God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying, "Ah!" -- Joseph Campbell

You can hug them, climb them, get shade under them and you can PLAY them.

The musical fun shown below reminded me that all things have what is called a "natural frequency." Tap it, shake it, blow on it or rattle it and you have Music. I found a cool and clearly written lesson on the physics of resonance and standing waves, if you want to know more, (I promise you won't get a headache from reading it). In musicians' terms, the lesson is this: You can't use not having a symphony orchestra in your backyard as an excuse for just listening to cicadas.

Here is Italian-born Burbank, Calif.-based sound designer/composer Diego Stocco's "Music From a Tree":

-- Joe

Double - Hibakusha

Just after 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, then a 29-year-old ship engineer with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was walking to the company shipyard in Hiroshima. Right then, "Little Boy", the world's first strategic atomic bomb, detonated in midair less than two miles away from Yamaguchi. The blast knocked him unconscious, burst his left eardrum and burned his upper torso. But Yamaguchi did not live in Hiroshima. To recuperate, he went home -- to Nagasaki. Three days after his injury, back home in Nagasake, Yamaguchi was recounting his story to a skeptical boss when "Fat Man", the second strategic atomic bomb, exploded all over that city, also less than two miles away. The shock wave tore off Yamaguchi's bandages. On August 15, 1945, when Yamaguchi was home, recuperating from his injuries, burns and high fever, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's unconditional surrender. "The reason that I hate the atomic bomb is because of what it does to the dignity of human beings", he recently explained to the London Times.

The very real argument is simply put: was the use of the Atomic Bomb, which killed 120,000 people instantly, a proper use. The answer is either, yes, because it saved American soldiers' lives who would have slogged through at least another year or two of war in the continent of Asia, or the answer is no, because in inhumanely targeted civilians and military indiscriminately. Whatever the answer, Mr. Yamaguchi cannot afford to be too judgmental. The Mitsubichi plant that he worked at made the planes, tanks and ships that devastated Pearl Harbor, China, and most of southeast Asia, the South Pacific, in a murderous rampage. Mr. Yamaguchi should probably read "The Rape of Nanking" to inform his opinion about what Japan's army and military-industrial complex did to the "dignity of human beings."

Still, a very interesting debate. Our former neighbor, Tom Immerman, God rest his soul, lost an eye on Guadalcanal. When I first moved in next door, he saw that I drove a Toyota. All he said to me is something I cannot print. He was a great guy. Years ago, when I was a kid, my grandfather was in a bar downtown in Niagara Falls with some WWII veterans. Japanese tourists walked in the bar and asked for directions to the Falls. One of the men at the bar looked at the unfortunate tourists and said, "Go to Hell. You had no trouble finding Pearl Harbor." The feelings still run deep...

For a fascinating re-enactment of the drop of the bomb, (if you have about ten minutes to spare) follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rHrV2QhArA

Here a Barber there a Barber Everywhere a Barber

Claire, Joan, Luke and I went to the Jazz Fest on July 10th to see Patricia Barber. It was an early concert so I picked another concert for 9:00 p.m. and, it turned out to be a young lady at the Club L'Astral, (where we saw The Bad Plus), by the name of Jill Barber.

This is about the fourth time I've seen Patricia Barber. And for once, she left me a bit cold. I love her voice. Moreover, she is one of the best jazz pianists around. But she has developed a bit of a coldness about her. She has over-developed the Keith Jarrett-like grunting while she plays. Her mouth now contorts into a circle when she is playing. But there is still the voice and the playing that comes through all the time. Sadly, throughout the concert, Patricia seemed more intent on playing the piano than on singing. But when she did sing, all sins were forgiven. After an hour and twenty minutes she said something like, "Well this went faster than I thought", excused herself and then came on for two more encores. One was of her own composition, "Snow" which is on her "Mythologies" disc. Don't get me wrong, it was a very, very good concert, but was one devoted to "Cole Porter Mix" her most recent album and I've never really been a Cole Porter fan. Now, having said that, one of the best concerts of my life was seeing Patricia Barber at the Spectrum in Montreal with Joan, Maureen and Claire when she did a version of Modern Cool and then sang the Beatles' Norwegian Blue. I guess everyone can have an off night. But, maybe you can see what I mean about what I saw when you see this video:

It is always nice to discover someone that you have never heard of before. Every year we seem to stumble into someone we had never heard of, but who is so fun that you become an instant fan. This year, it was Jill Barber.

She comes from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is a jazz singer, western swing singer, composes her own songs and just blew us away. We were fortunate enough to have all had to go to the bathroom after the show, which delayed us. As we exited, Claire bumped into Jill Barber and as a result we hung in there and got her to sign three copies of her new album, Chances.

You should get the album, listen to it, and go see it.

Even, Even, Even More Jazz Fest

I'm a glutton for Pink Martini. China Forbes, four months after giving birth, was in great form and voice. Wow. There was barely enough room for all 51 musicians to squeeze onto the stage. The Montreal Jazz Fest Orchestra and Pink Martini gave us the best show of the Festival which is saying so much. Martini's Thomas Lauderdale was front and centre at the grand piano making it sing almost as prettily as vocalist China Forbes. Having a child becomes her and how. She was stunning in a pale aqua chiffon gown that flowed around her as she did high kicks in silver stilettos. Now that's impressive! Her crystal clear voice rose above the swell of the orchestra as though sweeping us up in a warm salty wave filled with violins and French horns. Is it lounge or is it swing? Is it world music or is it classical music? Is it jazz or is it samba? The band's three albums — Sympathique, Hang on Little Tomato and Hey Eugene! — show mastery of all kinds of music It is what fun and music is all about. Pink Martini is like a romantic Hollywood musical of the 1940s or 50s. They Bring melodies and rhythms from different parts of the world together to create something which beautiful and fun. Call it Jazz or World Music or whatever you want, but they are brilliant musicians with brilliant tastes in material. The whole concert was conceived and based upon their as of yet unreleased album. Thankfully, yet again, I can give you actual video from the concert that we attended. John, Claire, Kathleen and I went and had a riot.

The Portland, Oregon-based ‘little orchestra’ was founded in 1994 by Lauderdale, a Harvard graduate and classically trained pianist, to play fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, the environment, affordable housing and public broadcasting. In the years following Pink Martini grew from four musicians to its current twelve, and has gone on to perform its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Canada and the United States.

Lauderdale met China Forbes, Pink Martini’s “diva next door” lead vocalist, when the pair was at Harvard. He was studying history and literature while she was studying painting, English literature and theatre. Late into the night in their college dormitory on the Harvard campus, Forbes would sing Verdi and Puccini arias while Lauderdale accompanied her on piano, and their creative collaboration blossomed. Three years later, Lauderdale called Forbes who was living in New York City, where she’d been writing songs and playing guitar in her own folk-rock project, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write music and lyrics together for the band, and their first song “Sympathique,” or “Je ne veux pas travailler” (I don’t want to work) became a huge hit in France.

If you have the time, here's a link to an hour long concert that is well worth the time.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14951432

There were some great moments at the concert. One song, "Splendor in the Grass" hit Kathleen and I right between the eyes. Another moment was when China Forbes started conversing with a woman holding a newborn in a genuine display of the love of motherhood, China Forbes having a four month old child.

Even, Even More Jazz Festival

Joshua Redman. After Rockin' and Rollin' or whatever you can call it, with Jeff Beck, the boys and I went to see Joshua Redman. His new album Compass was the feature, and the band consists of one saxophonist, two bass, and two drummers. The idea of a double trio -- with Joshua Redman as the spearhead of two rhythm sections -- might suggest some kind of minimalist battle of the bands. In fact the concert Monday was much more than I or Steve, Luke, Elliot orJohn thought it would be. It also clocked in as one of my best fest experience so far. The songbook was mostly Redman, from the album Compass, with some input from stage-left drummer Greg Hutchinson. While the players have only recently developed a repertoire, the array of colour and feeling was vast enough, from earthy and angular to soft and cosmic. Rhythms were precise, also fun. Reading from charts in no way inhibited the energy of the evening. As democratic as it all was, with unpredictable entrances and exits, I had my favourites. Reuben Rogers was a splendid double bassist, with creative impulses, hands of steel and a perfect ear. He collaborated periodically with Larry Grenadier (who is the bass player in Brad Meldau's band -- no slouch there!) in pizzicato duets -- the only source of harmony save for the saxophone. Brian Blade was a subtle drummer, as adept with his fingers as with his sticks. Poor guy had nothing but trouble with his kit, though. At one point his foot pedal set came apart. At another point one of his drums almost flipped forward it was so loose. At the centre was Redman, athletic and indefatigable, knees rising stork like in a kind of ritual dance. Handsome as his tenor work was, he looked like a snake-charmer on soprano saxophone and was very memorable in a modern number titled Ghost. Near the end there was a surprisingly respectful treatment of the first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and a virile fantasy on Gil Evans’s Barracuda. A good-humoured guy, Redman told the eventually rapturous crowd that this was the fifth gig for his double-trio quintet. Maybe the last, he added with a self-deprecating chuckle. I doubt it. At least I hope not. Here is a sample of what we saw and you can tell it was great. John and Elliot and Luke were in the fifth row, and Steve and I were midway back.

One of the more surprising things about Montreal during the Jazz Fest is that there is a dearth of restaurants in the immediate area. Kathleen and I found one on Friday night, right at the Place Des Arts. However, the jazz fest outdoors area has some real stinkpots. For example, Steve, Luke and the boys and I went to a "Bistro" outside near the Rio Tin stage which is the major stage there. We had goat cheese, other cheese and wine that tasted like cheese. I am so bound up as a result that I have not seen a toilet since I ate there! Seriously, I wish they could have some real nice places nearby rather than the St. Hubert or Eggspectation places that seem to sprout up like weeds, like Starbucks does. There is, though, a nice crepe stand that has been there for all of the years that I've been going. Great Crepes.

Our next concert was Pink Martini: Arguably the best concerts I've ever been to have been the Pink Martini concerts. That's not just my opinion. But, more on that later.

Even More Jazz Fest -- Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck. I've been wanting to see Jeff Beck live ever since I was in junior high school. Finally, I was able to see him at the Jazz Fest. John and I went along with Steve Vanier, my partner, his son, Elliot, and Luke came along, too. Steve is not just a very fine partner, he's also a musician. He and some old, old friends have a band, "Slab City", and Steve is a saxophonist, pianist, guitar player, among other talents. And he had a question. "Is what Jeff Beck plays, jazz?" Fair enough. Some might call it "fusion", but it is really just rock. But if Jackson Browne can play at the Jazz Fest, (Saturday Night), then why can't Jeff Beck. Now, Jeff Beck is all over the place. He just released an album, "Jeff Beck -- Live at Ronnie Scott's". Maureen and I saw the club, (the show was sold out that night so we didn't go in the club), in London. It is a great album.

The show was sold out. So was the next one scheduled later that evening. Sure, people filled Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts last night to see the legendary British guitarist, who had received the Montreal International Jazz Festival Guitar Show’s first Tribute award earlier in the day. And during the show, they relished every sustained note, tremolo lurch and outburst of controlled feedback from Beck’s Fender Stratocaster. There was a big six foot and more fat old man who -- after every single song -- stood up shaking his fist and yelling "YEAH MAN". It made me feel old, because I wanted to do the same thing, but John and his friend Elliot were both there.
Still, it’s hard to imagine that anyone left without expressing some amazement at the work of drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, who can be flashy and swing at the same time. Nor would it be easy to downplay the shadings and harmonies of keyboard player Jason Rebello.
But aside from the boss, the show-stealer was bassist Tal Wilkenfeld, who, at 23, has played with Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, among others. Although she’s more like a second lead guitarist, she can also shadow Beck’s lines or anchor the quartet as needed. She looked like she was a kid. Well, even Beck looked like a kid with his black hair and solid figure.
The set closely mirrored the selection on last year’s live disc from Ronnie Scott’s club. The group opened with Beck’s Bolero, as the man of the hour slid into the high registers, making his guitar squeal and scream. As the evening moved on, whether he was spraying clusters of growling low notes, as on the reggae scorcher Behind the Veil, taking the Beatles' A Day In the Life to strange and wonderful places or winding down with the lonesome Where Were You, Beck demonstrated why, in the world of rock guitar gods, he pretty much can’t be touched.

Luckily, some video was downloaded by the Montreal Gazette of the concert the boys and I attended:

Much discussion between the boys as we waited for the next show as to who the greatest guitarist was. Sadly for Steve and I when we mentioned Clapton, Hendrix, Beck, Page, Howe, McLaughlin, DiMeola, and others, the only one they had ever heard of was Jimmy Page. Oh, the staying power of Led Zepplin. We followed that gig up with one dearer to the boys' hearts: Joshua Redman, the great saxaphone player. Elliot and John are both in the band and both play the sax. More on that one, later...

The Yardbirds. On the left is Jeff Beck. The fourth from the left is Jimmy Page. With Beck, the Yardbirds embarked on their first US tour in late August, 1965. There were three more US tours during Beck's time with the group. A brief European tour took place in April, 1966.
The Beck-era Yardbirds produced a number of memorable, groundbreaking recordings, from single hits like "Heart Full of Soul", Bo Diddley's I'm a Man, and Shapes of Things, to the Yardbird's album. Beck's guitar with fuzz tone, feedback, and distortion helped revolutionize British rock. In addition, the Yardbirds began incorporating, believe it or not Gregorian chant and world music sounds ("Still I'm Sad", "Turn Into Earth", "Hot House of Omagarashid", "Farewell", "Ever Since The World Began") and various European folk styles into their blues and rock. Beck was voted #1 lead guitarist of 1966 in the British music magazine Beat Instrumental, and his work during this period influenced musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and many, many others.

More Jazz Festival

Kathleen and I had a great time on Friday night, July 3rd, in Montreal. We started off with a beautiful diner at a new restraunt at the Place d'Arts in Montreal. Then, on to Eliane Elias. Not a lot of people who don't follow jazz as slavishly as I do will have heard of Elias. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Eliane Elias’ musical talents began to show at an early age. She started studying piano at age seven and at age twelve was transcribing solos from the great jazz masters. By the time she was fifteen she was teaching piano and improvisation at one of Brazil’ s most prestigious schools of music. Her performing career began in Brazil at age seventeen, working with Brazilian singer/songwriter Toquinho and the great poet Vinicius de Moraes who was also Antonio Carlos Jobim’s co-writer/lyricist. In 1981 she headed for New York and in 1982 landed a spot in the group Steps Ahead.
Her first album release was a collaboration with Randy Brecker entitled Amanda in 1984. Shortly after her solo career began, spanning over eighteen albums to date; fifteen on Blue Note Records and three on RCA Victor Group. In her work Elias has documented dozens of her own compositions, her outstanding piano playing and arranging, and beautiful vocal interpretations. In 1988 she was voted Best New Talent by the jazz critics poll of JAZZIZ magazine.
Together with Herbie Hancock in their duet, she was nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Jazz Solo Performance” category for her 1995 release, “Solos and Duets” .This recording was hailed by Musician Magazine as “a landmark in piano duo history.”
In the 1997 Downbeat Readers Poll, her recording “The Three Americas” was voted Best Jazz Album. Eliane Elias was named in five other categories: Beyond Musician, Best Composer, Jazz Pianist, Female Vocalist, and Musician of the Year.
Elias just completed a new recording for Blue Note records. “Bossa Nova Stories” is a celebration to the 50th Anniversary of the Bossa Nova and features her vocals accompanied by a stellar rhythm section and strings recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London.

And we heard pretty much the whole album "Bosa Nova Stories" with a few gems like "Tangerine".

But she really remains unknown in non-jazz circles and that's too, too bad. Kathleen and I both noticed that she is a "muscular" player, that is, she really can play the piano with the best of any jazz musician. There are some, like Diana Krall, who can sing and play -- and Eliane Elias is arguably a much, much better piano player than Krall, (but Krall has a voice and presence and song selection that far outpaces anyone out there today) -- but Elias has to be counted as one of the top 10 piano players in jazz.

These are videos of the same band with Eliane Elias with three of the songs we heard. We were in the Theatre Jean Duceppe which holds perhaps 1000 people. There is not a bad seat, and we were in the fourth row.

And of course, just one more... The Girl from Ipanema" ("Garota de Ipanema") is a well-known bossa nova song, a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s that won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965 It was written in 1962, with music by Antonio Carolos Jobim.

Myth has it The Girl from Ipanema was inspired by Helô Pinheiro, then a fifteen-year-old girl living in Montenegro Street of the fashionable Ipanema district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Daily, she would stroll past the popular "Veloso" bar-café on her way to the beach, attracting the attention of regulars like Jobim. This is Helo Pinheiro some forty years later, (and perhaps various surgeries later?) on the left. Its a great standard and has a fun story behind it, as many songs do...

International Jazz Festival in Montreal 2009

It's that time of year again...

Paul, Luke and Luke's brother, Joey, and I went up to the big city on July 1st and had a great time. The Bad Plus came to town. L'Astral, the new venue at the festival site, was a perfect place for the band. Aside from seeing them play in your friend's garage (if that friend happens to have a 7 foot Yamaha lying around), I can think of no other festival venue I'd rather see them in than the new, elegant, not-too-small, not-too-big L'Astral.








The trio was born in Minneapolis in the early 2000s. Pianist Ethan Iverson, drummer Dave King, and bassist Reid Anderson had all grown up in the Midwest and had played together in the late '80s. But Anderson and Iverson left for New York - Iverson as the musical director of the Mark Morris Dance Group, Anderson as a jazz bassist becoming known for bold compositions and strong playing - while King stayed back in Minnesota straddling the indie rock and jazz scenes with his group Happy Apple. When they regrouped in 2000, it didn't take long for them to realize they had something special. Applying a rigorous standard of arrangement to the songs of their youth, they found a way of winking at both Bill Evans and Igor Stravinsky while covering Blondie.
In their rising recognition from 2003 to the present, the group has divided the jazz community. It seems you're either head over heels, or you're disparaging their "moronic backbeat" as jazz critic Bill Milkowski did when their second record, Give, came out in 2004 to critical acclaim. A new record, For All I Care - their fifth major release to date - is a departure. For the first time, they are joined by singer Wendy Lewis, a Midwest-based indie rock singer who has known drummer Dave King for years. "We could have met with a saxophonist or guitarist, but we decided to work with the human voice. Wendy's a natural - a strong musician who isn't afraid to mix it up with a challenging band," Iverson said.
It is clear that Lewis is a masterful musician. Singing with the Bad Plus is like catching waves moving in different directions - Iverson's often dense piano work feels like Pierre Boulez laughing at grunge rock - and she stays artfully afloat. On a tune like Wilco's Radio Cure, Lewis's rich voice swirls in the dark emotion of the lyrics. Relieved of carrying the song on their own, the band comes to life behind her with an artful improvisation that parallels the original tune. And their show last night at L'Astral was mostly what I had expected, which, when you're expecting a great show, isn't all that bad. But there were a few surprises.
First off, Dave King is an even more amazing drummer than I had imagined. His is the perfect balance between orchestrated drum work and bursts of improvised energy. Seeing his big smile behind the kit just before he plays some edgey off-kilter fill is priceless.
Second, they played a few songs I had never heard before.
The set started with their trio tunes--many from the new record, like the Stravinsky and Babbitt pieces that they re-invent. Once they invited Wendy Lewis on stage I thought they would simply play the remainder of the new record. But no, they had some new gems too. A tongue-in-cheek rendition of Blue Velvet was successful, even if it showed what great jazz players they are in a backwards kind of way. And the first encore, Heart of Gold, sung by Reid Anderson, was such a magical moment. The song ended with the four musicians singing the refrain of Heart of Gold ("Still searchin' for a heart of gold") singing in harmony without microphones. But it was their cover of "Comfortably Numb" that blew the four of us away It was so good, that Luke thought that they were every bit as good as E.S.T. You should get the album.

Check out the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdPGjRDgEN4&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Fvideosearch%3Fsourceid%3Dnavclient%26rlz%3D1T4GGLR%5FenUS307US209%26q%3Dthe%2520bad%2520plus%2520comfortably%2520numb%26um%3D1%26ie%3D&feature=player_embedded

On our way out of the Bad Plus, while pushing through crowds at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, we stumbled past the Rio Tinto Alcan stage, where we were stopped in our tracks by an incredible sound: Uruguayan singer Inés Cánepa and her fabulous band. Cánepa sings what many would call "world music," but really she's just singing great songs in Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Accompanied by classical guitar, bass, drums and accordion, the engaging singer - sporting a floral-print sundress, despite the rain - danced, laughed, and sang her genre-bending songs, riddled with hints of R&B, folk and trip-hop.

We also got to hear a group called The Project from Mexico. It had a drummer who played guitar and base and who sang. Very Spanish/Mexican/French and a lot of blues.





Earlier in the evening there was some good old blues at one of the outdoor stages. We saw some drunks, some old people, (like me), some youngsters, something of everything.








Kathleen and I go again tonight to see Eliane Elias. More on that later.