Words by Hank Williams | Photos by Joyce Jones. Creative Commons CC-NC-BY-ND.
Guitarist Vernon Reid began the set of his “Power Trio” at Manhattan’s Iridium club on Saturday March 12 by explaining that it was the first time that particular combination of musicians had played together in 20 years. That didn’t mean that they were unfamiliar with each other—on the contrary—they were indeed so familiar with each other that the set had the feel of a jam session more than anything else as inside jokes floated around and musicians finished each other’s sentences. This was a good thing and set the tone for an intimate night of intense music.
Reid and drummer Will Calhoun have been official on-and-off bandmates in Living Colour for decades now in addition to sharing numerous stages for smaller projects, such as this one. The connection between Reid and bassist Melvin Gibbs is incredibly deep as well, as both are alumni of the late drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society band and the Punk Funk All Stars. All three are members of the Brooklyn-based Black Rock Coalition.
Guitarist Vernon Reid
All of this is to say that to hear them playing means hearing a group of musicians so incredibly in sync with each other that verbal communication is secondary to the musical connection that happens on stage and emanates from deep listening and reacting to each other.
The second overarching theme of the evening was the legacy of drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, whose songs provided the base for several of their explorations.
Indeed, the trio began the set with one of Jackson’s songs, with Reid setting the tone on guitar, backed by Gibbs’ distinctive distorted bass lines and Calhoun’s drumming.
Next came an innovative cover of Miles Davis’ version of “Freedom Jazz Dance”, which was perfectly suited to their treatment, as Reid stretched the familiar melody to the limits. The song finished with a back-and-forth between Reid and Gibbs, backed by Calhoun’s heavy foot on the bass drum.
There was also a song dedicated to the late percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, who Reid described as “a magician” who would “recreate the [feeling of] the rain forest” when he played. It began, appropriately, with a solo by Calhoun on an enormous mbira.
Drummer Will Calhoun on mbira
Gibbs jokingly introduced a cover of the blues standard “I Ain’t Superstitious” with the rejoinder that they were now going to play some American music. Reid’s capable romp through Willie Dixon’s classic lyrics proved that he can carry a tune as well as play a guitar like a man possessed. It also showed the range of the players as Reid and Calhoun effortlessly sunk into the blues rhythms, then exited just as quickly as the song ended in a glorious haze of distortion.
Bassist Melvin Gibbs
The set finished, appropriately enough, with a cover of Ronald Shannon Jackson’s “Street Priest”, led off by one of Calhoun’s trademark thundering drum solos.
Drummer Will Calhoun
Iridium’s bio of Reid accurately predicted the night’s set, noting that he’s “done a great deal to undermine stereotypical expectations of what music Black artists ought to play; his rampant eclecticism encompasses everything from hard rock and punk to funk, R&B and avant-garde jazz, and his anarchic, lightning-fast solos have become something of a hallmark”. And the group indeed delivered on pretty much all counts, with diasporic nods to Nana Vasconcelos and Africa thrown into the mix as well.
The early set drew an audience that nearly filled Iridium and was rewarded with a strong performance. Reid has curated an occasional series of guitar-based shows at iridium and promised a return engagement for Saturday night’s lineup, though had no definite date for the latter. Let’s hope that comes to fruition and if you missed this set, you’d be well advised to keep an eye out for the next one. Here’s hoping that the incredibly busy schedules of all three don’t result in another 20-year wait.
—- Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York.
Joyce Jonesis the executive producer and host of Suga’ in My Bowl. She is a graphic designer and her photos have been published in Black Renaissance Noir.
Welcome to Suga in My Bowl radio‘s weekly feature, On The Bandstand, where we collect upcoming NYC area shows from current and past Suga’ guests. We’re online weekly and on the air on NYC’s WBAI-FM radio alternate Sunday nights from 11 PM -1 AM. Keep up with us via Facebook, the blog here, or our main website, or Twitter and we’ll keep track of the schedule for you.
This week’s guest is vocalist and pianist Amina Claudine Myers. She has no immediate area shows, but we’ll keep you posted. However, we have lots more music for you this week.
The Mavis Staples documentary Mavis! airs on HBO on March 7 at 11:05 PM EST and on HBO’s streaming sites until April 3rd.
The documentary film Baddddd Sonia Sanchez airs nationally on PBS affiliates on March 8th. Check your local listings for rebroadcasts and details.
Drummer Roy Haynes is at the Blue Note from March 10-13 for a 91st birthday celebration with guitarist Pat Metheny as a special guest.
Pianist Harold Mabern is at Smalls on March 16 and celebrates his 80th birthday at Smoke from March 18-20 with special guests vocalist Kurt Elling on the 18th and bassist Bob Cranshaw on the 20th.
That’s all for now. Suga’ in My Bowl is back on WBAI‘s airwaves on March 20th. We’ll also have another edition of “On the Bandstand” online next Sunday with a fresh set of listings.
—- Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York.
In this part of the preview, I’ll look at a few select acts on Saturday night (Friday’s picks were in my previous post) and take a quick look at Sunday evening’s show that wraps up the festival.
Again, there’s an admitted bias toward musicians featured on our Suga’ in My Bowl radio show since we like to keep long-term tabs on the people we profile. But we think you’ll like them too — or at least should give them a shot.
As a reminder, the festival has several new stages this year–at New School University, WNYC Radio’s Greene Space, and elsewhere. The WJF is adding extra check-in tables at different venues (PDF), which should shorten some of the long lines from previous years, but it’s still best to plan to arrive really early for the sets you want to catch. The linked PDF gives a good overview of the logistics and you should take a quick look at it before you leave.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the music.
Saturday Highlights
Ibrahim Maalouf: New School Auditorium @ 66 W 12th St. 7:40 PM
Lebanese saxophonist Ibrahim Maalouf shows yet another of the intriguing directions jazz takes when interpreted by players worldwide. Maalouf’s work blends Arabic sounds with the jazz tradition and solid playing. Maalouf is coming off a successful show at Jazz at Lincoln Center and backed by bassist Larry Grenadier, his show will be one to catch. Here’s a clip from a live show in Istanbul.
Chris Potter Quartet: New School Tishman Auditorium @ 63 5th Ave. 8:40 PM
To be honest, saxophonist Chris Potter wasn’t really on my radar until he popped up on Pat Metheny’s new releases with the Unity Band. I’m fixing that omission now and beginning to appreciate Potter’s voice on the instrument, which shone more on the 2013 Kin recording (Nonesuch) with an expanded Unity Group that revisited some of the musical concepts of Metheny’s mid-90s recordings. With pianist (and longtime collaborator) David Virelles, drummer Marcus Gilmore (fresh off last night’s set with Vijay Iyer’s trio), and bassist Joe Martin, expect a hard charging, open set of music. Here they are live in Hanover, Germany.
Will Calhoun Celebrating Elvin Jones: New School Jazz Building 5th Floor Theater @ 55 W 13th St. 9:40 PM
Full disclosure here: I’ve been a fan of Will Calhoun since seeing Living Colour in the mid-90s and wore out the cassette of their critically acclaimed self-titled first release. Since then, he’s matured as a musician and gone in interesting directions, seriously applying his skills to jazz and African percussion. The Elvin Jones tribute makes perfect sense and complements Calhoun’s drumming style well, as he can play with the power (and volume) and finesse Jones was known for. Beyond that, however, Calhoun has an impressive narrative ability on the drum kit and, like Jones, can inscribe multiple textures and layers of meaning into a solo and carry it seemingly forever while still keeping it interesting. Here, he’s joined by a slightly different line-up than is on the planned release, but they’re easily up to the task. This is one set I’m really looking forward to. For a deeper dive, see our 2013 show profiling Will, or for a quick take, watch this preview of the Jones project.
Lakecia Benjamin: The Bitter End (147 Bleecker St) — 9:40 PM
The 9:40 PM conflicting shows gives an idea of the breadth of the WJF. Lakecia Benjamin’s been at the festival before and usually heads the Soulsquad, which derives as much from the wells of funk and soul as it does from the jazz tradition. Add the vocals of Nicole Phifer and The Bitter End’s loose atmosphere, and you have a party with equal appeal to listeners who aren’t diehard jazz fans or are new to the music. Don’t write her off as a novelty act, though. Her 2012 RETOX (Motéma) release showed her depth and range as a musician and just as Will Calhoun shows one way forward for jazz, Benjamin shows yet another possible direction. Choice is a good thing.
OGJB Quartet: New School Auditorium @ 66 W 12th St. — 10:20 PM
It’s hard to write a short intro to saxophonist Oliver Lake, because what do you omit? Lake, who has roots in the Black Arts Movement has been steadily playing and expanding his reach since then and currently works on a variety of projects. In addition to being a member of TRIO 3, with veteran players Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille, Lake leads several combos of his own including a big band and an organ quartet. Lake’s as comfortable playing “out” as he is swinging in a more relaxed setting, his command of the sax and ability to finesse the instrument clear no matter who he’s with. He appeared at last year’s WJF with TRIO 3 and his own organ quartet; this year you get to see what he does in a different setting altogether. For a deeper dive, see our 2014 show on him or watch this clip from a 2015 quartet performance with bassist Joe Fonda (who’ll also be at WJF) at the 2015 Krakow Jazz Festival for a quick take.
Sun Ra Arkestra directed by Marshall Allen: Judson Memorial Church — Midnight
If you haven’t seen the Sun Ra Arkestra in action, they’re a must see. Even if you have, they’re worth seeing again. They’re still led by saxophonist Marshall Allen, who’s been part of the ensemble since nearly the beginning and assumed conducting and leading duties after the deaths of Sun Ra himself and fellow saxophonist John Gilmore. Don’t be fooled, however: the Arkestra’s far from a novelty or throwback act. The 91-year-old Allen plays with astonishing power and enthusiasm that belies his age and has done an impressive job of honoring the tradition of the Arkestra while giving Ra’s compositions a fresh new spin and looking toward the future — which, of course, is what they’re all about. It helps that Ra was a prolific composer (Allen told us that he still has boxes of new work that he still hasn’t gone through) and the addition of vocalist Tara Middleton’s restored a welcome dimension to their performances, with a voice reminiscent of June Tyson, but fantastic depth and range. For a deeper dive, you can see our 2014 show, or for a quick take, watch this performance from 2015. Here they are live in Poland in 2015.
Julian Lage Trio: Subculture (45 Bleecker St) — 12:20 AM
Julian Lage has gone from a child prodigy on guitar, playing with luminaries such as Carlos Santana (at the age of eight, no less), Pat Metheny, and subject of the documentary film Jules at Eight to being the mature musician he is today. His latest recording (World’s Fair, Modern Lore: 2015) is a solo effort, but the interplay with bassist Scott Colley and drummer Kenny Wollesen should be particularly good. And you have the opportunity to see him solo, too, as he opens for Sunday’s closing show (scroll down for details). We talked to him last December and here’s the same trio in action at the Vermont Jazz Center in 2015.
Sunday Show
Channeling Coltrane: Rova’s Electric Ascension: Le Poisson Rouge 6 PM
If you still haven’t had enough after two marathon days, then why not wrap up the weekend in style with the Rova Saxophone Quartet? Guitarist Julian Lage is scheduled to open for them with a solo set drawing on his World’s Fair release. Rova themselves exemplify the large format free-form type of playing that’s a rare find outside venues like these. Their take on Coltrane’s classic and complex Ascension promises to be an incredibly challenging and exhilarating performance. If that’s you cup of tea, then it’s a must-see set. Here’s the Rova Saxophone Quartet live in 2012.
And if you still haven’t had enough, Vision Fest promoters Arts for Art have a monthlong “Justice is Compassion” festival running through the next week across town at the Clemente Soto Velez Center that’s definitely worth a look and I’ll profile later.
So that’s it. Again, it’s a lot of acts and I’ve only scratched the surface here, but they’re all really good and different in fun ways. Find who’s to your liking and take some time to see someone you haven’t — you might become a fan of a new group — or see how someone you’ve already seen interprets material this time. Look for a full review after it’s all over and I’ve gotten some sleep.
Are you going? Anyone in particular you’re looking forward to seeing? Let me know in the comments.
Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York. Find him on Twitter: @streetgriot
Welcome to Suga in My Bowl radio‘s weekly feature, On The Bandstand, where we collect upcoming NYC area shows from current and past Suga’ guests. We’re online weekly and on the air on NYC’s WBAI-FM radio alternate Sunday nights from 11 PM -1 AM. Keep up with us via Facebook, the blog here, or our main website, or Twitter and we’ll keep track of the schedule for you.
That’s all for now. Suga’ in My Bowl is back on WBAI‘s airwaves on November 29. We’ll also have another edition of “On the Bandstand” online next Sunday with a fresh set of listings.
—- Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York.
Welcome to Suga in My Bowl radio‘s weekly feature, On The Bandstand, where we collect upcoming NYC area shows from current and past Suga’ guests. We’re online weekly and on the air on NYC’s WBAI-FM radio alternate Sunday nights from 11 PM -1 AM. Keep up with us via Facebook, the blog here, or our main website, or Twitter and we’ll keep track of the schedule for you.
This week’s guest is trumpeter Hugh Masekela! He has no upcoming performances in the NYC area, though listeners in the Midwest and on the West Coast should check his site for dates with Larry Willis and see our review of their performance at Jazz Standard. And we have lots more music for you this week.
The Doc NYC Festival continues until the 19th and has several films of interest to jazz fans. The Sonia Sanchez documentary Baddd Sonia Sanchez screens on the 18th and 19th. The Jazz Loft According to W Eugene Smith collects material from the extensive recordings and photographs from Smith’s years in a Sixth Ave loft building frequented by several jazz luminaries and screens on the 16th. Finally, Liz Garbus’s Nina Simone documentary What Happened Miss Simone? Screens on the 17th and 18th. The Doc NYC website has showtimes and details and you can find links to everything and a festival preview on our blog.
If you missed the weeklong run of Jeff Lieberman’s The Amazing Nina Simone documentary in NYC, you’ve got another shot on the 18th, when it screens at Huntington LI’s Cinema Arts Centre. Those of you (far) north of the city can catch it in Rhinebeck NY on the 20th and Woodstock on the 21st at Upstate Films.
That’s all for now. Suga’ in My Bowl is back on WBAI‘s airwaves on November 29. We’ll also have another edition of “On the Bandstand” online next Sunday with a fresh set of listings.
—- Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York.
Welcome to Suga in My Bowl radio‘s weekly feature, On The Bandstand, where we collect upcoming NYC area shows from current and past Suga’ guests. We’re online weekly and on the air on NYC’s WBAI-FM radio alternate Sunday nights from 11 PM -1 AM. Keep up with us via Facebook, the blog here, or our main website, or Twitter and we’ll keep track of the schedule for you.
Suga’ in My Bowl returns to the air this week with a preview of this year’s Vision Festival. It kicks off on July 5, with a week’s worth of film and live perfromances. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at some upcoming gigs.
Saxophonist Gary Bartz leads a quartet at the Newark Museum on July 2 for a free outdoor lunchtime concert as part of their Jazz in the Garden series.
Pianist/keyboardist Marc Cary hosts the Harlem Sessions on July 2 and 9 at The Gin Fizz in Harlem.
Drummer and percussionist Will Calhoun will be in an outdoor concert at Brooklyn’s Commodore Barry Park on July 4, as Living Colour headlines the International African Arts Festival. There’s a small donation for entrance to the festival.
We wrap up this week with your 20th Vision Festival round-up. Sunday July 5 features films at Anthology Film Archives and there’s a conference on Monday July 6 at Columbia University’s Buell Hall at 116 and Broadway. Performances run from Tuesday July 7 to Sunday July 12 at the historic Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Sq South. And you can hear Douglas R. Ewart, William Parker, Patricia Nicholson Parker, The Sun Ra Arkestra with Marshall Allen, Craig Harris, David Murray, Charles Gayle, Joe Daley, and many more. We’ll have a full preview in a separate post and ongoing coverage here. WBAI radio is proud to be a media sponsor of the festival this year.
Pianist Barry Harris kicks off Jazzmobile’s season with a free outdoor concert at Grant’s Tomb on July 8.
Pianist Randy Weston’s African Rhythms Trio with bassist Alex Blake headlines Medgar Evers College’s Jazzy Jazz Festival in a free performance at their Brooklyn campus on July 10. Details are at the Medgar Evers College website.
Drummer/percussionist Bobby Sanabria has two free outdoor shows in the Bronx. Catch him at Co-Op City with Antionette Montague on July 8 and with Asencion at Middletown Road and Stadium Ave in Pelham Bay Park on the 10th.
That’s all for now. Suga’ in My Bowl is scheduled to be back on WBAI‘s airwaves July 12. We’ll also have another edition of “On the Bandstand” online next Sunday with a fresh set of listings.
Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York.
Welcome to Suga in My Bowl radio‘s weekly feature, On The Bandstand, where we collect upcoming NYC area shows from current and past Suga’ guests. We’re online weekly and on the air on NYC’s WBAI-FM radio alternate Sunday nights from 11 PM -1 AM. Keep up with us via Facebook, the blog here, or our main website, or Twitter and we’ll keep track of the schedule for you.
Photo: Ornette Coleman, Heidelberg Germany 2008.| Credit: Frank Schindelbeck. Via WikiCommons. Creative Commons licensed.
The big jazz news last week was the passing of saxophone great Ornette Coleman. There’s a memorial service for him on June 27 at Riverside Church. Details are in our previous post, along with a memorial for percussionist Jerome Cooper, whose memorial event is on June 30 at Roulette.
Saxophonist Gary Bartz leads a quartet at the Newark Museum on July 2 for a free outdoor lunchtime concert as part of their Jazz in the Garden series.
Drummer and percussionist Will Calhoun will be in an outdoor concert at Brooklyn’s Commodore Barry Park on July 4, as Living Colour headlines the International African Arts Festival. There’s a small donation for entrance to the festival.
We’ll have more details next time and a preview in a separate post, but the next big thing on the horizon is the 20th Vision Festival, which kicks off a week of avant garde jazz, visual art, poetry, talks, and films on July 5.
That’s all for now. Suga’ in My Bowl is scheduled to be back on WBAI‘s airwaves June 28. We’ll also have another edition of “On the Bandstand” online next Sunday with a fresh set of listings.
Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York.
Welcome to Suga in My Bowl radio‘s weekly feature, On The Bandstand, where we collect upcoming NYC area shows from current and past Suga’ guests. We’re online weekly and on the air on NYC’s WBAI-FM radio alternate Sunday nights from 11 PM -1 AM. Keep up with us via Facebook, the blog here, or our main website, or Twitter and we’ll keep track of the schedule for you.
Suga’ in My Bowl is off the air this week: we’ve been pre-empted for station maintenance. Join us May 17 for an interview with pianist Marc Cary! To get your fix until then, check out our our audio archives which includes our last show with pianist Vijay Iyer. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at some upcoming gigs.
Drummer Will Calhoun will be at 55 Bar in Greenwich Village on May 4 with guitarist Mike Stern. You can also catch him on May 7 at Harlem’s Ginny’s Supper Club as part of the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival. Finally, he’ll be at Monsignor Raul Del Valle Square in the Bronx (at the Hunts Point 6 Train Station) for a free outdoor performance with the Blitz Latin Jazz ensemble. Performance details here.
That’s all for now. Suga’ in My Bowl is back on WBAI‘s airwaves May 17. We’ll also have another edition of “On the Bandstand” online next Sunday with a fresh set of listings.
Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York.
Suga in My Bowl radio presents a new weekly feature, On The Bandstand where we collect upcoming NYC area shows from current and past Suga’ guests.
Program note: Suga’ in My Bowl has changed to a biweekly schedule on WBAI Radio and now alternates Sunday nights with Sports Qualified at our usual 11 PM -1 AM time period. You’ll get the same great show; just every other week! So mark your calendars or just keep up with us via our Facebook page, the blog here, or our main website and we’ll keep track of the schedule for you.
Suga’ in My Bowl is off the air this week. Join us on air next Sunday for our interview with WBGO radio host Sheila Anderson! To get your fix until then, check out our our audio archives. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at some upcoming gigs.
Photo: Oliver Lake’s Redbone Stick Plus. | oliverlake.net
Vocalist Nona Hendryx will be one of many performers at the Schomburg for a Women’s Jazz Festival tribute to her work on March 9th.
Columbia University professor and writer Farah Jasmine Griffin will be at the Schomburg for a discussion on African American writers and artists in the 1950s on March 11th.
Looking ahead, saxophonist Gary Bartz leads a Quartet at Kitano on March 13th.
Trombonist Steve Turre will be at Smoke from March 13-15th to celebrate the release of his Spiritman CD.
Looking further ahead, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington’s Grammy Award-winning re-imagination of the Ellington classic Money Jungle will be performed at the Schomburg on March 16th as part of their Women’s Jazz Festival.
That’s all for now. Suga’ in My Bowl is back on WBAI‘s airwaves March 8. We’ll also have another edition of “On the Bandstand” online next Sunday with a fresh set of listings.
Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York.
If you’re a jazz fan in NYC (or just very curious about the music), then the 11th annual Winter Jazz Fest should be squarely on your radar. If it is, good! You’re likely gearing up to push through the cold snap that’s hit us.
So far, I’ve done a first look with some basic logistics of the festival. In this post, I’ll dive into a few of the acts that you should keep an eye out for. Full disclosure, it’s weighted toward past guests from our Suga’ in My Bowl radio show, but I’ll also mention a few others at the end.
There are a lot of acts to choose from over the festival’s 2 main evenings (Friday and Saturday: Thursday has a lighter schedule), so hopefully this will give you a head start on who to see.
Friday January 9th
If the festival gave out an MVP award, saxophonist David Murray would certainly be in the running. He’s at the Minetta Lane Theater with his Clarinet Summit at 7:30 and with drummer Teri Lyne Carrington and pianist Geri Allen at 8:45.
We just profiled Murray in December, so I’ll point you to that show for more details. But, needless to say, Murray’s a standout artist and incredibly versatile player. He’s capable of playing as far out as anyone, yet has the skill to drop back into more introspective playing that leans as much on finesse as sheer technical virtuosity. While Suga’ host Joyce Jones won’t (yet) get her wish of a reunion of the World Saxophone Summit, catching the “Clarinet Summit”, his collaboration with Carrington and Allen, or his Saturday set leading his own Infinity Quartet ought to give you as rounded a view of Murray as you’ll ever get.
We’re looking to see a highly charged set with some experimental stuff thrown in with the Clarinet Summit, which has Don Byron and Hamiett Bluiett providing backup. Count on a more straight-ahead set with Carrington and Allen.
Terri Lyne Carrington has developed into a solid presence in jazz drumming. Her all-female Mosaic Project (which featured WJF collaborator Geri Allen) was much more than just a concept album to showcase women in jazz: it was a solid release in its own right. Her 2013 remake of the classic Money Jungle deservedly got high praise as well. Head to our audio archives for a deeper look at her work.
Similarly, pianist Geri Allen is sought after as both a leader and in side projects. Whether she’s heading up her own Timeline group or in collaboration with others (she’s also worked with TRIO 3, though won’t be at this year’s WJF), her percussive style is a joy to listen to. It won’t be the first Allen-Carrington collaboration and their comfort working together should translate into a solid rhythm section for the set with David Murray.
See both of them in this 2013 clip of “Unconditional Love” along with bassist Esperanza Spaulding.
Harpist Brandee Younger has seemingly taken the task of upholding the work of the late, underappreciated harpist Dorothy Ashby as her mission. You’ll likely get fully up to speed on where she is with this project at her “Afro Harping” Ashby tribute to the latter’s classic album of the same name at the Bitter End on Bleecker Street at 8:45. See Younger’s take on Ashby’s “Respected Destroyer”, recorded live in 2014.
Drummer Will Calhoun has come a long way since his days with Living Colour – a trip that’s come full circle, as the group reunited for a world tour in 2014 to support their Synesthesia release and even took a few days off to put the finishing touches on another release, Shade, scheduled for spring 2015. In the middle of all that, he’s grown into a respected leader in the jazz world as well, with a style that pulls equally from his prowess as a rock drummer and the finesse he’s gained at jazz styles and African percussion. Expect a meeting of all those worlds as he joins forces with Living Colour bandmate, bassist Doug Wimbish, and Vinx, who lends vocals and electronic loops and samples for the “Jungle Funk” collaboration at Bowery Electric at 9 PM. Jungle Funk leans more toward Living Colour’s end of the spectrum than Calhoun’s more standard jazz work. Here’s a sample of what you might hear, recorded live in Poland in 2013. For a longer listen, you can check out our 2013 Calhoun profile.
Saxophonist Oliver Lake and bassist Reggie Workman join forces with drummer Andrew Cyrille and special guest Vijay Iyer for TRIO 3 at Minetta Lane at 10 PM. All are incredibly accomplished players and Workman has nearly legendary status. TRIO 3’s shows are always extremely satisfying. Lake is as comfortable playing “out” and pushing the limits of the saxophone as he is using finesse honed from many years on the instrument. Iyer is scarily talented and adapts well to almost any setting. Below is a clip from the 2012 Vision Fest and for a much deeper dive into Lake, you can check out our December 2014 profile of him or our 2009 Workman and 2010 Iyer profiles, which live on in our audio archives, too.
Saturday January 10th
Saxophonist Oliver Lake returns with a show at The Bitter End on Bleecker Street with his Organ Quartet at 6:15 PM. Here they are performing at the Jazz Standard. Hammond B3 fans will be in for a treat with organist Jared Gold shoring up the rhythm section.
Saxophonist Billy Harper is at Minetta Lane Theater with The Cookers at 8:45 PM. Last year, The Cookers were one of the WJF highlights for me. Harper’s comfortable in the “free jazz” end of the sax spectrum (which I’ll admit I’m partial to), but as part of the collective he contributes to a hard driving straight ahead sound that’s accessible yet adventurous. Expect them to live up to their name. Here they are at the 2014 Nisville Jazz Festival. For a closer look at Harper, see our 2011 show on him.
Saxophonist David Murray makes a final appearance at Le Poisson Rouge with his Infinity Quartet at 9 PM. Keep an eye out for the spoken word of Saul Williams with Saturday night’s Infinity Quartet show. Here they are in a 2014 show.
Vocalist Catherine Russell, who’s been getting solid reviews for her 2014 Bring it Back release, is at the Greenwich House Music School on Barrow St. at 10 PM. Fans of the more traditional jazz vocals should be sure to catch Russell’s set. Her exposure on the popular Boardwalk Empire series has gained her some additional notoriety and her work is fresh and innovative, while still connecting to the jazz tradition. See her perform live in 2013 below or check out our 2014 show for a deeper dive into her work.
Drummer J.T. Lewis will be at Subculture on Bleecker Street with Harriet Tubman at 10 PM. I missed Tubman a few years ago when they were on at an ungodly late hour: not so this time! Tubman describes itself as an “avant metal jazz band” which is a description that I’d be hard pressed to improve upon. If you’re open to electronics in jazz, crossovers into fusion, and aren’t afraid of electric guitars, then this is your set. This clip from a 2010 show at NYC’s The Stone gives a good sense of the type of long, funky, ambient grooves they specialize in. For a longer look at Lewis, see our 2014 show focused on him.
Honorable Mentions
I’ll be honest: that’s an unfair header for this section, since there are so many fantastic acts to choose from. But you have to start somewhere, so here’s who else I’d catch in an ideal world—and just might in this one if I can manage to finagle the schedule just right.
I’ve never seen vibraphonist Joe Locke perform live, but I’d really like to. He’s at the Players Theater at 7 PM on Friday.
I’m a sucker for the electric guitar. Chalk it up to 1980s heavy metal. Still, Marc Ribot’s playing is always fantastic. Team him up with frequent collaborator and fellow guitarist Mary Halvorson for the “Young Philadelphians”? Yes, please! Halvorson’s an up-and-coming name on the scene and she played the WJF last year with both her own ensemble and as a guest with Ribot’s group and the result was a blistering set that I still remember and want to see again and again. Strong incentive to stick around for an 11:15 PM Friday set at Minetta Lane.
Suga’ host Joyce Jones and I were just talking about how Wallace Roney seemed to be the go-to person older trumpeters looked to for backup very early in his career. Both Miles Davis (whose influence is clear) and Freddie Hubbard tapped Roney’s talents. You can’t ask for a better pedigree than that. But he’s taken those lessons and developed his own unique voice on the trumpet. Hmm, 6:15 Saturday at the Bitter End? I just might make it.
Lionel Loueke’s Trio is 8:30 on Saturday at Subculture. Guitar and African rhythms? It makes me really wish I could be in two places at the same time. But you can catch them! And you should!
Lastly, I’ll point you to the full performance schedule. They also have a handy guide to full group line-ups, which you can check to see if a favorite musician is on the list somewhere. Finally, there’s a map of the various venues, but you will get all that at the check-in site at Judson Memorial Church.
So that’s it. That’s a lot of acts! But they’re all really good. Find who’s to your liking and take some time to see someone you haven’t—you might become a fan of a new group. I’ll likely be wiped out after it’s wrapped up, but it’s good training for the week-long Vision Fest, which has moved to July this year. We’ll have some coverage of that, but before then, I’ll check in with a WJF wrap-up.
Shameless self-promotion time: if you’re not already a listener, check out our show that airs alternate Sunday nights from 11 PM – 1 AM on WBAI Radio and streams online. This week, we’ll feature an interview with Geri Allen on January 11th, which should be a good way to wrap up the weekend.
Are you going? Anyone in particular you’re looking forward to seeing? Let me know in the comments.
Hank Williamsis an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York. Find him on Twitter: @streetgriot
Photo Credit: Hank Williams
Photo: Ornette Coleman, Heidelberg Germany 2008.| Credit: Frank Schindelbeck. 
Behind the Mic 