concert experience ever, partly because
they're a great band, and partly because of the great seat I had. I
could see and hear every little thing they did, and it was
fascinating.
7. Roscoe Mitchell at the Cafe Montmartre in Madison.
Extremely uncomfortable, standing room only, poor line-of-sight, but
the music was mesmerizing. After the first set, I went to the bathroom
and found myself in line behind the entire band (except Roscoe). They
had mentioned that they were selling CDs, so I went up to buy a couple
and found myself talking to Roscoe Mitchell himself. I expected a
whole bunch of his most recent CD -- instead, he had one or two each
of 20 or 30 different ones, and he wanted to show me all of 'em! The
first two things he pulls out are "Sound Songs" and the 5-CD Art
Ensemble set on Nessa. Of course, I already had both of those -- I
hope he didn't think I was just saying that because I was too cheap to
buy them! I ended up buying "Nine to Get Ready" and "4 Compositions".
8. Paying big bucks to rent a car and driving down to Chicago
in a snowstorm to see Cecil Taylor (just a week and a half ago). I
don't go to very many big name concerts anymore, because they cost too
damn much. But for Cecil Taylor (probably my favorite living
musician), I'll make an exception. Between the ticket, car rental,
gas, tolls, parking, etc., I spent close to $200, and I don't regret a
penny of it. The concert was awesome, dude! If he ever comes around
here again, I'll go see him again, whatever it costs.
Was that more than one? Sorry, I got carried away...
Dennis J. Kosterman
den...@tds.net
Alan David Mills
British Musicians Union ban was lifted in 1956, I went to as many
concerts by visiting bands as I could over the next few years; so:
Count Basie in 1957 with, essentially the "Atomic" band. Great
soloists such as Lockjaw Davis, Joe Newman and Thad Jones, great
showstopping drumming by Sonny Payne.
Gerry Mulligan and Bob Brookmeyer in 1957 - so good I went to three
times on the same tour.
Duke in the late 1960s with Johnny Hodges still sounding beautiful
and genuine legends in Cootie Williams, Lawrence Brown and Harry
Carney. I also saw Duke in 1958 but the later tour was better - not
so many medleys, but more new compositions and extended versions of
older favourites.
The Jazz Couriers (Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes) in 1958 or '59 -
they were supporting Dave Brubeck but were worth the price of the
ticket on their own.
More recently (within the last 5 years) I've enjoyed concerts by
Jessica Williams and by Jimmy Smith.
We don't get so many visitors to Britain these days and sometimes
I've been disappointed. One example was "The Count Basie Band" last
year - I suppose it was nostalgia which made me go to the concert and
the tribute band was no match for the real thing - especially with
the sound system being set fortissimo by a freaked-out rock roadie.
--
Alan Mills (living in Devon, England)
Lincoln
I know I'm going to leave something out.
1. Sonny Rollins - The Paradise in Boston 1983. I was front and
center. His spit was all over me. I haven't bathed since.
2. Miles - Avery Fischer Hall in NY 1983. Bob Berg, Schofield, Darryl
Jones, etc. Too far back to get spit on me.
3. Miles - Dallas 1990. Foley, etc. Great band. Loved it. (No spit)
4. Stanley Clarke - Dallas - 1979. Changed my life. Ray Gomez, Jerry
Brown, Full horn section, Dave Sansious on Keyboards. He played
"Confirmation" duet on Acoustic Bass with his Trumpet player. I didn't
know that anyone could play electric or acoustic until that day.
5. Mike Stern-Bar in Boston 1984
6. Pat Methany - small jazz shows- Ryles in Boston 1983-1984. Straight
ahead trios.
7. Stevie Wonder- 1980. Great concert.
8. Show in Dallas with Quincy Jones (James Ingram), Frankie Beverly &
Maze, Ashford & Simpson, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder.
9. Living Colour - 1987 - NYC; CD release party for "Vivid".
Unbelievable.
10. Every show I have ever seen by a band called "King's X". Best rock
band in the world.
11. Fishbone - Lalapalooza in Dallas. The subbed at the Dallas show
for Nine Inch Nails. I would have liked to have seen them, but
Fishbone was awsome.
12.Oscar Peterson - 1979 Dallas Jazz Festival. Played Solo fro about
an hour. If I'd been any closer I would have been showered in sweat.
13. Elvin Jones - Thanksgiving Night-Village Vanguard NYC. Reggie
Workman, Fumio Tabashi on piano, 2 tenore players, AWSOME.
14. Ron, Tony, and Herbie at the 75th anniversary of the Village
Vanguard in 1985. (might have been the 50th, I can't remember.)
Incredible show. They played Pinnoccio, and some other biggies.
15.Joe Pass- Not a show, but a clinic. Boston.
16. Ray Brown clinic-he sang melodies and played bass lines.
17. Richie Beirach clinic. He played solo, and demonstrated reharming,
and during the second tune, Leibman joined in from offstage and came
out and played.
I can't remember any more. OH!!! Stevie Ray Vaughn. Once abouta year
before he died. (AWSOME SHOW!!!!), and once many years before in
Austin when he was fucked up. It actually wasn't a show, but a jamm
session the I played in. We played a couple of tunes together at
Antone's, and they he retired to Antone's office to do some coke. I
left.
That's really all I can remember.
Lincoln
Ira Chineson
don't know if the place is still in business, but it was a relatively
small performance space and I was sitting close to the front row for 2
sets of Rivers' and Holland's incredible duets. I remember leaving
the club floating on air and babbling for days to my brother about the
greatness of the music. Some time later I saw a sad performance at the
same venue when an incoherent Hank Mobley started his first set, only
to stop suddenly and start in on a rambling monologue that was
interrupted by the drummer, who ushered him off the bandstand.After a
short break the music went on without Mobley and I left.
Also in Washington around the same time: Sheila Jordan with Steve Kuhn,
Harvie Swartz and Bob Moses at the One Step Down, an intimate (or
cramped) club where I was as close as possible to Jordan. Between sets
she even sat down at my table (more like a booth) and made gracious
small talk with me. I was thrilled by the music and her presence.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Michael Kelly
>4)1st time I saw Weather Report,w/ Gravatt,Romao,etc.A real ear-opener.
I have to put WR at the top of my list. The first time I heard them
"Live" I didn't really get to see them, although the stage wasn't
that far away. Early '70s in Boston they had outdoor concerts
on the common called "SummerThing" and they had a fenced
in area with a tarp so you couldn't see too well unless you paid
to get inside, but you could hear it just fine outside. They
had a Jazz Night and WR, Maynard Ferguson and Michael
White were the groups. When WR was playing the music
carried through all the downtown area... very spacey stuff,
so when you walked around the common and Tremont St.
the whole thing had a surrealistic quality.
I got to see them again later at the Berk. Perf. Center when
the "Heavy Weather" album was current. That was fun too.
I think the highest quality playing I ever got to see live AFA
jazz goes was Jackie McLean at the festival in Hollywood
Florida. I forget what they called it, maybe the Sunset Fest.
or something, but Jackie was great.. not to mention the ticket
only cost like $5!
Well, I have to add the proviso that at the Berk. show between
sets WR left Jaco Pastorius on stage while they took about a
40 minute break. He kept us entertained with the most awesome
and bizarre Fender fretless bass solos. Everyone was mesmerized
as he did nobody knows quite what with all these electronic gizmos
and his bass guitar, but whatever it was it sounded great! Definitely
the most outstanding single solo on any instrument in any style
I ever witnessed! :)
Mike
--
"I don't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member."
-- Groucho Marx
JAHBERO
<a.m...@zetnet.co.uk> writes:
>
>The Jazz Couriers (Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes) in 1958 or '59 -
>they were supporting Dave Brubeck but were worth the price of the
>ticket on their own.
16 February 1958, Dominion, Tottenham Court Road, London. After all these years
this concert remains one of my all time jazz listening and watching
experiences.Ronnie, Tubby, Terry Shannon, Phil Bates and Bill Eyden. What
memories!
Jack Lefton
The first time I saw Sun Ra, Slugs Saloon, 67, four continuous hours of
music by at least two dozen musicians.
Return to Forever, Cleveland, Smiling Dog Saloon, 72(?), Farrell wasn't with
the band, just Corea, Clark, Airto, and Flora. Sometime Ago/La Fiesta gave
me a figurative orgasm.
Clusone 3, Vancouver Jazz Festival, 94. I had liked their records, but
visually, with Reijseger's fluency and Bennink's impishness, I was blown
away.
--
Jack Lefton
jle...@columbus.rr.com
http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/8835
PRProf
more from a vast bank of favorites:
Dexter, on his 1976 return to the U.S. at the (late, lamented, like everything
else) Showboat in Silver Spring, MD; holding his sax sideways and "presenting"
it to the crowd after finishing a number;
Sitt and Ammons battling "Up and Down" two feet in front of me behind the bar
at McKie's, with Major Holley singing through his bass, in 1959;
Cannonball and Nat at the Sutherland Lounge in Chicago, also 1959, with Cannon
sitting with us after a set and telling me my filthy trenchcoat had "soul"
(I never washed it again);
Gerry Mulligan, also at the Sutherland, circa 1959, telling me to "go away, I'm
trying to listen to the band," as I spoke to him while he was walking around
the club during a set;
Jackie and Rene at Yoshi's, circa 1993, playing one of the best sets I've ever
heard by any group (even my wife liked it);
Walking out...walking out!...after two tunes at the University of Wisconsin
theater in 1965, following a Paul Chambers bass solo and some incomprehensible
squawking by Trane that set everyone's teeth on edge and made me question my
allegiance to the "new" jazz.
Bill
Jon Wilkinson
JAHBERO <jah...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000302164424...@nso-fj.aol.com...
As luck would have it I have just received a copy of this concert on CD
from www.crazyjazz.co.uk
It's on a new CD by the Jazz Couriers called "Some Of My Best Friends" on
the Ember label and as far as I can make out from consulting my old
Bruyninckx reissues the Tempo LPs "Jazz Couriers" and "In Concert".
Jon.
jan winter
wrote:
>OK - here is one to keep all you RMB contributors and lurkers busy.
>
>What is the greatest jazz concert, club gig, or event you have ever been to?
>Why?
Too many to pick out just one (but you didn't either ( -: )
- Ayler/Cherry/Peacock/Murray, 1964, Sheherezade, A'dam;
- Albert & Don + band, Doelen, some years later, Rotterdam;
- two Coltrane 4-tet concerts, mid-60's, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam;
- Rollins/Cherry/Grimes/Higgins, 1964, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam;
- two Philly Joe Jones gigs, mid-70's;
- one (of several) Blakey Jazz Messengers gig, mid-70's,
Concertgebouw, Haarlem (a beautiful mid-size hall. I was sitting on
the side of the stage with perfect view on Blakey's feet!)
The "smaller" one that I cherish most was Jimmy Lyons / Alan Silva /
Sonny Murray at the BIM-huis, Amsterdam, mid 70's. One of the most
swinging performances I've ever attended. Lyons was the Ernie Henry of
the 70's!
--
Regards, Jan Winter, Amsterdam
(j.wi...@xs4all.nl)
"Music speaks louder than words, so we'd rather voice our opinion that way...if you don't mind"
(Charlie Parker)
Tom Walls
>snip
>
>Also in Washington around the same time: Sheila Jordan with Steve Kuhn,
>Harvie Swartz and Bob Moses at the One Step Down, an intimate (or
>cramped) club where I was as close as possible to Jordan. Between sets
>she even sat down at my table (more like a booth) and made gracious
>small talk with me. I was thrilled by the music and her presence.
>
>
So, Ira, have you heard Sheila's recent recording "Jazz Child"? She's
backed by a trio with Steve Kuhn on piano. Overall I'd give the recording
about a "B", but I thought Steve(and Sheila) sounded terrific.
Jazzcorner
We had Art Blakey and his group, the Bill Evans Trio
(w.Johnson/LaBarbera), also the George Coleman octet and the Woody
Herman Band , Barney Kessel and Chet Baker live in our private
jazzclub at Koblenz (Germany) and taped them with authorization of the
artists. Great stuff, sometimes better than the comerially issued
recordings.
W.B.
Ron Santen <san...@iinet.net.au> schrieb in im Newsbeitrag:
38bbc738$0$28...@echo-01.iinet.net.au...
> OK - here is one to keep all you RMB contributors and lurkers busy.
>
> What is the greatest jazz concert, club gig, or event you have ever
been to?
> Why?
>
Alan David Mills
from jah...@aol.com (JAHBERO) contains these words:
> In article <200003021...@zetnet.co.uk>, Alan David Mills
> <a.m...@zetnet.co.uk> writes:
> >
> >The Jazz Couriers (Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes) in 1958 or '59 -
> >they were supporting Dave Brubeck but were worth the price of the
> >ticket on their own.
> 16 February 1958, Dominion, Tottenham Court Road, London. After all these years
> this concert remains one of my all time jazz listening and watching
> experiences.Ronnie, Tubby, Terry Shannon, Phil Bates and Bill Eyden. What
> memories!
That was the one! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who remembers it.
PRProf
Washington; what a great little place. Even saw the great Gap Mangione there
once (not really being snarky; just a rather obscure memory). Wonderful local
talent over the years.
Bill
Ron Santen
"Nclineprez" <nclin...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000301220943...@ng-bh1.aol.com...
> I have two most memorable jazz moments
>
> !. 1978, Miami Airliner Lounge
>
> Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Dexter playing with Mel Lewis, Rufus Reid and
> Jimmy Rowles(?) great Tenor cutting session. Anyone else remember that
night?
Now that is one I would dream about till I go and have a drink with them in
the great Birdland in the sky
Ron Santen
PRProf
1978...must've been incredible.
Bill
Gary Smiley
Workshop in Boston. It was a Sunday matinee, and it cost 99 cents! I'll never
forget it.
BTW I saw Monk in 1964, and I still remember some of the licks he played.
Dennis J. Kosterman
>Walking out...walking out!...after two tunes at the University of Wisconsin
>theater in 1965, following a Paul Chambers bass solo and some incomprehensible
>squawking by Trane that set everyone's teeth on edge and made me question my
>allegiance to the "new" jazz.
You WALKED OUT on Coltrane?!?!? The horror... the horror...
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
Dennis J. Kosterman
den...@tds.net
DOUG NORWOOD
I would have said Brubeck was supporting the Couriers. Tubbs was a MONSTER
with Scott not too far behind.
DougN
Alan David Mills <a.m...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:200003021...@zetnet.co.uk...
> .
>
> The Jazz Couriers (Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes) in 1958 or '59 -
> they were supporting Dave Brubeck but were worth the price of the
> ticket on their own.
>
>
Hal Vickery
(1) Sonny Rollins at the Jazz Showcase ca. 1972-73. Joe Segal, for this
special event was admitting people by the set, which to our group of
college students was a right-wing reactionary thing to do. We could only
afford one set, but were told that if there was any room in the third set,
we'd only have to buy the minimum and not pay the cover. They let us in.
Rollins was hot both sets. The evening concluded with Sonny playing at
least a dozen choruses of "There's No Place Like Home" (or is it "Home
Sweet Home") that were just amazing.
(2) Gene Harris at the Elco Theater in Elkhart, IN about 7-8 years ago.
Terrific quartet with Roy Eschete' on guitar, Luther Hughes on bass, and
Paul Humphreys on drums. It was a small crowd, the only small one he'd
play to that weekend after the word of mouth, and by the time it was over
most of them were on their feet, or shouting, screaming, dancing. It was
an experience.
(3) Kenny Drew, Jr. at last year's Elkhart Festival, not one set, but the
entire weekend and in various settings and various combinations. A
terrific combination of chops and ideas.
Since it's limited to jazz, I won't mention Otis Rush at the University of
Illinois in the fall of 1972. 5 of us drove about 180 miles one way in a
Vega to see it, and we weren't disappointed. But that's for another time
and another newsgroup.
nsmf
Michael Kelly
Kosterman) wrote:
>You WALKED OUT on Coltrane?!?!? The horror... the horror...
>
> :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
If you're going to walk out on someone the trick is do to it on the
best! Then you can at least salvage something by bragging about
it later. :)
Murphy McMahon
news:20000303004416...@ng-cd1.aol.com...
> Walking out...walking out!...after two tunes at the University of
Wisconsin
> theater in 1965, following a Paul Chambers bass solo and some
incomprehensible
> squawking by Trane that set everyone's teeth on edge and made me question
my
> allegiance to the "new" jazz.
Trane w/ Chambers in '65??? I thought Garrison was his loyal guy right up
'til the end... you sure it wasn't 'Trane with Miles (& co.) in 1960?
--
Murph
Murphy McMahon
Cannon
> sitting with us after a set and telling me my filthy trenchcoat had "soul"
> (I never washed it again);
That the group with Bobby Timmons? Any way you could describe what Timmons
looked like when he played? Just curious.
--
Murph
Dan Santoro
Ramsey Lewis at the Riverfront Amp. Somehow I snuck into the
front row before she came on and no one touched me. During
her set she finished a song to a rousing standing ovation
and sat down to take a breather. As the applause died down
something inside me blurted out "Ella I love you". She
looked right down at me and said into the mike, "I love you
too, sweetheart."
Jazz isn't just music...
Alan David Mills
from "Jon Wilkinson" <Jon.Wi...@btinternet.com> contains these words:
> JAHBERO <jah...@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:20000302164424...@nso-fj.aol.com...
> > In article <200003021...@zetnet.co.uk>, Alan David Mills
> > <a.m...@zetnet.co.uk> writes:
> >
> > >
> > >The Jazz Couriers (Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes) in 1958 or '59 -
> > >they were supporting Dave Brubeck but were worth the price of the
> > >ticket on their own.
> >
> > 16 February 1958, Dominion, Tottenham Court Road, London. After all these
> years
> > this concert remains one of my all time jazz listening and watching
> > experiences.Ronnie, Tubby, Terry Shannon, Phil Bates and Bill Eyden. What
> > memories!
> As luck would have it I have just received a copy of this concert on CD
> from www.crazyjazz.co.uk
> It's on a new CD by the Jazz Couriers called "Some Of My Best Friends" on
> the Ember label and as far as I can make out from consulting my old
> Bruyninckx reissues the Tempo LPs "Jazz Couriers" and "In Concert".
> Jon.
I knew it had been issued but had never got around to buying it. Now
that I've resurrected this memory, maybe I should get this CD -
thanks for the information.
Bill Duke
Miles Davis, September, 1971. After waiting half-a-lifetime to see a
legend at work, it turned out to be not worth the wait.
I, perhaps foolishly, was hoping for "Kind of Blue" or at least "Four
and More," but this was the height of his "Live/Evil" period and he had
definitely moved on (or gone off somewhere).
He walked out, arm aloft, then dropped his hand, and the band stomped
into a funkadelic beat that never varied for 45 minutes. Miles himself
bleated and blatted a few bars, then left the stage, leaving the band to
pound tunelessly away on their own. Then, a half-hour later, he walked
back on, bleated a few more notes, raised and dropped his hand once
more, and the song stopped. That was it.
After a thunderous appeal for more (led, I suspect, by the crowd feeling
they hadn't really gotten what they'd come for), he came back out and
repeated the exact same procedure. Sheesh.
The only bright spot was the horn player (Gary Bartz, if memory serves)
who tried, at intervals, to impose some sort of melodic order on things.
Beyond him, the evening was one long, shattering disappointment.
Most Rewarding:
Bill Evans, August, 1980. At the Keystone Korner, a wonderful club that,
maddeningly, used to go bust every six months, only to open up again
without warning. There you could hear some of the best jazz in San
Francisco (assuming you got there before it shut down again).
I'd seen Evans several times before, and he was always good, but that
night he sounded truly inspired: Very focused, and playing with an
intensity he rarely displayed. The rhythm section was right in the
pocket, his playing was incandescent, and it was one of those evenings
where everything seemed to just click. He even joked with the crowd
(uncommon for Evans).
I'd never heard his playing sound more alive. I couldn't believe it,
barely a week later, when I heard he wasn't.
Bill
Tom Walls
says...
>
>On Sat, 04 Mar 2000 05:29:48 GMT, den...@tds.net (Dennis J.
>Kosterman) wrote:
>
>>You WALKED OUT on Coltrane?!?!? The horror... the horror...
>>
>> :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
>
>If you're going to walk out on someone the trick is do to it on the
>best! Then you can at least salvage something by bragging about
>it later. :)
>
>
>Mike
I walked out on the Art Ensemble in 1972. It was getting late and I'd left my
wife at home with a new born baby. I was one of maybe a dozen people left
from an audience that originally numbered a couple hundred.
Michael Kelly
wrote:
>
>Miles Davis, September, 1971. After waiting half-a-lifetime to see a
>legend at work, it turned out to be not worth the wait.
The only "name" concert I can remember that deserved walking out on
wasn't jazz.
It was Bonnie Raitt at the Filmore in Boston. She did some
foolery about not having a capo for her guitar, then after shuffling
through some lame songs all discombobulated, a shill in the audience
stood up and threw her a capo! Maybe she had a rough night and
didn't have the stamina for a performance or something. Anyway,
there were too many other good bands to leave. New Riders of
the Purple Sage, Luther Jackson, and others.. but none of it was
jazz. Sorry for off topic. I just can't remember a jazz gig that
was really super lame. I don't count stuff they do at outside
concerts with some form of commercial instrumental music
so... :)
Michael Kelly
<mkel...@NOSPAMgate.net> wrote:
>It was Bonnie Raitt at the Filmore in Boston.
Whoops! Obvious Coffee Depravation. The
concert was at E.M. Lowes(sp?) theater. :)
David Rumpler
but the concert that most impressed me (I was fifteen at the time, and a
newly annointed jazz head and guitarist) was Pat Metheny at Club Zircon
in 1973.
The cover charge: $1.00
I believe it is now the laundramat on Broadway across from Star Market.
David Rumpler
(to write, substitute "rumpler" for "noaddress")
John Bennett
This is an interesting point. I've seen quite a few "important" jazz
artists in concert (Miles, Evans, Hancock, Basie, Peterson etc.). The
concerts, while impressive and excellent did not always fulfill my
inflated expectations.
My favorite evening was, infact Michael Urbaniak with Larry Coryell
(accoustic guitar) at the "Rising Sun" (AKA Rising Toilet) in Montreal
about a bazillion years ago. I think that the absence of expectations and
the spontanaety of the event must have been important factors.
Anyone have this type of experience.
JB
Michael Kelly
>My favorite evening was, infact Michael Urbaniak with Larry Coryell
>(accoustic guitar) at the "Rising Sun" (AKA Rising Toilet) in Montreal
>about a bazillion years ago. I think that the absence of expectations and
>the spontanaety of the event must have been important factors.
>
>Anyone have this type of experience.
Don't know about the expectation thing, but I saw Larry
a few times in the '70s and because he did electrified
fusion with a rock edge I had no trouble getting friends
who only liked Rock and Blues to go with me and they
enjoyed his stuff. As an aside, one of the biggest concert
nights I had, seeing Weather Report at Berk. Perf. Center
I mentioned a few times here, included seeing Al Dimeola
at another club in Copley Sq. before heading there. There
is something to be said for the energy a performer provides.
As a non-jazz example, I saw Alvin Lee and 10 Years After
8 or 10 times in the late 60s early 70s and it was a funny
thing because just about every studio album put out by
the group was pretty poor, but Alvin got energized playing
live and wowed the crowd every time. "Played above himself"
Miles would probably say. Likewise Dimeola cranked it up
that night and got everyone into it.
AFA the big name thing goes, one of the things I think is great
about jazz is you can see someone play at a local club you never
heard of and the person can be highly skilled... as opposed to
some rock/pop stuff where the converse is true. Big name,
with almost no technical ability.
I guess the most common case of the big name jazz player
disappointing would be an older musician who just doesn't
have the chops you expect anymore.
I think one of the most enjoyable shows I saw was
Big Momma' Thornton playing at The Tea Party
in Boston. She wasn't the greatest musician in the
world, but she had that energy even though she
must have been in her 60s at the time. She sang,
played blues harp, and even drums! A good time. :)
>
>JB
Mike
--
"A man's only as old as the woman he feels."
-- Groucho Marx
Blue Lake
Gary Smiley <gasm...@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:38C09EE7...@mediaone.net...
> I saw the John Coltrane Quartet playing material from A Love Supreme at
the Jazz
> Workshop in Boston. It was a Sunday matinee, and it cost 99 cents! I'll
never
> forget it.
> BTW I saw Monk in 1964, and I still remember some of the licks he played.
>
> Ron Santen wrote:
>
> > OK - here is one to keep all you RMB contributors and lurkers busy.
> >
> > What is the greatest jazz concert, club gig, or event you have ever been
to?
> > Why?
> >
Roscoe Mitchell Note Factory featuring Reggie Workman at The Underground
Studio, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Featuring the great 'sco (Bird, Trane Sco
Now!) with A. Spencer Barefield, electric guitar; Jaribu Shahid and Reggie
Workman, basses; Tani Tabbal and Gerald Cleaver, drums.
Why? Workman was teaching at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor at the
time, 1995, and that anything could happen in Grand Rapids with this great
man and Roscoe Mitchell took much work and fundraising to pull together. It
was Cleaver's "audition" with Mitchell. They subsequently recorded together
as The Roscoe Mitchell Trio with Malachi Favors on "The Day and The Night"
dizim records 4101 in November of 1996 and have, as far as I know, an
on-going musical relationship.
Because, the music was slamming, and highlights included "Erika" and a thing
for both basses that rocked the house: "Hop, Hip, Bip-a-rip."
Because Terry Martin drove in from Chicago, and Chuck Nessa, the first
American producer to document Mitchell's music, was there, too, and people
from South Bend, IN, Traverse City, Mount Pleasent and Ann Arbor, MI all
drove in.
About 180 people in this very intimate, stylishly designed loft art gallery
on a March day which reached into the sixties (a brief reprise from winter
that afternoon: the concert began at 4 p.m.).
I mean, Anthony Braxton's Quartet at the 1981 Chicago Jazz Festival, or Sun
Ra in Detroit at St. Charles Church (I believe it was) back in about 1982 or
83 were my favorites, as well as seeing Miles Davis at the Masonic Temple in
Detroit on his comeback tour following the release of "Man with a Horn."
Lester Bowie playing "Summertime" afterhours at South End Music works in
Chicago following the Chicago Jazz Festival sometime in the 1980's. There's
no one favorite.
Lazaro Vega
Tom Walls
Steve Smith
33. Geez, folks who actually got to hear Monk, Basie, Ellington et al in
concert... I'm envious. For me, the list looks more like this:
1. Astor Piazzolla and the New Tango Sextet, Wortham Theatre Center, Houston,
April 1989 - sheer bliss. All the dubious coworkers I'd dragged along to hear
someone they'd never heard of "playing tango?!?" sang my praises for weeks on
end after this. Sheer sensuality.
2. Art Ensemble of Chicago, Carver Community Cultural Center, San Antonio, TX,
Sunday matinee, Feb. 1990 - I'd seen the Art Ensemble for my first time the
previous evening and they were impressive indeed. But this Sunday matinee was
one of those "take the top of your head off" performances. They began the set
with "Funky AECO" and the energy never waned for a moment. There was a loud and
vociferous group in attendance from a local institution for the mentally
handicapped, and I can't help but thinking that the completely unihibited
response from that part of the audience fed into the energy of the afternoon's
performance. This is still one of the two most powerful concert experiences
I've ever had, the other being a show by Peter Gabriel on the 'Security' tour...
3. Miles Davis, Woodlands Pavillion, Houston, TX, June 1990 - It was late, LATE
in Miles's career, and I'd heard virtually the same set with virtually the same
band one year prior and had been left stone cold and disappointed, as they'd
clearly only been going throught the motions. But there was something
completely electric about this set - Kenny Garrett was raising the stakes by
blowing pure brimstone, Foley was playing the baddest blues he was capable of
mustering, and Miles actually seemed engaged enough to rise to the challenge.
Maybe it was because Wynton's septet had immediately preceded Miles... Front
row seats didn't hurt, either.
4. Dizzy Gillespie, Pillot Cafe, Houston, TX, December 1991 - Diz was obviously
not even a shadow of his former self this evening, but something my former high
school band director said to me on the sidewalk as he was leaving the first set
and I was entering the second still holds true:
ME: "So, how does Dizzy sound?"
HIM: "Well, at this point you're not paying [$48] to hear Dizzy... you're just
paying to be in the same room with him. Look at it that way and you won't be
disappointed."
Those were the wisest words my former band director ever said to me. I looked
at it his way, then, and I wasn't disappointed, even if Diz only played maybe
ten minutes of the 50 minute set. After all, I'll be able to tell my grandkids
that I saw Diz.
5. John Zorn's Pain Killer, (Old) Knitting Factory, Sept. 1993 - My first-ever
live Zorn experience (I'd see him four more times during the month, as he played
every single night during his 40th birthday celebration). For me, at this time,
this was akin to hearing Monk or Coltrane or Ellington or whomever. I've grown
older since then, but it still remains important and special. But at this point
the thing I remember most is that drummer Mick Harris's former Napalm Death
bandmate, vocalist Lee Dorrian, was supposedly in attendance. Mick did his best
to cajole his old bandmate to the stage "for old times' sake," and the audience
joined in the call, urging Lee to mount the stage. When ten minutes worth of
pleas to young Mr. Dorrian proved useless (if indeed he was present), bassist
Bill Laswell could be heard muttering derisively from the stage, "Well, so much
for 'old times' sake'..."
6. Masada, Cafe Mogador, Feb. 1994 - The first actual appearance of the quartet
that would become known as Masada was a little-heralded event during September
1993 (they were billed as Thieves Quartet then, after the name of a film
score). But in early '94 Zorn played a stretch of Mondays at a Morrocan cafe
near his home, workshopping the band that would become his most world-famous. I
caught the very last of these Mondays, the same day that they had been in the
studio recording the first 4 Masada CDs Prestige-style. They loaded in through
the window well after the crowd had convened. Crowded? If Greg Cohen had bowed
his bass any more broadly he'd have broken my nose...
7. Cecil Taylor solo, Alice Tully Hall, March 1994 - In which Cecil celebrates
his own birthday with a solo concert in a great hall with a great instrument.
My first live experience with Cecil, and far from my last. Two long pieces and
five virtually identical epigrammatic encores, the third of which was amongst
the most beautiful ten minutes of music I've ever heard in my life.
I've heard lots of music since '94, naturally. But this thread seems to be
devoted to those events that we hold more sacred than all others, and that's
what I've tried to notate here. Maybe in ten years I'll be adding some of the
things I've seen since '94...
Steve Smith
ssmi...@sprynet.com
NP - Talk Talk, "Myrrhman," 'Laughing Stock' (Polydor)
Thomas F Brown
Michael Kelly <mkel...@NOSPAMgate.net> wrote:
>On Mon, 06 Mar 2000 01:13:15 GMT, Bill Duke <bd...@columbus.rr.com>
>wrote:
>
>>
>>Miles Davis, September, 1971. After waiting half-a-lifetime to see a
>>legend at work, it turned out to be not worth the wait.
>
>The only "name" concert I can remember that deserved walking out on
>wasn't jazz.
I'm usually an iron-man stay-til-the-end type of guy. The only walkout
I've ever done was on Allan Holdsworth, in the middle of his third song.
The weird thing was that I was blown away by the first two numbers,
with his incredible energy and chops. Then I realized it was going
to be nothing but a chops blowout all night and he had already tired
me out with the first two tunes. Can't that guy ever slow down for
a minute?
Michael Kelly
Brown) wrote:
> Can't that guy ever slow down for
>a minute?
Heh. Yeah, sometimes just groovin' with the rhythm can wear you
out on up tempo stuff. :)
Bill Duke
F Brown) notes:
: I'm usually an iron-man stay-til-the-end type of guy. The only walkout
: I've ever done was on Allan Holdsworth, in the middle of his third song.
: The weird thing was that I was blown away by the first two numbers,
: with his incredible energy and chops. Then I realized it was going
: to be nothing but a chops blowout all night and he had already tired
: me out with the first two tunes. Can't that guy ever slow down for
: a minute?
You walked out on Holdsworth!? Heresy!...Heresy!
Actually, I know how you feel. I've been listening to his stuff since
the early '70s, and have seen him several times, but he can be
overwhelming.
I get the feeling that, with someone who's style is so expansive, who
covers so much ground harmonically, rhythmically, melodically on every
tune, not to mention every album, that he really has nothing more to
prove, and little to explore. The fear (dare I say it) is that he has
nothing more to say. (Hubris, I know. And I assume, and hope, that I'm
dead wrong.)
His latest album, for instance, has a couple tunes built around some
lovely, close-voiced chord inversions. In fact, there're every bit as
lovely as they were when he used them on "I.O.U." from 1982.
Regarding his shows: I suspect (having for evidence nothing beyond my
own suppositions) that Holdsworth's one of those players whose technical
mastery is so imposing, he falls back on dazzle when he's occasionally
short on inspiration -- though an enviable position to be in.
There was a time when I wouldn't hesitate to rush out for tickets if he
was playing anywhere with 50 miles of wherever I was living. Now, I
wouldn't be quite so eager. Not because his playing's declined (hardly),
but because I figure I've heard what I'm gonna hear.
Though when he settles in, he has an outstanding sense of lyricism.
(Listen to some of his stuff with Bill Bruford.) Maybe he should do an
album of ballads or something.
Bill
beelzbubba
hvic...@svs.com (Hal Vickery) writes:
>My choices:
>
>(1) Sonny Rollins at the Jazz Showcase ca. 1972-73. Joe Segal, for this
>special event was admitting people by the set, which to our group of
>college students was a right-wing reactionary thing to do. We could only
>afford one set, but were told that if there was any room in the third set,
>we'd only have to buy the minimum and not pay the cover. They let us in.
Hal,
We were at those same sets! Maybe not the same night, but yes, Joe was trying
to charge by the set, not his usual policy. I remember a blistering version of
St. Thomas as a set closer and also "Cowhand" and "Autumn Leaves" had extended
choruses and crowd approval.
Our "road trip" concert of that era was Weather Report with Romao for Airto
being the only substitution to the original lineup, for which we drove to SIU
at Carbondale, screaming down I-57 in order to make it for the start. It was
worth the drive.
That was fall of '71, iirc.
release me from aohell to email
Hal Vickery
beelz...@aol.comaohell (beelzbubba) wrote:
The Rollins gig at the Showcase would have had to been no earlier than the
spring of 1972, and was most likely fall that year. The reason I know that
is that I went with "Rasputin," a person who in the fall of '72 was my
roommate. I had temporarily withdrawn from school in the fall of '71 with
what turned out to be a case of "housemaid's knees." (The crack NIU health
service had had me admitted to the infirmary as having a case of "possible
mono." Then they started putting hot packs on my knees, and finally they
released me and were going to put me on a weight lifting program. However,
what they didn't tell me was that climbing stairs was not very good for
what I had, and I lived on the fifth floor of a dorm with no elevator. My
first day out and I was hurting again. When I found myself falling asleep
in my classes because I wasn't getting any sleep at night from the
achiness, I dropped out.)
At any rate, I moved into a dorm for the Spring '72 semester and met
"Rasputin" not long after that. We roomed together my final semester (fall
'72) which ended in January '73.
I know our trip to the U of I for Otis Rush was in the fall because the
young ladies we took along with us were first semester freshmen.
Now that I've told the world more than they care to know, I'll shut up.
But damn Rollins was in terrific form!
Which kind of blends in with the quote thread that has now run its course.
Six years ago, I took my son, then 14 on a similar road trip (without the
girls) to Kalamazoo to see Rollins. Aside from watching Jeff's jaw drop
when Rollins took his first solo (on The Duke of Iron, irrc), the high
point for me was how he worked in a quote from "(I've Got a Gal in)
K-A-L-A-M-A-Z-O-O" not once but in two different tunes. And it fit both
times.
Tom Walls
beelz...@aol.comaohell says...
>
>
>Our "road trip" concert of that era was Weather Report with Romao for Airto
>being the only substitution to the original lineup, for which we drove to SIU
>at Carbondale, screaming down I-57 in order to make it for the start. It was
>worth the drive.
>
>That was fall of '71, iirc.
>
I believe I caught Weather Report on that tour in South Bend. Airto was
present and it was a good show. If I remember correctly Mose Allison opened.
beelzbubba
jdbe...@julian.uwo.ca (John Bennett) writes:
> I think that the absence of expectations and
>the spontanaety of the event must have been important factors.
>
>Anyone have this type of experience.
>
I'm sure that there are. For me, this would have been the first concert where
Air performed in public with the name Air (there are differing accounts on this
but I go by my admittedly leaky remembrance of conversations with Steve
McCall).
The student council president at University of Illinois Chicago prided himself
on sponsoring free concerts, and in conjunction with one of the fledgling black
fraternities (sorry, I don't recall the affiliation) put on a free concert with
McCall, Hopkins, and Threadgill. I had seen them as part of Muhal Abrams
sextet, but here in the afternoon of a late winter early spring day, relatively
unpublicized -- Crazy Steve Szegho put on a concert every week it seemed --
Threadgill setting up the hubcaphone, and the three of them tearing into some
beautiful improvisational music.
I don't rate it as one of the absolute best concerts I've ever seen because it
was in the auditorium of the student union, and the traffic in and out was loud
and most of the audience indifferent to what was going on. My special thrill
was that they hadn't brought with any mechanism with which to record the event,
and upstairs in the UIC Record co-op I had my TEAC cassette deck. We hooked
everything up, patching the mixing board into the deck, and recorded the show.
McCall always promised me he would make a copy and give it to me, but he either
lost it or the quality was so poor that he pitched it. I was persistent and
obnoxious enough that he gave me free drum lessons for a while.
slavid
Lester Bowie in London
Carla Bley Big Band in London
Ornette Coleman in the 60's in Copenhagen
Big regrets never having seen Coltrane
David Gascon
>
> In article <knu7cs89tbl2e0usp...@4ax.com>,
> Michael Kelly <mkel...@NOSPAMgate.net> wrote:
> >On Mon, 06 Mar 2000 01:13:15 GMT, Bill Duke <bd...@columbus.rr.com>
> >wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>Miles Davis, September, 1971. After waiting half-a-lifetime to see a
> >>legend at work, it turned out to be not worth the wait.
> >
> >The only "name" concert I can remember that deserved walking out on
> >wasn't jazz.
>
> I've ever done was on Allan Holdsworth, in the middle of his third song.
> The weird thing was that I was blown away by the first two numbers,
> with his incredible energy and chops. Then I realized it was going
> to be nothing but a chops blowout all night and he had already tired
> me out with the first two tunes. Can't that guy ever slow down for
> a minute?
Felt the same way about Joshua Redmond gig a few years ago.
Glenn Wilson
a year. They've got a big April coming up with Ray Brown and Paul Bley
scheduled. It's one of the few places we play where people have to listen.
Last time we played there, the owner was trying to shut up some people who
wouldn't cooperate. Next thing I know, here comes two DC cops to escort
them out!!! The JAZZ POLICE!! The bad part was, the people had purchased
one of my CDs earlier in the night and were so bugged that they asked for
their money back. Oh well, it was still worth it to see them thrown out.
Glenn
PRProf <prp...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000303203833...@ng-cd1.aol.com...
> One Step Down! Great memories from there. Spent years in and out of
> Washington; what a great little place. Even saw the great Gap Mangione
there
> once (not really being snarky; just a rather obscure memory). Wonderful
local
> talent over the years.
>
> Bill