Dafnis Prieto on drums
Date: 14 and 15 August 2012
Venue: The Jazz Standard (NY)
Review by Matt Cole and photos by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Concert Review: Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio performing “spontaneous composition”
Category Archives: Concert And Event Reviews
Concert review: Bill Frisell Plays The Music of John Lennon at La Poisson Rouge
Date: Thursday, 2 August 2012
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge (NY)
Review by Matt Cole and photos by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
On Thursday, 2 August 2012, Bill Frisell and his talented band played an evening of John Lennon’s music before a packed, seated house at La Poisson Rouge. The band consisted of Jenny Scheinman on violin, Greg Leisz on pedal steel, Tony Scherr on bass, and Kenny Wollesen on drums. The band played selections from Frisell’s 2011 album, All We Are Saying, a collection of John Lennon’s songs played by the same band we were hearing live.
The music began with Frisell alone, then the rest of the band coming in one-by-one, in a dreamy jam that coalesced into “Across the Universe.” After an almost Beatlesesque treatment of the melody (helped along by Kenny Wollesen’s excellent and tasteful drumming in this idiom, which continued throughout the night), the band went back into free and dreamy territory. This pattern would continue for most of the night, with most songs starting free, and then alternating between Beatles-like sounds and free but not dissonant improve sections. A few times, no doubt aided by the sounds of Leisz’ pedal steel, the band entered the edges of country-rock territory, one example being on Lennon’s ode to his son, “Beautiful Boy,” another in “In My Life” towards the end of the set (the psychedelic ending of which, curiously, also reminded me a little of the intro to Rush’s epic “Xanadu”).
Concert review: Melvin Gibbs’ Elevated Entity explores “the Black Atlantic continuum”
Date: July 25, 2012
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge (NY)
Review by Eulas Pizarro
Melvin Gibbs Elevated Entity at Le Poisson Rouge was nothing short of amazing. As I got there a few minutes late and entered the room the band was already laying down a seething web of polyrhythms and tangled vocal call and responses enveloping the audience.
Event review: 2012 Istanbulive 4 brought Turkish music and culture back to NY again.
Date: July 29, 2012
Venue: Damrosh Park Bandshell/Lincoln Center
Review by Jim Hoey
For the fourth year in a row a hardworking Turkish group of promoters and musicians have succeeded in bringing the sounds of their country right here to NYC where a large group of Turkish emigres are eager to hear music from home, and locals can hear something exotic and new. In past years, it’s happened at Central Park SummerStage, but this year they moved it to Lincoln Center’s 62nd street bandshell space. Despite a raging thunderstorm just hours before the start time, with bolts of lightning ripping through the darkened skies, the 3 groups on the bill from Turkey were able to take the stage after the storm died down when it was safe for the musicians to play.
Event review: “Wake Up, Madagascar” with legendary “King of Salegy” (Eusebe) Jaojoby!
Date: Saturday, July ,21, 2012
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge (NY)
Concert review by Chris Arnold
Thanks to the Le Poisson Rouge we were treated to 21 non-stop, infectious songs by Madagascar’s top stars and showcasing distinct musical traditions not found anywhere else. For fans of guitar music it was an extra special treat with 3 very different styles on display.
Guitar virtuoso Charles Kely kicked of the concert with 4 songs of mesmerizing fretwork on a classical guitar that would put most jazz guitarists to shame. Without bending any notes and playing without a pick, Kely created a sound that perfectly blends traditional and modern. Built on his regional ba gasy music with jazzy phrasing up and down the neck and classical guitar finger picking mixed in, Kely synthesizes rhythm, melody and harmony taking an African approach to the guitar to a master’s level. His musicianship and unique musical voice make Western “world music” critics’ discussions of authenticity irrelevant
