Joe Morris w/ William Parker 4/14/24 Real Art Ways Hartford

 Sunday afternoon show as part of Joe’s “Improv Now” series. These two master improvisers collide for four string based workouts. First tune has them on their home base instruments, that is Parker on acoustic bass and Morris on electric guitar. They said that they met in the 80s, and this long relationship manifests with a telepathic quality to their music.  Morris, with eyes closed, squiggled while Parker plucked and bowed, spending time in and around strings. Next offering had Parker on ngoni and Morris starting on ngoni-tar and then moved to the floor to bang on some percussion. The ngoni is a west African instrument with a dried gourd of a base, stretched animal skin (usually goat), a neck with several strings to be plucked. Parker said that he was reading poetry in a park in Brooklyn and was approached by the mystical Don Cherry, who befriended him and turned him on to the instrument. In a similar fashion, Morris received a package from Parker with a small jeli ngoni which he then fashioned into a ngoni guitar or ngoni-tar. The third tune had Parker on guimbri and Morris on a banjo and then switched to a banjuke ( for those keeping score, a banjo ukulele). Parker mumbled some wordless vocals to shade this one. Parker is a downtown kook, he had a pink knit cap with green dots that made him look like an avant garde strawberry. Morris had long straggly gray hair that looked like he stuck a fork in a light socket while prepping to teach his course on differential sonic equations. Joe has taught music theory at the New England Conservatory for years and has the look of a crazed intellectual. Parker announces that he is going to throw an ice cream party and that we are all invited, which seemed random, but coming from this renaissance man, anything is probable. The final offering had Morris on acoustic bass and Parker on shakuhachi ( Japanese longitudinal end blown flute) and some sort of metallic mini vuvuzela. Parker also sang a little “ death has died today, god is in tears, and the devil has a big old grin”. It was a treat to see these two old friends spending an afternoon, laughing at conventions. They are not constrained by musical norms,  normal musical instruments, or even the mode of delivery. Check Parker’s prolific Spotify presence and you are just as likely to hear an electronic piece as hearing him sing an indigenous ditty.

Nat Adderly Jr. 4/13/24 AFAM Cultural Center, Yale

 First time at the African-American Cultural Center at Yale, a hallowed hall sandwiched between the Yale Cabaret and the hippie enclave The Group W Bench. April brings May showers but also the Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective’s annual weekend festival. The collective is a revolving cast of well-connected jazz nerds that put on several shows with top tier talent. Nat is an alum (‘77) and has a five star jazz pedigree. His father Senior and uncle Julian “Cannonball” are pillars of 60s and 70s Jazz. I’ve come to realize that cornet playing senior wrote the standard “Work Song”, one of the most copied songs in the jazz canon. Junior plays organ and assembled a quartet of bass, sax/flute, and drums.  As a connected jazz man and a degree from Yale, Nat has spent most of his time as musical director for Luther Vandross. Soul and R&B hits need to be arranged and scored, and Nat has the chops to serve up hits for his boss. The set was wide ranging, started with the Wayne Shorter composition Yes And No, then on to a rolling workout of Oliver Nelson’s Stolen Moments. Vandross tasked Nat to arrange Superstar by the Carpenters, which apparently was a huge hit despite having “no business being played on the radio at 10 minutes”.They played an uptempo version of the tune with flute standing in for the vocals. Next up is the Philly soul fave People Make The World Go Round with an excellent galloping bass backdrop. Final tune was You and I by Stevie Wonder. The world is full of musical siblings and often the level of success differs, I mean who can forget Thelonius’ lesser known brother Chip. Nat jr. has forged a career as a well connected musician, it was nice to see him cut loose in a familiar surrounding.

Marco Benevento w/ Ghost Funk Orchestra 4/10/24 Spaceland

 Happily caught the last few tunes from NYC-based opener GFO. A sprawling 9 piece, two guitars, bass drums, sax, trumpet, trombone, and two female vocalists had trouble fitting on stage. They reminded me of the heady nadir of local funkateers Deep Banana Blackout. Blistering trombone solo and sassy vocals could turn any gathering into a party. Seems like I review Marco on an annual basis, I’ve likened him to a keyboard playing Cheshire Cat, a benevolent drug thief, the list goes on. On this viewing, he seems like the kid who mastered 3 tier chess playing while you were struggling with beginners play. He plays multiple keys simultaneously, Korg, Moog, sometimes even banging on a Playskool model. He has dispensed with the tophat, the glow-rimmed spectacles, and other outfits in favor of his true self. Lightly bearded, long hair, he looked like Leon Russell up there. He is joined by the amazing Karina Rykman on bass and vocals and Chris Corsico on drums. Karina looks like Jan Brady as a whirling dervish on frenetic bass and vocals. Their recent release BarnBurner was recorded at Levon Helms barn in Woodstock and shows the live layout. Original compositions Greenpoint, Solid Gold, Let it Slide, At the Show, were sprinkled in with some stellar covers. In reverence to Levon, they played This Wheel’s On Fire, Pink Floyd’s Fearless with a bluesy Bennie and The Jets section. Marco spends most of his time in the preeminent Grateful Dead vehicle Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (JRAD) and Karina has her solo gigs opening for any and all jamband. I even spied Karina’s long blond hair flailing on the set of  Late Night with Seth Myers. Closed with a first run of Rock and Roll by the Velvet Underground with Karina doing her best Peppermint Patty vocals. Ended the night with Nilsson’s Jump Into The Fire. I was a pretty avid viewer of The Brady Bunch back in the day, I must have missed the episode where Leon Russell comes to the door and tells Mike and Carol that he is taking the middle lovely lady on the road.

Mofro 4/4/24 College Street Music Hall

 Self-proclaimed “swamp cracka”, JJ Grey is the singer and front man for the Jacksonville FL outfit Mofro. With no “hits”, Mofro follows the Wilco acumen of relentless touring and sticking to the script. In this case, the script is southern fried rock with a side of Memphis soul and lyrics steeped in environmental stewardship. I first jumped on the bandwagon in the early 2000s after viewing a memorable belting of Galactic-backed, rainstorm fueled Sympathy For The Devil. On this evening, Grey said his visits to New Haven started in the late 80s with stops at Toads and the ill-fated Moon ( on Whalley Ave). They’ve come a long way baby as evidenced by two new monster beautifully painted tourbuses. Decent crowd for a Thursday to get a couple hours of Mofro. The current band is Grey on harmonica, guitar, organ and vocals with bass, drums, percussion, lead guitar, organ, trumpet, sax/flute, and two female backing singers to round out the 10 piece. An affable front man with a confident stage presence, Grey inhabits soulful ballads and choogling rockers and seems genuinely glad to call and response with the ladies. Mofro has released a steady stream of music that has produced multiple singalongable chestnuts over the years. New songs from the recent Olustee record were peppered in. Solid renditions of Orange Blossoms, Lochloosa, On Fire, A Woman were right at home with new songs Top of The World , The Sea, and the cover tune Seminole Wind. Mofro was embraced by the jam crowd for his laid back approach and pro environment tunes and has forged a successful career spinning tales of cherishing the natural world.

Minibeast, Qween Kong, Rope Trick 3/29/24 Scottish Dave’s Pub, Clinton

 Scottish Dave’s Pub is a sleepy dive bar on a sleepy block on Rt 1. I locate a public parking lot and traverse the deserted beach town to hear a pulsing racket coming from the unassuming address. SDP looks exactly like the bar in the Simpsons. I enter, sidle up to the bar, and this worn haggis hand appears, “am Scottish Dave, ooh argh yew?” “Irish Andy” , I reply. Throughout the evening, I saw Scottish Dave, pour drinks, bus tables, offer free pizza, play the juke box, sell merch, fix a high hat stand, and introduce local band Qween Kong. At one point I tell him he’s like Macgyver of a freaky talent show. First band was the Philly duo Rope Trick. A psych rock duo comprised of Indrayudh Shome on guitar and vocals and Nathanael Totushek on drums. The music was tribal with a metal edge. Shome’s attack sounded like guitar and bass with his low strings fuzz faded. The sustain on the bass allowed him to metallically noodle on top. These two guys sounded like at least 4. Next up was local riot grrl outfit Qween Kong. Noisy punk trio of drums, bass, and guitar, these ladies drew some locals to inhabit the the dance pit down front. Sassy Asian woman on guitar and vocals spit some venom into their recent single “Like a Dog”. Minibeast is a 3 piece band comprised of Peter Prescott ( formerly of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns) and the mind bending rhythm section of Keith Seidel on drums and Niels LaWhite on bass. A delicious mix of art rock and krautrock Prescott’s weirdness floats over the rhythmic churn. Using spoken word passages, keyboard loops and noise modulation, Minibeast sounds like a post punk modern version of Can. Part way through the set, Prescott’s guitar and pedal array loses sound. Frustrated with the stoppage, Prescott feverishly plugged and unplugged cords to regain the sound. In swoops Scottish Dave with a master cord to restore the chaos. The breakdown affected Prescott’s chi and obviously tempered the rest of the set. Glad to have made the trek for this unusual surreal event.

Lemon City Trio 3/19/24 The Lagniappe House, Miami FL

 Let’s start with Lagniappe. No, it’s not a scandic elkskin-clad hippie (that’s Laplander). Wiki defines lagniappe as “something given as a bonus, or extra gift”. With that in mind, the LHouse doesn’t disappoint. An awkward rhomboidal space set in the yuppy design district in Miami, this venue is nestled between the train tracks a u-store it and a dog hair straightening parlor. Upon entering, you pass through a modest sized living room with a ragtag assortment of velvet chairs and couches. On the wall is a glass front fridge chock full of meats and cheeses waiting to be selected for the staff to plate as charcuterie. Pass through this area and through the bar to get to a large open air (but with trees) patio to drink or nosh. The bartender says to approach the living room at 830 to claim a velvet throne for the free set of music. Lemon City is a Miami neighborhood, LCT is an organ, drums, and guitar groove outfit. These young men were weaned on Grant Green, Herbie Hancock and the Meters and delivered a powerful instrumental funk punch. Memorable rendition of Let The Music Take Your Mind. The event calendar shows a wide array of under the radar mainly southern hipsters plying their trade. The lagniappe is the music, an excellent bonus gift. Definitely beats a china-produced whistle in the bottom of a Cap’n Crunch box.

Chris Spedding 3/16/24 The Cellar on Treadwell

 Chris Spedding has had a storied but under the radar career. As a 79 year old Brit guitar slinger, Chris was in the room for many “birthplace” moments in rock and roll. He infamously turned down an invite to be in The Rolling Stones, he produced some early Sex Pistol sides, and has lent session wizardry to the likes of Brian Eno and Tom Waits. I even notice that he is currently sitting in on a reincarnation of the cult progfusion outfit Nucleus. On this evening, he is joined by Keith Lenten on bass, and Anton Fig on drums for a stroll down rock and roll memory lane. Fig kept time for the David Letterman band, so he is versed in the live setting. Spedding’s vocal style was like Mark Knopfler’s grandfather, British, witty, and slurry. The set was compact, as to be expected from someone his age. He performed a few of his “hits”, Motorbikin, and the chestnut Hurt By Love. They did a wonderfully screwed down NyQuil-paced Wild Thing. The show highlight was Chris showing off his chops mimicking guitar greats. Duane Allman, Pete Townsend, Hendrix, Santana, Clapton, Leslie West, George Harrison, you could tell he could literally play the phone book. I always relish the chance to view a building block of rock and roll history.