Thursday, March 08, 2007

Bussey, Tuschen, Kantor, and Longo Trio - D.C.'s Tavern - Thursday March 8th

Hello Y'all,
This Thursday D.C.'s Tavern will host a night of Jazz. Brian Kantor busts out of the wood shed and dusts off his chops for a swinging good time. Kantor can usually be found behind the kit with the incredible Higgins (http://www.myspace.com/higgins) where his chops are equally matched with his creativity and meet at the center of Rock and Pop for your listening pleasure.

Defining Jazz is one of the reasons some people never even make it to listening to Jazz. What the hell is and isn't Jazz? What is worse is music that claims to be Jazz doesn't even have to fit into any of the little categories that make up Jazz... which may then make it more Jazz than most. Confused? Don't be. Regardless of definition there is pretty much a sub-genre of Jazz to satisfy any soul or tastes. Mr. Kantor and his extended Trio will play their way through a few styles and genres including Hard Bop and Soul Jazz but who knows where that may lead them or how they will bring it all to an end.

Bussey, Tuschen, Kantor, and Longo Trio

Joe Bussey (bass)
Ty Tuschen (guitar)
Brian Kantor (drums)
Pat. James Longo a.k.a. Primitive Sound System (dusty Jazz 45's and LP's)

D.C's Tavern Night of Jazz
Thursday, March 8th, 2007 9PM - Closing
Admission is FREE
Address and info
D.C.'s Tavern
505 8th Street
Between Jefferson and Madison
BACK IN BACK
Hoboken, New Jersey
PH: 201-792-5550
and of course see 'em on http://www.MySpace.com/dcstavern

Some Jass:

Jimmy Smith - Root Down - Jimmy Smith Live! (Verve cat. V6-8806)
No explanation.

Gary Bartz Ntu Troop - "Drinking Song" from Harlem Bush Music (Taifa) (Milestone cat. MSP 9031)
"The music of both volumes of Harlem Bush Music (Taifa and Uhuru) is humbly dedicated, respectively, to the memories of Malcolm X and John Coltrane." - Gary Bartz.
The combination of Gary Bartz and Andy Bey is nothing short of perfection. Bartz swings, grooves, screeches and whales sometimes as if possessed by his own instrument and Bey's voice seems to be pushed out of his body by a spiritual force that he channels. The sound of Bey's voice is produced by his entire body, being and existence. Similarly the Ntu Toop is a small unit that produces quite a complex and powerful noise. "Drinking Song" is a great example of this collective as an explosive force that can also tighten up and get Funky. Bey's voice is as much an instrument as Juni Booth's thunderous bass, Bartz's crazed sax and a rhythm section that should back every group. Bettis' congas accent every drum roll Harold White tosses his way making them sound like a single percussionist with multiple arms. I hope the words of "Drinking Song" are not true because I am writing this as I sip my wine from my Elmer Fudd glass. No, I do not own "Un Mansion and Un Yacht."

Leon Thomas - "Shape Your Mind To Die" from Blues And The Soulful Truth (Flying Dutchman cat. FD 10155)
"Shape Your Mind To Die" opens with spooky piano and the rest of the musicians soon follow suit filling in the dark corners with sax, vitar, percussion and piano. Leon Thomas's voice is the very definition of Jazz, it combines Blues, Gospel, Soul and Jazz styles and twists them to produce a unique quality and one that is extremely original. He laughs, cackles, yodels and soon comes right back at you with a soulful whisper that is round and warm. John Blair takes a solo on the Vitar that is so good it makes you almost forget that this is one of those instruments that reminds us of the Keytar. Moody.

Archie Shepp - "Back Back" from Kwanza (ABC / Impulse cat. AS-9262)
I remember the first time I dropped the needle on Side A of this I pulled it to check and see if it was the right record. Bizarrely the cut has a weird Batman groove to it but hell that is never a bad thing for me. Spinning Organ and pounding drums throughout allow Shepp, Jimmy Owens, Grachon Moncur III, James Spaulding and Charles Davis to toss off lines with each other as if forgetting the world of Free Improvisation for a moment and just kick out the jams for a while. Then again when you have Bernard "Pretty" Purdie behind the kit what else are you going to do?!

Clifford Coulter - Do it now! Worry About It Later (ABC Records / impulse! (University Of Fine Recordings) cat. AS-9216)
So when I bought this I had no idea what the hell expect. All I knew was the cover had a picture of a man kicking a cop for writing him a ticket and after 3 short scenes our hero(?) ends up in the chair. The song titles include a track called "Yodelin' In The Whatchamaname Thang." And the band is a pretty great combination of players most of which I recognized. To this day I still have NO idea what to think or how to categorize this LP but it remains a favorite and a frequent visitor to my turntable. The music combines all things Soulful with all things Jazz and comes out the other side sounding (no surprise here) like Soul-Jazz. As Thursday approaches I still don't know what cut I will play. Let's all be surprised together.

Paul Jackson - Black Octopus (East World / Toshiba-EMI Limited cat. EWLF-98006)
Obsessions are sometimes a wonderful thing. Oddly I am not a completeist when it comes to many artists. When I first started picking up LP's by Herbie Hancock I felt myself leaning toward obsession very quickly. The great thing about obsession when collecting music is that it leads to related musicians, influences, side dates, etc. I was no stranger to Paul Jackson and his music but had no idea of this LP's existence until Aldo at A-1 dropped the needle on "Tip-Toe Thru The Ghetto" one night just before he was closing up. The store was pretty empty and the speakers were LOUD. That drum beat hooked me immediately. Needless to say moments after looking at it, seeing the lineup and then spotting "Funk Times Three" FINALLY listed on an LP I dug deep into my pocket and handed over fistfuls of cash. I have no idea what I paid him as this was easily 10 years ago if not more but what ever it was it was worth it.

Roland Kirk - "Hip Chops" from Gifts & Messages (Mercury Records cat. MG 20939 (white label promo))
This song aint 'bout nuthin' but HIP CHOPS! Manzello, flute and sax punctuate the soulful roll of Hip Chops. Tambourine helps keep it all together but like all of Kirk's work it was never about to come apart. He lets the arrangement fall apart just to show you how easily he can bring all back around. There is also one of my favorite drum parts at the end albeit brief but it always catches my ear because it follows the bright piano line and Kirk's restatement of the theme. Beaten brushes! Roland Kirk was sent here from another world. A world where sight was not important only soul and creativity proved your worth. Who has the hippest chops n the world? Let's just say Kirk is leading the race.