Tracy Silverman's "Eclectica"

Not just another funk/world/rock/jazz/classical ensemble, Eclectica is a virtuoso groove event. This genre-defying band features the 5 time Grammy Award–winning drumming of Roy "Futureman" Wooten, of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and electric violin virtuoso Tracy Silverman, heralded by the BBC as “the greatest living exponent of the electric violin.” Bass legend Steve Forrest, (replacing Kyle Whalum), rounds out the ensemble. Eclectica weaves sound-pieces together with a groove that is alive from the first note to the last encore, with sing-along choruses and creative jams that can lead in any direction. With 3-part vocals and inspired synchronicity, Eclectica is a celebration and a concert on the same stage.

Jim Beal Jr., writer for the San Antonio Express-News interviewed the band during a festival last year, and was able to get some fantastic insight into the creation of this unique trio. Beal writes, "When it comes to naming bands, truth in advertising does not always figure into the decision. For Nashville-based Eclectica, the name is on the mark. "What comes out of us is kind of funky rock, jazz and classical," said violinist Tracy Silverman. "There are elements of all those things in the music, which is why we call the band Eclectica."

Eclectica began with Silverman, Wooten and bassist Kyle Whalum (currently on the road with James Otto) and recorded their debut CD, "Streaming Video Soul" (Gutbucket Records). Forrest is Eclectica's current bassist, replacing Whalum for their recent tours. There are some great tunes on this album, including my personal favorite "Nawlins". There is an amazing live video of Eclectica performing this song with an orchestra that must be seen to be believed.

"I think people have open minds and ears when it comes to music," Silverman said. "I think people would rather hear more than one style of music. And, we don't want to get bored. We like to jump around. We have eclectic backgrounds. The music business tends to be very restrictive for artists. If you have a hit, you get labeled as that for the rest of your career. It's good for marketers, but not for artists."

Beal continued with a bio of the band, "Eclectica is not about to get labeled, at least not easily. Silverman grew up in New York. He started playing violin at 4. By the time he was 8, he was in the Juilliard School pre-college. He started winning competitions at 12 and graduated from Juilliard at 20. In 1994, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and joined the Turtle Island String Quartet. In the early 2000, Silverman started collaborating with contemporary classical composer John Adams, who composed the electric violin concerto "The Dharma at Big Sur" for the violinist.

Wooten is an inventor, composer and percussionist. With the Flecktones, he performs with a customized electric guitar-synthesizer, "The Synthaxe" which he renamed, the "Drumitar". Wooten also fronts the orchestral "Black Mozart Ensemble". With Eclectica, Wooten plays acoustic drums. Bassist Forrest, from Nashville by way of Memphis, is a first-call musician who has worked with Tony Joe White, Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris as well as with jazz bands and the Wooten Brothers and Friends group."

"Me and Roy bumped into each other a few times. He asked me to play on some of his projects. He's always doing something interesting," Silverman said. "I had this vision of a band with me, Roy and a keyboard player. It evolved into Eclectica. We decided to make a record and see if anybody would book us." Recording for Eclectica is not much different from playing live. "We recorded live, like we were jamming, to try to maintain that feeling," Silverman said. "I think we did well in the studio because we like to give ourselves some freedom. Live, we approach the music more like jazz players. We leave things open-ended. That makes every night different."

Something else that's different is Silverman's violin. It's a six-string instrument made by luthier Danny Ferrington. "It's tuned in fifths and has two lower strings," Silverman said. "It actually changes everything. I can play chords. And I developed a technique I call 'strum bowing.' I also use a strap and play the violin kind of like a guitar." With Eclectica, vocals also figure in, but not necessarily vocals in the traditional sense. "My original intent was for vocals to be about 50 percent of the time," he said. "It's primarily an instrumental band, but I think solely instrumental bands can be kind of boring. The vocals give us a little different texture..."

Eclectica hasn't appeared much on the west coast, confining their performances to Nashville and the east. I'd keep an eye out for this lovely trio; Silverman is amazing on electric violin, both Whalum and Forrest bring the funk and it's a real treat to hear and see Futureman on a tiny acoustic kit, tastily using wooden brushes and crisp cymbal work. More drummers should take his softer, yet confident approach. Meantime, pick up a copy of "Streaming Video Soul", a fine blend of jam-band-meets-Hendrix from three musical virtuosos.

Jazz Giants: The Photography of Herman Leonard

Beginning April 5th, jazz and photography lovers will be in for a real treat when they visit the Fillmore's Jazz Heritage Center. In honor of Jazz Appreciation Month, the JHC is presenting Jazz Giants: The Photography of Herman Leonard—a collection of some of the greatest jazz photographs ever taken by one of America’s greatest living photographers. The show is Herman Leonard’s first in San Francisco since he briefly lived in the city twenty years ago. The exhibit includes more than forty classic black and white photographs of jazz legends, including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Billie Holliday and Thelonious Monk. The images will be on exhibit April 5th - May 16th, in the JHC’s Lush Life Gallery and in the JHC’s Koret Heritage Lobby outside the entrance to Yoshi’s Jazz Club and Restaurant at 1320 Fillmore.

“Jazz Giants” is a photographic journey through the golden years of the Jazz, Blues and Bebop eras that document the larger-than-life legends that comprise the visual album of America's music. Focusing on the life and times of famed artists such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk among countless others, this exhibition features a selection from Leonard's extensive photographic history. Using a unique lighting approach, Leonard's signature "backlighting" style and use of elements like smoke and strobe lighting gives his portraits a dramatic quality that is highly humanistic, capturing the illuminating personalities behind the music.

Born in Allentown, PA, Leonard discovered the camera at the young age of 11 and hasn’t stopped shooting since. While stationed in Burma in the Army Medical Corps during World War II he developed film late at night in his combat helmet. Leonard studied under famed Canadian portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh and had the invaluable opportunity to assist in shoots with Albert Einstein, Harry S. Truman and Clark Gable. It was from Karsh that Leonard received his most valuable advice as a photographer, to “tell the truth, but always in terms of beauty”. In the 1950s he became the personal photographer to Marlon Brando. Leonard’s fashion and advertising jobs have run in magazines like Life, Time and Playboy.

In 1956, Leonard moved to Paris and worked in advertising and fashion and for magazines including Life, Time and Playboy. After living in Europe for over 20 years, Leonard returned to the United States and settled in San Francisco and began printing his jazz negatives. In 1991, he moved to New Orleans after visiting the city for an exhibition of his work. Sadly, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina not only took his home, studio, and darkroom but over 6,000 of Leonard’s original photographs along with many of his exposure records were lost in the hurricane.

Leonard, now 87 and living in Los Angeles, continues to shoot, develop and exhibit his comprehensive archive. Most recently, the Smithsonian Institution honored Leonard by housing his entire collection in the permanent archives of musical history where they are considered as essential to American music history as Benny Goodman’s clarinet or Louis Armstrong’s horn. In October of 2008, Leonard was honored with a Lucie Award for his Lifetime Achievement in Portraiture. In June 2009 Leonard was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree by Ohio University, where he also delivered the 2009 Commencement Address.

The Herman Leonard Jazz Archive was established in 2007 and in 2008 was awarded a Grammy Foundation Grant for Archiving and Preservation. Herman’s goal through the archive is to bring his entire jazz collection, comprising a visual documentation of America’s original art form, back to life and preserve it for future generations.

There are some real gems in this exhibit, including some personal favorites; Billie Holliday cooking with her faithful dog "Mister" by her side; Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and William Rodgers sitting front row for an Ella Fitzgerald concert; drummers Buddy Rich and Art Blakey flailing away ever so gracefully; vintage shots of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett; a backstage shot of the elegant Max Roach; a young Thelonious Monk scribbling on sheet music, and of course, Miles Davis, signing some of his artwork from the modern "Amandla" and "Tutu" era.

Leonard, like the great Life magazine photographer Gordon Parks, had a knack for being in the right place, at the right time. From Monte Carlo and Manhattan, to festivals in Paris and Newport, Leonard has captured and preserved one of the most important eras in jazz history. His work, like those musicians he so lovingly photographed, will thankfully never be forgotten.

Jazz Giants: 
The Photography of Herman Leonard

April 5th, 2010 - May 16, 2010
Fillmore Jazz Heritage Center
1300 Fillmore