Clarence Penn and Penn Station 4/29/16 Firehouse 12

Billed as an evening of modern interpretations of Thelonious Monk music, CP and Penn Station were formidable re-workers. Drummer and leader CP, Manuel Valera on piano, Chad Lefkowicz-Brown on sax, and a newcomer on standup bass plowed through some Monk classics. Set list: Thelonious, Hackensack, In Walked Bud, Rhythm-naning, Ruby My Dear (with female vocalist), Evidence, and closed the set with Teo. CP gave some insights on Monk, he favored original composition over standards and improv solos were grounded in the song's melody, both were uncommon in jazz at the time. The song "In Walked Bud" was apparently a gift from Monk to the legendary pianist Bud Powell. Powell loved watching Monk play, and on a club date in Philadelphia, local police broke up the gig (which must be code for beating black people) , Powell stepped in to thwart the beating of Monk, and was rewarded with an extra beating of his own which left him unable to play and a traumatic brain injury. CP's rendition of the song was somber and fitting in light of the backstory. A drum-centered take on Monk makes total sense, Monk's crazy use of time signatures prove vital to the drummer. Valera was excellent as a modern day Thelonious.

The Residents present Shadowland 4/23/16 College St. Music Hall

The Residents, art rock pioneers famous for their tophat eyeball costumes brought their original brand of freakfest to College St. The evening started with the film Theory of Obscurity, a documentary of this traveling circus with interviews from fans like Les Claypool. The members of this band have successfully remained anonymous for their 40 year run, impressive. The second half of the evening was a live set, Shadowland, the third part of their  trilogy on death, life, and birth. The shrouded trio consisted of Randy, Chuck, and Bob on vocals, drum-synths, and guitar. They bill themselves as the world's best Residents cover band. Chuck and Bob had some weird alien masks that seemed like they were pinched from the movie Buckaroo Banzai. Randy wore a fat suit and a mask that looked different when he moved his head up and down. Randy prowled the stage with his patented sinister crab walk singing "hits" old and new. The music was interspersed with vocal snippets shown on a bizarre mushroom shaped video screen behind the band. The nearest kindred spirits in music are probably the Flaming Lips, whose shows have also taken on "happening" status. The Residents are worth googling, to view the scope and variety of their theatrical projects. I will say that I got hooked on this band in the 80s, when they appeared on David Sanborn's tv show Nightflight. On that show the disparate guests closed each show by performing together. On this particular evening, the Residents were paired with Conway Twitty and eyeballed their way through the classic "Take this Job and Shove It". YouTube that, I'm not kidding.

Z3 4/19/16 Pacific Standard Tavern

The good thing about the short, sweet set at Cafe 9 by the Boogarins, it allowed time to catch the end of Z3 at PST. Z3 is the trio of Tim Palmieri on guitar, Bill Carbone on drums, and Beau Sasser on keys, playing the music of Frank Zappa in a  hippie-electronica style. Entered the venue to the strains of Stinkfoot, some tunes I couldn't place ( which is something for a self-professed Zappa-Phile). The show ended with an exrendo jam of Wet Tshirt Thang. Tim is a New Haven troubadour, who also plays solo and in Kung Fu. I'm sure he could play the phone book, but don't tell him or next outing might be complete with The Phone Book Improv Project.

Boogarins 4/19/16 Cafe 9

Short but sweet set from Brazilian psychedelic purveyors, Boogarins. Two guitars, bass, and drums were augmented by a flurry of echo, delay, fuzz, wah, and occasional feedback. Think of Os Mutantes crossed with San Francisco's Wooden Shjips and you are in the Boogarin's ballpark. Songs were sung in Portugese, but most had guitar flourished psychedelia freakouts as a jump off point. One guitarist had such a Hendrix complex, he even had the trademark hair. Boogarins are like a Brazilian Tame Impala, and will do well if they stay in the US for some festivals.

Los Cafeteras w/ Jose Oyola 4/14/16 Cafe 9

Entered to local hero Jose Oyola on guitar, vocals, and hair on stage with flautist Dylan (I think I made this kid's day by telling him he sounded like Gil Scot-Heron's flautist Brian Jackson). Jose, from Puerto Rico sings heartfelt original tunes and is usually backed by the Astronauts, a large group of local musicians. Jose has signature hair, a multi-hued large tangle of controlled frazzle-ness that adds effect to his stage presence.
I saw Los Cafeteras a year or two ago at Wesleyan. The show was intended for an outdoor setting but moved to Crowell Hall due to threat of rain. I remember thinking that this band would be better served outside or in a smaller club. The set list hadn't changed much, but the band member count was the same. Two female vocalist/percussionists, two male guitarro-ists who sang and rapped, two other guitarro-ists, and drummer. From Mexico via East LA, this group brings a ton of energy. Cumbia,Ring of Fire, This Land is Your Land (with rap intro). Highlighting call and response and audience participation, LC gives a little Latin to a mostly white audience. At one point, they called people on stage to ask "what would they do if elected president?" Show highlight was the rap socially conscious anthem listing a snapshot of minority citizens who have inexplicably died at the hands of law enforcement: I'm  Michael Brown I didn't DO nothing wrong, I'm Eric Garner I didn't DO nothing wrong, I'm Sandra Bland I didn't DO nothing wrong, chilling lyrics from this woe-fully under-recorded band. Spoke with rapper Daniel who said a recording will be out late summer. Guitarro army indeed.

OGJB Quartet 4/8/16 Firehouse 12

OGJB is a jazz quartet helmed by sax titan Oliver Lake. At 74, Lake is one of the rare free blowing players connected to the birth of modern jazz. Graham Haynes, son of Roy, played cornet and ngoni (an unusual African stringed instrument that resembled a gourd attached to a clothesline pole). Joe Fonda played standup bass, bowing and plucking with his face in a constant state of smelling something foul. Barry Altschul played drums, a standard kit that put down the backdrop for the others. The set started with some spoken word from Lake, who is an accomplished poet. I have seen Haynes at this venue before, his jazz, Afro-futuristic forays into hiphop with Steve Coleman in the 90s were great. On this evening, Haynes with graying beard and hair, looked as if he just came off the set from a Frederick Douglass biopic. Lake and Haynes traded sqiuggles and blasts summoning the spirits of Ayler and Pharoah Sanders.