From the Vaults 1
A few years ago, I started participating in a nascent online community called Intune.org, which had a short shelf life, but led to my initial interest in rambling about music online. Since I recently caught another show at Yoshi's (of Me'shell N'degeocello, which I will eventually ramble about here as well), I dug out this review from a pair of other great shows I have seen at the venerable institution:
Live Review: A Weekend At Yoshis - Geri Allen Trio, 03.30.02, Billy Cobham Spectrum, 03.31.02
Geri Allen - Piano
Robert Hurst - Acoustic Bass
Billy Hart - Drums
Billy Cobham - Drums
Gary Husband - Keyboards
Lee Sklar - Bass
Dean Brown - Guitar
Yoshis is a great place, arguably the best Jazz venue on the West Coast of the United States. It's a Japanese restaurant with a Supper-club section that mixes a lively environment of bustling activity (the sushi bar) with the intimate feel of lounge from an era long gone by (the club). It moved less than a decade ago from a rather seedy location to right on the embarcadero of the Oakland Marina and lies right in famous Jack London Square. I have seen a slew of acts here, from Bill Frisell to Charlie Hunter. But this weekend, I went and saw two long standing idols; Geri Allen on Saturday, and Billy Cobham on Sunday.
Saturday evening I sat front-row and slightly left for a close look at modern titan Geri Allen and her newest trio. To say Geri Allen is one of the most underexposed talents in piano is beyond obvious; her style flows directly from the canon written by Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett and Thelonius Monk, but her sensibilities put avant-garde and modern classical elements into the mix with stunning results. She can play hard-bop with deep conviction, she can swing immensely hard, and she has a rapport with her bandmates so that she allows some near cacophonous improvising, but always able to corral and redirect the motion of the band at just the right times so as to keep things truly musical. She covered a fair amount of material from her career (note: Geri has been actively recording for almost 2 decades, and has a huge back catalog of material) as well as one tune from Hurst and one from Hart.
Unlike many of her contemporaries, she is neither tied to an era gone by (like Wynton Marsalis) nor is she trying to push the envelope just for the sake of itself. She carries an air of power that is both distancing and inviting. She is graceful and flowing, but several times during solos one was nearly taken aback by the swinging change in mood from controlled grace to aggressive -near enraged- assault, as if the paino was both caring lover and recalcitrant bastard...heightened by the physicality of her attack on the ivories. It was amazing to watch this soft-spoken woman do slow floating chordal work to explosive romps of hand speed record-breaking runs in her solos.
Geri has typically chosen impeccable people to play with; Steve Coleman, Charlie Haden, Ornette Coleman, and Ron Carter. This show had Robert Hurst (formerly of both the Wynton and Branford Marsalis bands, as well as a solo artist) and Billy Hart (of almost everybody) showing a more than capable back section to Geri. Robert plays in an understated but fluid manner, opting for more open and complex variations rather than sticking to the standard walking bass style. His solo segment was a funky and punchy romp that exhibited some edgy phrasing. Billy Hart was about the only inconsistent part of the evening, with his drums mixed a little too high into the PA (compounded by the fact that I was practically facing his kickdrum). Some of his free-jazz musings were unecessary, but overall he still kept tight time and was varied in his palette of sounds (different sticking styles, brushes, and approaches to getting sounds out of the kit).
All in all, I strongly recommend Geri to those who like a varied approach to their jazz, with elements of other styles and approaches. For the more traditional, I would say pick up The Gathering which feature her trio, as well as husband Wallace Roney (protege of a certain Miles Davis and a top-notch recording artist in his own right), guitarist Vernon Reid, and others. For the more experimental bent, go for either Maroons or any of her work with Anthony Cox, Charlie Haden, and Paul Motian.
On Sunday, I drove the 50 minutes up highway 880 to return to Yoshis for yet another treat - the reunion of the Billy Cobham Spectrum....well, sort of. Bill Cobham started in the early 60s with folks like piano guru Horace Silver but quickly booked gigs at the Miles Davis Bitches Brew sessions, and later fame with John McLaughlin in the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Billy is a very soft-spoken and warm-hearted man in person, but behind a trap-kit, he is absolute superhuman creature, a status compounded by the fact that he is still built like Atlas, and looks like he could bench-press Michigan. He took military drum corps concepts of stick control and used them to a most funky effect, as well as breaking lots of 'rules' about how drumming is done (i.e. his kit is almost perfectly symmetrical and he is able to play ambidextrously in ways yet to be imitated, as well as playing the high hat with his left hand and his snare with his right, a method newer drummers like Carter Beauford from Dave Matthews Band have admittedly taken). His solo debut in 1972, Spectrum was a feat of fusion mastery, and his output since has travelled all over the map from the sublime to the bland, but live he never never never disappoints. The last time I saw Billy was at the now defunkt Ajax Lounge, where he had Dean Brown and Gary Husband (on both keys and an extra drumkit).* , but this was the first time I had ever seen Lee Sklar (who most of you that are old enough may remember as the long-haired biker looking dude in the Phil Collins Sussudio video). None of them disappointed - Lee plays a thumping, galloping style of bass that is a perfect compliment to Billy - he keeps it in the pocket and locks the groove down with no fuss. Dean Brown replaces original Sprectrum guitarist Tommy Bolin (who died at age 25 of a drug overdose in the late 70s) and Gary replaces Jan Hammer. Both have been with Billy for years , but this was the first time I had ever seen Lee live. Their comfort with the material was evident. Gary is not so much funky as he is flowing, with an aggressive but liquid style that suited this show perfectly...or would have if he wasn't mixed down so damn much. Dean played some great guitar, and proved to be entertaining visually, as he constantly contorts his face and his body spastically moves to the sound...as if he has let go of the control of the rest of his body to control the unbridled power of the fretboard. He was an excellent showman who didn't seem phased by anything....including one of his strings breaking during the middle of a song.
The show spotlighted material from Spectrum (i.e. Stratus, Quadrant 4), but also had one Dean Brown composition and a new track called Five Day Run, but the definite highlight was the encore drum solo, which defies real decription. It was thematically constructed to be musically sensible (no wankery for its own sake - it actually had a sonic logic) and visually enthralling. He showcased his total mastery of 4-limb independence and midway used 4 drumsticks (2 in each hand held at 90 degree angles) and used alternating wrist motions to do snare and tom roll combinations that really MUST be seen to be understood. This was a funky and fun Easter afternoon indeed.
For an adequate look at Billy, look for his Horace Silver work, or get the Rudiments anthology which shows what happened before fusion became the f-word of jazz.
*. Gary Husband has been doing keyboards with Billy for almost a decade and even has a disc of his keyboard work, but his fame is really as a drummer himself, for artists like Allan Holdsworth, Level 42, Gongzilla, and a cavalcade of other albums where Gary's wild drum prowess is required. His own solo drum stuff is well worth seeking.
Live Review: A Weekend At Yoshis - Geri Allen Trio, 03.30.02, Billy Cobham Spectrum, 03.31.02
Geri Allen - Piano
Robert Hurst - Acoustic Bass
Billy Hart - Drums
Billy Cobham - Drums
Gary Husband - Keyboards
Lee Sklar - Bass
Dean Brown - Guitar
Yoshis is a great place, arguably the best Jazz venue on the West Coast of the United States. It's a Japanese restaurant with a Supper-club section that mixes a lively environment of bustling activity (the sushi bar) with the intimate feel of lounge from an era long gone by (the club). It moved less than a decade ago from a rather seedy location to right on the embarcadero of the Oakland Marina and lies right in famous Jack London Square. I have seen a slew of acts here, from Bill Frisell to Charlie Hunter. But this weekend, I went and saw two long standing idols; Geri Allen on Saturday, and Billy Cobham on Sunday.
Saturday evening I sat front-row and slightly left for a close look at modern titan Geri Allen and her newest trio. To say Geri Allen is one of the most underexposed talents in piano is beyond obvious; her style flows directly from the canon written by Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett and Thelonius Monk, but her sensibilities put avant-garde and modern classical elements into the mix with stunning results. She can play hard-bop with deep conviction, she can swing immensely hard, and she has a rapport with her bandmates so that she allows some near cacophonous improvising, but always able to corral and redirect the motion of the band at just the right times so as to keep things truly musical. She covered a fair amount of material from her career (note: Geri has been actively recording for almost 2 decades, and has a huge back catalog of material) as well as one tune from Hurst and one from Hart.
Unlike many of her contemporaries, she is neither tied to an era gone by (like Wynton Marsalis) nor is she trying to push the envelope just for the sake of itself. She carries an air of power that is both distancing and inviting. She is graceful and flowing, but several times during solos one was nearly taken aback by the swinging change in mood from controlled grace to aggressive -near enraged- assault, as if the paino was both caring lover and recalcitrant bastard...heightened by the physicality of her attack on the ivories. It was amazing to watch this soft-spoken woman do slow floating chordal work to explosive romps of hand speed record-breaking runs in her solos.
Geri has typically chosen impeccable people to play with; Steve Coleman, Charlie Haden, Ornette Coleman, and Ron Carter. This show had Robert Hurst (formerly of both the Wynton and Branford Marsalis bands, as well as a solo artist) and Billy Hart (of almost everybody) showing a more than capable back section to Geri. Robert plays in an understated but fluid manner, opting for more open and complex variations rather than sticking to the standard walking bass style. His solo segment was a funky and punchy romp that exhibited some edgy phrasing. Billy Hart was about the only inconsistent part of the evening, with his drums mixed a little too high into the PA (compounded by the fact that I was practically facing his kickdrum). Some of his free-jazz musings were unecessary, but overall he still kept tight time and was varied in his palette of sounds (different sticking styles, brushes, and approaches to getting sounds out of the kit).
All in all, I strongly recommend Geri to those who like a varied approach to their jazz, with elements of other styles and approaches. For the more traditional, I would say pick up The Gathering which feature her trio, as well as husband Wallace Roney (protege of a certain Miles Davis and a top-notch recording artist in his own right), guitarist Vernon Reid, and others. For the more experimental bent, go for either Maroons or any of her work with Anthony Cox, Charlie Haden, and Paul Motian.
On Sunday, I drove the 50 minutes up highway 880 to return to Yoshis for yet another treat - the reunion of the Billy Cobham Spectrum....well, sort of. Bill Cobham started in the early 60s with folks like piano guru Horace Silver but quickly booked gigs at the Miles Davis Bitches Brew sessions, and later fame with John McLaughlin in the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Billy is a very soft-spoken and warm-hearted man in person, but behind a trap-kit, he is absolute superhuman creature, a status compounded by the fact that he is still built like Atlas, and looks like he could bench-press Michigan. He took military drum corps concepts of stick control and used them to a most funky effect, as well as breaking lots of 'rules' about how drumming is done (i.e. his kit is almost perfectly symmetrical and he is able to play ambidextrously in ways yet to be imitated, as well as playing the high hat with his left hand and his snare with his right, a method newer drummers like Carter Beauford from Dave Matthews Band have admittedly taken). His solo debut in 1972, Spectrum was a feat of fusion mastery, and his output since has travelled all over the map from the sublime to the bland, but live he never never never disappoints. The last time I saw Billy was at the now defunkt Ajax Lounge, where he had Dean Brown and Gary Husband (on both keys and an extra drumkit).* , but this was the first time I had ever seen Lee Sklar (who most of you that are old enough may remember as the long-haired biker looking dude in the Phil Collins Sussudio video). None of them disappointed - Lee plays a thumping, galloping style of bass that is a perfect compliment to Billy - he keeps it in the pocket and locks the groove down with no fuss. Dean Brown replaces original Sprectrum guitarist Tommy Bolin (who died at age 25 of a drug overdose in the late 70s) and Gary replaces Jan Hammer. Both have been with Billy for years , but this was the first time I had ever seen Lee live. Their comfort with the material was evident. Gary is not so much funky as he is flowing, with an aggressive but liquid style that suited this show perfectly...or would have if he wasn't mixed down so damn much. Dean played some great guitar, and proved to be entertaining visually, as he constantly contorts his face and his body spastically moves to the sound...as if he has let go of the control of the rest of his body to control the unbridled power of the fretboard. He was an excellent showman who didn't seem phased by anything....including one of his strings breaking during the middle of a song.
The show spotlighted material from Spectrum (i.e. Stratus, Quadrant 4), but also had one Dean Brown composition and a new track called Five Day Run, but the definite highlight was the encore drum solo, which defies real decription. It was thematically constructed to be musically sensible (no wankery for its own sake - it actually had a sonic logic) and visually enthralling. He showcased his total mastery of 4-limb independence and midway used 4 drumsticks (2 in each hand held at 90 degree angles) and used alternating wrist motions to do snare and tom roll combinations that really MUST be seen to be understood. This was a funky and fun Easter afternoon indeed.
For an adequate look at Billy, look for his Horace Silver work, or get the Rudiments anthology which shows what happened before fusion became the f-word of jazz.
*. Gary Husband has been doing keyboards with Billy for almost a decade and even has a disc of his keyboard work, but his fame is really as a drummer himself, for artists like Allan Holdsworth, Level 42, Gongzilla, and a cavalcade of other albums where Gary's wild drum prowess is required. His own solo drum stuff is well worth seeking.
posted by theloniusfunk at 4:21 AM
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