Concert Review: Haden/Hutcherson/Cables at Yoshi’s
Yoshi's, San Francisco - June 8, 2009 - 10:00 p.m.
What the heck was going on at Yoshi’s San Francisco last night?
Charlie Haden, who headlines this week with a pair of specially-assembled trios, barely showed up for the second set on opening night, leaving band mates Bobby Hutcherson and George Cables to fend for themselves on five of the set’s eight tunes. When Haden did appear, he was clearly less than fully engaged with the others, standing apart both physically and musically, his simple walking lines out of sync with Cables and his dull, grudging solos drifting towards disinterested abstraction.
Concert Review: Fly at Yoshi’s
Yoshi's, Oakland - April 20, 2009 - 8:00 p.m.
This tour almost didn’t happen.
In a story that has been told and re-told over the past few months, saxophonist Mark Turner nearly severed two fingers while cutting firewood late last year, an incident that could have deprived the collective ensemble known as Fly of one-third of its personnel. And for a group as tightly interwoven and immersed in group-think as this one, there can be no substitutes.
Thankfully, Turner has recovered with remarkable speed. In the first set of their one-night gig at Yoshi’s Oakland, Fly negotiated seven musical obstacle courses with the precision of a commando team and the agility of an Olympic gymnast.
FLY-ing across America
The jazz press is all abuzz about the return of Fly, the influential modern-jazz trio that was nearly undone by saxophonist Mark Turner’s terrifying power-saw accident late last year. The band is touring in support of Sky & Country, just out on ECM Records. I plan to check out the group’s Yoshi’s gig next week, and a review of Sky & Country is also on the Jazz Observer’s agenda. Until then, here’s a roundup of recent press from the tour…
- New York Times (profile by Nate Chinen, April 9 2009)
- New York Times (review by Ben Ratliff, April 10 2009)
- Boston Globe (profile by Andrew Gilbert, April 15 2009)
- All About Jazz (interview with Jason Crane, April 15 2009)
Learn more about the band at flytrio.com.
Review: Logan Richardson Sextet
Cornelia Street Cafe, New York - 01/09/09 - 10:30 p.m.
“Why don’t more people know about him?” That’s a comment frequently heard in jazz reviewing circles. With so many talented young musicians on the scene, most toiling in obscurity, it’s all too common to encounter monster players ready to break out and shake up the world… just as soon as people start to notice them.
I first became aware of Logan Richardson in 2007 when I received a review copy of his avant-leaning debut CD, Cerebral Flow (Fresh Sound/New Talent). That disc was deep, complex and intriguing, and if last night’s gig at Cornelia Street Cafe is any indication, Richardson has continued to grow since then. He’s a powerhouse improviser, a keen postmodernist composer and a bandleader who can attract some sharp talent. So why don’t more people know about him?
Review: Sachal Vasandani; John & Gerald Clayton
Sweet Rhythm, New York - 01/09/09 - 8:00 p.m.
This was one of those nights when nothing went as intended but it all worked out in the end.
Confronted by a vast array of jazz options on day 2 of my new York visit, I deferred making any plans until about 7:00 p.m., when I settled on a nice, arcing trajectory from midtown up to Harlem. It was a risk to set out without reservations on a Friday night, and sure enough the first stop on the tour was sold out. As was the backup. Stupid APAP Conference! So I scrapped everything and wandered around the West Village looking for some action (wait, that doesn’t sound quite right...)
