Newport Jazz Festival 7/31/26 Fort Adams Park

 Recent years have me picking a day to attend this storied festival. First year organizer, the drummer Nate Smith, has taken the reins from the tireless bass phenom Christian McBride and like any good rhythm section, hasn’t skipped a beat. The emphasis on contrasting the old guard with new directions was on full display for this year’s Friday lineup. A Thursday deluge made the concert field a little spongey with a whiff of wet hay but did not deter the audience or performers.

Chicago Underground Duo: While this name could describe any pair from the Windy City’s current fertile scenes, I was happy to learn that it is Rob Mazurek on trumpet and electronics with drum wunderkind Chad Taylor. I’m familiar with Rob’s work with his Exploding Star Orchestra, kind of a trumpet fueled Henry Threadgill affair. Taylor is an in-demand session drummer. The music had blasts of trumpet alternating with the electronics backed by the constant motion drumming. Good start of the day on the main stage.

Angine de Poitrine: One of the reasons to pick the Friday was to get a glimpse of viral sensation ADP. An anonymous duo from Quebec, they consist of Khn de Poitrine on custom double neck guitar-bass and cohort Klek de Poitrine on drums. Khn is dressed in white with black polka dots, masked with long blonde hair, a long tubular “nose” and a large upside down triangular hat. Klek’s garb is black with white polka dots. His (her, their?) mask looks like the “none shall pass” knight from Monty Python’s Holy Grail affixed with a swinging phallic proboscis. They emerge from a polka dot curtain at the back of the stage just as a tsunami of hipsters rushes the stage. The mystique and viral nature of their popularity has them instantly selling out venues in Europe and both coasts of the US. The music is loud, frenetic, and microtonal. Khn’s double fret boards are tricked out to allow notes between notes, microtonal. Klek is in constant motion giving a crazy view of the swinging dongschnozz. They don’t sing, but had some alien robotic chatter between songs. Khn can totally shred, making full use of a wide array of effects pedals in addition to the custom guitar. The music leaned in a decidedly prog direction invoking a communal crowd bounce that I haven’t witnessed since the punk or early grunge days. It was fun to watch the crowd, some ran for cover, some were resigned to the square peg ethos of the jazz evolution all while the rabid hipsters were hoping that Khn and Klek could liberate them from the current dumpster fire state of affairs, if only for an hour on a Friday, at Newport. My descriptions seem inadequate, so please google this duo for an accurate representation of their otherworldliness.

Anoushka Shankar: Skipped the end of ADP to make it to the fort stage for renaissance woman Anoushka Shankar. Daughter of master sitarist Ravi and half sister to smooth crooner Norah Jones, to say Anoushka grew up around musical greatness is an understatement. Ravi was vital to George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh, arguably the first assemblage to use rock music as a vehicle for societal change. Anoushka grew up in London and assumed her father’s place as in-demand sitarist. Absorbing the traditional music and fusing it with modern electronic beats she forged a new path. Film scores, under the radar dance and techno appearances ensued. Her playing was all over the recent Gorillaz release, The Mountain. Her Newport set was a nice mixture of old and new. Happy to see the sitar up close.

Charles Lloyd and the Sky Quartet: The veteran sax and flute master is joined by pianist Jason Moran, Larry Grenadier bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums. Lloyd has had a long an industrious career. At 88 years young, he is one of the last connections to the likes of Chico Hamilton, Gabor Szabo, and Cannonball Adderly. His 1966 crossover hit Forest Flower drew praise from the rock world and landed him on stages with Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, and The Grateful Dead. Tax troubles forced him to Europe where he cemented his greatness with an amazing string of releases on Manfred Eicher’s  ECM label. His set was beautiful as he toggled from sax to flute. This man does not appear to be 88, his social media postings are lessons in positivity, he seems to be living his best life.

Leon Thomas: Soul rocker Leon Thomas has his hands in many things. Production, collaboration with many current pop stars. On this day, his birthday, he decided to shred on guitar. Nice set on the fort stage. We ducked out before the final sets for the day which made us miss a dusk rain squall. Once again a wide and varied day of music, thanks to new organizer Nate Smith.

Lyle Lovett w/ Hayes Carll 7/22/26 College Street Music Hall

 Entered the venue to the sounds of the lanky southerner Carll. Hayes has been positively reviewed in this blog before. His warm drawl wrapped around insightful country folk numbers. He has a wry sense of humor that creeps up on you. Heard some good ones from his catalog, Drunken Poet’s Dream, Good People (Thank Me), Making Amends. Hayes seems to have young kids and they are a source of songwriting inspiration.

Lyle Lovett had a string of excellent records in the 90s that cemented me as a fan. Large Band, Joshua Judges Ruth, I Love Everybody, and Step Inside This House stick out as jam packed offerings. His band on this evening had longtime cohort Matt Rawlings on piano, female singer, lead guitar, sax ( and clarinet), and the legendary rhythm section of Leland Sklar on bass, and Russ Kunkel on drums. The setlist was good: The Blues Walk, If I Were The Man You Wanted, Stand By Your Man, She’s Already Made Up Her Mind, Pants Is Overrated,  It’s A Naked Party, Cowboy Man, LA Freeway and Family Reserve ( with Hayes), Penguins, She’s No Lady, Creeps Like Me, LA County,  Nobody Knows Me, I’ve Been to Memphis, If I Had A Boat, and North Dakota. Despite getting on in years, Lyle is a master of the deadpan Steven Wright stage banter. We learn that he wrote Penguins to poke fun at a friend for over-penguinning her apartment only to be cursed by having to play it constantly. His delivery labored a bit at times but he continues to make me smile.

El Khat w/ The Dharma Bums 7/21/26 Cafe 9

 Tireless local trumpeter Nick DiMaria plays often at any and all venues around town. As lead wrangler for The New Haven Jazz Underground, he is an integral part of our scene. Not just a jazzman, his interest spans the globe. Cue up The Dharma Bums, Nick’s group that plays the music of Jamaica’s Skatlalites. The Skatalites are still active and were the Jamaican equivalent of the Wrecking Crew, backing ska and reggae acts. Nick is joined by standup bass, trombone, and drums. The sound is full and a good approximation of the ska beat. Not sure how the Kerouac reference applies, but I was happy to get a rare glimpse of the genre.

El Khat is a trio of musicians from Yemen by way of Tel Aviv who now reside in Berlin. Named for the drug widely chewed across the Arab peninsula, the band forges original compositions inspired by traditional Yemeni music. The leader is Eyal El Wahab, a true multi-instrumentalist who plays things of his own design. With names like dli and kearat, Wahab makes instruments from items people discard. The repurposed sound holds true to its musical roots. On this evening, only two people are on stage. Wahab explains that their drummer needed to go home for a family emergency but that they will compensate and soldier on. Singing in their native tongue, they cruise through their set. They seem unfazed by being down a man. The other musician plays a variety of keyboards and percussion. Because they were seated and the 9 was packed to capacity, it was difficult to see the variety of instruments. At one point, the other musician hops into the crowd and leads a  traditional Yemeni dance that dates back some 600 years. The decidedly uncoordinated New Haven audience joins the dance in a true smash of cultures. I have read that El Khat’s left leaning audience has trouble squaring the possibility of an Arab Jew. Get over it I say. This group makes beautiful traditional music with a modern flair. As I was leaving, I heard one patron say “ and they said they were missing a drummer!”

James Limerick Kerr 7/17/26 Best Video

 James Limerick Kerr is a guitar wizard from New Haven. Currently a professor at Northampton’s Smith College, one couldn’t help but notice the guitar nerdiness worn on his sleeve. The guitar for the first half of the performance was an unusual custom 7-string. Allowing for more bass and a larger neck for fret tapping, the songs had a Keller Williams meets Christopher Parkening (read hippie vs. classical) vibe. His record Seven Smiling Strings is an homage to the instrument. He plays several in this style: Clear Slate for All, The Lifeline and the Castaway, and The Messenger from Afar. While discussing the difficulty in odd tunings, he describes his recent release where he transcribes lute compositions of the 16th century Italian composer Simone Molinaro for rendering on the 7 string. Molinaro was almost relegated to trash can icon of history before being discovered by a New England guitar prodigy half a world and centuries apart, thanks internet. These songs oozed the renaissance lute and I’m sure were a bitch to transpose for play on the 7-string. He played a tremolo heavy composition then moved into something he called Gallup Study 1 or as he puts it “Iron Maiden Visiting a Spanish Village”. For the last third of the set, he picks up a Dobro or resonator guitar. I could have googled this, but better to have a legit guitar prof explain that the Dobro was the creation of the of Slovak immigrant John Dopyera and his brothers in the late twenties. They fashioned an outward facing metal cone that allowed for pre-pedal echo and sustain that was popular among blues musicians and the American south. The instrument is often played face up with with a bottle neck or slide (thanks to the Ballad of Curtis Lowe). He stays with the geography and plays Package of Peaches, Hay Barn in the Rain, and Bluegrass 511. Closed with the only tune with vocals, a heart wrenching version of the Blind Willie McTell number “Momma Taint Long For Day”. Beautiful guitar music again.

Patterson Hood and Craig Finn 7/14/26 Spaceland

 Two established front men ditched their bands for a short tour called The Devil is in the Details. Patterson has been the mastermind of The Drive By Truckers for some 20 years, Craig has the same position in The Hold Steady. Both bands have cult status and a decent catalog to pull from. From the stage banter, we learn that Craig was a DBT groupie from the jump, resorting to stalking Patterson after a Conan O’Brien appearance. They trade off tunes, each on an acoustic, with a multi-instrumentalist friend Ben Macklin also on stage. Ben plays keys, sax, flute, clarinet, even subtle percussion to help the proceedings. The setlist pulls from both bands and some solo material: The Forks of Cypress, Bethany, Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife, The Righteous Path, People of Substance, Crumbs, Uncle Disney, Pinocchio, Easter Weekend, Shamrock, Palomino, Miss Coldiron’s Oldsmobile, The Van Pelt Parties, Heathens, Mission Viejo, Magic Marker, (I Never Heard of) Emmett Till, Newmyer’s Roof, Grand Canyon, encored with The Company I Keep and Certain Songs. Craig said The Hold Steady was trying to be the Drive By Truckers of the north. The subject matter of Patterson’s songs came from his life experiences growing up in Alabama. His easy drawl was an added bonus. Craig’s tunes were more story-like, it made sense that he was hawking a novel he wrote. These two have years of arena crowds under their belts, they seemed happy to get back to the close interaction of a club like Spaceland.

Mick Barr w/ The Regal Drug 7/8/26 Cannons ( New Haven )

 Cannons on Dwight St. in New Haven is not to be confused with the venerable Middletown beer paradise known as Eli Cannons. The New Haven “Eli-less” (is that even possible?) is more vegetable than venerable, literally, it’s a joint/vegan restaurant. Managed by local scenester, Carlos of (once again New Haven, State House) fame, Cannons assumes an unlikely address on Dwight St. As a suburban kid growing up in the area, Dwight St. was popular for prostitution, car radio boosting, and general hijinx. Fast forward 40 years, a sprinkling of gentrification, and voila, a vegan restaurant with a side of weird music is born. I enter the venue to the strains of The Regal Drug. Local guy on synth, drone, knob twiddling, he has been positively reviewed here before. One Weird Music Night, TRD had a local trumpeter in the mix. On this evening, some recorded vocal snippets made for a tasty tapestry.

Mick Barr is a black metal guitarist from Queens. For 20 years he has fronted the experimental metal band Krallice. The genre is outside my wheelhouse, to the point where I stupidly left my earplugs in the car. A hairy Barr takes the tiny performance space. He launches into hyperspeed runs, turned up to 11. The music was deafening. Seated at a small table, I was able to use natures earplugs, my pinky fingers, to unobtrusively soften the blow. Technically amazing but migraine inducing, I was reminded of my wheelhouse. Imagine if Ritchie Blackmore took control of your alarm clock, jammed the volume control and snooze function, and squalled an endless loop. About 20 minutes in, Mick loops a lick, then picks up an acoustic guitar. Out spills another half hour of some of the most beautifully executed finger picking I have witnessed in recent memory. Passages that sounded flamenco moved toward British folk before landing in some modern drone. Mick must be revered in guitarland, local educator/virtuoso Joe Morris was sitting in front. Spotify Barr and you’ll find he appears on a guitar nerd comp that includes such luminaries as Mary Halvorson,  Henry Kaiser, and Jeff Parker. Commended Carlos on his sticktoitiveness. Happy to have a night of contradictions, a vegan restaurant on  Dwight St. where I witnessed a blistering and complimentary beautiful set of music.

Dr. Caterwaul’s Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps play the music of Tom Waits 6/26/26 Best Video

 Tom Waits was a pied piper to me in the 90s. We “whistled past the graveyard”,we took a left at “9th and Hennepin”, we even sailed one night for “Singapore”. Before streaming, or Spotify we were left to our own devices. In my case, convince the guy who buys cds for your local library that he should purchase any and all work by Tom Waits. This allowed me to spend time with the likes of Rain Dogs, Bone Machine, The Mule Variations, Real Gone, and Swordfishtrombones. While I thought it was just me and the library guy following Tom down raspy voice lane, turns out in a nearby hamlet the geeks that would go on to form Doc C found the same rabbit hole. Doc C has been positively reviewed in this blog many times. Local musical omnivores, they are ideally suited to take on this challenging music. The group has Adam Matlock on accordion, keys, drum pads and vocals, Brian Slattery on fiddle, banjo, guitar, trombone and lead vocals, drummer, standup bass and two guitars on this evening. Chris Cretella and Bob Gorry are responsible for the twin guitar attack. Waits oeuvre is split into two distinct periods, the first is piano-whiskey-cigarettes lounge crooner that gave us such gems as The Heart of Saturday Night or Foreign Affairs. The second period got darker and more experimental thanks to his music and life partner Kathleen Brennan, it is from this period that the evenings music was pulled. Pretty full house of Waitslovers at Best Video made for an enjoyable set. We start with Anywhere I Lay My Head, Temptation, Jockey Full Of Bourbon, Time, Dirt in the Ground, Singapore, Goin Out West (Brian’s theme song), Chocolate Jesus (Bob on vocals), Horse That Ran, Big Black Mariah, Cold Water, Walking Spanish, Earth Dies Screaming, Cold Cold Ground, Come On Up To the House, and closed out with Telephone Call From Istanbul. Brian did most of the singing, Adam sang a few as did Bob. While no one can approximate the Tom Waits growl, the crew performed admirably. The hallmark of this music is the odd instrumentation, harmonium, saw, out there percussion serve as a perfect backdrop for the advanced images conjured by the lyrics. Hearing this music brings me back to a wonderful place in time, thanks to Best Video and Doc C for manning the wheel.