Tatsuya Nakatani FIM #116 Ely Center 4/10/26

 The Ely Center has been evicted. I don’t know the details, but the address change from the cushy Trumbull Street cabal of lawyers and therapists to the polluted waterfront hood of James Street reeks of financial distress. The space afforded by this lo-fi location allows for a small concert space amongst a sizable gallery for showcasing local art. The FIM fellas have been positively reviewed in this blog many times. At 116 gatherings, these noiseniks keep a steady schedule of improv performances in and around the New Haven area. Caleb Duval on standup bass, Luke Rovinsky on guitar, and Kaelen Ghandi on saxes are joined by Japanese percussion legend Nakatani. I arrive to the sound guy patching cords and setting up mics, apparently the performance will be recorded. After a lengthy sound check, the improv starts. Luke bends strings and warps sounds. Caleb uses a variety of kindling to capo the strings while using stabbing motion for a shrill sound. Ghandi’s yelps are punctuated with asmr whispering. Nakatani is the main attraction. His credits include stints with Eugene Chadbourne, Acid Mothers Temple, and Mary Halvorson. He has a standard drum kit with two large gongs. His playing is anything but standard, employing a variety of cymbals and shakers that he rubs and scrapes on the snare drum. He uses mallets, sticks, brushes, and bows to coax sound from all sides. Using the bow on the side of the cymbal while scraping the snare made this crazy metallic sound. He bowed the gongs and looked like he was slicing deli meat. The improv fills the room for the twenty brave souls who call this “music”. Based in Boston, Tatsuya travels the region spreading the free improv gospel.

Laraaji 4/4/26 Wesleyan University Memorial Chapel

 Ambient New Age mystic Laraaji stops in Middletown for an improv performance at this historic campus church. The altar has his setup of electric zither, dulcimer, piano, electronics, mbira, and several small bells. He is joined by his life partner Arji Oceananda who plays electronics and cloud bowls. The performance is put on by an outfit called Ambient Church who pair meditative musicians with trippy visuals in unusual venues. The performance starts with bells and cloud bowl, not unlike a yoga practice. Laraaji moves from zither to dulcimer to electronics weaving a tapestry of sound. Arji complements the sound with electronics and percussion of her own. The church became completely dark as the video appeared on the wall and ceiling behind the altar. Liquid visuals blobbed and oozed at lava lamp speed, which must be a thing for the synaptically challenged. Sun rays, repeating patterns, melting colorful swooshes were calming with the musical backdrop. Laraaji sang some wordless vocals then a full tune while playing some excellent piano. Born Edward Larry Gordon some 82 years ago, Laraaji spent many years busking in Washington Square Park. Legend has it that one park denizen was post-Roxy Music Brian Eno who took a shine to the Laraaji zitherin. Eno produced some early slabs and ran with the ambient concept for his own seminal Music For Films, Music For Airports among others. Laraaji is a sight, a light skinned black man who dresses exclusively in orange. Orange hat, orange shirt and pants, orange jewelry (last time I saw him and was able to view his feet, orange crocs). The card tables on the altar were also draped in orange fabric. This music gets a bad rap, syrupy improv background sounds that lack the bite in the jazz world. That is the point, music that subtly invades instead of melting one’s face. Excellent show of meditative music and visuals.

Sun of Goldfinger 4/3/26 Firehouse 12

 I was relegated to the second set as set one sold out in advance. Sun of Goldfinger is a jazz power trio consisting of veteran guitarist David Torn and sax wailer Tim Berne alongside relative newcomer Ches Smith on drums. The trio were warming up to record the following day. Torn and Berne inhabited the early days of Manfred Eicher’s ECM label. Torn, and his group Prezens explored the nexus of jazz and prog with effects laden and looped guitar work. Berne, and his Snakeoil project found success in free jazz blowing, like the 90s John Zorn groups. Ches Smith needs no introduction in this blog. He is a Firehouse staple and recent viewings of him with his Haitian big band and Mary Halvorsen groups have been excellent. Torn, with his long gray hair and beard, looked like a mad scientist Gandalf with a bevy of pedals to channel his sound. Berne, also grizzled with round glasses, looked like the Tootsie Pop owl crossed with Pharaoh Sanders. Ches is always fun to describe, lanky and in constant motion, he looked like a free jazz car dealer balloon man behind his kit. They played one long piece that flowed easily. Berne started out bird like squawking before settling into extended runs. He had a knack for repetitive phrasing that he would change slightly, like a game of “pass it down” with himself. He seemed genuinely in awe of the noises coming from the other two. Torn did appear to be the mad scientist, sometimes surprising himself with the treated sounds from his rig. At one point, he put the guitar on the floor and noodled from his knees. All guitarists have an inner shred function, Torn took one opportunity to unleash some fierce playing, lest we think he is all about pedals and knobs. Ches also took his “electronics” playing to the mix. In addition to his regular kit, he had a table with what looked to be a Simon ( the light up children’s memory toy), another box with a slide rule that emitted slurry electronic bleeps, and a small Moog. In a trio setting it was a treat to get a good view of his playing. The music was challenging, but to view these masters at work allows you to appreciate the skill needed for this racket.

Chuck Prophet and his Cumbia Shoes 3/29/26 The Kate, Old Saybrook

 Chuck Prophet has nine lives. It was news to me that this Bay Area rocker spent one in a health scare a few years back. I have been a fan since the early 2000s and count his No Other Love record from this period as a near perfect recording. He has always been a smartass, but community minded with his approach. At one Green Riverfest, Chuck enlisted a slew of local high school musicians to accompany his set. On this evening, he is joined by his “Cumbia Shoes”, a backing band fluent in the genre. Originally from Colombia, cumbia spread through Latin America and tickled the US southwest. The gist has a metronomic drumbeat, forward bass as a backdrop for guitar, pedal steel, or percussion workouts. The show leaned heavily on his 2024 release Wake The Dead. The setlist: C’Mon Everybody ( Eddie Cochran cover), Same Old Crime, Wake The Dead, Wish Me Luck, Cumbia de los Pajaritos (Los Mirlos cover), Jesus Was a Social Drinker, Betty’s Song, First Came The Thunder, Give The Boy a Kiss, Killing Machine, Sally Was a Cop ( co- written with Alejandro Escovedo),  In The Shadows ( for Elon) OneLie for Me, One For You, West Memphis Moon, Sugar Into Water, Ford Econoline ( “the best thing to come out of Detroit besides Iggy and The Stooges”),  You Did ( Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp) and encored with the poignant heartfelt It’s A Good Day To Be Alive, and Wooly Bully ( Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs cover). The band had Chuck on electric and acoustic, Mario on percussion, drummer, bass, lead guitar ( sometimes pedal steel), and another multi instrumentalist who played guitar and keys. The sound was full for the largely gray haired, near capacity audience. Nine lives is a lot, glad that Chuck Prophet has a few more up his sleeve.

David Fiuczynski’s KiF 3/27/26 Firehouse 12

 David “FuZe” Fiuczynski is a downtown guitarist who cut his teeth on the maelstrom melting pot of the 90s Knitting Factory scene. Bending jazz, rock, improv, and prog to their polyglot notions of music was fascinating to watch as a young musical omnivore. FuZe starts the evening by explaining the KiF project. He was tapped to go to Morocco and play at a festival where he was part of a backing band for 40 local groups. Vocal groups, odd instruments, microtonal playing, proved to be mind blowing and challenging. Many musicians approached him to say “did you know that Hendrix stayed and performed here?” While he was not familiar with that part of Jimi’s life, he could not help but notice the impact the master made on these foreign musicians. What then if Hendrix was alive and moved forward with his love of this music, KiF and essentially rocking the casbah was formed. Dave plays the most unique guitar. Double-necked, double stringed, it’s essentially a small guitar fused to a normal sized one. With the addition of effects pedals, he could change the sound at will. He would play a passage on one, then seamlessly jump to the other, made me want to chat him up about Hendrix. He was joined this evening by a young asian woman on keys, six string (maybe fretless?) bass, and drums. The odd sounds and tunings from Dave were perfectly matched by the keyboards. One portion had the keys melodica sounding and Dave’s microtonal slurring transporting the listener to Marrakech. The rhythm section was tight, with the bass looking for a  jamband workout. The players were probably students of Dave, he heads up the MicroJam Institute for advanced microtonal studies at Berklee. The first set at the Firehouse had a nice near capacity crowd to see this master. The group rolls through some originals before jumping in to a King Gizzard and then a Mononeon cover.  Dave has passages that sound like Jean Luc Ponty followed by Zappa-esque runs. Closed with two jams Friday Night Prayer Meeting and Macro Magnificat. Glad to have the Firehouse back for the spring season.

Sam Wells 3/25/26 Wesleyan

 Trumpeter and electronics musician Wells is one third of the Philly based Splice Ensemble. They perform electro acoustic soundscapes that emphasize the integration of technology with musical performance.. Introduced by Uber nerd and Wesleyan prof Paula Mathussen, Sam takes the stage at the comfortable Ring Family Auditorium. He performs his piece “Pillors and Strata” written in 2024. Sam went to a place called the Tank Center in Rangley Colorado. Abandoned large metal tanks that were used in the steam engine industry were the perfect location for Sam to experiment with sound. The Pillors piece was birthed in a 90’ by 20’ metal cylinder, with literally no flat surfaces, the echo would last for almost a minute. He played trumpet and an odd looking flugel with a variety of straight and cup mutes. The sound was computer looped to approximate the tank echo. Sam said the high plains desert location of the tank center was experiencing high winds on his rental day. Instead of ditching the project, Sam embraced the background hum from the wind. Imagine walking on the moon with Miles Davis and you’ll get the picture. Tones looped and processed made for a heady stew of modern composition. I am always amazed at the level of creativity in music, playing one’s trumpet in a desolate large metal Tylenol capsule is a new one on me.

Cass McCombs 3/20/26 Spaceland

 A personally viral ear worm has taken over my playlist. You know the type, a random addition occasionally shuffles its way to the top and gives a mainline hit to your smile bone. The Cass McCombs 2023 single “Vacation From Thought” is one such worm. Upon inspection, it appears to be a one-off collaboration with an unknown band named Weak Signal. That song was enough to get me off the couch for this Friday night performance. Cass is a quirky singer songwriter from California who has been churning out under the radar nuggets since the early aughts. On this evening, Cass and band high light the recent recording Interior Live Oak. The setlist: Priestess, Miss Mabee, Asphodel, A Girl Named Dogie, Home At Last, Missionary Bell, Harmonia, Peace, I Never Dream About Trains, Your Mother and Father, Big Wheel, Music is Blue, I’m Not Ashamed, Bum Bum Bum, Sleeping Volcanoes and encored with County Line and Sacred Heart. The band was excellent, lead guitar, lefty bass, drummer, and occasional pedal steel. Cass started on electric and stretched out the slow burn of A Girl Named Dogie to excellent effect. He switched to acoustic and  performed the beautiful Missionary Bell. One further move had Cass doing a few tunes on keys. You don’t call yourself a touring musician for twenty years without attention to concert detail, and Cass controlled a beautiful arc. Soft ballads, slow building jammers, off beat lyrics made for an enjoyable show. One of the best tribute recordings in recent memory is the mammoth Day of The Dead (Grateful Dead) recording arranged by uber-hipsters The National. The sprawling release is a Who’s Who of indie rockers and hippie jammers. Cass has the coveted spot of performing Dark Star with none other than Joe Russo. The moral of the story is trust your ears, and the worms that may inhabit them.

Yale Percussion Popup 3/7/26 Peabody Museum

 Is it stalking if two consecutive posts in this blog describe the same group? No, if the vibe and venue are as disparate as these. The Yale Percussion Group rolled their marimbas up the street to the recently refurbished Peabody Museum. I am somewhat ashamed to say that it has taken me two years to visit this gem. As a child, I had many field trips here, and my interest in science was certainly incubated. The museum focuses on natural history, with dinosaur displays as its strong suit. The music took place in the majestic Burke Hall of Dinosaurs (no relation). I enter to the soothing ambient vibraphone of one student playing the half hour long composition Ouroboros. The mallet work was exquisite and the metallic tones had a wonderful sustain that was emphasized by the dimensions of the great hall. The hall has to be monstrous to house full skeletal renderings of T. rex, stegosaurus, and the centerpiece a complete brontosaurus. The Peabody attracts young families, the children ooh and aah at the dinosaurs, the sheer size of which gets the kids minds racing. I wander the hall to the strains of the solo vibraphone. Glad to have renewed my visits to this New Haven jewel while watching adventurous music. What goes around comes around, science, music, The Peabody…..and me.

Yale Percussion Group 2/27/26 Sprague Hall

 Billed as a send off for storied Yale professor Martin Bresnick, the winter YPG concert is must-see viewing for any music fan in the New Haven area. Free, open to the public, the concert must take place at Sprague Hall due to the size of the instrumentation. Huge grand piano, no less than six xylophones, marimbas,  drum kits, the evening is a delightful mash of music and performance art. Bresnick is in the same club as Glass, Reich, and Adams,  where the music is modern classical as shot through the YPG lens. The first piece was Bresnick’s 2007 composition Caprichos Enfaticos. A concerto in 8 movements, it was commissioned for Australian pianist Lisa Moore and the world famous So Percussion group. The work was inspired by Francisco Goya’s book of etchings Los Desastres de la Guerra, fitting for our time. The movements are titled “farandula” or “farandole” which was a chain dance popular in Provence. The show starts with Moore coming out and playing a xylophone sequence, the four students appear one by one and seamlessly push the chain forward. Moving from one side of the xylophone, pushed to the opposite side, pushed to a drum kit, Moore finally landed at the piano bench, her perch for the piece. The movements were fascinating with piano as counterpoint to the student banging. Drums, shakers, even a long tubular bell were expertly struck. Goya’s images were projected on the large screen to lend context to the farandula. The (translated) names of the movements also invoked context. The “ravages of war” movement had Moore playing a peaceful melody that was interrupted by the militaristic squall from the drummers. The  “ politician-against the common good” movement starred whistles and shakers that emphasized politicians as jesters. At the junction of each movement, the players froze for about 10 seconds, mid strike or plink as the case may be. The audience, fearful for clapping out of turn,  also froze. A wonderful composition that had Bresnick coming to the stage for applause was expertly delivered by the group and it’s commisionee. After the intermission, YPG director and Bresnick cohort Robert van Sice takes the mic. The next segment was called “A Bouquet of Surprises for Martin”. Apparently van Sice reached out to contemporaries to compose farewell minis for the event. Five short pieces were introduced by van Sice with stories of their Bresrelevance. One piece, by David Lang, had two marimbists interlocking an arm so that their one mallet was striking in front of the other player. It was mesmerizing from my stage right seat, I caught the students chuckling about their reach and proximity. van Sice, too, beamed from his stool, as if the shrooms were about to kick in. Another piece was composed by one of the students, Kyle Rappe, who seems to be heir apparent at Yale. The final flower was by colleague and New Music New Haven director Aaron Jay Kernis. A Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winner, Kernis came out with a choir of students to add to the YPG. He conducted his piece that was a riot of percussion and voice about the family cat. The final piece of the evening was Hallelujah Junction by celebrated American composer John Adams. Adams’ work has the expansive feel of Copland, and this piece was originally written for two pianos. Transposed for the group by Bresnick protege Doug Perry, the YPG reveled in its execution. My annual glowing review of this event is a bright light in a dark month.

Instantiations 2/15/26 Real Art Ways, Hartford

 We’ve established that local guitar hero and educator Joe Morris is a higher order thinker. He teaches at the distinguished New England Conservatory and wrangles a monthly jazz series formerly known as Improv Now. Joe changed the name to Instantiations which requires some Websterin. Turns out that instantiations refers to “the act of representing an abstract concept with a concrete example.” The music is certainly concrete, but covered in the abstract. Today’s offering had Morris on guitar, Adam Matlock on accordion, Diane Buetner on clarinet and bass clarinet, and Yoona Kim on ajaeng (a bowed zither from Korea). Regional improv masters, this crew fashioned a heady stew of sounds. The mix of instrumentation was fascinating. Morris quietly squiggled, Matlock could sustain a note indefinitely, Buetner’s bass clarinet gave a cartoonish vibe, and the ajaeng emitted a wide array of sounds. At the start of the set, Joe mentions that next month he will receive a lifetime achievement award at New York’s Vision Festival. Adventurous music for a wintry a Sunday afternoon.

Meshell Ndegeocello No More Water- The Gospel of James Baldwin 2/6/26 Sprague Hall

 Grammy winning electric bassist Ndegeocello presents a wonderful Baldwin tribute as part of the Ellington Jazz Series. The show was highly anticipated and was sold out months in advance. As the first woman to be featured on the cover of Bass Player Magazine, Meshell is an uncompromising artist that refuses to be pigeonholed. An in-demand bass player, she has played with a wide array of artists including The Rolling Stones, Madonna,  James Blood Ulmer, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and Chaka Khan. Her projects include works related to Sun Ra, Nina Simone, and on this evening James Baldwin. A pivotal voice in the Civil Rights Movement, Baldwin’s work seems just as pertinent in 2026. The show kicks off with an opening set by Jake and Abe. As part of Meshell’s band, Jake Sherman on organ and Abraham Rounds on drums played some cuts from their new album Finally, aptly named by Meshell cuz it took forever to be released. After some light opening tunes, the meat of the tomato ensued. Meshell, Jake, and Abe were joined by vocalist Justin Hicks and guitarist Christopher Bruce. Baldwin’s visceral take on the plight of African Americans is on full display. Meshell would read or recite some passages from a paper that resembled a newspaper. At one point, the page she held up read “I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do”. Topical in today’s information- rich but truth-deficient times. Vocalist Hicks had a wonderful haunting style that brought me to tears at several points. The interplay of male and female voice is always compelling, Justin and Meshell were no exception. I did not spend time with the recording prior to the show and was blown away by the performance. Songs like Travel, The Price of the Ticket, What Did I Do? , and Trouble were expertly delivered. For one tune Hatred, she quietly chanted  “ hatred, that which causes so much destruction, never fails to destroy the one who hates”, we can only hope. Disdain for “the other” is a well worn thread through our society, and Baldwin’s observations ring so true today. I notice that this group will soon be heading to Minneapolis, warriors on the current battle of love versus hate.

Patrick Bartley Quartet w/ YUJC 1/31/26 Sudler Hall at Yale

 The Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective is a loose assemblage of well connected jazzbos that flex for an annual festival. Usually held in the spring, this one took over the final weekend of the longest month of the year. I’ve seen such luminaries as Randy Weston (at Toads!), Dave Holland, Jason Moran. Recently, the emphasis has been on emerging talent, young lions so to speak. Nate Smith and Kinfolk, Dezron Douglas, and this years offering, Patrick Bartley are all new to the scene.

The afternoon show starts with a set by the students. Piano, bass, guitar, drums, clarinet, and dueling saxes made up the septet. A disparate group of nerds might birth a future lion, more likely a behind the scenes, Yale-educated, inhabitant of the music teaching or business world. A capacity crowd at Sudler enjoys their offering.

The beauty of highlighting emerging talent is to see new directions in jazz. Dezron Douglas shared the stage with Phish and Patrick Bartley has the notion of fusing video game music with jazz. A self-deprecating intro has Bartley describing his slacker youth as a video game obsessed anti-student. His suffering grades would inhibit entry to such a prestigious school but, here he is. He polls the audience as to their familiarity with video games. 62 year old me is in the minority, with absolutely zero knowledge or interest in the genre. The set is fascinating as the quartet blows through Pokémon, Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, and others. Having no baseline for the tunes, I am pleasantly surprised by how complex the renditions are. Mario has a distinct tradjazz feel while Final Fantasy feels like a film score. The other players were also jazz visionaries. William Schwartzman on piano, Wallace Stelzer on bass, and Dom Palombi on drums capably handled their roles. Turns out that Patrick is Grammy-nominated and has played with Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste, Emmet Cohen, Herbie Hancock, and Carole King. Lead jazz nerd seemed Asian-American and met up with Patrick in Japan, a hotbed of video game music I assume. There has always been a push-pull relationship between tradition and the notion of “music” with jazz roots. I am happy for the existence of the YUJC who continually shine a light towards the future.

Frederic Acquaviva and Kombat Diva 1/28/26 The Institute Library

 The Institute Library, established in 1826, is the oldest membership library in the US. Occupying a second and third floor of a lower Chapel street address, the IL is not easy to find. With no real sign, one must trust one’s own wits, entering to a stairway with a meek placard that says “we’re open”. On this block, we’re open could have led me to a hair braiding or yoga studio. Happy to enter the library, a long thin space with floor to ceiling shelves of books that ends in a comfortable reading room. The incredulous librarian takes my entry fee while feebly trying to explain the “music” that is about to happen. “I see plenty of weird shit” I explain while finding a chair amongst the 30 brave souls who thought it would be a good idea to leave the couch on this sub zero evening. The self taught Acquaviva is a prolific artist on the underground experimental music scene. He works on the notion of “oxymoron” and the intersection of voice and computer editing which includes video, text, or livestreams. Lore Lixenberg is a mezzo-soprano sound artist that performs under the moniker of Kombat Diva. The performance is choreographed by Frederic who remains hidden amongst the books. The show starts with Lixenberg rolling her suitcase through the crowd. The Doppler of the rolling casters clanking over threadbare carpet and hardwood is mesmerizing. She settles in front of the audience and performs a series of skits that were numbered “musicas”. Seems that Acquaviva has created a work called 120 Musicas, small vignettes that use found sounds or music. I should have been tipped off when Lixenberg starts the sequence by stating “ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tonight’s performance. We ask that you turn your cellphones……On, for the duration of the show”. She starts with some passages of yelping, high pitched squealing, and other vocalizing. She pulls out her phone and wanders the room taking selfies with the audience while sticking her tongue out and blowing raspberries. At one point, Elton John’s Rocket Man plays loudly while she reads a biographic passage of Wagner. Then Wagner plays while she reads a biographic passage of Elton John. She polls the audience if they have any “musical allergies”. Country music, bagpipes, death metal, the open minded attendees found joy in explaining their allergies. She finds one audience member and coaxes some bills from her wallet. She proceeds to crumple and fold the money in close proximity to the woman’s face creating her own personal performance. After a short set break, the lights are turned low and Kombat Diva emerges, dressed in a sequined Sun Ra frock and head dress. Her head gear is made from CDs strapped together to completely shroud her face. This is her piece called Panic Room. She roams the audience and sticks her shrouded face at people asking if they are “panicked”. She does this in operatic tones which adds to the surreality. She asks me if I am panicked, to which I reply “no”. “Why not?” This is normal for me, I reply. She settles on Martha Willette Lewis, Institute Librarian and local DJ on the fiercely independent WPKN. Martha joins Kombat Diva up front and proceeds to be psychoanalyzed by the opera singing figure. Trippy video backdrop has a calming effect for this panic room. As I exit the performance, I encounter the librarian and tell him his lack of description of the performance hit the nail on the head, it was truly indescribable.

Kayodot w/ Tongue Depressor 1/8/26 Space Ballroom

 Local string wranglers Henry Birdsey and Zach Rowden form the duo known asTongue Depressor.  Zach bowed a standup bass while Henry played some sort of bagpipe. I asked local scenester and instrument aficionado Adam Matlock for a ruling on the pipes and he thought North Umbrian Pipes. The pipes are perfectly suited for instrumental drone music. The bowed bass had swoops and scrapes, while the pipes could sustain a note indefinitely. They played one long song. Henry usually plays fiddle but must have gotten the pipes for Christmas.

NYC outfit Kayodot has been around for years. I remember seeing them in the back room at Bar in the early aughts. Led by bassist/ vocalist Toby Driver, the lineup seems to have evolved. Keyboard player also played clarinet and sax, fiddle player also played trumpet, guitar, and in your face prog drumming rounded out the quintet. The music was a muddy prog metal mix with Driver’s vocals often distorted. I previewed the recent release and it had some sections with aggro death metal vocals. Towards the end of the set, a bald, leather panted biker hops on stage to supply the growl. The problem with being a genre defying group is that the sound often gets lost in the schizophrenia.