Back in the Big Easy. Spring break is over, and it was eventful (good and bad) to say the least. A lot of things have happened recently so naturally when things get "eventful", my music library expands even further. Every time I go back home my friends and I share music. Typically, I give them music they've never heard of and they give me music that everyone else seems to know but me. It's a pretty good system. But anyways, my current obsessions are a mixture of different things: music that I plan on seeing live soon (jazz fest!), music that my friends gave me, music I'm trying to get into, and music that I recently discovered I owned but never listened to.
FIRST, let me tell you all the craziness that is about to transpire here in New Orleans (excluding Jazz Fest):
April 9-11 - French Quarter Festival
April 9 - New Grass Country Club CD Release Party
April 10 - Electronic Takeover (Maison Upstairs)
April 14 - Easy Star All-Stars feat. Dub Side Of The Moon and Lonely Hearts (House of Blues)
April 22 - J.J. Grey & Mofro (Tipitinas Uptown)
April 23 - Marco Benevento feat. Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin, & Wood) (Tipitinas Downtown)
April 23 - Mike Dillon's Go-Go Jungle (Le Bon Temps Roule)
April 24 - Pattie Smith (Tipitinas Uptown)
April 24 - Soul Rebels w/ Coyotes (Cafe Prytania)
April 24 - My Morning Jacket and Preservation Hall Band (Preservation Hall)
April 25 - "Worship My Organ" with Marco Benevento, Skerik, Robert Walter (Blue Nile)
April 25 - "Drummer Cometh" with Stanton Moore, Terence, Johnny Vidacovich, Shannon Powell feat. Jason Miles, George Porter, Billy martin, Ian Neville, etc. (Howlin Wolf)
April 28 - Garage A Trois, Mike Dillon Trio, The Dead Kenny G's and Marco Benevento Trio (Howlin Wolf) I AM GOING TO THIS WITHOUT A DOUBT
April 29 - North Mississippi Allstars (Tipitinas Uptown)
April 29 - Julian Casablancas (The Republic)
April 29 - Galactic (One Eyed Jack's)
April 30 - Old Crow Medicine Show (House of Blues)
April 30 - Garage A Trois (One Eyed Jack's)
April 30 - Pretty Lights (The Republic)
April 30 - Kottonmouth Kings (Spotted Cat)
May 1 - Galactic w/ The Meters & Rebirth Brass Band (Howlin Wolf)SOLD OUT
May 9 - Ludacris (House of Blues)
May 12 - Cage The Elephant (House of Blues)
June 16 - Passion Pit plus Tokyo Police Club (House of Blues)
With that being said, it is easy to say that I will be quite busy this month. If you're in town, come see these shows with me!
Current Obsessions
Marco Benevento
Marry me, Marco Benevento. Pianist, organist and composer from Brooklyn. Innovator in the jazz and experimental music scene for a decade now, Marco Benevento is hands down my favorite pianist. Everything he does from the Marco Benevento Trio and Benevento-Russo Duo to Garage A Trois. Two of his bands (Marco Benevento Trio and Garage A Trois) are coming here to New Orleans to play in one show and I will be there. We're trying to get Marco Benevento to come to the WTUL radio station when he's here in New Orleans for an interview during my jazz show. If that happens, I don't even know what I'd do. He puts freakin smiley faces on the keys of his keyboard...need I say more? My goal for the month of April is to see Marco Benevento as many times as possible, have a conversation with him, and maybe, just mabye, get to touch his hands. Anyways, at the station this past Monday, I discovered his latest album "Me Not Me" which consists of his own works and various cover songs. Those cover songs include works from My Morning Jacket, Beck, Led Zeppelin, Deerhoof, The Knife, George Harrison and so forth. It is absolutely amazing. I played the Led Zeppelin cover of "Friends" at the station but later favored the My Morning Jacket cover of "Golden" the best. Take a listen:
Garage A Trois
I talked about this band in my very first post, but since they're coming here to New Orleans, I feel the need to reiterate myself. Garage A Trois is a collaboration between four of the most visionary jazz improvisers: Skerik on saxophones, Mike Dillon on vibes, Marco Benevento on keyboards and Stanton Moore on drums (Charlie Hunter was originally a member playing guitar, but he left in 2007 and Marco Benevento took his place - can't complain there). Their tightly orchestrated arrangements, refined melodies, intricate sonic weaves, and positively modern approach to instrumental songwriting is what makes me what to see them more than anything this coming end of April. I only have their latest album "Power Patriot" but I've listened to a few tracks from their other albums and though different, I enjoy every one. Here's my favorite song:
North Mississippi Allstars
First heard about these guys from the Black Snake Moan soundtrack with their song "Mean ol' Wind Died Down". I'm a sucker for any modern Southern rock/blues jam band (Kings of Leon USE to be a damn fine Southern rock band with a modern twist). The trio has been nominated for a Grammy for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" with their first release Shake hands With Shorty. They've worked with people such as Robert Randolph, The Word and my man, John Medeski. They have a sort of Jack White flair to them, which is why I think I like them so much.
Gil Scott-Heron
Rose to fame in the late 1970s, known as the "black Bob Dylan", Gil Scott-Heron is one of the most famous American poet and musician in music. He's especially known for his "spoken word" soul performances. His style encompasses a fusion of jazz, blues, and soul as well as lyrics that reflect the social and political issues of the time. Scott-Heron's proto-rap style is one of biggest influences on hip-hop. I picked up his "I'm New Here" album in the station and immediately fell in love. Especially with his song "Me and the Devil" which is an adaptation of my favorite blues player Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues". The album debuted at number 181 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It has a little bit for everyone: blues, folk, trip hop and electronica. His "post-modern" blues style makes me imagine if Massive Attack were to jam with Robert Johnson, this it what it would sound like:
Bill Frisell
When people think of jazz, they think of smooth jazz. But just like rock has many different factions (indie, alternative, classic, southern, etc), so does jazz. And progressive jazz/rock/folk is one of my favorites. Bill Frisell is one of the top guitarists in the jazz world, though most of his style is progressive folk, classical and progressive country. He uses a variety of effects like delay, distortion, reverb, etc) to create unique sounds. Frisell's newest album Disfarmer is inspired by the life and photographs of Depression-era Arkansas chronicler/photographer Michael Disfarmer, who documented the lives of pre-war rural southerners. On the album, Frisell's band uses a stand-up bass, steel guitar and fiddle. He covers Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, two of my favorite musicians. Though sort of a stretch from jazz, sometimes you need some folk in your life. With that being said, go folk yourself:
P.S. Grooveshark doesn't have the new album so I had to resort to LaLa. Sorry.
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