Category Archives: Concert And Event Reviews

Concert review: Spoek Mathambo – hitting the world hard with his take on Afro-futurism

Venue:  Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park (NY)
Date: August 7, 2011
Concert reviewed by Ravish Momin

“Where’s Spoek?”, my cousin Alap asked.  Nobody knew.  We’ve tracked back a few years to when Spoek’s band Playdoe was providing tour-support for Dalek in Europe.  It was Playdoe’s first European tour, and apparently the boys had gone a bit wild!  “We’d almost considered asking the tour manager to replace them!” Alap joked outside Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park.
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Asphalt Orchestra – the avant-garde “street” jazz group at Lincoln Center (NY)

Date: Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Venue: Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center
Concert review by Sarah Rayani

On a very rainy evening, under an awning at Lincoln Center’s Alice  Tully Hall, the Asphalt Orchestra delighted and surprised a group of  about 100 soggy New Yorkers. I came to hear about the avant-garde “street” jazz group through Sunny  Jain, one of their 3 percussionists. Jain is a Punjabi American-born  drummer, dhol player and composer who seamlessly fuses the two styles  he grew up listening to — Jazz and Indian music. In addition to being  a member of the Asphalt Orchestra and his own Sunnay Jain Quartet, he  plays in a Baraat group – traditionally a North Indian wedding  processional band – called Red Baraat.

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Concert review: Paul Motian…one of the most influential modern drummers freeing the drummer from strict time-keeping duties!

Venue: the Village Vanguard (NY)
Date: Thursday, July 28th, 2011.

Concert review by Audrey Fort

Personnel: Chris Cheek and Bill McHenry (saxophones), Steve Cardenas  (guitar), Mat Maneri (viola), Jacob Sacks (piano), Thomas Morgan  (bass) and Paul Motian (drums)

Witnessing Paul Motian perform should be a rite of passage for all  drummers. This octogenarian is especially known for his innovative  role in pianist Bill Evan’s trio in the 1950’s and 60’s. Along with  bassist Scott LaFaro, Motian helped liberate the rhythm section from  its role as mere timekeeper. Motian still plays regularly with  various groups that he leads in New York City, primarily at the  Village Vanguard.

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Two guitarists – Marc Ribot and Nels Cline – two men…at Le Poisson Rouge

Date: June 15, 2011
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge

Concert review by Jim Hoey

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Marc Ribot and Nels Cline paired up for this guitar duo set on the recent anniversary of Le Poisson Rouge (June 15th). For an hour and a half, over the course of 7 morphing, improvisational sound pieces that ranged from country to rock, through psychedelic noise, to jazz and back, the two legends of guitar traded licks, riffs, tones, dissonance, space – and they shared time, all in front of a sold out crowd that likely included musicians, journalists and New Yorkers on the avant-garde scene who remembered the heyday of Tonic and the old Knitting Factory when shows like this were much more common.

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