Newport Jazz Festival 8/4/18 Fort Adams Park

Sketchy weather Saturday of this historic affair had a lineup that seems to be continually moving in a positive direction.
Roy Hargrove: Veteran trumpeter started the main stage. His cool post-Miles vibe is under-rated. Guest-heavy 90s recording RH Factor and more recent Earfood are on heavy rotation in my jazz library.
Mary Halvorsen's Code Girl: Set started with an embarrassingly long genuflection of some DJ bestowing an award on Mary. Awkward and nerdy, MH accepted award and moved on with her genre-bending set with her on guitar, Michael Formanek on bass, Tomas Fujiwara on drums, trumpet, and female voice were the quintet. Uneasy listening, the addition of lyrics proved to further the avant gardiness of tunes. Critics darling and Firehouse 12 home team denizen MH gets credit for originality and is a few phone calls away from Marc Ribot level session work.
Grace Kelly: Sexy Asian saxstress Kelly usually roams in the smooth jazz circles, which might prove problematic for the straight ahead Newport crowd. Goes to show if you have chops and come with a tight band, you can show off the Jazz. Excellent version of Sinnerman (music) and What A Wonderful World ( lyrics), sung by Kelly was a highlight.
Pat Metheny: I have a complicated affinity for Metheny. Early recordings like Watercolors and As Falls Wichita... were cornerstones of my 80s Jazz listening. I hung on each release during this period that culminated with the live recording Travels which was partly recorded at a West Hartford Agora show I attended. Metheny then seemed to get sappy and stale and I ignored his output. Several years ago, with the aid of drummer Antonio Sanchez, Pat got his groove back. Unfortunate then to have the second half of his set washed out by monsoon level rain and winds. Before we scurried to safety in the beer tent, we were able to hear some vintage Metheny.
Louis Cole Big Band Blowout: Never heard of this guy, but anyone who fronts a big band in a Tigger the Tiger costume deserves a listen. Young guy vocalist had a lot of help onstage.
Anat Cohen and Marcello Goncalves: Latin set from clarinet extraordinaire Cohen and Brazilian guitarist Goncalves. Cohen, from Israel, globetrots with her music. She is comfortable in all styles. Will have to look into Goncalves who had a great touch, like Gabor Szabo.
Charles Lloyd New Quartet: Sax and flute legend Lloyd is one of the most exciting minds in jazz today. In his 70s (80s?), Charles is anchoring this festival by playing in different incarnations all three days. Rain subsided for his excellent afternoon set. Bass, drums, amazing piano were fronted by Lloyd who looked exactly like the muppets sax player. Closed with some Forest Flower and Man From Two Worlds, a track that was popularized with Charles' time with Chico Hamilton.
Jon Batiste: New Orleans pianist Batiste is famous for fronting Stay Human, his band on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Snappy dresser, and even snappier pianist, Batiste was surrounded by local music students on stage. He played great renditions of St. James Infirmary and Round Midnight.The kids on stage got a real good view of this master.
Laurie Anderson and Christian McBride: Odd pairing of NY weirdo and Lou Reed widow Anderson, and Lincoln Center ambassador McBride. Joined by cello, with McBride on bass, and Anderson on violin and vocals, the set was a string trio with Anderson's patented surreal monologues on top. She took a few jabs at the administration's border control policy.
Lean On Me ( Jose James Celebrates Bill Withers): Fantastic set by this young vocalist who had shades and headband that made him look like Band of Gypsies-era Hendrix. Who doesn't like Lean On Me, Use Me, and Grandma's Hands penned by the soul master? In James hands, these tunes took on a reverent but modern flair. The beat boxing on Grandma's Hands was amazing.
Harold Mabern and Eric Alexander: Mabern, another old timer on piano and Alexander on sax blended the generations with a good set on the small stage
Andra Day:  Vocalist Day closed out the main stage. Good version of Mississippi Goddamn as we were exiting the park.

House of Waters w/ Bud Collins Trio 8/2/18 Cafe 9

Veteran local jammies BC3  were bopping around Uconn when I was there in the early 80s, which gives you an insight into their vintage. Sharp instrumentation especially drums, guitar, and keys flowed easily from song to song. Goofy lyrics put them squarely in Phish acolyte territory. Nice rendition of "Way Out Under The Sky" was a keeper of a track on a CD I bought at a show in the 80s.
House Of Waters is a world music power trio from Brooklyn. Seven-string bass player was from Japan, drummer from Buenos Aires, and hammered dulcimer player looked to be of Indian descent. The dulcimer player explained that their brand of world music fusion flowed like a house of waters. Bass player was exceptional sounding like Jaco with his ecstatic runs. The drummer was also a virtuoso, looking like Christiano Ronaldo behind the kit. The hammered dulcimer is usually associated with traditional US folk music, it looks like the guts of a piano that is played percussively with small mallets. The dulcimer player was speedy and had this cool technique of deadening the sound with his forearm. If these guys weren't such virtuosos, this music could easily veer into full on crystal rubbing, sage stick burning, aromatherapy oil huffing, new age territory of Andreas Vollenweider. Fortunately, the visual of such an unusual trio, coupled with the expertise of the players made for an enjoyable listen.

Brent Cowles 7/30/18 Cafe 9

Colorado native Cowles is a singer songwriter with a powerful soulful voice. For a guy that looks like a roadie for The Kings of Leon, Cowles led a power trio with bass and drums through a brief set of tunes from his recent release "How to be Okay Alone". I heard strains of CCR, Violent Femmes, and even the slick faux southern rock of 38 Special. As with last weeks show, the leader's vocals were the main ingredient, with Cowles soulful croon dominating the songs. His excellent slurry range even gave off a Phoebe Snow (a la Poetry Man) vibe. Young, and seemingly shy, Cowles would do well to develop some audience ice breakers to deliver between songs. Bass and backup vocalist said in the past three days they hit Cornell (Ithaca), Harvard (Cambridge), and now New Haven (Yale), and said he liked New Haven the best.

Peter Oren w/ American Elm 7/23/18 Cafe 9

Local singer songwriter Chris Bousquet plays under the moniker of American Elm. Armed with an acoustic guitar, AE played heartfelt original tunes. Chris played a hauntingly beautiful number that he  usually " fucks up" and leaves out of the set. Another tune about blacking out in a hospital bathroom was excellent. AE brought local musician Frank Critelli on stage to sing  on the final two songs. I recall seeing AE years ago, and it seemed that he abstained from playing out in recently. Positive crowd response may mean more gigs for AE.
Peter Oren is a singer songwriter from Columbus, Indiana home to the Cummins Engine company. He has a beautiful husky alto voice that reminded me of Terry Callier, Richie Havens, and the guy from Tindersticks. Environmentally conscious, progressive, anti-corporate are not qualities usually associated with Indiana, but Peter seems to be an atypical Hoosier. The group was a trio with Peter on guitar and vocals, a lefty guitarist, and a guy who played pedal steel and bass. The songs were slow and deliberate with the voice as a focal point. The inter song banter was great, Peter told one story of daydreaming about Molotov cocktailling an expensive car ( he has problems with wealth), another story about him puking and passing out at a party at Mike Pence's niece's house was hysterical. Final song was an ode to Crescent Lake in Washington state, which detailed a fond memory for Peter.

Body/Head w/ Gunn-Truscinski Duo and Stefan Christtensen The Grove New Haven 7/21/18

First opener Christensen was a solo noise drone artist that played guitar and effects. Seated behind an etch-a-sketch type gadget, Stefan seemed to have two songs going simultaneously. The effects laid down a noisy static while SC sang plaintively and played guitar, it sounded like a song that was playing on AM radio with the station slightly off tune. Another tune sounded as if the audience was under a train trestle.
Gunn-Truscinski Duo is guitar wizard Steve Gunn and drummer John(?) Truscinski. Steve Gunn's "Way Out Weather" release a few years back was amazing. In this incarnation, Gunn played noisy guitar over Truscinski's mallet heavy drumming. Steve has big eyes and a child-like savant demeanor and seemed to have his gaze locked on the drummer so as to telepathically goose the improv. Songs had noisy sequences, raga sections, that gave way to downright melodic portions. These guys have played together for years and it shows.
Body/Head is the duo of Sonic Youth bassist Kim Gordon and experimental guitarist Bill Nace. I have seen Sonic in many venues (Toads Place, a horse barn at Umass, and opening for Neil Young at a large arena, among others) so it made sense to check out the current configuration. Gordon and Nace played noisy guitar in front of a video screen that showed a tectonically paced section of a 70s-era Elliot Gould movie. Gordon sang unintelligibly in front of the squall. While the previous duo were focused on each other, these two seemed to ignore each other. The relatively small room was well attended for a Saturday night, and Body/Head gave my earplugs a run for their money. DJ Karen from Redscroll Records spun platters between sets which added to the hip vibe.

Green River Festival 7/15/18 Grenfield MA

Day two of this weekend affair:
Ballroom Thieves: Duo with young man on guitar and vocals with young female on cello/ vocals.
Trailer Park w/ Samirah Evans: Tight Nawlins funk outfit with spark plug Evans on vocals.
The Brother Brothers: Dumb name for duo of cello and fiddle in the small tent.
Chuck Prophet w/ Strings: Chuck trying to outdo previous day's performance by playing acoustic in front of a string quartet. Did a reprise of "The Left Hand And The Right Hand" and an amazing cover of John Prine's Classic "Angel From Montgomery". This quartet had to be local musicians who learned the charts quickly to back Prophet. Great banter about Halloween in the Castro section of San Francisco, where he hails from.
I'm With Her: Allstar female trio with Sarah Jarosz on fiddle and mandolin, Sarah Watkins (of Nickel Creek fame) on fiddle and acoustic, and Aoife O'Donovan ( of Crooked Still fame) on acoustic. Great three part vocal harmony with a true democratic supergroup. Worth digging deeper into all three women's output, recently heard Jarosz doing an excellent re-work of Joanna Newsom's "The Book of Right On". I'm pretty sure I heard an Adelle song in this set.
James Hunter Six: Looked forward to hearing this Brit-soul singer and his Van Morrison-like renderings of pop chestnuts. Great band and smoking guitar work from Hunter made for an enjoyable set. Good cover of "Bonie Maronie".
Robert Earl Keen: Veteran country/folk singer songwriter thought it would be a good idea to wear white jeans and a green shiny shirt that looked like the material came from a parachute. Tight band and some classics to pull from made up for the fashion blunder.
Ana Tijoux: Chilean rap singer Tijoux closed out the second stage. Her sultry rhymes were all in her native tongue. Ana's limited English took a dimension of this music away from non-Latin speakers like myself.
Old Crow Medicine Show: I remember seeing this group when they just started, but now have to call them a veteran folk-bluegrass outfit. OCMS  was a good close-out to this wonderful weekend. Their hit "Wagon Wheel" is always a show stopper. I highly recommend this festival for its size, selection of acts, and overall logistics. As you can see, I got a lot of music in these two days.

Green River Festival 7/14/18 Greenfield MA

Saturday proceedings at this annual go-to festival:
The Mammals: Veteran folkies from Woodstock showcased recent release  with a good tune about climate change and a screwed-down Aretha Franklin cover.
Big Mean Sound Machine: Instrumental Afro-beat group ( maybe from Chicago?) had a nice full sound. The female trombonist was great.
Birds Of Chicago: Duo of acoustic guitar and banjo/clarinet were quiet in the small tent.
Lucy Dacus: Critically acclaimed guitarist/vocalist had songs that started slow but crescendoed loud.
Deer Tick: Providence stalwarts showed that they are still rocking. This band is not afraid to turn it to 11. Did a great Pogues cover and a heart-wrenching version of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful".
Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express: Chuck has played this festival several times, spewing his trademark blend of Frisco-centric snarkiness. Gave a full band treatment to classics like "Storm Across The Sea" and "The Left Hand and The Right Hand", an ode to two brothers who owned a strip club. Chuck thought it would be a good idea for the audience to cajole the festival promoters into "getting the Kinks here next year".
Femi Kuti and The Positive Force: Son of Afro-beat legend Fela, Femi came with a large band with costumes and dancers carrying the flame. Behind a new release that is getting good reviews, Femi's high energy output was great.
Bella's Bartok: Regional gypsy-swing Rock outfit always puts on a great show. With horns and accordion and two charismatic front men, they displayed Eastern European traditional music with a rock and roll touch. A dancing lemur and a one-eyed monster made for a crowded stage presence.
Dr. Dog: Sophisticated pop from Philly have been at it for 10 years. Some of the young people in the crowd seemed to know most of the tunes, which is a good sign.
Marco Benevento: Scroll back in the blog a few months to get a positive review of Marco and talented bass player Karina. She seemed relaxed singing The Butthole Surfers classic "Pepper". Highlight of the day was Marco's take on Pink Floyd's "Fearless" that flowed into "Bennie and The Jets", back to "Fearless"... Wow.
Michael Franti and Spearhead: It has been a long time since the socially conscious Spearhead released the amazing "Stay Human" record. His newfound pop pivot is outweighed by his positive spirit, that oozes optimism, which is a rare commodity in today's world.