Category Archives: Music

Concert from another time

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I went over to the refurbished Waterbury Palace Sunday to see the Derek Trucks Band. The concert had a vibe that can only be described as straight from the ’60s. That’s what I said to my son, Matthew, who is 11, in between one of the songs of the approximately one-hour, 45-minute set. I told him if he ever wanted to know what it was like to be at a late ’60s concert, this was it.

That appears to be one of the things Trucks and his capable group of musicians intends to achieve each night as they start a long tour of the States this month in support of their recently released album Already Free.

dtrucks3The setting was perfect for it. The Palace is a proscenium theater, with its newly reupholstered red velvet seats, in all its original ornate glory, particularly the design and decor of the ceiling,walls and balcony of the hall. The light show, projected from the back of the stage, provided stunning yet subtle atmospherics, and the band played a bluesy roots style of music with world and jazz shadings that put the emphasis on inprovisational playing, everything that turned the music and show business in general on its ear from about 1966 to 1969. Probably most important the audience sat and listened to the music for about 90 percent of the show, with the exception of several standing ovations and the encore, unlike the mindless standing throughout an entire concert you find at venues such as The Meadows and even the Oakdale Theater.

The performance was low-key as far as stage presence with very little chatter in between songs, but it was absolutely incendiary during the 12 tunes, many drawn from Trucks’ six studio albums.

Trucks plays slide guitar, with chords mixed in, about 80 percent of the time and he is a master of the technique, perhaps the greatest of his time, along with his friend and collaborator Doyle Bramhall II. In a type of playing that would seemingly have limited technical options available, Trucks, who plays without a pick, never lacks for creativity, using the slide in expressive and unique ways, always balancing melodic development with raging fire.

When he does take it off and plays single string solos as he did on two numbers, he shows just as much improvisational skill and inspiration. In the middle of the set, the band played Alan Toussaint’s Get Out Of My Life, Woman, made popular in the ’60s by the great Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and later John Coltrane’s interpretation of My Favorite Things, both extended versions that saw Trucks soloing single string style with the first perhaps the most interesting and moving solo of the night.

The rest of Trucks band is stellar, including Kori Burbridge, equally adept on an array of keyboards, including Hammond B-3 and clavinet, and flute; Todd Smallie, bass; Yonrico Scott, drums; Mike Mattison, lead vocals; and Count M’Butu, percussion. Several of Burbridge’s solos on keys and his answer backs with Trucks on two tunes were inventive and soulful. His flute playing is at once precise, flowing and technically adept.

The band included their Dylan cover of Down In The Flood from Already Free as the second song of the set, fueled by Trucks’ driving slide rhythm and two songs later played the Eastern flavored Sahib Teri Bandi/Maki Madni, both of which featured melodic lines and solos with strong Indian influences.

Meet Me At The Bottom, a John Lee Hooker song with a riff similar to Rollin’ And Tumblin’, highlighted a lower volume, two-song segment in which both Mattison and Trucks sat at the front of the stage. They closed the main set with a ripping version of Sleepy Johns Estes’ Leavin’ Trunk, made popular by Taj Mahal on his first album in the ’60s, and the encore was the title tune from Soul Serenade.

The evening was sheer pleasure as we were transported back to a time when music, performance and creativity were the order of the day. Nice to be reminded of it.

The set list:

I Know

Down In The Flood

Crow Jane

Sahib Teri Bandi/Maki Madni

Get Out Of My Life, Woman

Already Free

Meet Me At The Bottom

Blind, Crippled & Crazy

My Favorite Things

We’re A Winner

Leavin’ Trunk

Soul Serenade

An Original CAST! Performance

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I went up to Black-Eyed Sally’s in Hartford Saturday to catch an exciting and talented group of young musicians, Coryell Auger Sample Trio (CAST!). The group played two sets, providing a smokin’ blend of funky fusion, steeped in bebop, blues and rock via Venice, California, where the trio hales from.

All three have well-known fathers in the world of jazz-rock, but each stands clearly on his own as a proficient player and composer of note.

castGuitarist Julian Coryell is the son of jazz-rock pioneer and legend Larry Coryell, Karma Auger’s dad is Brian Auger, who played with Julie Driscoll and led the Trinity and Oblivion Express in the ’60s and ’70s, and Nicklas Sample is the son of Joe Sample, the keyboard player from L.A. based fusion band The Crusaders.

CAST! played material from their first album, Coolidge Returns, which they sell at live shows and on their web site, including Walk Of The Dragon, Rice Krispy Socrates, Nadine and Purple Panther, as well as tunes from an upcoming second album. The band cooked in the first set, but really opened up in the second with a slant more toward the rock end of things.

Each player displayed his virtuosity within the context of the band. Coryell mixes high doses of blues-inflected playing with flights of jazz lines that combine stunning technique with deep feeling. Auger lays down infectious funk grooves that create a solid foundation and augments them with brilliant latin-flavored to straight-ahead rock flourishes around his kit. And Sample is equally at home providing soulful funk, driving rock or matching Coryell on swift, doubled melodic lines.

I saw Karma play with Brian and his sister, Savannah, two years ago in the latest version of the Oblivion Express at Stage One in Fairfield for a night of extraordinary organ-fueled tunes, many classics from the Express repertoire. Brian Auger was in fine form that night playing with the fire, virtuosity and abandon he has always exhibited on his timeless jazz-funk compositions. Highly recommended when they make their way back to the East Coast. Check tour dates and a definitive collection of his work on his web site.

After playing a string of West Coast dates, CAST! has been on the East Coast for the past week and plays for one more week in Baltimore, Boston and New York before heading home.

In all, a wonderful night of music from three outstanding, rising stars.

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The Bird, the Bee and the Ray Gun

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It seems everywhere I look nowadays I’m noticing more and more about Inara George, daughter of the late great Lowell George, vocalist and slide guitarist extraordinaire of Little Feat.

Just last summer I read about her project with Van Dyke Parks, the nostalgic album An Invitation, which was released in August, and then another item about a one-off concert of the piece they performed in London in the fall.

With a little further investigation I found that before that project she was involved in a lot of varied endeavors, including a tribute concert for her father in which she sang Trouble to great acclaim, and her own solo album (All Rise, 2005). Add to that myriad projects over the years for the 34-year-old with various bands and musicians in L.A., including Lode (EP Legs & Arms, 1996) and Merrick, a duo with two albums that broke up in 2002.

ray-gun-frontSo, I was watching Leno the other night and who appears at the end of the show? The Bird and the Bee, which is Inara George’s group with Greg Kurstin, who writes all the music with her and plays most of the instruments on their two CDs. Their performance was not only quite good, it was almost surreal. You can see for yourself in the clip below of the band performing the same tune, My Love, at the Independent in San Francisco.

With Kurstin almost hidden behind an array of keyboards and a grand piano, George and a bevy of women backup singers looked like something out of Modesty Blaise wearing short go-go style dresses with splatches of bright color, very retro and stylish. The song, My Love, was a smooth mix of girl group pop, cool jazz and latin rhythms, which is how you can describe most the group’s new album Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future.

ray-gun-backThe Bird and the Bee bring a refreshing approach to what at first strikes you as a pure pop sound. But there’s more going on. Its foundation features sophisticated instrumentation and technique, impeccably arranged underneath George’s ethereal vocals, which float airily between hushed Brazilian cool and jazz-tinged soulfulness. The writing accents beautiful melodies backed with sun-drenched harmonies and smart, somewhat elusive lyrics.

Diamond Dave blends high-pitched organ pecks over a light shuffle beat, then melodically breaks into a jazz structure and finally a pop hook, all sung quite capably by George. What’s In The Middle moves to a funky straight-ahead rock beat with techno touches, while the title track glides over a moderate groove underpinned with jazz chords and vocal stylings.

Other highlights include Meteor, another shuffle, the low-key Baby and Polite Dance Song with its almost second-line News Orleans feel in the verse opening into a big Beatleish payoff in the chorus. An unusually droll video for Dance Song is available on youtube.

The haunting Witch, sprightly pop Birthday and reflective Lifespan Of A Fly finish the album, which by its end reinforces Kurstin and George’s songwriting skill, instrumental prowess and pleasing and proficient vocal arrangements.

A nice surprise for 2009 by a couple of L.A. vets just starting to attract a wider audience.

CT Rock ‘n Roll: Pulse Part 2

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I touched on a sliver of Connecticut Rock ‘n Roll in the ’60s in a previous post. Here is a little more of the story, particularly to clear up some misconceptions and inaccuracies that have been on the web for a long time.

bramriggsetwpaulsPulse was a group formed from the ashes of two bands managed by Doc Cavalier, who owned Syncron Studios in Wallingford, later Trod Nossel. One was the Bram Rigg Set (left), who had formed in 1966 and had a single on Kayden, I Can Only Give You Everything, the other the Shags, who had enjoyed great popularity in New Haven and the state for several years with singles such as Wait And See and Hey Little Girl. Both broke up in the summer of 1967.

The break-ups were motivated by Doc to form one stronger group from the two. I had been with the Bram Rigg Set for only about six months and toward the end of that time the band was fracturing. In 1967, our lead singer Bob Schlosser was already living in Rhode Island and by the summer we were not rehearsing as a full band and usually only playing on weekends. The Shags had several regional hit singles to their credit but their popularity was waning a bit.

The first version of the band, which was called The Pulse, note the subtle difference, was made up of three members of the Shags and three from the Bram Rigg Set.  From the Shags – Carl Donnell, vocals and guitar, Tommy Roberts; vocals and guitar and Lance Gardiner, bass; from Bram Rigg – Beau Segal, drums, Peter Neri, guitar and Rich Bednarcyk, keyboards.

There are a couple of interviews out there that say this group had two bass players and I was one of them. That’s ridiculous, there were never two bass players. I never rehearsed with this version of the band. Since I was going to school in Boston, first to Boston University and then Berklee School (later College) of Music, I was just not available. And I’m sure Roberts wanted Lance in the band. That was fine with me at the time, despite my missing playing with Beau, Peter and Rich, with whom I’d formed a strong musical bond.

The Pulse went into the studio and started recording. From what I gleaned from Beau they were trying to come up with a single. They did and Doc sold it to ATCO, a subsidiary of Atlantic. Unfortunately the tune was Can-Can Girl, a bubble gum confection written by Roberts with the famous Can-Can melody on horns grafted into the middle of it. It quickly disappeared. The B side, a little more esoteric, was called Burritt Bradley. The single can still be found on eBay as well as record fairs for about $40.

This went on for about six months. I’m not sure what exactly precipitated the breakup but by the beginning of 1968 I received a phone call from Beau and he asked me if I wanted to be in Pulse, a new version of the group that would be a blues-rock based outfit. I said yes and ruined my college life, well to some extent. Because for the next four months or so I commuted on weekends to Wallingford for rehersals. But it was well worth it.

In fact, it was quite a heady time for me musically. During the week, I was studying doublebasse with an extraordinary player, Nate Hygelund. I had bought a beautiful Czechoslovakian bass in Boston and a french bow and was learning classical pieces even though Berklee was a jazz school. Looking back, what’s funny, considering Berklee has become more of a contemporary music school with strong jazz roots, is that electric bass was a non-entity at the school. It didn’t exist.

I’ll never forget near the end of the semester, Nate  brought an electric bass he picked up into a rehersal room I was practicing in to ask me what I thought about it because he had no idea. He had gotten lucky. He had a weathered but beautiful Fender Precision he bought for a song. He planned to use it on some pickup gigs around town.

It was a truly amazing atmosphere to be in. I was studying arranging with Herb Pomeroy, the inspirational trumpet player and teacher, and alto sax player John LaPorta! I mean John LaPorta had played with Charlie Mingus for freak’s sakes. Pomeroy on occasion played with a faculty sextet around Boston that included Charlie Mariano, another legend who recorded on Impulse, played with many greats from that label and had been married to Toshiko Akioshi, who would later lead one of the greatest big bands in the world.

Another wonderful thing about being at Berklee was it had an extensive reel-to-reel tape section in its library on the top floor of the old building on Bolyston Street, where all the classrooms were housed. I spent hours and hours listening to everything from Coltrane to Miles to Monk to Mingus. They actually had a copy of Sgt. Pepper’s, so the school was getting hip to pop and rock, but for the most part I just absorbed all of this great jazz from the late ’40s to mid-’60s, discovering all kinds of musicians I had not been exposed to such as Eric Dolphy, who played with Trane, and John Handy, who was on some Mingus sessions as well as leading his own quintet, and so many more.

One last thing about Boston. I went to Club 47 in Cambridge that semester to see the Gary Burton Quartet, one of the first true fusion bands. Burton was an alum of Berklee who played vibes like few others. He had recruited a young guitar player, Larry Coryell, who is still one of the only players I’ve ever heard who can cross over from jazz to rock and back and not sound like he’s a jazz player playing rock. Bobby Moses was the drummer and the inventive Steve Swallow the bassist. It was definitely one of the most memorable concerts I’ve seen and believe me I’ve seen hundreds over the years. My date had to drag me out of the club after their second set because she had to get back to her dorm.

All that was during the week. On the weekend, I was in a very hip blues-rock group with my best friends. You couldn’t ask for much more.

More later.

The Dave Clark Five returns

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Not for a reunion. For a CD release. If you haven’t followed the history of this seminal ’60s pop band, you probably don’t realize just how momentous this is.

dc5The DC5, probably the Beatles’ biggest rivals in the early-to-mid 1960s in the singles market, haven’t had an official best of compilation in nearly two decades. The only one of note, The History Of The Dave Clark Five, a double-disc from 1993, has been out of print for years and until this release, has fetched rather lofty figures, nearing $100 on eBay.

Most imports available have been spotty affairs with one grey-market company producing the most comprehensive collection of releases by mastering from vinyl.

The Hits, released late last year, rectifies all this. A single disc with 28 tracks, it touches on most of the band’s signature tunes along with some lesser known tracks and a previously unreleased bonus, Universal Love.

So why the wait? Only Dave Clark can answer that and he is never that forthcoming on these topics. It’s probably to take advantage of the group’s induction last year into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame, an honor the DC5 richly deserves.

A booklet accompanying the CD is rather sketchy in some areas, for instance about the other members of the band, but big on statistics and the group can boast some impressive ones. The DC5 is said to have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. I don’t doubt it. They scored 15 consecutive Top 20 hits and 30 global hit singles, only outpaced by the Beatles. They appeared a record 17 times on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Sunday night ’60s TV staple on which the Beatles first appeared, and sold out Carnegie Hall for a record 12 shows over three days.

Unfortunately the booklet does not give any interesting tidbits about the tracks, for instance when and where each was recorded and where each single charted. Instead, it’s a glad-handing, back-slapping tome to Dave Clark, who played a very dominant role in the group’s history, which is to say the least a rather fascinating and somewhat strange one.

dc5sullyDave Clark, who for those who don’t know, was the drummer setting up in front of the band live. He was also the group’s producer, long before most artists decided to produce themselves. He, in fact, owned all the recordings and basically leased them to major record labels, unheard of at the time. He co-wrote most of the band’s original material with vocalist/keyboardist Mike Smith, although he is credited with solo efforts on Because and Any Way You Want It. And to top it off, he managed the band! Quite a business man. Suffice to say he has controlled everything regarding the DC5 over the years.

What’s odd is that there is scant mention of the other members in the booklet’s liner notes. And they truly deserve much more, especially Smith, who creatively and vocally was the heart and soul of the DC5. For the record the others were Denis Payton, tenor and baritone saxes, Rick Huxley, bass and Lenny Davidson, guitar.

Though the band never matched the totality and depth of the Beatles’ creativity, the DC5 gave the Beatles a run when it came to the two-minute arena of the hit single. All the great tracks are here: their cover of the Contours’ Do You Love Me, Glad All Over, Bits And Pieces, Can’t You See That She’s Mine, Everybody Knows, Wild Weekend, Catch Us If You Can, I Like It Like That, Over And Over and many more.

Most other bands of the ’60s British Invasion shared something in common soundwise with the Beatles. The DC5 sounded different. They were unique, trademarked by a soul and R&B influence layered on top of the pounding, driving beat laid down by Clark.

A regrettable circumstance: two of the members had passed away by the time the group was inducted into the Hall. In September 2003, about six months after his only son died in an auto accident, Mike Smith, who was living in Spain, fell near his home, causing a severe spinal cord injury. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down and in his right arm. He had recently gone back to performing, including many of the DC5’s hits and had successfully played in the U.S. on club tours twice, including Toad’s Place in New Haven, with plans to return. He died on February 28, 2008, 11 days prior to the induction ceremony. Danis Payton died of cancer at 63 on December 17, 2006.

The Bram Rigg Set, who I mentioned in a previous post and for whom I played bass at the time, opened for the DC5 at the Oakdale in the summer of 1967, right before I was off to school in Boston. We talked briefly with a couple of the members, Payton and Huxley, as they whisked through the dressing room area, which they didn’t really use. Very nice fellows. Dressed in white bell-bottoms and brightly-colored, puffy-sleeved shirts and scarves, they ran through their hits quite competently and added in an ample dose of U.S. soul covers, which really showed how much Smith meant to the band. He was by far the core of the band’s creativity with an outstanding voice. But they lacked something. It wasn’t the DC5 of the early ’60s, who rivaled the Beatles, although I’m sure they were still doing quite well financially. It was a couple of years later in 1970 that they broke up, with very little chart success in the U.S. once the age of psychedelia took over.

Still, quite a band for the time. And all those hits. And that pounding beat. I’m in pieces bits and pieces. Since you left me and you said goodbye. I’m in pieces bits and pieces. All I do is sit and cry.

A word about the sound of the CD. The remastering job by, who else, Dave Clark, is very well done. He captures the DC5’s mini wall-of-sound, which came from only five pieces. Very big sound and as clear as a wall-of-sound can be.

The disc is an import but available in the States. The only problem is that it’s kind of expensive. At Collector’s Choice Music, which seems to have the corner on the release at the moment, it’s $30, although I’ve seen the price come down from some vendors in Goldmine Magazine. The best thing to do is buy it from Amazon in the UK. It’s 10 pounds, which is about $15. Even with the shipping, it’s less than 20 bucks. Highly recommended.

Interview with a …

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No, not that. A journalist in her 20s. An interesting street interview by JD Lasica, touching on most of the social media sites and newspapers to some extent.

Lauren

One last time … live

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It seems odd that very little has been made of this so far. Perhaps when we reach the actual date, which is Jan. 30. But it was the last time the Beatles played live together, up on a rooftop in London 40 years ago. Those boys must have been cold. I suppose the adrenaline was warming them up.

This is not readily available on DVD. Most versions are out or going out of print and rather pricey. A definitive issue of Let It Be is supposedly in the pipeline although no firm release date has been given by Apple.

Enjoy.

Back to the blues

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Susan Tedeschi’s Back To The River, released late last year, quickly moved to the top of the Billboard Blues chart and remains near the top after nine weeks. But it appears to have been virtually ignored by most of the major rock magazines.

That’s too bad because as much as this is a blues outing, it’s a smokin’ rock ‘n roll record as well and another to add to the best of 2008. With the centerpiece Tedeschi’s blues drenched vocals, River is one of her best records and shows how she not only uses her considerable playing and singing abilities but also her strong collaborative songwriting skills.

stedeschi-coverAt first. Tedeschi’s voice is reminiscent of some great blues and rock singers of recent history such as Bonnie Raitt and Bonnie Bramlett, but the more you listen, the more you discover her unique approach, phrasing and a rough, sometimes raspy edge to a prodigious vocal range and quality that is rarely rivaled among female singers today.

 She wrote the opening track, Talking About, with Doyle Bramhall II and husband Derek Trucks, both of whom have recently played in the Eric Clapton band, most notably at the 2007 Chicago Crossroads concert that included a set with Steve Winwood. Both are extraordinary slide players and the tune sets the tone for the album, which is infused with infectious riffs, gritty blues melodies and virtuoso playing throughout.

Trucks, who has his own band and also plays with the Allman Brothers, co-wrote two other tracks, including Butterfly, which is one of the more soul-flavored tunes with a riff and feel that reminds one a little of Sly Stone.

John Leventhal (two songs), Tony Joe White, Sonya Kitchell and Gary Louris are among the other co-writers. Can’t Sleep At Night is Tedeschi’s own and she covers Allain Toussaint’s There’s A Break In The Road.

Bramhall’s soloing and lead lines, which Tedeschi’s vocal doubles at times, over the burning groove of Talking About give way to the R&B ballad 700 Houses, showcasing a more tender side to Tedeschi’s voice, underscored by hopeful lyrics, Trucks’ melodic lines on slide and tasteful horns.

Tedeschi’s core band of guitarist Dave Yoke, keyboard player Matt Slocum, Ted Pecchio, bass, and drummer Tyler Greenwell lays down deep grooves as witnessed by the wah-wah driven title track. Tedeschi takes lead guitar outings on six of the tracks, including River, lending a nice contrast to the Bramhall-Trucks tandem with her clean Telecaster tone.

The album doesn’t have a weak track on it. From the strutting groove of Love Will to a soul-inflected People, the heartfelt Revolutionize Your Soul and the driving hidden/bonus track 99 Pounds, it clearly reinforces Tedeschi’s position as a premier singer, songwriter and player.

Music in black & white

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One of my picks for top albums of 2008 was Sunday At Devil Dirt by Isobel Campbell &  Mark Lanegan, a beautiful mix of traditional and contemporary folk and country influences with a startling contrast in vocal styles.

Here is a site called live on 35mm that features black and white photos of live music by the photographer Valerio. This page is from a Campbell & Lanegan concert around Christmas time in England. Some nice images.

An unexpected pleasure

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It came as a bit of surprise to see the release of 2 by Fotheringay last year. The group Sandy Denny, considered the greatest vocal interpreter of British traditional music, left Fairport Convention for with her lover/soon to be husband Trevor Lucas in 1970, recorded tracks for a second album but it was never released.

fotheringay_2In fact, it was doubtful there was enough there for a second album. The self-titled debut earlier in 1970 was a nice enough start but hadn’t exactly eclipsed the best of Fairport, which was to England what the Byrds were to America in its blending of rock, pop and traditional sensibilities.

Both Denny and Lucas have long passed, but the other members, guitarist Jerry Donahue, drummer Gerry Conway, who later played with Cat Stevens, and bassist Pat Donaldson regrouped last year to finish the project. This has been tried before, particularly in the Hendrix camp by previous estate supervisor Alan Douglas, with very mixed results. But from the opening bar of this album’s first track John The Gun, you immediately sense this is different and right.

The sound literally jumps from your speakers in clarity and presence, the playing is skilled and tasteful and the vocals, although taken from reference tracks recorded during the laydown of the basic tracks, are inspired and near flawless by Denny and Lucas.

The reason for the unfinished product in 1970 was Denny’s departure for a solo career, something her label, Island, had been lobbying for. Some of these tunes showed up on her first solo effort and others have been released on various box set retrospectives of her work. But none sound better than on this record.

The waltz time interpretation of Silver Threads & Golden Needles is a significant improvement over previously released versions. A traditional tune, Wild Mountain Thyme, also recorded by the Byrds and Van Morrison among others, lends itself beautifully to Denny’s pure voice streaming over the bass of Lucas’ harmony.

Late November, to appear later on Denny’s The Northstar Grassman & The Ravens, joins John The Gun as the only Denny-penned songs on the set. It’s a somber, moderate tempo, traditional sounding  piece so familiar to her oeuvre.

Fotheringay try a second take on Gypsy Davey, a traditional that appeared on the self-titled album, and play a relaxed groove that features Denny smoothly doubling in the middle section with Donahue’s lead guitar. Dave Cousins’  Two Weeks Last Summer closes the album, a 12-string dominated folk tune reminiscent of the Byrds, which falls into Denny’s range perfectly.

One of the only regrets is that nearly half of the vocal leads are taken by Lucas, whose in fine form but can’t match his exquisite partner. His tracks are much more country oriented than tunes he sang on the first album and they indicate the direction he may have wanted to take the group.

Jerry Donahue was involved in a similar reconstruction project with a Denny concert, Gold Dust Live At The Royalty (1998), her last before a death attributed to a fall in 1978, on which he overdubbed various guitar parts during his production. That one was seamless. This one is even better. The exact additions or remakings of each track are not documented, but that the original members are the contributors should erase any doubts about the project or its intentions.