Thursday, August 22, 2013

Resonance Jazz Comes to the Old First Church

Resonance Jazz Ensemble, a one-of-a-kind jazz octet, performs their “Summer Time” concert, featuring a selection of arrangements and original jazz works for chamber jazz ensemble by composers from the 20th and 21st centuries. The performance will include tunes from Resonance’s newly released CD entitled Introductions with original music by bandleader Stephen McQuarry, as well as McQuarry’s creative arrangements of jazz standards, pop tunes, and classical favorites.

The only jazz ensemble in Northern California with this unusual instrumentation, Resonance jazz octet is comprised of saxophone, flute, violin, viola, ‘cello, double bass, keyboard, and drums, resulting in a rich fusion of orchestral and big band sounds.

Resonance melds together a mastery of both classical and jazz artists of richly diverse musical backgrounds who have performed with many legendary artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Bellson, Clare Fischer, Dave Anderson Quartet, Terrence Brewer, Joe Lovano, Jethro Tull, Oakland Jazz Choir, Mingus Amungus, Gloria Estefan, as well as the Marin and Berkeley Symphonies, the Woodminster Theatre Orchestra, and the California Pops Orchestra.

Resonance Jazz Ensemble
Featuring Nancy Bien, 'cello; Ted Burik, bass; Greg German, drums; Georgianna Krieger, saxophones; Michelle Mastin, viola; Stephen McQuarry, piano; Michele Walther, violin; Laura Wiley, flutes

Old First Church
Sunday, August 25th @ 4:00PM

TICKETS
$17.00 General
$14.00 Seniors (65 and older)
$14.00 Full Time Students
(Children 12 and under are free)


"Song to John" from Richard Jett on Vimeo.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Remembering George Duke: 1946-2013

George Duke, one of the greatest keyboardists I've have ever seen, passed away this week at the age of 67. Duke's career saw him play with everyone from Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderly, and Frank Zappa, to Billy Cobham, Stanley Clarke, Diane Reeves and a who's who of the greatest musicians of his generation. Duke will be missed; his battle with leukemia took many who didn't know by surprise.

I first saw Duke in 1977 with Frank Zappa and his incendiary Mothers of Invention, featuring the incredible Ruth Underwood on mallets, Napoleon Murphy Bock, Chester Thompson and Tom Fowler, at Washington, D.C.'s now defunct Capital Centre. Duke was an amazing keyboardist who could hold his own with anyone, however he was a fantastic vocalist; Zappa's brilliant and complex "comedy music" was made even more enjoyable by Duke's soulful and gorgeous singing. A true musical genius, Duke will be greatly missed.

That Zappa concert left a great impression on me and my fellow musical friends, and after his sting with the Mothers, we jumped on any and everything we could find Duke: his beautiful work with the Brazilian singer Flora Purim; his amazing solo albums, like "The Aura Will Prevail", one my all-time favorites. We soon learned Duke would be joining drummer Billy Cobham and as fate would have it, they were actually going to be opening for British keyboardist and former Yes alum Rick Wakeman.

This was an odd double bill, but we had a lot of that in the '70s. Now I loved Rick Wakeman; he was another brilliant composer and a great musician, but after Cobham, Duke, bassist Alphonso Johnson and guitarist John Scofield tore up the crowd, there wasn't much left for Wakeman and his band.  As for Cobham and Duke, they would go on to record the now legendary "Live in Europe", in Montreux, Switzerland.

Cobham and Duke would return, this time to George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. My friends and I managed virtually front row seats for that one. We left agog and apoplectic after Duke's mesmerizing keyboard playing, his hilarious banter with Cobham, and his signature solo where he basically tells a story about a woman by using his synthesizer to mimic her voice. Priceless.

I would go on to see Duke many more times over the years; with Stanley Clarke; with his own phenomenal band with Ndugu Leon Chancelor, and many others, however those early shows with Zappa and Cobham were unbelievable; both masterful and hilarious. There has been much written about Duke this week; The Washington Post's Terrance McArdle has written one of the best I've read, however I will leave you with my favorite tune by Duke of the era, from his album, "The Aura Will Prevail"; the aptly named "For Love, I Come Your Friend". George Duke will be loved forever.



Thursday, August 1, 2013

Mickey Hart's "Superorganism"

According to Mickey Hart, "A superorganism is a complex organism composed of many smaller organisms. A band is a superorganism, so is the universe." In the past two years, Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead/Mickey Hart Band) has sonified the Universe, the Golden Gate Bridge, the America's Cup, and now, he is going even deeper.

On his new record "Superorganism", due out August 13, 2013, Hart is breaking new ground by combining music with science and the human body.  "For the last few years I have been creating music from the source sounds of the cosmos and now the body." The album cover features an MRI scan of Hart’s brain as well as his brain activity, as captured through an EEG cap. Hart will be performing live with the same EEG cap on his upcoming 70th birthday tour.

"These sounds are noise—harsh, strange—and it is only after dancing with their essence face to face that music can be created. This time we journey into the micro, the hidden worlds of rhythm within us, within our bodies," says Hart. "My brain wave signals are re-imagined in sound using a cap with electrodes that can read the throbs and signals of the brain. I have also sonified the sounds of stem cells, and heart rhythms for this recording. " On Superorganism, Hart has once again paired up with longtime collaborator and Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter, as well as, many special guest musicians.

The band will also kick off their Superorganism Tour in Healdsburg, CA on August 1. (They'll be in San Francisco at the Fillmore on September 6th). They will be joined by the Tea Leaf Trio (Trevor Garrod, Reed Mathis and Cochrane McMillan of Tea Leaf Green) for most of their stops. Mathis will also play with Mickey Hart Band each night.

In addition, Hart will perform with an EEG cap on his while he plays the sounds of his brain. For an example of how this works, check out this video of Hart’s talk at the AARP convention in New Orleans last November.

For a glimpse of Superorganism, here is a six minute soundclip from Hart's website features snippets from the new album.