Luna 10/3/19 Spaceland Ballroom

Formed in 1991 after the demise of Galaxie 500, Dean Wareham on vocals and guitar assembled a true indie pop gem. With Sean Eden on lead guitar, Britta Phillips on bass, and Lee Wall on drums the crew was in good form after a decade-long hiatus. With trademark NYC snarkiness and odd literate lyrics, the mid 90s saw a string of critically acclaimed hits that drew comparisons to the Velvet Underground and Television. I saw them at the skater hangout The Tune-in (R.I.P.) on a sweltering sold out show and then again open for Lou Reed at the Palace. Wareham name-checked the Lou Reed show saying that his amp and microphone were stolen (" seemed like an inside job"). No one made it out of the 90s without an Andy mix CD containing the churning 23 Minutes in Brussels. Other nuggets Sideshow By the Seashore, Bewitched, Pup Tent were all great. Encored with their amazing lo-fi take on Donovan's Season of the Witch which I first heard off the equally amazing I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack that contains contributions by an early Wilco and Yo La Tengo. As with that recording, Luna is in that league.

Nobide w/ Polluter 9/23/19 Cafe 9

Polluter is a regional jam trio who bill themselves as " demented blues rock". Solid drums and bass back up epic guitar noodling. Expansive jams would ebb and flow and eventually lead into a guitar psych-out. This band reminded me of the not-jazz, not-rock, not-jam but all three meanderings of  another regional outfit The Slip. Maybe it was the trucker hatted hipness of the guitarist.
Nobide was an electronica trio from Denver. Three young kids in a van plying their trade on the East coast. Keys/laptops, sax, and metronomic drums was the layout. Keyboard player had many effects, bass qualities and looping abilities. The sax also had more pedals than he knew what to do with, often times you could tell it was a sax. The drummer kept perfect time and was essential to this dancey mix. This group was the same type of lineup as The Big Gigantic, and had similar control of the volume knob to keep the audience engaged.

Space Kadet 9/19/19 Cafe 9

Unfortunately missed local groove opener Strawberry Cheesesteak. Space Kadet is a noodley trio from GA. Drums, bass/laptop, and guitar was the lineup. The drummer thrashed and made a lot of noise with seemingly minimal effort. Bass had a five string setup that affords an extra level of flexibility. Bass player also used a computer to shade and add loop effects. Guitar player brought the noodle with speedy fills and runs. Space Kadet was yet another group sans vocals. It is difficult to hold a Monday night audience's interest without some vocal and songwriting. The tunes were mashups of familiar jams. I heard some Pink Floyd, 2001 Space Odyssey, and metal riffs pieced together with effects and jams. Space Kadet seems like a band better viewed late night at Camp Bisco with some chemical aid to the fray.

Shana Falana 9/9/18 Cafe 9

NY shoegaze rocker Shana Falana mixes pop, sludge, noise to create her self-described " druggy music by sober people".  Falana plays guitar, loops her vocals, and pogos in front of a video backdrop. Joined by a drummer, the songs veer from pop to punk. One tune started syrupy and pop like and ended with a sneering onslaught that reminded me of Entertainment-era Gang of Four. She played a Depeche Mode cover that I couldn't place.

Donna the Buffalo w/ Birds of Chicago 9/6/19 Edgerton Park

Annual CT Folkfest at Edgerton Park saw good weather and solid turnout. The music runs all day with a bevy of local folkies and some organic-centric food trucks. We arrived for Birds of Chicago, the brainchild of guitarist singer songwriter JT Nero and singer fiddler Allison Russell. On this evening they added a third musician on guitar. The acoustics could have been better but a good set from this young group. Russell was a solid singer and her stage presence reminded me of Rhiannon Giddens. They had a speedy jam workout for their finale which was great.
Donna The Buffalo has been satisfying the jam world since the early aughts. Had a fond memory of seeing them at a roots festival in Lowell MA in 2003. Jeb Puryear on guitar and vocals and Tara Nevins on fiddle, guitar, accordion, and vocals are the focal point of the troupe. Organ, drums, and bass round out the quintet. Good mix of Cajun informed, hippie folk, and lyrical nerdiness had the crowd swaying. Nice rendition of the Cash nugget Ring Of Fire. Heard a great interview with Nevins who said they had a recent bus breakdown and crowd funded a replacement in less than a month, the Internet is good for something.

Kaleta and The Super Yamba Band 8/8/19 The State House

Leon Ligan-Majek is a veteran Afrobeat and juju guitarist better known as Kaleta. He is credited with time in Fela's Egypt 80, King Sunny Ade's African Beats, and more recently spending time playing with Ms. Lauryn Hill. Kaleta has located the perfect backing ensemble, Brooklyn's Super Yamba Band. SYB is a loose collective of young Afrobeat acolytes who must have jumped at the chance to support this living lifeline to the originator of the genre. The group of hipsters had conga/ talking drum, drummer ( and band wrangler), bass, lead guitar, sax/ keys, trumpet to provide Kaleta's backdrop. The sound was pure danceable Afrobeat with all musicians double timing it on shakers or cowbells. Kaleta prowled the stage showing off his apprenticeship with the master which was dotted with a Toots Hibbert grunt and Fela-style "everybody say Ya Ya"s. Told a funny story of his brother locking him in a room with James Brown records. Afrobeat is an amalgam of African rhythms mixed in a stew of James Brown and Sly Stone for extended funk soul jams. Show highlight was the Fela cover "Black Man's Cry".

Newport Jazz Festival , Fort Adams 8/3/19

Beautiful weather this year brought the crowds to the NJF Saturday. Always difficult to remember all the great things I saw, but here goes:
Joel Ross and Goodvibes: Young man vibraphonist had cool dreads and sharp backing band. Claims to be a protege of vibes master Stefon Harris.
James Francies Flight: Saw this young man light up the keys when he played with Nate Smith at YUAG. Big man from Houston has played with Pat Metheny and the Roots, not bad for a 23 year old.
Jenny Scheinman and Allison Miller's Parlour Game: Jenny on violin and Allison on drums, with bass and piano brought some gypsy swing. Scheinman does a good guest spot on Christian McBride's Live At Tonic recording.
Ravi Coltrane and David Virelles: Downright creepy how much Ravi looks like the old man. I've seen him several times and he has grown into the chops sown by the late great. Virelles on piano was a real treat. Some middle-aged Lions right there.
Makaya Mckraven: Chicago drummer and self proclaimed "beat scientist", MM has studied with the masters (Yusef Lateef, Archie Shepp). Solid crew playing with him, if he introduced them I didn't hear.
Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Memphis Soulphony: Jazz vocalist Bridgewater has had a checkered career. Largely overlooked in the 70s, Dee Dee moved to France to hone her chops. Excellent tributes to Ella , Horace Silver, and Lady Day emerged. On this outing, Dee Dee pays tribute to her birthplace with a horn filled slice of classic R&B and soul tunes.
Buika: Critically acclaimed Spanish chanteuse, Buika gave us some jazz influenced flamenco fusion on the main stage.
Ron Carter Trio: Standup bass legend Carter's bio reads like a Who's Who in jazz. Part of Miles catalog, Monk and many others. I've read that he's credited on thousands of recordings. On this date he's joined by guitar and drums. Ron's recent recording has him paired with novelist, poet, and painter Danny Simmons.
Ghost Note: Spin-off from the Snarky Puppy collective, this percussion and horn heavy crew were an odd assemblage. Lead man on drums, guitar player dressed as a super hero, bass, two guys on saxes and flutes, and a keyboard player. They kept calling out the keys man to say that he was in Toto. While I find this hard to believe, I really can get behind a band that boasts a super hero, a little Asian guy, and a keys man from Toto. They didn't bless the rains down in Africa, but they could have.
Hailu Mergia: So much music at this festival that they feel compelled to set up a tiny stage in a room in the fort and call it the Storyville stage. The headliner at this stage was Ethiopian accordionist Mergia who had some success in the 70s. The room was packed so we had to listen through the wall, sounded jamming, should have been outside.
Hancock, McBride, Colaiuta: The festival always lets me check at least one jazz legend off my must view list. On this day, Herbie Hancock ruled. Mostly piano, but some organ, he played his early monster composition Dolphin Dance and an awesome rendition of Footprints written by his friend Wayne Shorter. Joined by festival organizer and general jazz man about town Christian Mc Bride on bass and veteran drum wizard Vinnie Colaiuta. Hancock just turned 79, he did not look or act it.
Kamasi Washington: The Saturday closed with the Afro- futuristic jazz of Kamasi Washington. Joined by his regular crew, female vocalist, multiple drummers, monster bass, his father Ricky on sax and flutes, and Kamasi at the center of the maelstrom channeling Sun Ra and Duke Ellington and John Coltrane in the same circular breath.