Remembering Pete Seeger, 1919-2014

The legendary Pete Seeger left us this week, leaving behind an amazing legacy of music and activism. " Dubbed "America's tuning fork" by poet Carl Sandburg, the banjo-player left behind folk classics like "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "If I Had a Hammer," "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "We Shall Overcome." Many will associate him with the 1960s, a decade of profound social and political change, when young Americans took to the streets to condemn the Vietnam war and demand civil rights for all races…" I was fortunate to work with him once, for a performance for WETA in Virginia back in 2000, when Seeger was a mere 81 years old.

For this performance, Seeger was joined by his grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger; a very popular duo in those days. Seeger entered the theater early afternoon, perhaps a little slower and older, yet remarkably energetic. I offered him a beer, a tour of the theater; and he gladly accepted. I reminded him that I was once onboard his famous Hudson River boat in early '80s. He laughed and said, "Oh that wasn't my boat, it belonged to a friend and a friend of the cause…" After the tour, I offered him another beer and he declined saying, "That will put me to sleep…" Seeger signed a banjo, remarked on his trip and headed off before the show.

The show went on without a hitch; Seeger and his grandson's hilarious, and playful musical retorts were really simply wonderful, a craft of musical storytelling that has been honed and passed down over the years. At the end, Seeger was next joined by the rest of the evening's performers; a stage filled a combination of folk trios, police quartets and fiddlers; a wonderful cacophony of sound.

When the show I was over I stood next to Seeger and his grandson, told them everything went fine. They smiled, and then I noticed a commotion near the front of stage. There were older men and women of various colors, heights and sizes, all chanting, "Pete, Pete… Pete, Pete!" Seeger looked at us, smiled and bade us goodnight. Seeger soon  made his way to the edge of stage, knelt down and was literally body-surfed to the floor. Tao looked at me and said, "There goes grandpa…" Indeed, Seeger disappeared in a flurry old friends and veterans of bygone battles.

Here is one of my favorite songs by Pete and Tao, "Guantanamera"...

Kai Eckhardt's "Zeitgeist"

One of the greatest bass players on the planet, the Liberian/German expatriate Kai Eckhardt, has made his home in Berkeley, after thrilling audiences around the world. His resume features a veritable who's who of the fantastic jazz and world musicians; guitarist John McLaughlin, drummer Billy Cobham, percussionist Trilok Gurtu, Stanley Clarke, Wayne Shorter, Patrice Rushen, Dewey Redman, Donald Byrd, Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten and his band Garaj Mahal, to name but a few. Eckhardt's latest album "Zeitgeist", is jazzy blend of funk, Indian ragas and straight-up, butt-kicking electric jazz. Eckhardt's band in fact released his new album at Yoshi's in Oakland a few weeks ago. For that performance, Eckhardt enlisted Baltimore's Dana Hawkins on drums, Australia's Chris Robinson on electric guitar and the North African keyboardist, Osam Ezzeldin. If you missed it, you can download it via his website.

Early fans of Eckhardt's will no doubt recall his work with Cobham, and his opening cut "Seven Cows Jumping Over the Moon" and "Chester the Pester" are masterful nods to those days;  If you liked those tunes, you will certainly enjoy  the organ flavored and rhythmic romp, "The Wake-Up Call" and the electric "Mary Poppins". Eckhardt certainly takes no prisoners on these cuts which are among my personal favorites.

Bassists will also enjoy his remarkable solo piece, "Giant Slaps"; an inventive and inspired take on the classic "Giant Steps by John Coltrane. The grooving and thoughtful tune "From the North to the South" and the album's closing cut, "KK Express", for this listener, conjured memories of another amazing show Eckhardt performed a few years ago at Yoshi's with Gurtu's "Glimpse" band.

Eckhardt shows no signs of slowing down and thankfully so; I'll be looking forward to his next live performance as well as recordings he appears on. Here is a clip of the aforementioned tune "Mary Poppins", from a recent performance in Sacramento, CA by one of the truly great "spirits of our time", Kai Eckhardt.

Hansford Rowe's "HR3"

Lately, I've been enjoying a variety of guitar, bass and drum trios, and one of my favorites is bassist Hansford Rowe's "HR3". This is a tasty trio based in Montreal, featuring two younger players, (guitarist Julien Sandiford and Max Lazich), who seem a little wise beyond their years. With HR3, Rowe has a gentle, yet wonderfully wicked sound; 'Scooby Goes to School", and the energetic "Voix Aciennes" are among my personal favorites.

HR3's website describes the group as "A wounded road warrior meets two young bucks. Together they confront the beast…."

You can’t create without destroying – that doesn’t mean scorched earth is HR3’s method. They kill you softly. They take you under slowly giving you time to visit musical subtleties along the way that require a moment. Bassist Hansford Rowe has scorched with quite a variety of characters along the rocky road; guitarists for example - Allan Holdsworth, Biréli Lagrène, Mike Oldfield, David Fiuczynski, Mick Taylor, John Martyn, micro-tonal maestro Jon Catler, David Torn, Jordi Torrens; or drummers - Gary Husband, Pierre Moerlen (Gong).

It has all cleared a path to the fountains of creative youth that are two twenty year old sages named Max and Julien. It couldn’t be predicted but you know it is right. Just like their music. Critics have begun talking about Julien’s playing with reference to some major jazz icons but that’s what they do… Julien sounds like Julien. And Max is just Max. No need to compare him to his idols Colaiuta or Tony Williams…

Journalist Frank Beacham had this to say, "Very rarely in this life does one get to see—up close and personal—an eruption of singular young talent that is both mesmerizing and thrilling. But last night, I had such a moment in a small New York City nightclub at the American musical debut of two 20-year-old Canadians—guitarist Julien Sandiford and drummer Max Lazich. Teamed with veteran American bass player, Hansford Rowe, this new trio is called HR3. What was barely contained on this small stage was a musical tour de force driven by three talented improvisational artists..."


Here's a clip of their tune from the album, "Barcelona".