WaronWar

I think that is the best part of the Bad Plus, that they do take chances and have expanded their market. I suppose we could also go on for pages about what jazz is supposed to be, but clearly some jazz education has gotten very stuck in the hard bop/modern era, since that was the artistic height of later jazz that is fairly accessable to the largest jazz audiences (avant material still leaves some folks cold.)

 

LouieB

Being in a jazz ed college stuff right now, I kind of dislike what my fellow jazz students are doing. To me, the tone of pieces they performed or the style of their playing is to me: cheesy (I know that's a bad way to put it, but that's the best I can try to put down what I hear in my head right now).

And sorry about now taking this topic a different place from the original title thread.

Wasn't it 100 at one point in time?

Jan. 20th

On a side note: a reminder to get Cline's new CD coming out on Feb. 10th. It's called "Coward," and it's a solo disc. Moreover, his twin brother Alex also releases a CD that same day too though his is an ensemble performance. Both are being released by Crypto.

I would be there, but I am leaving for St. Paul early in the morning tomorrow.

Have a great time to all that is going!

Phil

That is one killer show.

Oh what the hell, I'll actually try to answer the question at hand...

 

Once I finally "got" A Ghost is Born, and it did take about a year. I was pretty convinced Bennett had been more than adequately replaced. The songs were as good as anything Jeff had ever written. Tweedy's guitar lead guitar style was better equipped for the material than Jay's. Jim O'Rourke's production and mixing were also upgrades.

 

As a musician, it's hard to miss him. I prefer Jeff's guitar playing to Jay's. I prefer the post-Jay shows because they tend not to be dominated by one instrument (Bennett must have been in tight with the sound guy because without fail whether he was on guitar or keyboards in those days his instrument always seems about twice as loud as anything on the stage). Live Nels has been nothing short of brilliant, the same level of upgrade to the band's guitar sound as Kotche over Coomer was for their drummer's. Leroy, Pat, and Mike have all done a fine job as keyboardists for the band.

 

I am well aware that Jay gets a pretty rap, because of the documentary, his tendency to try to over explain himself in every interview, and because let's face it the guy could be a bit of a prick. With that being said, the songs he and Jeff wrote together are among the very best in the band's catalog and I can't help but occasionally wonder what might have been. With Summerteeth and Foxtrot, it's clear they were really building on something, and had they been able to patch up their differences who knows? I love the first album they made without Jay, I am not really crazy about Sky Blue Sky. There really seems to be something missing on that album for me as a listener, and it's tension. The urgency of the best songs of Being There, Summerteeth, Foxtrot, and A Ghost is Born simply isn't there. Mock the guy for quoting himself, his unfortunate decision in hairstyles, and for all that blow he did in Amsterdam, but listen to Jesus, etc, California Stars, She's a Jar, Via Chicago, Remember the Mountain Bed, Kamera, etc.. Pretty good songs aren't they?

 

I could on and on about this so I'll summarize quickly. Had Bennett left the band... Would AGIB be better? No. Would they be better live? No. Would they have written great songs? Yes. Would SBS be better? Probably.

 

--Mike

Couldn't agree more expect for the SBS part.

So I guess no one went. I would have been there in a heart beat to see Ken Vandermark and Fred Anderson since I don't have to worry about an early morning work rise yet! However, I am about a year to young for these stupid clubs age limit.

On a side note though I just watched the work series: musician (which stars Vandermark), and was once again in awe of how awesome and hard working that man is.

As a classical and jazz guitarist in training, I am very disappointed at myself for not having any Towner or Abercrombie.

I think I am going to get Towner's Solos/Trios album and the duet Louie mentioned.

I saw Chris Potter at my school last year when he gave a masterclass and a performance. Moreover, his drummer Nate Smith in his group Underground gave a masterclass at my school too a few months later. I enjoyed his stuff at the time (I did not listen to any of his stuff prior to performance), but recently I decided to check out his stuff, and now I am realizing it's just okay in my opinion.

I dig Jeff Parker a lot lately. I've heard Brad Mehldau is good (he's also coming to my school in May), and I am starting to dig deeply into all of the projects Ken Vandermark has done.

And on a side note: I saw Dave Douglas with his brass band quintet at Chicago Jazz Festival this summer, and I thought it was decent.

I'm sure Louie B can give you some great advice too.

Sounds like good stuff.

On a side note: As one early poster mentioned, Vandermark is gone for a while in Europe. But his next Chicago show is with the DKV trio and Fred Anderson with a set by each person. It's on December 17th, and hopefully it's playing at a no age limit place!

Also with Jeff Parker, check out his solo album "Like-Coping" it's pretty good. Moreover, I would recommend "Flamethrower," for Parker's playing with Chicago Underground. There is some killer stuff on that album.

The distortion your hearing I believe is the fuzz factory he has.

I was curious as what the difference was between original jazzmasters and jazzmasters that are deemed vintage jazzmasters (such as calling one a 1962 vintage Fender jazzmaster)?

Moreover, is the difference good or bad?

Thanks for posting that. Can't wait to hear both!

Is it on at 10:30 central time?

My guess.....Wilco will play to half or so million people...(all the non-Obama fans can stay home and listen to Radiohead....and feel depressed while the rest of us party our brains out wherever we are...)

 

LouieB

Hell Yeah!

It's a great song, and it's better than 3/4 the shit that is hyped out there today.

This gig was such a gas....not your usual indie rock extravaganza, but a true inprovisational summit to be sure, with four master musicians sharing a stage for the sheer joy of trying to do the craziest shit imaginable. (As mentioned 2/3 of Wilco was in the house, although an Autumn Defense show did NOT break out...)

 

The first mini-set was Fred Lonberg-Holm and Glenn. Glenn played in Fred's trio prior to Wilco so they know each other. They played two "pieces", both with Fred going nuts on cello and Glenn using his prepared snare, tom tom and an array of small percussion instruments. It took a while for thing to get moving and I found the second of their improvs to be more convincing and frankly moving.

 

The second mini set was Nels and Jim Baker, both of whom wrenched the most incredible sounds out of their instruments and really blended well I thought, with the crazy noisy shit first and the more melodic and integrated stuff second. (Improvs tend to be fast and loud or soft and slow...) Considering they are not regular collaborators what they did was stunning as far as I was concerned.

 

The third mini set, which was longer than the others, was all four of them going nuts; an incredible sight and aural sensation. Again I thought the chemistry between Jim and Nels was significant, whereas Glenn at times was drowned out by the volume of the proceedings. By the end even the musicians themselves appeared genuinely moved by their creation. It was a strange and magical night, the Hungry Brain being packed out and everyone attentive in the audience.

 

I had a few minutes with Glenn at the end to let him know how much I enjoyed his peformance of Anomaly at Ravinia and I asked if it was going to be recorded. Glenn said he sure hoped so for either one of his solo albums or the Kronos Quartet, since he had worked so hard on it. I concurred that it needed to be waxed. Glenn was also nice enough to say that I had perfect attendance since I have shown up at all sorts of little shows he has played around Chicago over the years. It was nice that he noticed.

 

As Wilco fans we are terribly lucky that we get to see the various members shine in other situations. Earlier in the evening Glenn was very self effacing about the fact that this was just improv and they hadn't done anything like this for awhile, but ultimately each improvisor gave their all to great effect. Nels rocking back and forth and pulling notes from every concievable part of the guitar and the pedels and Jim Baker playing analog synth and electric piano like the master he is. Not to slight Fred or Glenn, but Baker is a strange and amazing musician who is virtually unknown and deserving of more notority.

 

LouieB

Great review. I wish I could have been there, but I am thinking about going to see the Vandermark 5 on Oct 14th since I am going to be back in Chicago that day. I'll send you a pm tomorrow if your interested in going.

Phil

I would rather hear Wilco in social settings than Fall Out Boy or John Mayer. Moreover, to me, people are then actually hearing good music too when Wilco is played.

I am pretty pissed off that I am not in Chicago right now (at college, but I am from the suburbs of the windy city) because this should be a great show since it's not only Nels and Glenn but Jim Baker and Fred Longberg-Holm.

But I am still thinking about contemplating a drive maybe?

Are you going Lou?

I would go, but I am lovely Appleton, WI for college.

I heard the Loose Fur version of it via the 2002 shows they did, and I thought it was pretty cool.

I'll vote for Califone! One of my favorite bands nowadays!

"Black Angels" is very good. It's an older one, and I am sure you can find it at your local library.

They have made countless recordings, becoming famous initially for putting Purple Rain on an album, yea Hentrix's Purple Rain.

 

 

I kept wondering how much of this was written by Glenn and how much was a collaboration on some of the sections.

Hey Lou, I was curious if you meant Purple Haze by Hendrix because they do a terrific version of it.

Here's a clip of them playing it back in day.

Also from some interviews I read of Glenn recently (I wanted to know more about the piece "Anomaly"), and he wrote it all by himself.

And I really wished I could have been there, but I was stuck in Door County.