25 CDs you need on your Christmas list

Hey there folks! Its that time of year where I tell you about the great CDs you should put down on a list and hope to find under your tree, menorah or kwanza bush.

Some of these albums I have already reviewed so if there is more info you need on these albums check previous posts or email me at SomeOtherStuffMusic@gmail.com and I will gladly give you any info you request. I am also aware that 90% of this list is made up of horn players, but hey give me a break, I'm a trumpet player.
Enjoy!

In no particular order
1.Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Deer Hunter: Rain Water Cassette Exchange
3.This Is Our Moosic: Mostly Other People Do The Killing
4.Kenny Dorham Quintet with Jackie McLean: Complete Recordings
5.The Smoke Sessions: 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 4 CD Box Set
6.Sonny Rollins/Don Cherry Quartet: The Complete 1963 Paris Concert
7.The Mars Volta:Octahedron
8.Marcus Strickland: Of Song
9.Benny Golson: New Time, New 'Tet
10.Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy: Spirit Moves
11.Miles Davis: Collector's Items
12.The Asteroids Galaxy Tour: Fruit
13.The Bad Plus: For All I Care
14.Medeski, Martin & Wood: Radiolarians vol. I-III
15.Sex Mob: Live in Willisau 2006
16.Alex Sipiagin: Mirages
17.Joe Magnarelli: Persistance
18.Tom Harrell: Prana Dance
19.Wadada Leo Smith: Tabligh
20.Horse the Band: Desperate Living
21.Joe Lovano: Folk Art
22.Freddie Hubbard: Without a Song, Live in Europe 1969
23. Charlie Hunter: Baboon Strength
24.Masada: Book of Angels vol. 12, Stolas
25.J.D. Allen Trio: Shine
26. Honorary: John Zorn & the Dreamers: O'o

My Ipod Ruined My Ability To Make Decisions!

Hey folks,

Yes you read that right, after long and very sincere thinking I blame my ipod for the reasons why I can not make a single decision in life.

just kidding....

lil bit....

Seriously though I was updating my ipod tonight when I started noticing I was deleting very little off of what I believe to be the strongest ipod ever made. i say it is the strongest because I bought this ipod second hand back in 2006 for $50. It was only meant to be a temporary replacement when my 20 gig died. (yeah remember the 20 gigs)

When I bought it, it was already really scratched up and the USB port was damaged. Despite all these soon to come to fruition problems I grabbed it because I was hoping to save the money for a replacement within the next 6 months. Well that six months turned into 3 years, maybe even 4 at this point now that I think about it....yeah it may have been 2005, who knows.

I've dropped this ipod, stepped on it and gotten water on it numerous times and its still going strong. Its outlived every other ipod I had before it combined and bought it second hand even! One tough little motherfucker if I do say so myself.

Anyway, this ipod is a 30 gig and it was completely filled about just over half of my current CD collection. **side note: most of the tunes on it are jazz, an average jazz song is about 6 minutes long so I only have 3,978 songs currently on it (after most current deletion so i probably had well over 4,000)

Everytime I look at my ipod to make a random choice I feel a small amount of anxiety, ya know that butterfly feeling in your gut. I get this way because I think about the enormity of the song selection within my grasp! Everything from Art Blakey to Zorn, Debussy to Led Zepplin, its all there and I can never make a choice. I usually listen to the same 5 cds all the time but still 5 cds out of God knows how many hundred!

Most of the time I get so aggravated I listen to a couple single rock songs first or the Temptations to ease myself into choosing an album. Alot of the time I switch songs mid song! Uggghhh!! not cool

So I feel that every hard decision I've had to make isn't hard at all but because of this terrible habit from this awesome piece of technology I can't choose anything. Whether its deciding on which soda flavor to drink or where to hang out on a weekend or which song to practice I can not decide without rethinking that idea again and again. So I blame you: my ipod, Fuck you, you wonderful bastard. Because of you I may listen to any song at any time that I own.






....if I could only make up my mind

Your weekly dose of music in the neighborhood.

Hey everyone. I am trying really hard to maintain a consistent posting schedule but of course things never go as you plan.

I am currently listening to Woody Shaw's album Woody III on vinyl that I just got for 50 cents at a record store I am keeping the name of hidden because I am taking a close friend there for his triumphant....monumental....huge....medium-sized...unnoticed return home in a few weeks.

Upon first listening, I wasn't really digging the first side which is a 3 part suite entitled Woody I, Woody II, Woody III. On the cover is Woody with his dad and infant son which is a nice theme for a 3 piece record. The first track is apparently mature sounding, reflecting his wise old man. Woody II is adventurous, a fast tempo and exciting and the third track, Woody III sounds like the theme song to a kids show on PBS. I didn't really like the third track's vibe and melody, quite honestly it sounded very hokey.

The second side however is much more worth the time of any fan's ears. The first track "To Kill A Brick" features a 'schmorgisboard' of top notch players: Rene Mclean, James Spaulding, Buster Williams and Victor Lewis. I starts off Side B with energy that makes up for the crappy ending of Side A with Woody III.

The second track, Shaw's famous "Organ Grinder" is medium-up with the tempo and has been recorded by Wood many times before. Its classic Woody Shaw: angular, airy and very well developed. Its a great tune and even reminds me of a Jeremy Pelt composition...the title is escaping me but I'll figure it out.

The last track, "Escape Velocity" is a perfect name for an album closer, especially at such a brisk tempo. Carter Jefferson takes a solo that sounds on fire, with that 'school of Coltrane' vibe going on. I always enjoyed his playing on the Woody Shaw albums I have. Wood comes in right away after Jefferson and sounds like a cat in control. This late 70's period, Wood seemed to enjoy the cornet over the trumpet more and for those of you who don't know, the cornet and trumpet, although cousins are completely 2 different beasts....but Wood has mastered both in an unique style. Wood's playing sounds linear and concise and lastly, Victor Lewis is a sick drummer....is all I have to say about his playing on this track.

Although I am more of a fan of Wood's early 70's albums like Song of Songs and Blackstone Legacy which were more avant-garde than his 80's works like "Imagination" or "Solid", there really isn't an album that is unsatisfying. Check out Little Red's Fantasy or the Live Series to here some amazing playing as well.
**1/2


Last Friday night, I was able to take out my lovely girlfriend to Firehouse 12 in New Haven to catch the Peter Evans Quartet. I didn't know much about the group, just that they were kind of 'out there.' With an arrangement of a classic ballad called "Bodies and Souls," how could I not attend.

May I take a minute to also brag that my wonderful girlfriend has accompanied me on multiple jazz concerts of all varieties. Yes she has, from avant-garde jazz to rained out concerts in Central Park, I've got it made. So Jazzers believe me when I tell you that there are beautiful women who do enjoy great music, but watch out all you Steve Martin fans, I've got this one for good.

Anyway, the show on Friday was awesome despite never hearing the group before. The band started with Evans playing on trumpet, the most chop-crazy intro I've ever heard. I was happy to tell him it sounded like the Arban's exercise from Hell. It started out as a weak, out of tune G but quickly developed into a frenzy of trills, runs and half valving that had me jumping in my seat! The band played for 45 minutes straight, their first tune was a rendition of "All The Things You Are" that I thought at one point I heard the bridge too but the tune was so out there I was surprised to hear it mentioned. The other 3 pieces were equally enthralling. The performance was more of an experience of sound and mood than melody and harmony. I myself welcome music of this kind but understand most people wouldn't be able to stand it.


I am excited for the new Black Keys album that came out this month stay tuned for the review. Also I was only able to catch a fraction of the Ethan Iverson Trio at Small's the other night, if anyone has anything to say about it please send your thoughts @ someotherstuffmusic@gmail.com. The band will play tonight as well via live feed so if you can check it out.

Last but not least, check out the Live at Smalls record series. You can buy recorded shows on disc!!

Back From The Dead!!

Ok, first off I would like to apologize for keeping all the millions of readers out there in Blogdom that have been patiently waiting for the newest post here, but what can I say I was busy.

Anyway I hope everyone has been well these last few weeks and had a great Halloween...I know I did.


So in these last few weeks I have been checking out tons of great new music and have been dying to share it all with you, but then every time I thought of doing a CD review post I got annoyed and kept procrastinating writing something, but in the long run I will do a couple reviews right now.

So the last few months I have really gotten into the music of John Zorn. Think of any adjective; and that best describes John Zorn, you have to hear his music to believe it. This guy puts out about 10 CDs a year! He just put out 3 in the last 3 months!! All with different groups and projects but he writes all the music, so unfair...

The first CD I would like to review is
John Zorn's Masada Quintet:
Stolas: Book of Angels Vol. 12
2009
****

John Zorn's Masada group is usually comprised of Zorn on alto sax, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Greg Cohen on bass and Joey Baron on drums. The band plays a mix of avantgarde jazz infused over Jewish folk melodies. The band sounds like if Ornette Coleman went to Temple Beth David. A great band that I'll admit took a few listenings to get into but was totally worth it.

This disk however is an altered line up with Zorn only on 1 track, and the rest of the band joined by Joe Lovano on tenor sax and Uri Cane on piano. The first part that struck my attention was the addition of Lovano who at first would seem out of his element but knocks your socks off with incredible inside/outside playing a la early 60's Coltrane. Douglas and Cane show off track after track that they are truly two modern titans of the genre and Cohen and Baron once again make me think they are 'the buck stops here' with avant rhythm sections.

The first track, Haamiah, is a Jewish inflected song over a latin rhythm which is both intriguing and enjoyable. What I love about a lot of this music is the different use of feel and style with such a distinct set of harmonies, it makes the music so fresh.

Another track that stood out was Rahtiel, which is the only track Zorn is on. His use of sax sqealing sometimes sounds like a maniac chasing after you with a butcher knife chewing on his last victims brains....yeah you get it.

The whole band sounds tight and like they've been doing this forever. Now the name Stolas comes from Jewish lore. Stolas is a high prince in Hell who controls 26 legions of demons and teaches astronomy and the knowledge of poisonous plants, herbs and precious stones and his form is depicted as a crowned owl. If you enjoy this album, check out Book of Angels Vol. 11 by Medeski, Martin and Wood.


John Zorn and The Dreamers:
O'o
2009
****

I don't know where to begin! Again John Zorn has written another album of completely original, addictive music.

This time he has shift gears completely and wrote this music for his more up beat band: The Dreamers.

The Dreamers are comprised of keyboards, vibes. guitar, bass, drums and alto sax, however on this disk, Zorn lays out and only takes on the easy roles of writer, arranger, conductor and producer...piece of cake.

The Dreamers blend everything from surf-rock to jazz to pop to lounge music to latin music. Again, you have to hear it to believe it.

This disk is named after a type of bird only found on Hawaii but has been extinct for over a centuary. The other titles are also named after rare, extinct birds but what surprised me the most was no track named after the Dodo....oh well.

The first track, Miller's Crake, starts off the disk in a very upbeat way that you just can't help but smile when you first hear it. Its got a surf rock, country feel to it and when the vibes kick in with the melody you will be hook....I was. Great soloing by pianist Jamie Saft follows and the tune just never gives up. It took many listenings of this song before I moved on.

Another track of note is the waltz ballad, Po'o'uli, which has a very simple ostinato under neath the groove and to top the tune off, it has various bird calls which is almost hypnotic.

Little Bittern changes the vibe entirely with a Fender Rhodes sound, back beat driven funk feel that has great playing on it. Lastly, Laughing Owl is by far my favorite track that has a melody played on vibes that sounds too perfect to be written. It has a sound that reminds you of a childhood song and you just can't help but make sure no one's looking and start bobbing in your seat.


Its incredible that these two albums were released back to back in a two month period. If you are on a tight budget save your pennies and get these albums immediately.

"I Get It, Blues Just Isn't Your Thing."

...No that's it.
"Well you know, Blues is a particular feel."
No man, the band fucking sucks.


As a musician for the better part of the last 15 years of my life I have been in some interesting groups that have spawned interesting dialogue between myself and other band members.

The most recent time was with a group I just left. (For the sake of anonymity I am changing names and names of bands...in some cases.) They were a blues band, Blues Brothers style in instrumentation, 3 piece horns, rhythm and fronted by female vocals of the Janis Joplin type. I always talked with the leader of the band, Bill about starting a blues band in the past but every attempt left the concept dead in the water. I remember once after a day of student teaching, private lessons and 5 cups of coffee learning Pink Floyd tunes in our rehearsal space only to say to myself, "this isn't blues?!" and losing the drummer in the group. I always just said to Bill, keep me posted I'm down to play whenever.

That whenever came about 2 months ago, but the band's concept was like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Bill approached me in the hall by the water cooler of course and said he was putting together a Motown band. Now for those who don't know me, I have a weakness for Motown, and have always wanted to perform the classics of the Temptations, The Miracles and Four Tops. I immediately jumped at the idea. I couldn't wait to start! I said tell me when and where, I'll even bring Alan because I know he would love to play!...oh Al...sorry dude, so very very sorry....

Turns out when Bill said it was a motown band, he meant we would play one motown song....dammit.

I showed up to practice, which was weekly with the promise of 'great paying gigs' and started learning my parts for every blues tune you can think of. I did the classic move of just learning the tunes the day of, but still I managed to hold down my own on the trumpet.

A lot of this situation you had to be there so let's just say that the weirdness that would result in my departure was plentiful and down right retarded at times. After a few weeks I realized the band seemed to only rehearse the same (mistakes) tunes every week. It seemed the band was always moving in a circle of mediocre sounds and rock cliche's.

What got me through, every week I showed up...oh yeah after like a month I realized there was no way I was coming every week to sit around and listen to a bunch of dudes figure out songs, because some people are going to tell you it ain't about dudes, but I've got news for you....it is.

Once the crotch gyrating began I knew my time was at an end.

The part that did get me the most was the drummer. My theory is, you can always judge a drummer's groove by the amount their head turns in preparation for the downbeat. The more intense the turn the more metal and un-grooving it will be. That theory was proven every week when the drummer's head would practically spin 360 degrees, embrace his wind up and play the lamest beat behind a Stevie Wonder tune....the double bass pedal was only seconds away at times I swear.

By the way there's nothing wrong with metal, but it doesn't belong in funk, or Chicago style blues for that matter. You disagree? Show me on a Howlin' Wolf album sometime.

The band was just not happening for me and I was realizing I still didn't know the rhythm guitarist's name.

Alan and I decided to quit together. Like a suicide pact gone wrong, Alan quit weeks before I got the chance. At the same time he quit I wasn't showing up to rehearsal and pretty much set myself up for the dialogue that was to come. The resignation could not wait any longer and so one day walking by Bill's room I popped my head to tell him I was done. He said he figured and told me blues isn't for everybody. Holding back laughter I said "No that's not it" and walked out.

....laughing.

You're right Bill, I guess its not for everybody.

Hunting for the Holy Grail

This past week I was on quite a trek.

For a long time now I have been fascinated, even amazed with electric pianos, primarily the Wurlitzer 200 and the Fender Rhodes. Both of these keyboards are legendary, they were the first real keyboards to be used in all kinds of music. From the Beatles to Frank Zappa to Ray Charles to Miles Davis, these two keyboards were supreme.

I am sure back then, no one really thought that these heavy, analog junk buckets would be so sought after 30 years later...I need to hold on to my first Yamaha keyboard, you never know it may be worth millions in 30 years.

I don't want to give you a history lesson on mechanics here so if you really want an intense look at electric piano history I am sure Wikipedia can help you out, I am going to explian my obsession.


Personally, my favorite is the Wurlitzer 200. Its got a much more mellow tone with an amazing tremelo effect on the sound. It was used by Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock and even Beck; most notably on that 90's hit he had....I don't know the name because Beck sucks, but it was like "two turntables and a microphone.." The intro to that song is a great groove done by a Wurly.


Right: Wurlitzer 200a


The Rhodes however, used much more and seems to be the easier to maintain and find at a reasonable price. My favorite Rhodes playing is done by Herbie Hancock on the album 'Filles de Kilimanjaro' by Miles Davis and Chick Corea on Return to Forever's 'Light As A Feather.'

So I embarked on finding a Wurly 200 to purchase and love for the rest of my life. I never thought it would be impossible to find.

First off I found that these keyboards are harder to maintain, the parts are hard to obtain and the price will never be lower then $1500 for a decent working keyboard. I tried ebay, music shops all around, even a Hippie from Philidelphia. No luck at all.

This has been quite a drag and after much thought I think I am actually settling to get a modern Nord Electro 2 which has great Rhodes and Wurly sounds. I guess not bad but take a look at these pictures and even just the look will make you want one.


Right: Fender Rhodes MKII

Thats Right You! You Right There!

One idea that came to my head about how to reach out to a broad reading fan base here on SomeOtherStuff is this; I am looking for people to post as guest bloggers. This is open to anyone who has something to say about music, review an album or show or just want to ramble about some ideas.

Email any work to ndimaria22@gmail.com and I'll go over it and if it fits, I will gladly post it up here on SomeOtherMusic.

Thanks for reading!

Nick

a call to arms. attention all musicians

So I was cleaning out the email of a gmail account I have for an old band of mine. Turns out, there were like 3 dozen emails and notifications from the band's myspace page, so I went right on for the first time in a year and saw that The Dharma Bums were in high demand. Apparently the band was offered a whole set of gigs and even a spot on a CT ska scene compilation.
Now I have been trying to get this band back in gear for a couple months now and what more than right this minute! Work is already coming to the band and the band doesn't even exist!

So I am making a call:

Anyone interested in playing in a 5-6 piece band playing Rocksteady, Ska, Dub and Reggae let me know.
I need
Guitar
Keys
Bass
Drums

Anyone interested needs their own gear, be over 21, read music (to a degree) and have a knowledge or at least the drive to learn the grooves of this great form of music.

email me at dharmabums22@gmail.com

For your visual pleasure photos II

My Hero, Eddie Henderson.





















The Slackers. A Great Rocksteady/Ska/Reggae Band out of Brooklyn NYC. Pure Energy.

The Beatles vs. RockBand

The last couple of weeks I have been anxiously awaiting feedback on the newest Rockband game, "The Beatles RockBand." What peaked my interest about this version of the now embedded- in -our culture video game is that it seems like the weirdest and most non-RockBand choice to have its own version.
RockBand has always depended on what makes Rock ridiculous, flashy, catchy, awesome, and completely retarded. These such adjectives are portrayed by terrible but catchy songs, awesome jaw dropping guitar solos and songs that have just become classics because we love them for what they are...or in some cases because most people are idiots and always sing them at karaoke.
I was always a Guitar Hero man myself, but I have spent a few hours behind a game controller disguised as a drumset and found like all Americans, this game can get quite addictive.

But why The Beatles?

Most would answer: "Because they are the greatest RockBand of all time." (sorry Journey fans, guess you still have to wait for yours.)

For me though, The Beatles are everything but the generics that make up RockBand. Instead of jaw dropping guitar solos we'll have song composition, instead of intense drum fills, the drum set will probably be the most neglected controller of the game. The only part that seems appealing to the average fan is the chance to just play a Beatles song.

Is that all we need?

I am sure that die hard Beatles fans will enjoy the game for what it is. I mean Activision won't be making a Miles Davis RockBand anytime soon, but will this game make it through the masses? Will we always considered this game as a choice next to its virtual guitar playing brothers?

Just a Quickie

Hey Everyone,
Its a been a while since my last post but the last 2 weeks have been for lack of a better term: "hella nuts." I have been working on new material for upcoming posts so please stay tuned for the next edition of SomeOtherStuff.

In the mean time check out what The Black Keys put on their website. Turns out, the building from their album Rubber Factory is being torn down.

Check it out: The Akron Beacon Journal is reporting that the General Tire building in Akron, Ohio, where Dan & Pat recorded Rubber Factory is being torn down. Among other things left behind, was the mixing desk The Keys’ used in recording sessions for the 2004 release.
http://theblackkeys.com/category/news/

Stay Tuned for the next post.

Happy Birthday

How could we not go about today, August 30th, and not take a moment to celebrate Kenny Dorham's birthday. I mean come on people. KD! The man, the legend.....that's right you probably don't know who he is...


....like most people.

Kenny Dorham is considered one of the most over looked musicians in jazz. I've read over and over again how KD was never recognized for his genius as a trumpeter, composer, and piano player. He would never live a long and healthy life, he would spend most of his career working for non musical positions including many years as a post office worker. When you hear KD and all of his brilliance, you can't, at least I can't figure out how this has become his fate.

I first came to know of KD the same way most do, by performing his classic tune Blue Bossa. Like so many young and starting jazz musicians this was one of the first tunes I ever learned. Then in college I was exposed to him much more from my college teacher because KD was his idol. For every 5 gigs I play or jam sessions I attend this song is played at least 3 of those times. Its a great tune, and great to improvise over.


I don't want to get into all the details about KD's life because it requires the amount of space of a full blown novel but I would like to mention a few points.


His album Una Mas had a very strong impact on my life as a musician. Teamed,with an all-star cast of musicians, including his protege' Joe Henderson, this album is full of great playing, intriguing melodies and full of groove all people of the world need to hear. At one point this album was played more than anything else I owned.

KD got his first break when he replaced Miles Davis in Charlie Parker's band in the late 1940's. He played consistently into the 50's, took some time off then re-emerged in the late 50's as one of the original members of the Jazz Messengers. He would then continue playing all through the 60's in various contexts with everyone from Horace Silver to Andrew Hill.

Due to economical reasons in the 60's KD began working a regular gig at the Post Office and occasionally reviewed albums and wrote columns for Downbeat magazine.

Kenny Dorham was always in the shadow of many players throughout his career. His curse of never becoming a house hold name seemed to just be an act of fate. Miles writes in his autobiography that at a jam session KD swept him under the rug.

Even though he was over looked by all the stars of the trumpet at the time, he was an amazing player. His ballad playing was melodic and so fluid. His fast paced playing was smooth and connected.

He was an original voice.

He was Kenny Dorham


August 30th 1924-December 5th 1972

two pictures you need to see.

John Coltrane and Lee Morgan (playing trumpet) at the recording session for Trane's album Blue Train on Blue Note Records.

This is a classic photo by Blue Note's own Francis Wolff who took session photos for the label.

Look at the intensity of Trane's face is in this shot.










Horace Silver.


I call this "the mad scientist."


I don't know when this was taken, but I guarantee its something funky.

photo by Francis Wolff

Weekend at Jeremy's

This past weekend was one hell of a way to end the summer for myself before my day job as a middle school music teacher begins for the 2nd year now. Believe me, I love teaching the little ones but I felt I needed to celebrate the end of summer vacation and Jeremy Pelt and his electric band, Wired, at Smalls was just the ticket.

Like I have said in the blog Unlimited Breadsticks, I am a big fan of Mr. Pelt's playing. I first heard him in a small and now non-existing club and now have even become a student of his and his concepts.

Jeremy currently leads two bands: Wired and the Jeremy Pelt Quintet. I was lucky enough to finally hear Wired at Small's for the first time ever. Wired is Jeremy's "electric" band, meaning unlike a more traditional setting electronics are a major figure in the sound of the group. Frank LoCrasto is featured on Fender Rhodes with effect pedals, Gavin Fallow on electric bass with his own army of pedals and effects and Dana Hawkins who plays your standard drum kit but by standard I mean he destroys your ears and melts your face with his intense and very groovin' drumming. Jeremy himself plays on and off with effects of his own, playing through a VOX wah pedal.

The concept of this electric band is nothing particularly new, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, Nicholas Payton, Dave Douglas and even Chris Botti apply these same concepts in bands through out their career. Miles Davis you could say was the father of applying effects to the trumpet. His album Bitches Brew can be considered the stepping stone for all trumpet players who try effects in their playing. In Miles' footsteps came Eddie Henderson, who in the 70's led various funk oriented groups where he applied effect pedals to his trumpet. His tracks from this era became a huge success in the UK where his music is still played in night clubs. Check out: Heritage http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wxfrxq9gldae.

So anyway the concept of an electric trumpet led group won't rattle the world of music but the vibe, groove and spark that Wired creates with only 4 players is outstanding.

Wired recorded their only album Shock Value in 2007 and has only been playing rarely since and mainly overseas. The reason is really JP recorded a quintet album in 2008 and that has been his primary focus. I was lucky enough to speak to him Saturday night after the show in Small's very tiny stairwell and he told me he loves what Wired does and would like to do more but because of the Quintet it has always been slow moving. Saturday afternoon in between shows, the band was able to go into the studio and lay some tracks down of new material which this guy right here cannot wait to hear!

So Friday night i dragged two good friends to the show promising a night of face melting and intense music they loved and I'd like to take this moment to applaud myself at how right I was. The band opened with the first two tracks of their album: Circular then into Blues. Circular opens with a trancey vibe where the band is allowed to set the mood. Jeremy comes in with a simple melody that just builds tension in the overall groove through his effect pedal and it creates this explosion of music. Dana Hawkins' drumming is quite far the pivotal driving force in this band and the effects on the keys and bass are amazing. The band then settled down into Blues which as JP has said often "it has no name so its entitled Blues, because that's what it is....Blues." This tune takes things in a much calmer and opposite effect than the earlier tune. The next tune, Suspicion, is one of a kind, with a driving tempo, intense groove and very demanding melody on JP's part it then launches right into a great solo. The tune takes a complete 180 and drops to a groove 1/16 or slower of what it was before for a trancey solo by LoCrasto. Other selections were the driving Pythagorous which featured Dana Hawkins and the sublime Beyond that featured wonderful flugelhorn playing by Pelt and great bass soloing by Fallow.

I stayed for the second set and the next night. There wasn't much of a change in terms of tunes, with a small book of material the band pretty much hit the same tunes every set. This might sound redundant but in fact it was a treat to hear the band over 2 nights work with the material they don't get to play too often together in the first place. By the last set Saturday night the band was on a completely different level than before. The playing was so perfect the band mates seemed to have a sense of intuition together.

Lastly the band ended each set with my favorite tune Scorpio with an open groove that sets up the band into different territory every time. I couldn't keep track of how many times I heard a Miles lick here or a Bitches Brew reference there it was quite exciting.

This past weekend was definitely a treat for myself and I couldn't have enjoyed what I heard more. Like I said, complete face melting.

I'm hoping I'll get to hear this band more often.

P.S. Thanks to JP for taking the time to shoot the shit, it is always, a pleasure and a delight.

Rashad Ali

First off I would like to take a moment to memorialize a great musician who passed away last week. Rashied Ali was 74 when he passed away apparently from a heart attack during heart surgeory. Most people will go about their lives not knowing who Ali was and what he did, which is sadly a very common thing to happen to jazz musicians.

Rashied Ali was most famous for replacing Elvin Jones in John Coltrane's band. Ali was one of many musicians in the avant-garde movement that Trane took under his belt and gave opportunities to play. According the the book: The House That Trane Built, author Ashley Kahn writes: "Coltrane had been reluctant in 1964 to accept a leading role in any musical movement, but Acension roared like a cacophonous acceptance speech. As welcoming as he was to new talent on that album, so his club and concert gigs in 1965 opened the door to a retinue of young improvisors who joined him onstage, including two future band members, drummer Rashied Ali and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders."

He was known as a power house of stamina at the drum set. He had the reputation to play for extended periods of time. Ethan Iverson writes on his blog Do the Math he once saw Ali play a gig and only one tune was played, Cherokee, for 60 straight minutes with out stopping.

Ali was never in my opinion ever considered even close to Elvin Jones by musicians my generation. Its simple: he was barely ever talked about. I think in college 90% of my collegues didn't even know who he was. The albums he played on are classics but they couldn't help but be over shadowed by Coltrane's classically classic albums like A Love Supreme, Coltrane, Live at the Village Vanguard, Giant Steps and Crescent. Those albums except Giant Steps had Elvin in the drum seat and those are the albums everyone talks about. After 1964 Coltrane's music became more about emotion than swing and it seemed fitting to have Ali at the drums. Ali's style fit that music so well. I once heard that at a time Coltrane was employing Jones and Ali at the same time and Jones got sick of playing with a second drummer and left the band.

His work on the albums Live at the Village Vanguard...Again! Stellar Regions and of course Interstellar Space helped create a whole new way of playing drums....not so much as a time keeper but a expressive voice within a band's sound.

Rashied Ali 1935-2009

Son of Frank

Tonight I was able to catch the Zappa Plays Zappa show in Wallingford , CT. I was really hesitant to go because, well it was really billed as a Dream Theater show and quite frankly, next to Aerosmith and Lynyrd Skynyrd, is one of the worst, most boring bands I have ever heard.

I am sure down the line I will discuss Dream Theater but tonight's focus was on ZPZ.

This band is a tribute to the legendary composer/guitarist Frank Zappa. I first heard Zappa on the album Apostrohpe(') back in college and soon became obsessed with his music. My favorite albums were always the more jam based ones like Hot Rats, Roxy & Elsewhere and Waka Jawaka.

Frank's son Dweezil who alot of people seem to forget was a voice on the not so hit show Duckman back in the 90's that also featured the voice of Jason Alexander. Dweezil looks and sounds just like his old man, I mean it is really uncanny when he speaks.
A few years ago Dweezil formed a band and began playing tributes to his father's music which was very well receptive. I believe this is now the 4th year the band has been running and after one studio recording it seems like it won't be slowing down.
When the tribute first started the band featured Zappa alumni which was a complete treat. Steve Vai, Terry Bozio, Ike Willis and Napolean Murphy Brock were the alumnists in attendists.
They performed all the Zappa hits with original voices it was great!!

This time there were no special guests but all in all the show was great. The band seemed to focus primarily on the more instrumentational tracks from Frank's very enormous song book. We didn't get Bozio playing the "Black Page" live but we did get some excellent vocals and a really tight band. One of the singers sounded exactly like Frank! When the band played "Montana" I really thought they were using Frank's voice from a recording or something. This guy had the Bass Vocals down and the voice inflection was great.
The set started off with a personal fav: "I'm The Slime" and then the band seemed to showcase the first few tracks of Roxy & Elsewhere, so I was obviously enjoying what I was hearing.
One of my favorite moments was "Village of the Sun" which is always been a favorite tune of mine.
Of course the band played "200 Motels" and "Filthy Habits" but what I liked was Dweezil seemed to grasp what made his father such a good band leader. Moments of cueing the band with hand signs, jumping and running in place moments really added to the show. Even Dweezil's soloing I thought was excellent.
The band ended the night with another favorite of mine, "Willie the Pimp" of course the vocals coudn't quite be there (God Bless Captain Beefheart) but it was a great performance.

I was sad when the show ended because I knew there wouldn't be an encore, or a performance of "Joe's Garage." After the band finished I departed for home, leaving Dream Theater to their non-melodic 16th note fest to some of the lesser human beings.

So this starts off my own personal blog. The purpose is exactly what the title inflects: a place to talk about music.
Most of the music on this site will be jazz based, but all kinds of genres and concepts will be discussed on a regular basis.
I'd like to eventually have different "columns" and themes within this blog so stay tuned for all topics posted throughout the life of this blog known simply as Some Other Stuff.


This blog is an off-chute of another blog, I participate in known as Unlimited Breadsticks, and while I was writing for it I realized that I wanted to have something of my own to write about in my own place.

Some Other Stuff was the inspiration for this blog in which if you notice, you have a quite unknown trombone player teamed up with the members of the Miles Davis Quintet. I like how Grachan holds up on his own in a world that seems established. That was the theme I felt when I created this page, a rather unknown musician interacting with the rest of the world. I hope you enjoy what you read here.