tUneYarDs w/ Buke and Gass and Fake Babies 5/17/11 Daniel St

Sizable crowd drowned out local outfit Fake Babies. Poor stage geometry at Daniel St did not make for a good view of Brooklyn's Buke and Gass. This duo of baritone ukelele and guitar/bass smash and homemade percussion was the perfect opener for Tuneyards. From Frisco with some childhood ties to Milford CT, tuneyards rocked their brand of indecipherable yelp-rock. Bass, two saxes, and leader on vocals and ukelele played a great set to a rapt crowd. The vocals seem to be a cross between a yodel and a tribal chant, with some words thrown in. The lead singer had some face-paint and purple wings (like the you-tubable video for "bizness") All players banged on percussion which added to the tribal sound. I got up close to see that the bass player had a pulley, a box grater. and a cup to bang on. Truly original and bound for Europe, Tuneyards were awesome.

Xavier Rudd 5/15/11 Toads Place

Aussie Rudd has an unusual twist on the one-man-band, a digeridoo. Mix one part Keller Williams, one part Michael Franti, one part Dr. Didg one part Paul Simon and you have Xavier Rudd. Sometimes played acoustic guitar and didg and others with drumkit and didg. A frantic stagehand helped line him up for each tune. Songs had a quiet folk start then ended with didg-fueled frenzy. Packed house really enjoyed Xavier.

T.S. Monk Sextet 5/7/11 Woolsey Hall

My dynamic daughter has a dynamic TAG teacher named Marcella Monk Flake. The Monk in her moniker comes from her uncle, Thelonious. As a benefit for 8th grade TAG, T.S. Monk played a benefit at Woolsey Hall for the TAG program. After a warmup by the local H.S. jazz band, Monk's sextet took the stage. Soprano sax, alto sax, trumpet, bass, piano, and Monk on drums breezed through some standards: Song for Ray, Evidence, and Think of One. Must have been great to grow up in a house with a piano and Thelonious. T.S. said that his job was to answer the door when Coltrane, Miles, Diz , and Bird came by....a dream job for a jazz fan.

Guitar Chamber Music 5/4/11 Sprague Hall

I always look forward to Benjamin Verdeery's direction of classical and guitar work that he showcases at the beautiful Sprague Hall. Ben teaches modern classical composition and this program was a series of duets, trio, then an ensemble piece. The duet pieces included works by Bartok, Joan Tower, and Toru Takemitsu. The violin-guitar duets of short Bartok works were great. A trio of drums, electric guitar, and electronics performed Ornette Coleman's Lonely Woman Suite. The final piece was Terry Riley's In C. Twenty-four musicians played 52 "modules" of the note C. Only at Yale could one view this production. Oboe, bass clarinet, flutes, piccolo, national steel slide guitar, guitars, bass, violin, viola, percussion all played the note C at various speeds and octaves for 40 minutes! Riley would have been proud of that performance. Verdeery cracked up when one audience member yelled "encore". What's next In D?

Amir Elsaffar 4/29/11 Firehouse 12

An extension of Elsaffar's work Two Rivers a jazz-middle east blend paying homage to the Tigris and Euphrates. This group consisted of Elsaffar on trumpet, percussion, and voice, sax, bass, drums, and a percussion duo with oud and dumbek. Compelling tunes with Elsaaffar and Ole Matheson on sax. There was no explanation or solo given to the percussionists which detracted from the blending of a traditional jazz quartet and the exotic sounds of Iraq (no carpet-bomb percussion!). I love the Firehouse and the breadth of sounds they display, but not all listeners are familiar with what's happening on stage, it is incumbent on the performer(s) to briefly describe their angle.